My First Rant

[@AndroidFromSaturn]

I like this rant. He's not yelling and cussing. He's very calm and mature and that's why I have great respect for him.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I heartily concur !

[@TheBluRayCritic]

I agree Leonard.

[@theefrankguy]

You're my favourite movie critic of them all. I've been reading your books for years!!!.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Indubitably ! My first Leonard Maltin movie guide was one I had as a teenager in the early 70s. The "go to" movie reference guide back then for cinema lovers. Had many more editions over the years, with each one getting thicker & thicker !

[@MovieVigilante]

Don't make Leonard Maltin angry!

[@AndroidFromSaturn]

He might need a Snickers.

[@jeffreysnydr]

Hey Leonard, you need a snickers.

[@shaunjacobalde6345]

Help Mr. Maltin get a Snickers. Spread the word. #MaltinNeedsSnickers

[@OpenLettersMonthly]

'you oughtta just open an Arby's franchise' ... oh, this was PERFECT. Oh, KZbin has needed you for a long time! Keep the rants coming!

[@jubalcalif9100]

Mr Maltin is truly a National Treasure. THANK YOU, sir, for all the wonderful years of your writing, reviews, interviews, etc !

[@DavidFriendReporter]

He should've called out this movie theatre chain. If nobody recognizes where these problems come from, there's no accountability.

[@markhanson6563]

You'd think that a theatre (chain) that shows live operas and plays would be prepared for intermissions and would love their patrons to run to the snack bar and back...

[@DanyTV79]

Completely agree, I live in Quito, Ecuador and these same annoying things are happening here too. Your rant is brilliant Mr. Maltin.

[@princepeterwolf]

THIS IS SO SO SO TRUE LEONARD! I find it ridiculous what they're making to the theater experience, it's becoming everything but a theater movie experience...it lacks everything, the humanity, the magic..it's incredibly sad, and the more so when so many people are not going to the theater nowadays, this will just make more people to quit going. It's just sad.

[@MarcAquino1095]

I agree, Mr. Maltin. These kinds of problems need to be addressed. Glad you now have a KZbin channel. I'm a great admirer of yours.

[@sephthebuilder]

I just want to say that you are a delight to listen to and watch. Every time you're on Doug Loves Movies I have a great time and am encouraged to see movies. You're the reason I've seen The Way Way Back and that was amazing. Thank you.

[@giant62]

That's why we attend our old local theater. Still have ushers, real people in the projection booth and sometimes even a piano player for special events. So often too much technology is a horrific thing! Rant on when necessary and continue to keep the art of film and/or plays creative and engaging ,Leonard. Namaste

[@Geminipasta]

This is why when I went to see Les miserables the first ten minutes of django unchained played lol

[@flashesofblack4128]

Thank you for your right on comments. I recently went to a theater to watch, Top Gun. I bought my ticket and entered the theater. The movie, or intro's had not started at that time. The lights were dimmed so much so that I could hardly see to navigate to my seat. I had just come from outside on a sunny day, so my eyes had not adjusted to the darkness. It was terrible. I thought if I trip and fall down and get hurt I would sue that franchise for every thing they were worth!

[@kennypyne7821]

Back in 2011 when I was in high school, I got into classic movies by DVR recording them from the TCM channel. Goodfellas, Apocalypse Now, and 2001 were the strongest memories and I had this man to introduce me to them.

[@maynardsmoreland]

Thank you Mr. Maltin! Well said.

[@IRMacGuyver]

This and many other reasons is why digital distribution is evil. Why people allowed digital to take over I will never understand. Also there's no such thing as the exhibitor industry any more. They're all just concessions companies.

[@Boldsoliloquy]

This kind of thing happened to me during a Rifftrax Live Screening, but being in a different time zone it started at one point and suddenly skipped ahead an hour losing half of the show! I used to work as a 35mm film projector at two different major theater chains, and it was fun. Also audience responses were instantaneous, but sadly this position of responsibility is dwindled down to almost no one. Your view is appreciated Leonard and entirely agree.

