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[...make theaters that damage a print RESPONSIBLE, as in paying for the print. This way, as something like this turns up, if only one other theater had the print before, CHARGE THEM!]

I cannot say I have ever seen "film done right" at this theater. There's always something. The frame line on "Hoop Dreams" from an improperly built print that was not checked, and seen after the film had been playing for a week. Dim projection quality. Their sole DTS machine doesn't even work anymore. I've seen lots of different meltdowns at this place, and even still on any kind of rare visit back to the place these days (usually when a date makes me take her there to see something that is only playing there).

In all, the place is run in a cost cutting extreme where the projection and sound equipment aren't even maintained anymore. Yet this place is still operating.

But I'm not sure which is worse, this theater in my town putting doing such a bad job or the people that are ignorant enough to keep paying for it. The Central Mall 12 across town shows just about all the same movies as this dump. It's not a great theater by any means, but the mall theater is new and isn't falling apart like this place. Apparantly enough people are visiting the Cache 8 to keep it open. Or perhaps Wallace Theaters has some way of using it as a tax shelter. I dunno.

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Carmike has really neglected their Decatur location over the years. For a picture, I'll have to scan the Decatur Daily newspaper from December 6, 2001 and get the "Problems at the Movie House" and "Silver Screen Tarnish" headings next to the picture of the front of the theatre.

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I was runing this weeks Pearl and Dean add reel and during the first splice the film jumped out of a sproket at the top of the projector. (So the top loop was massive and the image appeared out of rack). I stopped the film. Wound on a bit, re-threaded and started again. Then next splice same problem.

I've just taken a look at the reel. I looked at the splices, they looked ok. They curved nicely ect. Then I took a close look. This is what it looked like. Seems that somehow the splices looked like they were cut without the tape on the sprocket holes being punched out.

Your sprocket teeth just aren't sharp enough!

Seriously, if the tape was not perforated, whoever made the splices likely did not even use a splicer to align and register the two films being joined. If so, it's no wonder that you lost the loops.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: here

As I am assembling a new training program for 35mm film reviewers here at THX. These pictures are a great example of what can happen to film in real world. I plan on using them in the future, hopefully you don't have too many more of them. I was sorry to here about were it came from.

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The "projectionists" who handled the prints REALLY SUCKED! Opaque splicing tape, mishandled heads and tails with an average of 3-5 frames spliced off, massive finger prints and Liquid Paper used to mark splices were the norm! Lord knows how much time I spend with Film-Guard, film cleaning pads and lens tissue cleaning that dammed Liquid Paper off several feet of film!

There is now excuse why prints cannot be carefully broken down and handled with care!! I did this on a regular basis and am freakin proud of my professionalism!!!!

Hey Darryl....what as difference 18 years makes, eh?! 18 years ago the first run "Flagship Theatres" would get back-up prints from the distribs. Radio City Music Hall had prints specially struck that were not as dense as standard prints so that they could get more light to the screen without scorching the film. Times have changed.

I guess when you play off 3000 prints for the opening run and then when you come off the break all you need is 300 for sub runs, it means you've got 2700 extra prints lying around. It's not hard to see how the distrib isn't bothered that a bunch if prints come back without reel bands or with the leaders not spliced back the way we like.

It's the filmmaker himself that is the most concerned about what his picture looks like and sound like up on the screen; it's him we have to get too. Remember, the distributor never actually see the physical print. He never even TOUCHES celulloid. He orders prints from a lab, signs the orders for them to be sent to the shipping depot (TES or whoever) and then sends TES the order to have the prints sent to the individual theatres. The theatre sends them back to the depot. Right up to the time he signs the order to have x number of prints bansawed, he has been doing nothing but signing paper and giving orders. The prints are nothing but numbers to him. Also his account dept tells him what service to order for any particular inventory from the depot. He instructs TES on just what kind of "inspection service" he will buy for his inventory -- top level: all new reels and cans, full inspection, cleaning, repair; or perhaps midlevel, "stock" reels and cans (painted orange, of course) which basically are any used that are not falling apart. Then there's the cheapest service -- we all know that one by heart -- count the number of reels, make sure they all have film of some kind on them and then slap an Inspected By "Joanne" sticker on them. We know which service is most commonly chosen by the studios.

To expect them to sweat it when we call and say, this or that print number was really trashed by such and such theatre and it will look like crap when we play it here, I think is hoping for too much. They may agree to send us another print but half the time I think it is just to make us go away rather than because they even understand what chopping frames off at the leader joints means. But the FILMMAKER, now that's another story.

I always like telling the story of Robert Downey Sr., I told him that UA was refusing to book his film POUND because, as they put it, "It's out of service." He went ballistic; he yelled that he didn't make his movies so the &^%#$# suits at UA could tell theatres they were out of service. One irate call from him and UA sold it to me the next day FLAT and with gushing apologies.

Brad, send those pictures to the director and I bet it will ruffle feathers galore. Send pictures of the Princes II or the Wallace Cache 8 and I wouldn't be surprised if the filmmakers themselves refuse to let their distribs send their titles into those holes.