Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/the-history-of-the-movie-intermission-and-the-films-that-still-had-one/
Most of us now sit through a three hour film with a drink in hand and a quiet negotiation going on with our bladder. There’s no curtain, no lobby break, no organ music. We just hope nothing important happens while we’re gone.
It wasn’t always like this. For a long stretch of cinema history, a long film came with a built in pause, and some films still do. Here’s where the habit came from, why it faded, and where it has turned up lately.
Where the Pause Began
The intermission started as a practical fix. One film history writer notes that in the silent era you couldn’t run a movie much past two hours without stopping. Most musicians can’t play much more than two hours without a break.
That rarely mattered for short features, but it did for long films like Ben-Hur and Wings. A break gave the live musicians a rest, and the audience got one too.
The Roadshow Model
Intermissions grew up alongside roadshow screenings, which were a different kind of night out. Seats were bookable, films played at set times, usually twice a day, and there was at least one intermission. Ordinary cinemas ran continuous performances with no reserved tickets.
Roadshow runs could last for a long time. They continued for weeks, months, or sometimes years before the films reached regular theaters, often re-edited to run shorter. The break was part of what made the event feel special.
Sound…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-10-21 10:29:00
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