[@MarkAndrewEdwards]

Thanks for the rant! When I was younger, I worked in a movie theater in Everett (now closed, sadly). This was the very last days of the union projectionists. I saw first hand how the theaters were phasing them out. They couldn't afford to pay them, the owner said. And he may have been right, most movie theaters operate on a pretty thin profit margin. No profit, no business and cutting people is the easiest way to save money. Sadly.

[@wackyworldnews]

several movie theatres in upstate new York almost closed when owners could not afford to transfer all equipment to digital.

[@anthonysanimationtalkextra9345]

The exact same thing has happened multiple times for me. I now pretty much watch movies at home but if I do go out I go to the wonderful Astor Theatre in Melbourne which is run by people who know and love movies. Plus they can play movies in 70mm which is an added treat!

[@pauletcheverry5572]

Couldn't agree more! My moviegoing allegiance goes to those who love film: Gary Meyer's Balboa Theatre, Eddie Muller's Noir City festival and the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum on the West Coast, and such excellent archivist/curators as Steve Massa and Ben Model on the East Coast.

[@guitarman122508]

I'm sorry that happened to you, Mr. Maltin. I'm a projectionist and for live events, I always make it a habit to stay by the projectors just in case there are sound errors or to simply raise and lower house lights as needed.

[@jvblhc]

Excellent points, Mr. Maltin. And you have proven yourself the master of the polite rant.

[@scottross9628]

The first time I attended a live event - for "Singin' in the Rain" - it ended up being canceled an hour after it was supposed to begin, when the satellite feed didn't work. We did go back, but that first experience was certainly discouraging. The second had its own problems; for that screening, instead of our seeing that famous MGM Technicolor, the picture looked as if it had been shot in pale pastels. The people with me, who had never seen it, did enjoy seeing it. (Even in a bad print, it's STILL "Singin' in the Rain.") But as a consequence of those two experiences, I haven't gone to another.

[@robbiefarabee6954]

I agree with you Leonard. Do all theatres like that rely on technology so much these days? What I'm imagining right now if I were to go to a movie theater is that there is no one operating the projector in the projector room. Technology can make stuff go wrong from time to time.

[@triinm]

Digital cinema ruined the whole world of cinema for me. Not really because I was made redundant as a projectionist (I was moving on with other stuff anyway) but it took away the magic of the cinema. You don't watch a film anymore, you watch a file. The crystal clear image is worthless to me as I miss the reel changes, chemical splices, scratches etc. never again will a film get stuck and burn with the bubbling holes on the screen. And it's such a shame.

[@markwhalanaus]

I found this quite reasonable, it is true the experience of theatre is still valued.

[@ItsTimePictures]

Well said, Mr. Maltin. I attended one FATHOM EVENT and it was my first and last. The sound would go out and the picture would break up into mpeg artifacts and then freeze. It was astoundingly bad.

[@SurferJoe1]

As always, so happy to have you on that wall, Mr. M. When I worked in the animation industry I was always so glad to have your watchful eye on the quality of handling, preservation, and presentation of the old stuff, our heritage. To paraphrase Flannery O'Connor, it'd be a good industry if you were there to shoot it every day...keep 'em in your sites!

[@AnnHolt]

I prepaid my $17 a few days before. When I arrived at the movie theater there was no one taking tickets and I walked right in. The lights stayed up through the entire preview until a gentleman walked out and asked for them to be lowered. I thought it was just here in downtrodden Jackson, MI where these things happened. Depressing.

[@JacksonWickham]

Hey, Leonard- good post, I agree that we're losing- well, everything by turning a theater into an Automat. By the way, it's not a big deal, but your audio on this was only coming out of the left channel. Just FYI, should be an easy fix on future posts.

[@etchedinstone7562]

This is still a problem with some theaters, much to my frustration.

[@aviduser1961]

In a crappy theater on Long Island NY, I once went to see the Three Amigos back in the day. The movie was late to start. Finally, about 10 - 15 minutes after it should have started, it started, but with reel 2. Obviously, Reel 1 ran without being projected. Shockingly, I was the only audience member that got up to complain. And back then, focus was a real problem. At least they fixed that.

