Why I Hate AMC

[Gillianren]

One of my favourite movies of all time, How the West Was Won, is currently playing on AMC. Now, it's a favourite that I don't happen to own, because I never see it and have money at the same time. (Tell a lie--I bought it for my mother for Christmas when I was in college.) This is actually, imagine my delight, a bona fide American movie classic. All-star cast, epic scope, the lot.

It's bad enough that they're playing it pan 'n' scan. (That's "fullscreen," for those who aren't movie buffs.) This Is Cinerama, after all. You don't get the full epic scope when most of the picture's missing.

What's worse is that it's a really bad print. The vertical bars where the film comes together (an oversimplification of the process) are really visible at every shot. And of course, because it's pan 'n' scan, where those bars are varies enough between shots that it becomes jarring.

It's silly. Rare enough that they play a movie made before about 1997; when they do, it's got to be about the worst print they can get their greedy little hands on. Man, do I wish my cable system gave me TCM instead.

[Maksutov]

I quit watching "American Movie Classics" when they sold their souls to the devil.

That was when

1. They started interrupting movies with commercials.
2. They started censoring movies.
3. Their lower right hand corner logo kept getting bigger and bigger.
4. They compressed the credits to squeeze in more advertising.
5. They canned their staff that actually knew something about movie history and technology.
6. Their movie library suddenly shrank by about 95%.
7. They started using pop-ups to advertise upcoming movies.
8. Then, the final insult, pop-ups to tell you what movie you were currently watching.

I sent them a number of letters and emails as to why I would no longer watch their channel. I never got a reply.

Why anyone would watch this grotesque mutation of what used to be a fine movie channel I don't know. Unless they have no other choice.

Why they're still on the air escapes me. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[sarongsong]

Hey, it's just a few sodas away... :)Rated: G Color #D12356
Widescreen Was $14.99 $11.99 DVD
TCM (http://turnerclassic.moviesunlimited.com/product.asp?sku=D12356++)

[Donnie B.]

Heh. I was scratching my head wondering why you were so worked up about American Motors Corporation, when it hasn't even been around for the last twenty years. :doh:

[Moose]

Same here. I was thinking: "The Delorian isn't all that bad."

[Swift]

3. Their lower right hand corner logo kept getting bigger and bigger.

TNT is really starting to tick me off with that. I was watching the three Lord of the Rings movies the weekend before last. Not only do they have little pop-ups in the corner for their other shows, but they are getting bigger and animated (fire, lights, etc.) and REALLY ANNOYING. :mad:

[Swift]

Someone needs to invent a pop-up blocker for TV.

[Fazor]

I thought you meant AMC Theaters, which I could identify with in that I dislike all theaters.

Anyway, I can't stand watching movies on tv, except HBO* and HBO On Demand*, for the fact that commercial interuptions and censoring/editing detracts so much from the movie.
We've had the Bourne Identity recorded on DVR (TNT airing, IIRC) for about a month and a half. The g/f recorded it because I hadn't ever seen it. I watched it last night, and thought it was alright. But the cuts-to-commercial at the most random of times, and then coming back into the movie with a few seconds missing was quite annoying (I.e., Borne saying, "Get in the car!", Quick-cut to commercial, come back to find them sitting in the car). Yeah that sounds like a stupid thing to complain about, but the illusion of the movie starts losing it's effect when characters suddenly pop into vehicles without physically getting in. Oh well.


*I watch movies on these channels on the rare occasion that they're showing a movie that isn't awful.

[Parrothead]

They started airing AMC, TCM and BBC World here, a year ago (lost cnnhn, speed and msnbc). TCM, I've taped a number of movies from, BBC World is informative, only thing I enjoy off AMC is "Mad Men". Watching movies on AMC is comparable to watching a movie on TBS.

[Frantic Freddie]

Yeah,the Pacer was one ugly car....

Oops,not that AMC :D

I have a good quality DVD of HTWWW (it's one of my favorites too & I have the soundtrack) & there's nothing they can do with the bars.
I'm old enough to have seen it in a Cinerama-equipped theater & even at that young age I was impressed.
IMDb trivia page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056085/trivia)

[mugaliens]

Why anyone would watch this grotesque mutation of what used to be a fine movie channel I don't know. Unless they have no other choice.

