IMAX Outrage! Comic Says Small Screens Aren't IMAX Experience

In January, Internet guru and Videogum blogger Gabriel Delahaye penned a righteously amusing rant sparked by a recent IMAX expansion into multiplexes with smaller, 29' foot high screens, which the company has tried to pass off as an IMAX experience. (For reference, the Lincoln Square IMAX is 76' high.) We got in touch with the press rep for IMAX and reported on the bait-and-switch, and that was the end of it. Until this week, when TV's Aziz Ansari came along with his own blog rant, after paying an extra $5 for a Star Trek screening on one of those dainty "IFAUX" screens.

The world took notice and even IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond was forced to respond, telling MainStreet, "The overwhelming majority of comments on that guy’s blog this morning, more than 90% of them, are vehemently disagreeing with him. And consumers are confirming this with their continued purchases of tickets." Over to you, Aziz: "WHAT A SURPRISE ANOTHER IMAX LIE. Who did those numbers? The same guy who measures your bullshit tiny IMAX screens???"

And now Ansari is showing he means business by challenging Gelfond to a televised debate. We'd make some wisecrack about nerds here, but the joke would be on us, because we agree; this rebranding of small screens as "IMAX" is, to paraphrase Kramer, "the biggest scam perpetrated on the American public since one-hour Martinizing."

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By John Del Signore in News on May 13, 2009 3:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Quidnam

I too, got ripped off by AMC Empire versus Lincoln Square.

Every theater can and should have "good" digital projection and sound. The point (I thought) of paying extra for IMAX was that it was actually a different physical format, and that the additional space required by large-format screens commanded a higher "rent."

Not so, it would seem. Adding insult to injury, the sound also cut out a couple of times during the IFAUX film at AMC Empire...

MaiaW

Interesting fact, by the way: There's an IMAX camera on the space shuttle that's in orbit right now! The astronauts are going to be shooting scenes for a new movie on the Hubble telescope.

r1b2

Actually, it wasn't that amusing.

ed_Extinct

The Dark Knight, although labeled as IMAX wasn't a true IMAX movie. IMAX camera's were used in some scene's, mainly the outdoor scenes, but it didn't have to be viewed on an IMAX. I saw on IMAX right before the Acedemy Awards and it was truly an amazing experience...

What sucks is, a lot of movies that aren't IMAX for some reason or another, are sometimes on IMAX screens...

SaintlyNYC

Having just gone to the AMC 25 at 42nd street, I said as soon as I went in that something is up with the screen.

I would have liked the movie either way but I wouldn't waste my money on IMAX at that location again. 68th street all the way from now on.

Gothamist_Cynic

Both IMAX screens are a joke.

madzack

man talk about 1st world problems! MY IMAX SCREEN IS TOO SMALL!!

Dirk

Aziz is right -- don't pay $5 more for fake IMAX.

EastRiver

"And consumers are confirming this with their continued purchases of tickets."

Typical PR bullshit. Just because consumers are stupid doesn't make it right.

John Del Signore

Yeah, and that might also just confirm that IMAX is successfully conning people into buying tix. A better metric would be how many consumers are actually satisfied by their IMAX experience.

MaiaW

I agree that it's ridiculous. I went to see some blockbuster movie at the one at AMC last fall and it was a joke. Yes, part of it is the resolution of the film, but that's only a small part of the "IMAX" experience.