[@Johnnyxmovie]

100% agree with you -- and I know the theatre chain you are referring to. They need to bring showmanship back to the theatre going experience. Are you listening, Burbank?

[@marikotrue6310]

Yes, this happened when I was in a theater. Only in my case the sound while on was at a level where only dogs could enjoy the movie. Since none were present, a human had to go out to find an employee (hopefully also a human) to adjust the sound. Not like this type of problem would require massive amounts of money to solve, just buy a case of baby monitors.

[@TheOneThatGotAwayRMAPLS]

Leonard Maltin I love your show you had Hot Ticket, you are such an inspiration to me.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Glad to know how you feel Leonard, I haven't been much of a moviegoer for a few years since it's gotten this bad.

[@brettsinger9565]

Thankfully, there are usually 5-6 previews in most theaters so when this happens you can usually get the theater to fix it before the film itself starts. But he is right. The lack of attention to basic operations is pretty unforgivable.

[@Happy4Trevor]

Can't agree more Leonard .....loving your video's :)

[@LuisRivera-vf9pk]

I feel your pain Leonard.

[@CoryTheRaven]

Mr. Maltin, even your rants are kindly!

[@WinkyDink]

There's usually only 1 projectionist, whether you're threading projectors or starting digitals. Usually those ads are shown on entirely different projector, and if the sound's off... it will remain off... the problem fixes itself when you move to your feature. Light cues are usually programmed into the print (digital or film). That will remain true by satellite... those live performances are a completely different story. They need more attention. That was an untrained and inattentive staff.

[@weirdy8]

This actually happened last year for a screening of Shin Godzilla where the subtitles remained under the screen throughout the entire film. Fortunately they gave a readmission pass as an apology.

[@KennethKralyJr]

Leonard great videos on your channel and good points in this rant. Theater owners need to get real people in the theater who understand how to run it.

[@bloomcow]

Mr. Maltin, I like how you hosted the Walt Disney Treasures DVD's.

[@TheMediaHoarder]

Must have been a Regal Cinema. I worked for them but left as they put more importance on the ads than the actual movie. They don't want people who actually like movies working for them.

[@taylorrusso1426]

Personally, I think film is more and more going toward becoming a home entertainment industry. I agree with you 100% that this example you gave is not acceptable. I love going to theatres and would expect everything to run smoothly. Nothing beats watching on the big screen. That being said, I love Netflix and the cheapness and availability of home entertainment is fantastic. We should have both and they should both be fantastic, but at the moment it's hard to find a good theatre.

[@michaelgiffey5108]

It is so sad really, these corporations want to jack up profits at the cost of the customer experience. I for one will not go to a movie theater anymore, and up until 1990 or so I went religiously several times a month.

[@CampbellJRMartin]

Rant on piracy for both blockbusters and independents? Would be great to hear your opinions on industry techniques to counteract this apparently devastating epidemic.

[@dirus3142]

I have two large theater chain in my city. They run on a skeliton crew all the time. Except for blockbuster opening nights. I had to leave the theater a handful of times to get some one to fix a problem. On the second time I noticed the courtesy phone just out side my rooms theater door. Unfortunately this is not an isolated problem with theater companies. All U.S. business lost respect for customer service and proper manpower. The small mom and pop business gets a pass, because it is their direct lively hood so they try their best.

[@DSM1G90]

If this was film ... no hollering at the empty person up in the booth (where there would be actual booths, none of this boothless operations....) and no cues to forget (or,cues with bad macros) to put on the digital playlist.

[@jameslacy]

I had a comparable experience when I was at an AMC that had a similar event where the film kept cutting to a Dish Network screen saying that the feed wasn't authorized.

[@samuellockhart6726]

I have done the very same thing -- run out to the lobby and tried to find a breathing human who could deliver the message.