AMC did use to be fairly decent, didn't it? That was, what? Late 1980's?

TCM is decent - it's what I and my folks watched throughout the 1990s.

Since 1999, however, I've not had a problem with either one, as I finally got rid of cable. I'd rather message board for a couple hours, then dig into my extensive and still-growing collection (by 2 DVDs a month) collection of hi-res, widescreen movies that I can watch again and again and again and...

Of course, it's nowhere near as extensive as TCM, so it does get a little boring after a while - takes a bit of talent to choose a flick that I'd be willing to watch half a dozen times.

[Gillianren]

It's a running joke around here--"they're showing an American movie classic on AMC!" Granted, they do show The Quiet Man at least twice a week right now, but I own it, and therefore I can watch it without commercial interruption. They'll be showing HTWWW again this afternoon, too. But tonight at 8, they'll be playing the Costner Wyatt Earp. Not a classic.

Even our local Canadian station isn't showing as many movies as they used to. I like cable, and I'm not getting rid of it any time soon (it comes with the apartment anyway), but it does seem that more and more stations are being run for the benefit of the advertisers. I know advertising's important, but when it drives away viewers, isn't it sort of defeating the purpose?

[mike alexander]

Just read/heard something about the popups and animated ads looking up the heroine's skirt like a bad MST3K. It seems to be a way around people recording and watching while bouncing past commercials. The lower quarter of the screen just becomes a commercial.

[Disinfo Agent]

I know advertising's important, but when it drives away viewers, isn't it sort of defeating the purpose?Maybe the purpose is to sell advertising.

[Gillianren]

Maybe the purpose is to sell advertising.

Yes, but the purpose of advertising is to sell a product. If instead it's causing people to turn off their TVs--or at least get them to change channels--in droves, isn't that a problem?

[Disinfo Agent]

Evidenty, not enough people turn off their TVs or complain about the programming changes. Or perhaps the network's convinced that the ones who don't turn it off don't mind the commercials. Thankfully, now there are DVDs. ;)

[phaishazamkhan]

My father has a 1965 Ambassador that he rebuilt and refurbished and it's pretty darned nice. A forty year old car that purrs like a kitten is a testament to AMC's quality prod...

What's this nonsense about movies?

[publius]

Yes, but the purpose of advertising is to sell a product. If instead it's causing people to turn off their TVs--or at least get them to change channels--in droves, isn't that a problem?

If every other channel becomes equally annoying, then they figure you have nowhere else to go. I don't think anyone cares about long term anymore, it's just the next quarter.

-Richard

[Tucson_Tim]

If every other channel becomes equally annoying, then they figure you have nowhere else to go. I don't think anyone cares about long term anymore, it's just the next quarter.

-Richard

I'm afraid you're right. Unless there is some sort of "grassroots" movement we're stuck with it.

[Moose]

I'm afraid you're right. Unless there is some sort of "grassroots" movement we're stuck with it.

*shrug* They haven't gotten their mitts on my DVDs yet. Turns out I'm a great program director. (Just wish I had a bigger budget.)

So if you want a grassroots movement, you've got one. Just follow me... to deeeesssttinnyyyyyy!!!! :D

[Kristophe]

*shrug* They haven't gotten their mitts on my DVDs yet.

I rented a movie a couple weeks ago that had a Corolla commercial in it. It's bad enough that I have to sit through these ads when I'm paying $13 to see the movie at the theatre, but when I buy the bloody thing? No way. I'm glad it was just a rental.

I'm also getting frustrated with the movie previews that load automatically on newer DVDs. I don't mind having them there as a menu item, but the ability to choose what to see and where to start was one of the selling points of the DVD. It's just starting to get to me.

[Moose]

Yeah, come to think of it, that's true. Then again, since I tend to avoid "mainstream", I'm somewhat insulated from the more abusive labels.

