This deserves its own thread, not just a comment in the AMC Theatres reviews...

300 views on this post... not bad at all...
I suppose there's a certain level of satisfaction in seeing that. It feels like a win, because now we can all be a bit more mindful about these kinds of things—and similar issues—to make sure they don't happen again...

For those who might have missed it, the letter was published in The New York Times, right in the Letters to the Editor section...

The Letter in The New York Times 👍

I'm expecting a reaction to this...

I caught a screening at AMC Theatres this Saturday and everything seemed fine enough... the intermission hit at just the right moment, nothing out of the ordinary—every minute was accounted for. If the experience had been total garbage, I’d be hunting down someone in charge to demand an explanation—and a refund

Personally, Broadway let me down because they seem to be struggling with their technical setup—during the December 28th showing of Return of the king, the audio dipped so badly for a moment that it nearly ruined the entire movie.

I know I'm not alone here; several others have mentioned similar issues during different screenings.

J... you and $33 cents! If you actually $6.75 let that happen, it’s a total disaster!!!😠

slyowl9 said:I went to an AMC Theatres screening on Saturday and everything was fine enough. The intermission came at a good time, nothing crazy happened, and every minute was accounted for. If it had been a total disaster, I would have gone looking for someone in charge to demand an explanation and a refund.

The Broadway theater really let me down because they seem to be having major technical issues. During the December 28th showing of Return of the king, the audio cut out so badly at times it nearly ruined the entire experience.

I know plenty of other people noticed similar problems during different screenings too.

My experience at AMC Theatres was perfectly fine, though it would've been better without all those commercials.
But whatever.
On Sunday, I hit up Broadway and felt like they were already running out of excuses—the sound was off from the very start. To make matters worse, there were these weird black spots on the screen throughout most of the movie.
That digital print is definitely defective.

Gregory Green32 said:A Letter to the editor in The New York Times... 👍

I'm truly glad you went ahead and circulated that...
They’re probably going to start being much more careful about cutting down the runtime now. Honestly, someone over at the studio might even face a pink slip for this mess...

You might just land yourself a full year of free movie passes... if you're lucky...

I was just reading an article in Roger Ebert's column about how theater owners down in the South are also cutting corners at the audience's expense—apparently, it's become a common tactic to just dim the projector bulb to save a few bucks. Sure, they might get a slightly lower utility bill from Exelon, but the movies end up being almost unwatchable because of it.

....

Gregory Green32, it’s great that The New York Times published a Letter to the editor regarding this -> but I honestly worry that we're looking at special interest lobbying here rather than anyone actually caring about the moviegoers or the quality of the experience. The New York Times generally prides itself on its 'independence' and 'objectivity.' 😢

Richard Hernandez13 said:Gregory Green32, it’s great that The New York Times published a Letter to the editor -> but I honestly worry this might be more about special interest lobbying than actually caring about moviegoers or service quality. The New York Times is generally known for its "independence" and "objectivity." 😢 [/B]

I just received an email from The Los Angeles Times asking to jump on a call, so you'll likely hear updates on what's happening very soon... 😎

I really hope we can all agree on shutting down AMC Theatres and bringing in a high-quality international multiplex instead, so we can finally enjoy a proper cinematic experience.

Laura Roberts61 said:I'm glad you went ahead and circulated that.
They’ll probably start being a bit more careful about cutting scenes short—because, let's face it, someone in management might actually lose their job over this kind of mess.

You’re going to get a free subscription to see movies at AMC Theatres for an entire year—if you can even call it that...

Haha! You actually gave me a good laugh there... Do you seriously think that’s how things work in this country?
😢

First off, full support for Gregory Green32 on this one. Honestly, the biggest issue might not even be the fact that they chopped the movie up; maybe someone just straight-up screwed up and hoped nobody would notice. But what’s even worse is how AMC Theatres treated this one film buff. This guy was rightfully pissed, sent them emails, demanded an explanation, and ended up having his Letter to the editor published in The New York Times. Instead of just apologizing and offering some kind of make-good—like, I don't know, a free ticket to the next showing—they’re just sitting there in silence. They clearly don't give a damn about him feeling cheated. Basic decency says you apologize when you screw someone over, whether you meant to or not. And don't even get me started on basic business ethics.

First off, full support for Gregory Green32 on this one. But honestly, maybe the biggest issue isn't just that they chopped up the movie. Maybe someone just straight-up screwed up and hoped nobody would notice. Even worse is how AMC Theatres treated this one film buff—who was rightfully disgusted by their move and sent them emails demanding an explanation, eventually leading to his Letter to the editor being published in The New York Times. Instead of just apologizing and making it right—like offering a free ticket for the next screening, at the very least—they’re just staying silent. They clearly don't give a damn about him feeling cheated. Basic decency says you apologize when you screw someone over, whether it was intentional or not. And don't even get me started on basic business ethics.

ruggedstag84 said:What’s even worse than that is how AMC Theatres treated one particular film buff. This guy was absolutely disgusted by their conduct and sent them a series of emails demanding an explanation—an email thread that eventually landed as a Letter to the editor in The New York Times. They just stay silent. They couldn't care less about his anger or the fact that he feels cheated. Basic human decency dictates that you at least offer an apology to someone you’ve screwed over, whether you did it intentionally or not. And don't even get me started on basic business ethics.

I appreciate you bringing this up..
The reason I embarked on this whole Quixotic crusade wasn't actually about those twenty minutes of footage. I caught those during a second viewing, and honestly, I'll probably watch them another hundred times on AT&T. It was about someone finally speaking up. Someone needed to point out that we're being played. Unfortunately, this isn't just isolated to Return of the king; it’s a systemic issue in our society. We have people who have become conditioned to be ripped off and just stay quiet, hoping things will improve next time. More importantly, it's about the fact that they are often the only ones noticing, yet if they stay silent, they fear they won't be taken seriously...

So, that was my motivation. As for this specific situation, tomorrow or by the end of the week at the latest, Hrvoje and the crew over at AMC Theatres will see that same letter appearing in The Los Angeles Times. At least, that’s what the editors at The Los Angeles Times promised me...

I'm not holding my breath for an apology, but I suppose I managed to make a dent in something...

Oh, come on, give me a break with all this nitpicking. The movie runs over three hours long, and now you guys are really going to lose your minds over a couple of minutes?

...seriously, does anyone even go to the movie theater anymore? Like, please tell me I'm not alone here.

Vincent van Gogh said:Come on, quit nitpicking over nothing. The movie is over three hours long; why are you all obsessing over a few measly minutes?

🙂

Vincent van Gogh said:Come on, give me a break... stop nitpicking over nothing. The movie is literally over three hours long, and now you guys are seriously tripping over a couple of minutes?

🙏 🤣 👋

And this is just the icing on the cake...

Today, an abbreviated version of the letter is being published in The New York Times...

It finally made it into The New York Times !!!!!!

With that, this whole topic is essentially wrapped up. Anything else that could happen following this moves beyond the realm of probability and the typical American experience—for instance, a situation like this is unlikely to ever surface again..

I want to thank you all for the interest and for following along... until the next topic comes up...

👋

The latest issue of Walmart Film just dropped, and they printed that entire letter from Gregory Green32. They even handed him the Discovery Channel award—the DVD Bowling for Columbine. Honestly, who knows if we’ll actually see any more Discovery films playing at AMC Theatres moving forward? 😁
Gregory Green32 👍 🙂

That movie... honestly, what was that even supposed to be?!! 🙂 👋