[@jsbach15]

Sad. I remember the days when a premier movie or musical like "West Side Story" would be shown. You would have to buy tickets in advance. Pricing would be consistent with those of a Broadway show (e.g., higher for mezzanine vs baloney), the seats in the movie theater all had numbered tags which corresponded to the seat number on your ticket. Upon arrival to the theater, an usher would check your ticket, then escort you to your assigned seat. Intermission commenced halfway through the feature and chimes would sound throughout the lobby and restrooms areas signaling the resumption of the film. It was very glorious and refined. An additional perk was buying a pictorial book that had still shots of the movie and great factoids. Wonderful times and memories. Thank you for all your efforts over the years in bringing movie history to our lives. I look forward to reading more from you. I'm your newest fan and subscriber.

[@andrewmurphy1290]

I worked at a movie theater for five years. I can tell you the uploading movies by satellite works most of the time. However, I am in agreement with you about the problems with having no one operate the projections. At the movie theater where I worked and was the manager, the corporate office remove the position of booth operator. The manager had to make sure all the movies were operating correctly while running the whole theater. You say in this video there may have been only one person for all 16 screens it might be worse than that there might be no persons.

[@Kozmo260]

So true years back I went to see Lord of the Rings. They left the house lights on for the first 40 min of the film!

[@TheHadoukenFighter]

When are you doing Episode III? I only subscribed to you because of seeing your amazing changes to Episode I&II.

[@archer1949]

That's great for a place like LA with a lot of theaters and a lot of variety which theater and company you choose to patronize. But I live in middle-America Hickville USA where Regal has a monopoly. Why should they care if they are the only game in town?

[@AvalonMorley]

Hey, W. Vengeance, please don't give up so easily. Did you talk to management about the problems? Did you ask for a refund? You can also communicate w. people from Fathom. I feel live performance events like this are too rare to just give up when problems happen. When I saw the COMPANY that Fathom had a couple of yrs ago, it was fantastic in one multiplex, but much less so in another (sound wasn't good enough, & servers were moving around bringing food & drink--I don't like that). Fight for it!

[@disneyjedi7]

Leonard, Did U Get My Message About How Long Was Snow White In Production? Just Checking To Make Sure.

[@TheEliFamily]

I watched this 9 years later and it’s much worse. No Arclight and people watch movies like they are in their house. No attendants to be found

[@BJWanlund]

I can't applaud any louder or any harder if I tried. The moviegoing experience has degraded so far, so fast that I think we will finally see what Spielberg and Lucas were talking about. I fully plan on seeing Frozen (and the "discovered" Mickey Mouse short before that one) as well as Saving Mr. Banks, but frankly I say that is going to be it for quite some time.

[@c.w.prather4686]

Spot. On.

[@JacobMKeeneAKADrPepperKing]

Both you and Stan Lee are really good celebrity ranters here on KZbin! I am now your 2,009th subscriber!

[@YPAReviews]

Maltin goes beast mode.

[@MrJimmy527]

Hey there, Mr. Maltin. I saw you from Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and finally, you told me about between Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney on the Front Lines, two parts of my five favorite Walt Disney Treasures, unless we can make the website on the internet, the Walt Disney on the Front Lines Database, with between stories and scripts from all the scenes of Walt Disney on the Front Lines, so I have to remake between stories and scripts from all the scenes of Walt Disney on the Front Lines in 11 Disney Propaganda and Entertainment World War II animated short films, Donald Gets Drafted, the Army Mascot, the Vanishing Private, Sky Trooper, Private Pluto, Fall Out Fall In, Victory Vehicles, the Old Army Game, Home Defense, How to Be a Sailor and Commando Duck. Jimmy Kielbasa out.

[@jimstrowe1880]

They could have solved this with some closed circuit camera's to a central point with sound. Although as I say this I remember the last dead air for a radio station with automation since "no one" is home when they broadcast. (nice job Clear Channel)

[@NeilBulk]

This sounds like a typical Fathom Event. I've been to two of those, and both had technical issues. I won't be going to them anymore.

[@TheJamieRamone]

May I point the irony of his rant originating from bad audio in a film...like what I'm currently experiencing with this video, which has mono audio ON A SINGLE GODDAM CHANEL, WHICH IS PRECISELY THE ONE FOR MY BUSTED SPEAKER!!!

