Intermission?


I didn't understand why exactly is there an intermission in the movie, after charlton heston looks at the clouds and receives his artistic inspiration... it reads "intermission" on the screen, and for several minutes the screen is black and there is only music... and this was on the dvd version I rent here in brazil... can somebody explain this?

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This movie was so long that it featured an intermission in the theaters giving the audience time to buy snacks, make calls, use the facilities, etc ... Meanwhile there was usually a second reel to change. Ghandi did the same thing but I can't think of any other really long movies other than the Lord of the Rings extended straight-to-dvd set. If you've seen that, you'll notice they pause and give a visual cue to change DVDs.

Anyway, when these movies were put onto VHS and DVD they kept that nostalgic element in the viewing giving modern-day audience members a built-in cue to press pause and take care of business at home.

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Are there any newer films that have intermissions i quite like them gives it that cinimatic element

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Most modern day movies don't have intermissions, but many of the longer old movies do. Some that come to mind are "My Fair Lady", "Sound of Music", and "Gone With the Wind".

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[deleted]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke also has an intermission.

"Hello, this is a recording, you've dialed the right number, now hang up and don't do it again." (Frank Sinatra ~Ocean's Eleven)

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[deleted]

I watched John Wayne in Hondo a few weeks ago and I believe that this movie on DVD also has an intermission. Very strange though since the movie only runs 83 minutes.

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just stumbled on your note while looking up something else on this pic - anyway, if you're still at this address . . .

HONDO was shot in 3-D which at that time meant running two separate projectors in synch - the reels were extended to run about 40 minutes or so - so they HAD to have a break to reload reels after about 40 minutes (give or take a minute). Thus, all those mid-fifties 3-D titles tended to run about 80 to 85 minutes - and had to have an intermission right in the middle -
Other than that, only long films in RoadShow engagements (like where you could buy numbered seats in advance) had intermissions, at least in the States. www.maksquibs.blogspot.com

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HONDO was in 3D which required both projectors running simultaneously, thus the need for an intermission.

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Ridley Scott's director's cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN has an Intermission, much like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

if you haven't seen the Director's Cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN go and see it, it's like 50x better than the theatre version

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[deleted]

Intermissions almost never exist in the "modern" era (in my lifetime).

There were plenty in the old days especially with "epics". Besides those mentioned here, many Charlton Heston movies were epics with intermissions: "Ben-Hur", "Ten Commandments". Also "Quo Vadis", "the Robe", etc. Lots of biblical movies were so.

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"Quo Vadis" did not have intermission...

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King of Kings. The Greatest Story Ever Told. Quo Vadis, IIRC.

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I thought the film was a bit short for an intermission. It's only two hours and eighteen minutes--with the intermission.

... Justin

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Add to the list " Around the World in 80 Days "

and if I'm correct...." How the West was Won".

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And "Seven Samurai."

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" El Cid"

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Kenneth Branagh's full-length version of Hamlet
2001: A Space Odyssey
Grand Prix
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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[deleted]

I do as well, left the way it was intended to be, even if it doesn't apply today....and like the 'extra' music as well :)

How many Amish does it take to screw in a light bulb????

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I was watching TCM last week and "South Pacific" also has an intermission.

BTW, during the break in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" the word "Entr'acte" which is French for "between acts", appears on the screen instead of plain ol' "intermission". You gotta love that Stanley Kubrick.

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terrellholmes

BTW, during the break in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" the word "Entr'acte" which is French for "between acts", appears on the screen instead of plain ol' "intermission". You gotta love that Stanley Kubrick.



This is a very late reply but I think that the Intermission and Entr'acte are Two different things. While the Intermission is played between acts One and two, the Entr'acte (When present) follows the Intermission and is played as a sort of Overture to the second act.

Some pictures feature both Intermission and Entr'acte while others have one or the other.

A full roster would include the following:

Overture
Act One
Intermission
Entr'acte
Act two
Exit Music

I hope this helps.


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Back in the mid-1960's, most "prestige" big studio films had an intermission if the running time was two and a half hours or longer. This film was on the short side to have one, but as I remember, the studio really tried to hype it up as an event film with awards potential. Most of the reviews were negative and the film did very poor box office considering it starred one of the biggest box office stars at the time (Heston) and the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Actor (Harrison).

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[deleted]

The most recent movie I saw that had an Intermission was " Gettysburg " (1993), I believe .

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The last film I saw in the theaters with an intermission was Gods & Generals (2003).

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Films that were released as Roadshows (one performance each evening with a matinee in the afternoon) were usually presented in the 70mm format with reserved seats and higher ticket prices and they had an intermission. They usually had music prior to the start of the presentation as well as at the intermission and also exit music. Some 35mm films such as The DIARY OF ANNE FRANK were also shown as roadshows. It was a wonderful time to experience film in a theatre. These films were events and designed to run for several months. The above comment saying that THE ROBE had an intermission is not correct. This was the film that introduced the wide screen process knowns as CinemaScope and it was not shown with an intermission.
Films that were shown as roadshows and featured an intermission included:

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS,
OKLAHOMA!
WEST SIDE STORY
EXODUS
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
THE BLUE MAX
THE BIBLE
EL CID
KING OF KINGS
BEN-HUR
THE BIG FISHERMAN
MY FAIR LADY
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
CLEOPATRA
and of course THE AGONY AND THE ECTASY.
All of the CINERAMA films had intermissions.

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an interesting side note on your post about roadshows and intermissions.
West Side Story is the only roadshow film i am aware of where the company
in this case United Artists gave the theaters running it as a roadshow
the chose of whether of not to have an intermission. if the theater owner
chose to have one is was mandated to be at the point Tony walks
blissfully walks thru the playground after war council in Doc's candy
store.

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