The unbearable delay of “Dark Knight Rises”

It’s that time of year again, when faithful men and women rush home at sunset to fill their bellies after a day of fasting, when children are taught the true meaning of forgiveness and charity, and when Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters get stuck in traffic somewhere on their way to Lebanon.

“The Dark Knight Rises”, one of the year’s most anticipated releases, will not be hitting our theaters until August 16. Meanwhile, the rest of the world got a chance to watch the film as early as last week.

Movie distributors have been delaying releases of major productions during the month of Ramadan for as far back as I can remember, for reasons ranging from box office numbers, to late fasting hours, to inappropriate content. But in a country where illegal downloads and $1 DVDs are available to everyone (don’t even try to pretend all your DVDs are from Virgin), is that really the best solution? Not to mention that it’s nearly impossible to avoid all the “spoiler alerts” that seem to pop up on every website on the Internet, movie-related or not.

Let’s face it, those who are desperate to see Christian Bale flex his muscles once again as Batman, or eager to see how Tom Hardy will portray gas-mask-aficionado Bane, (that’s me) will be rushing to get their hands on a copy of the movie instead of waiting until August.

Early and delayed screenings are a viable option. Grand Cinemas Saida changed its schedule to accommodate the masses. They now hold three daily screenings, at 4:00 p.m., 9:15 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. Why not try that elsewhere? Beirutis never really need an excuse to stay out past their bedtime.

Really, would anyone have gone to see “5 Days of War” had “The Dark Knight Rises” been released this week? Probably not, but maybe the better option would’ve been to delay “5 Days of War” and give “The Dark Knight Rises” the opening date it deserves because when it comes to Batman, I’m sure even those fasting would’ve been willing to make a little room.