Director Strange Love

It used to be so simple. Since Edison, the release of a new movie inspired a single binary equation: To see or not to see? With the advent of home video in the 1980s, a priority-based fissure developed in the former category. Suddenly, there were movies you had to rush out and catch immediately, and movies that could wait four to six months. Now comes Steven Soderbergh's Bubble , inspiring an opening-night question previously applicable only to The Rocky Horror Picture Show : Should I watch it in my underwear?

As the first notable movie to be released simultaneously in theaters, on cable, and on DVD, Bubble is an instant historical landmark. Time isn't always kind to these, frankly; I don't imagine that Netflix is doing brisk business with The Robe (1953, first CinemaScope production) or Henry & June (1990, first movie to be rated NC-17). And it's entirely possible that in a decade or two, when all movies debut on the Internet and only a select few with deafening word of mouth get the luxury of a theatrical release, Bubble will be remembered merely as ripple number one in that sea change. But while it's still fresh, I'd ... // 78% Remaining