Ben VanLierop and Bennett Levine drove more than three hours to see a three-hour movie — but they were greeted by an unpleasant cinematic surprise when they finished their road trip from Gunnison to Denver.
The friends were hoping to catch Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” in all its glory at the Regal UA Colorado Center — one of just 25 theaters in the U.S. playing the epic in its IMAX 70mm film format.
It was a rare chance to see a feature film projected from gigantic film prints onto an equally giant screen.
Just one problem.
“We’re waiting for our friend who has our tickets — and they announced that the 70mm projector is broken for some reason,” Levine said at the theater on Monday afternoon.
In fact, the theater’s film projector had broken down several days earlier, just days into its run. Instead, a staffer said, the showings have switched to a digital IMAX projector, which has a smaller aspect ratio and none of the romantic charm of film.
The release of a Nolan movie has turned into a milestone event for theaters, with 70mm releases often selling thousands of tickets. “The Odyssey” showings at the Regal are heavily booked for weeks to come — and fans like Levine and Lierop have been blindsided by the switch to digital.
“That’s kind of f***ed,” VanLierop said when he learned that the projector had been out for days, with little or no official notice to moviegoers.
“That’s crazy,” Levine agreed.
Online, the theater has been bombarded in recent days by countless angry reviews and Reddit comments.
“Went for the 70mm showing, same as everybody else,” one commenter wrote. “Upon getting there learned that the projector was broke and we can decide between watching a digital version of the film there, or getting our $35 back. Complete rug pull after driving 2 hours for this experience.”
Terry Schilling was similarly surprised by the change. He had already seen the film at an Alamo Drafthouse but wanted the 70mm experience.
“After seeing it, we heard all the hype about 70 millimeter too, and we went to go see that,” Schilling said. He and Salena Davila-Schilling had hunted around for seats at a 70mm showing, finding many sold-out or nearly full shows before settling for Monday afternoon.
“And so then when this one popped up, we grabbed them right away,” Davila-Schilling said. When they got to the theater, they were offered a refund or a credit.
Regal did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. It has been replying to negative reviews with identical messages: a brief apology with a request to reach out to customer support for more information.
But the state of the screenings remains unclear. The theater’s Odyssey showings are still listed as 70mm on the ticketing site Fandango. The Regal website simply describes the upcoming showings as “IMAX,” which includes a range of different formats.
The only other 70mm theater in Colorado — Cinemark Carefree Circle XD in Colorado Springs — also had an IMAX snafu over the weekend. A worker confirmed to Denverite that the 70mm film reel was damaged, but that the issue has been resolved and screenings are expected to continue as normal.
Projecting a full-size IMAX print is a very involved affair. Prints of Nolan’s last film, “Oppenheimer,” weighed about 600 pounds, with 11 miles of film wound onto enormous platters. Nolan is also known for having his master film negatives spliced and glued by hand.
By contrast, most movie theaters now run easier-to-use digital projectors — no film required. The Odyssey is also notable because it’s the first feature film to be shot entirely in the full IMAX film format.
The Schillings said they had heard from Denver theater staff that technicians were “working on it all night,” hoping to get the projector turning again for the hundreds of people waiting for their glimpse of a really big movie.
It’s a great flick, they said, even when its photons are cast from a mere mortal projector.
“But it’s not 70mm,” Davila-Schilling said.
“But it’s not the way Christopher Nolan and the movie gods intended us to see it,” Schilling agreed.
