UPDATED: As many aspects of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” provoke strong fan reactions, a few AMC theaters were forced to respond to one of Rian Johnson’s directorial choices.
The sci-fi epic contains a scene where the sound completely cuts out for 10 seconds to underscore the action of a certain sequence. The lack of audio has reportedly been a point of confusion among moviegoers who believed the silence was due to a technological failure rather than an intentional choice.
In order to clear up any misunderstanding, two AMC locations posted a warning in theaters, which was later removed, that read, “Please note: ‘The Last Jedi’ contains a sequence at approximately 1 hour and 52 minutes into the movie in which ALL sound stops for about 10 full seconds. While the images continue to play on the screen you will hear nothing. This is intentionally done by the director for a creative effect.” Actor Paul Scheer shared a photo of the notice on Facebook.
“We are aware that this occurred at two of AMC’s 660 locations. The theatres have removed the sign,” an AMC Theatres spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Considering the barrage of visual and audio effects flooding the theater for the rest of the two-hour film, the confusion is understandable, and the movie’s visual effects supervisor Ben Morris called the effect a first for the franchise.
“We had always hoped that would resonate, both as a story beat and as a striking visual, and when I heard all of the cries and gasps in the silence, it was just fantastic,” Morris said in an interview with Collider. “We realized that it worked. That’s never really happened in ‘Star Wars’ before.”
AMC has previously been in the news for sound issues related to “The Last Jedi.” During a Thursday screening in Burbank, Calif., before the film’s opening night, the pic played without audio for more than 10 minutes and the theater refused to start the movie over. Despite offering to move patrons to another screening in the same theater or to another AMC in the area, many fans were still upset and police were eventually called to quell the scene.