[Maksutov]

There's software out there that will enable you to eliminate all that "advertising that you have to pay for and then sit through" junk. The results are of course for the use of the DVD owner only.

[Gillianren]

Personally, I like previews. I disliked the commercials for the Discovery Channel that there's no way of skipping past on their DVDs, but I can get by even with those. As long as the program runs uninterrupted, that's all I need.

[mugaliens]

*shrug* They haven't gotten their mitts on my DVDs yet.

They're making $14.63 off your $16.99 DVD. They don't need to advertise - yet they still do, in the form of previews.

By contrast, they're probably making $0.0002 off each viewer on AMC.

The thing I don't understand is why they advertise AMC all the time. I mean, after all, aren't we already watching AMC in order to see the AMC logo pop in and out all the time? DUH!

It would be like buying a Cadillac only to drive away and be forced to listen to a commercial inside the car which tried to get you to buy Cadillac.

And someone else was right - if that happened, I'd take the dang car back.

Just like I'd drop AMC in a heartbeat (if I had it and had to watch that filth).

[ToSeek]

Evidenty, not enough people turn off their TVs or complain about the programming changes. Or perhaps the network's convinced that the ones who don't turn it off don't mind the commercials. Thankfully, now there are DVDs. ;)

I think most people who "watch" TV don't actually watch TV any more, they just have it on. Me, I sit down at a particular time and watch a particular show, and then turn it off and go do something else. (Actually, these days, I sit down ahead of time, set up the DVR, then come back the next day and watch it while fast-forwarding through the ads. If it's a cable channel, I can generally get through three hours of recorded programs in just over two hours.)

[Moose]

They're making $14.63 off your $16.99 DVD. They don't need to advertise - yet they still do, in the form of previews.

That assumes I'm near the TV, watching them.

I don't mind paying $30 bucks a month (on average) to add to my DVD library. It'd be $60 per month to get the minimum channels to ensure anything I might want to watch (assuming there was anything worth watching at all these days) is available.

What I object to is paying $60 a month for all the ads they can cram in. If they end up ruining DVDs the way they ruined TV, I'll switch to whatever medium hasn't been ruined.

And I still have my DVD and tape library, all shows/movies I enjoy. They can't take that away from me.

The thing I don't understand is why they advertise AMC all the time. I mean, after all, aren't we already watching AMC in order to see the AMC logo pop in and out all the time? DUH!

It's to try and get channel flippers to return. They've already got you. As long as they don't completely alienate you, they're perfectly content to merely annoy you.

It would be like buying a Cadillac only to drive away and be forced to listen to a commercial inside the car which tried to get you to buy Cadillac.

Ever walk up to a parked vehicle from the front? Ever follow a car in traffic? Hood ornaments and make/model/dealer stickers. All ads. They've already got you, they don't need to advertise to you anymore. Not for a few years, anyway.

[mike alexander]

Renting a film to see a trailer for a movie 'Coming in Fall 2004' can be amusing.

[Lurking Nerd]

That's if the preview tells you the date the movie is, or did, come out. Most that I see say something like "Coming this fall" or "Next summer." Like that's helpful when I've rented some movie and don't know what year it actually hit video.

[Gillianren]

A lot of old (read actual movie classics) movies come with their original preview as special features. A lot of 'em are a lot more interesting than modern previews.

[KaiYeves]

My brother derides me 'cause I buy DVDs and go straight to special features, especially commentary. My response? You can't find out what the writers thought about it on TV. The Night at the Museum screenwriter commentary was hillarious.

[Maksutov]

Regarding HTWWW, for some reason I've been watching it (widescreen/non-AMC DVD courtesy of TCM) and listening to it the last few days.

Alfred Newman's score is really marvelous. That opening G-D-F motif is quite germinal and sprouts all sorts of interesting thematic variations. It's like a mix of Mahler and Strauss. In fact, the music after the intermission sounds as though it was scored for the same orchestra Strauss used for his tone poem The Antichrist, later to be renamed Eine Alpensinfonie. Sure sounds like a hecklephone is hanging out with the woodwinds, while there have to have been a few bass tubas in there with the brass.