SAN ANTONIO — AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX is one of just 19 theaters in the United States showing Oppenheimer in IMAX 70mm. It's also one of just two locations across Texas presenting the film in that format.
Still, that IMAX format is the way Nolan "intended" the movie to be seen and why viewers like Nick Crookshank are driving hours from Austin and Houston. Crookshank has seen the IMAX 70mm format for other movies before.
"When you watch something digitally it is pixilated," Crookshank said. "When you're watching this there are no pixels. The picture is... each slide is running through the projector and it just looks crystal clear. And the audio is embedded into the film. It adds color. It makes everything look bigger and brighter."
Unfortunately, Crookshank was not able to see Oppenheimer in this format because a bulb broke in the AMC Rivercenter projector on Sunday. He and many other disappointed viewers took to Twitter to voice their frustration.
It turns out, the projection technology for this particular format is an art in itself, and quite a few things can go wrong. KENS 5 spoke to AMC Rivercenter representative Michelle Tarin Wednesday and Tarin said there were only two IMAX-specific technicians in the entire city able to manage the projector and there is only one projector. So when a bulb went out on Sunday they had to wait to get a new one. Tarin said the projector is a lot more complex than putting in film and pressing a button. The projectionist must monitor the film the whole time.
Crookshank, who works close to the film industry, is also aware of the unique presentation of the film and the unique challenges it presents.
"The reel, the filmstock, is end-to-end 11 miles long and the damn thing weighs 600 pounds. It's massive," Crookshank said. "And then you need to flip it, you have to watch it, you have to make sure it doesn't break."
Crookshank says he doesn't blame the theater and believes that AMC needed to provide more support for the less-used IMAX 70mm technology needed to run the film. He said he also spoke to Tarin are was told more about the issues they've faced.
"She was telling me about how the first night they had to cancel the first couple days and then a few days it broke again. She said they were crying and she cried with them. It's a big deal to a lot of people." Crookshank said.
He said AMC Rivercenter gave him a refund and also provided several free movie passes.