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Very few things are as enjoyable as curling up on the couch with a good movie. But nothing compares to the movie-watching experience you get on the big screen. Here's a few reasons why.

YOU SEE THE FILM HOW IT WAS INTENDED. Most movies are shot with 35 millimeter film and projected on to the screen with 35 millimeter projectors. It's how the director and cinematographer wanted you to experience their vision. Televisions, on the other hand, were not made with the size of a film negative in mind. When you transfer a movie down to DVD, you either have to put one of those annoying letter boxes around it (thus making everything smaller), or even worse, you have to cut off both sides of the negative to squeeze it on to a television screen. In other words, at home you're not quite getting the full experience that director wanted for you.

HUGE SCREEN AND BOOMING SURROUND SOUND. Very few of us can afford the real-deal stereo surround sound to recreate theater sound. Even if you're able to buy the equipment, take into account room set up an acoustics. Add to this the giant screen projecting the characters larger than life. Unless you've been featured on "Cribs," you won't be able to fully capture the theater experience at home.

THERE ARE NO DISTRACTIONS (IDEALLY). I'm sure we've all had movie-going experiences where some annoying theater-goer ruined the evening. Maybe they took a cell phone call or talked throughout the film. Yes, it is certainly very annoying, but hopefully it's the exception when you go to the movies. (My wife and I had continual bad luck with a certain nearby theater. Finally we found another theater a few miles further away, but the difference is night and day. It's well worth the added distance.) But annoying patrons aside, in a theater you can focus all your attention on the film. There are no knocks at the door, no phone calls, no dirty dishes calling your name. You're at the theater for one reason only - to fully experience the movie.

COMEDIES SEEM FUNNIER. Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard it hurt? Maybe it's been a while. For me, it was at the theater. The laughter of the crowd seems to heighten the experience of watching a really good comedy. At home, you'll chuckle or maybe even really laugh for a few moments, but when surrounded by a few hundred guffawing folks, you'll have a hard time not enjoying yourself. The theater can make the average comedy seem funnier than it probably is, and a great comedy seem absolutely hilarious.

THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR THE SHARED EXPERIENCE. When you watch a powerful, breath-taking movie at the theater, you share the experience with a few hundred other people. As you're leaving the theater, do you steal glances at your theater-mates? Don't you sometimes want to smile at a random stranger and say, "Wow. Pretty awesome, huh?" It's good to share experiences with your fellow man and woman. It keeps us from becoming too isolated in our lives.

I love watching movies at home, but I'll never give up going to the theater. Not only is it fun, it's a great way to support your favorite directors and screen-writers. You can let them know that their work is important to you, and you can enjoy it the way they intended you to.

Learn more about this author, Sean Curtis.
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