There was once a time when going to the cinema meant a nice, simple relaxing process of sitting down and watching a movie without any added features available.

That time is now almost certainly a thing of the past, as barely two years on from making its comeback in cinemas, 3D could soon be ousted as the exciting new technology for movie-goers, after theatres in South Korea launched a range of this summer’s biggest hits in exclusive ’4D’.

The new additions to these cinema screens include the ability to ’touch’ (impact and motion-based moveable massage chairs) and ‘smell’ (in-theatre technology emitting slight ‘scents’ related to the movie), along with fog and strobe lighting to all fully synchronise with the action on-screen, claiming to add to the viewing experience.

A audience member from South Korea (who had been to see Dreamworks’ animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 2) had given his verdict on the format, stating: “The seats have massage chair motors so that they punch you lightly in the kidneys or bottom when Po gets hit or falls down. At the end, bubbles floated down from the ceiling to simulate fireworks - hilarious and well worth the 18,000 won [$17, £11] ticket price.”

The early feedback has not all been positive, though as one of the cinemas stated on reviews from two of the other blockbusters which recieved the 4D treatment: ”Some customers complained of feeling damp from the water effects after watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides but ‘smelling sweet’ like Captain Sparrow star Johnny Depp. And there were reports of people becoming ‘nauseous’ and going ‘temporarily deaf’ after watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon where the major smell is the scent of burnt rubber”

The company responsible for these new developments are CJ 4DPlex, who have revealed plans to expand from South Korea into North America, and then onto Europe. One upcoming movie in the USA has already advertised itself as ’4D’, but the only confirmed new feature for Spy Kids 4D: All The Time In The World is a deal with Aromascope to put scents into the theatre.

While some of these features have already worked well enough on their own, whether it is motion chairs (e.g. D-BOX in USA and Canada (pictured above)), strobe lighting, or physical factors such as water or air spray, they have usually been in the domain of novelty features or short film-based theme park rides. Is 4D a way to bring all of these potential technologies into one successful product? What will be the next major development for cinema screening technology?

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