In the future, if someone wants to tell you that in the cinema it is best to go back as far as possible and that the big screen is so far away from you that it becomes very small again, you can now say that it is. The Dark Knight’ director and cinema enthusiast Christopher Nolan sees things differently.
He answered that question in an interview and first of all explained (very correctly) that this of course also depends on the format in which the film is shown. He would love to be at a classic Cinemascope demonstration sits quite far forward, so third row in the middle. At the big IMAX spectacle, however, you have to go a little further back. So just behind the middle of the room, but of course there is also the best place for Nolan in the middle (the classic middle-mid selection!), as he explained.
What’s the best seat in the cinema? My opinion!
While I may not be as much of an authority as the director of some of the biggest blockbusters of recent years, I just want to confirm that Christopher Nolan is fucking here.
Of course it also depends a bit on the cinema and the size of the room – so in smaller rooms I sometimes prefer the first or second row. But in principle, in many cinemas, especially multiplex cinemas, you can get by very well with a third or fourth row and there in the middle. There you can still get overwhelmed by the pictures. And also in the IMAX I choose seats similar to Nolan, although I usually choose just in front of center-middle, so sit a few rows further forward (although we have a much smaller IMAX room here in Berlin than most cinemas in Berlin USA).
Ultimately, of course, everyone is free to choose where they want to sit in the cinema. And sometimes there are health or other reasons that only certain places are involved. But if you have the chance and you’re a strict backseat so far, try it a few rows away. You can also just approach it slowly and from now on move a little further forward every time you visit the cinema. Soon there will be an opportunity to test this with a film by Christopher Nolan: “Oppenheimer” will start on July 20, 2023.
And yes: I am of course aware that it is (unfortunately) not “our biggest problem”, even if it sometimes gives the impression.