[@mike__durrett]

Lol well said my friend

[@MorbidlyAmusing]

I used to be an Usher at a movie theatre, I was the one that had to call on the walkie-talkie. I share your distaste which is why I stopped working there.

[@AvalonMorley]

Arby's? Eeuuuh! Things were fine at AMC where I saw MERRILY, but there was a tech glitch at the one across town, & they only saw act 1. Recently went to see AIDA (filmed at La Scala), & the sound was so thin & unsatisfactory I left early. Did go out during act 1, found an employee, & he said it had to do w. the company sending the content, & the cinema cdn't do anything to fix it. But other sch events (Natl. Theatre Live, COMPANY, Ballet in Cinema) have been great, tho under-advertised.

[@cl759]

And that's in a nutshell why I never took "the wonderful opportunity" to watch live streaming of anything in a movie theatre - there's no confidence that a crew who sells confectionary and one technician manning thousand screenings will give me satisfaction I would get from actually going to the opera or a play. The end.

[@Buildings1772]

if the system was set up properly none of these problems would have accrued.

[@ECA196]

I'm not sure if your quibbles with the cinema experience are actually anything to do with watching a live event by satellite, Mr Maltin. It seems to me you could have experienced much of this seeing mainstream studio fare on DCP at the cinema in question. You raise valid points but these are far from exclusively the domain of live events broadcast by satellite.. Staffing and training, ownership and responsibility in theatres is an ongoing challenge and the bigger the chain, the bigger that challenge continues to be, but there are enough passionate, committed individuals out there, yourself included, that are working to make this a issue a thing of the past. Melissa Keeping, Chair, Event CInema Association

[@wh3yster]

Great job again. Any rant on 3D movies?. Good/bad ..tasteless. ..excuse to boost up prices?..enjoyable?

[@fuferito]

Ouch! If you can't manage a theatre you ought to open up an Arby's franchise.

[@Nataloff]

Is this what happens when a theatre goes non-union?

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

Please review Gremlins II

[@mapexmac]

I've viewed several DCI (Drum and Bugle Corps) Season-ending semi-finals via Fathom Events, and never witnessed ANY tech glitches, and this is a show that spans 4 hours! Not trying to counter Mr. Maltin's experience - I couldn't agree more with the point that PEOPLE must be there to facilitate a movie theater. My rant is more about overpriced stale popcorn, overpriced beverages and treats. Oh, and this rant is to all the pigs who leave their trash behind - CLEAN-UP YOUR OWN FREAKIN' MESS.

[@jimstrowe1880]

Name the theater chain.. a little public shaming is in order.

[@lainpain03]

I'm in the same boat as you.

[@jeffreyscottharris]

Good video...

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Shame really. I feel my town's the same way.

[@imperialmovo]

have you taken a speaking class or something? beacause you have the perfect voice for youtube videos like this

[@OliverdeClisson]

I saw you on Donald Duck DvD. :)

[@theboombody]

He should have gotten mad at having to be forced to watch the 1961 movie Gorgo. That movie puts me to sleep.

[@Ephisus]

I am in favor of more Arby's.

[@ladymoonscar]

so right

[@andrewkful]

....... no..... human employees are manning these theaters?!?!?

[@MarkMonlux]

Arby's Franchise - priceless. I guess you have some poorly run Arby's franchises in your neighborhood too.

[@lylehsaxon]

It seems to be a general thing in the 21st century to try to leave everything up to machines. Even Tokyo's train system is increasingly being run by a skeleton crew. A couple of lines have no drivers and no one in the stations - they're completely run by computer. I suppose the next step is for the machines to get smarter and decide that they're tired of working for humans. Those science fiction stories suddenly don't seem so far-fetched....

[@jonathanpressman1986]

I'll give him a pass because it's him

[@CharlietheWarlock]

Gremlins 2

[@jameshudson169]

very nice. could'a used some cursing. maybe a little spitting. some vulgarity.

[@jlahham1981]

first world problems