Over the weekend, the highly anticipated film Oppenheimer made its debut at select theatres in Ontario, however some movie-goers experienced technical issues as a result of the film’s special format.
Christopher Nolan created Oppenheimer with the intention of presenting it in theatres in IMAX 70-millimetre format. Last month, the writer and director said this specific format is the “gold standard” of motion picture photography because it heightens a film’s overall quality, such as its resolution, colour, and sharpness.
Around the world, there are 30 theatres which offer this specific type of screening, with tickets costing CAD $21.50 each. In Canada, there are only six locations with two in Ontario, one in Mississauga and the other in Woodbridge.
Toronto photographer Patrick Tomasso attended a screening of Oppenheimer at Cineplex Vaughan in Woodbridge over the weekend. He told Now Toronto he booked his tickets two months in advance in order to secure a seat.
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However, he says there were a number of technical issues the theatre experienced during the screening.
“The first thing that went wrong was the opening 20-30 seconds of the film were sound only, no picture. The rest of the show once it started up was flickering quite a bit, and the print was dirty (lots of scratches and dust speckles on the screen),” Tomasso said.
Then with only 40 minutes left in the film, the movie-goer says it abruptly shut off leaving viewers completely in the dark just as they were nearing the end.
In a video posted on Tomasso’s Twitter, a Cineplex worker is seen informing the crowd of the technical difficulties.
According to Tomasso, about six to seven minutes went by before the film started up again. During this time, some viewers left to purchase more popcorn and to use the washroom. Once the film resumed, many people rushed back to their seats.
In response to the incident, Tomasso says the crowd was very mature about the situation and the cinema handled it quite well.
“We were all there to have a good time and watch the movie, of course we would have preferred if the movie didn’t shut off but when you’re in a group like that nobody wants to make it any worse,” he said.
A 70-millimetre IMAX film is rare to come by, so Tomasso says he appreciates the opportunity the theatre gave him, though it could have been better prepared.
“I overheard staff before the show began, that they flew in a projectionist from LA for two weeks to run the print. It took them two days just to build it,” he said.
“They gave us free passes after, for the disruption, and overall, I think Cineplex handled it the best they could. I just wish they would have had more foresight to ensure a smooth opening weekend,” he added.
Elsewhere in the GTA, movie-goers at Toronto’s Cineplex Cinemas Varsity theatre also experienced technicalities during their Oppenheimer screening. One viewer claims the film was completely out of focus 45 minutes into the film.
Now Toronto reached out to Cineplex for a comment but did not hear back in time of publication.
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