#1 ·
I feel compelled to write this out—not really for my own sake, but for anyone else who has experienced this or might encounter it without even realizing it. I’m hoping that by speaking up, we can prevent this kind of thing from happening again.
The issue concerns a screening of "Return of the King" at AMC Theatres. I attended the January 2nd showing in Theater 10, starting at 10:50 PM, alongside about 200 other people. Aside from the fact that the ticket cost $11—which feels like Blitz is simply capitalizing on the massive demand for this film—there was the matter of the timing. The presentation (or rather, the previews, which seem to be a special privilege reserved only for Blitz releases) started 15 minutes late because a single(!) employee had to clean the entire theater by herself. To make matters worse, after failing to even wash her hands, she began checking tickets while literally holding people back with both hands(!?) because the crowd was already getting restless from the wait. I suppose that's just what you get with a late-night showing; everyone is in a hurry, right?
However, the real issue occurred halfway through the movie. Specifically, right as Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas passed through the mountain pass, a message appeared on the screen announcing a 20-minute intermission. The break lasted about 25 minutes, but since it was the final screening of the night, I didn't think much of it. The plot resumed with Frodo's encounter with Shelob. It felt suspicious immediately, but I didn't dwell on it until the credits rolled and I realized that, in my estimation, I had missed about 10 to 15 minutes of the actual film.
On January 6th, I went to see the film again, this time in New York City, where they show it without any intermissions. When the movie reached the exact moment where the intermission message appeared during my previous AMC Theatres viewing, my shock—and I might use a stronger word if I weren't being polite—was endless. A series of scenes followed that were completely absent from the AMC Theatres screening. By my estimate, those missing scenes totaled about 17 to 20 minutes!!! It was as if the movie continued to play behind the scenes while the intermission message sat frozen on the screen!!!
As soon as I got home, I sent an email via the AMC Theatres website. Finding the contact info is a chore; it's buried under a section titled "Join Us(!?)", as if that's the only reason anyone would ever want to reach out. In the message, I asked for an explanation and requested some form of compensation for the loss.
Naturally, a day passes and there is no response. I suspect they ignored me because I didn't express a desire to "join them" in their email, so they never even bothered to read it. I am now considering sending that same email to the esteemed Mr. Krstulović, though I would prefer to include the names of the other "lucky" individuals in that theater who paid $11 only to be cheated out of 20 minutes of the movie...
So, there you have it. That is my experience with the "premier American multiplex," where I was likely the first, the last, and certainly the last person to ever step foot in that theater again...
The issue concerns a screening of "Return of the King" at AMC Theatres. I attended the January 2nd showing in Theater 10, starting at 10:50 PM, alongside about 200 other people. Aside from the fact that the ticket cost $11—which feels like Blitz is simply capitalizing on the massive demand for this film—there was the matter of the timing. The presentation (or rather, the previews, which seem to be a special privilege reserved only for Blitz releases) started 15 minutes late because a single(!) employee had to clean the entire theater by herself. To make matters worse, after failing to even wash her hands, she began checking tickets while literally holding people back with both hands(!?) because the crowd was already getting restless from the wait. I suppose that's just what you get with a late-night showing; everyone is in a hurry, right?
However, the real issue occurred halfway through the movie. Specifically, right as Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas passed through the mountain pass, a message appeared on the screen announcing a 20-minute intermission. The break lasted about 25 minutes, but since it was the final screening of the night, I didn't think much of it. The plot resumed with Frodo's encounter with Shelob. It felt suspicious immediately, but I didn't dwell on it until the credits rolled and I realized that, in my estimation, I had missed about 10 to 15 minutes of the actual film.
On January 6th, I went to see the film again, this time in New York City, where they show it without any intermissions. When the movie reached the exact moment where the intermission message appeared during my previous AMC Theatres viewing, my shock—and I might use a stronger word if I weren't being polite—was endless. A series of scenes followed that were completely absent from the AMC Theatres screening. By my estimate, those missing scenes totaled about 17 to 20 minutes!!! It was as if the movie continued to play behind the scenes while the intermission message sat frozen on the screen!!!
As soon as I got home, I sent an email via the AMC Theatres website. Finding the contact info is a chore; it's buried under a section titled "Join Us(!?)", as if that's the only reason anyone would ever want to reach out. In the message, I asked for an explanation and requested some form of compensation for the loss.
Naturally, a day passes and there is no response. I suspect they ignored me because I didn't express a desire to "join them" in their email, so they never even bothered to read it. I am now considering sending that same email to the esteemed Mr. Krstulović, though I would prefer to include the names of the other "lucky" individuals in that theater who paid $11 only to be cheated out of 20 minutes of the movie...
So, there you have it. That is my experience with the "premier American multiplex," where I was likely the first, the last, and certainly the last person to ever step foot in that theater again...