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Topic: Early DTS Presentations / "Jurassic Park"

Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 07-13-2013 05:07 AM

Correction for Davis, CA (where I worked from 1991-2000) : Jurassic Park played at the Cinema 2 theater, not the Holiday Cinema. (It did move to the Holiday Cinema a couple months later, but there were no DTS systems at that theater yet.) Cinema 2 was a single-screen theater which is now gone. The DTS system installed there was initially just the 2-channel matrixed version, but was upgraded to 6-channel after the 2-channel system was discontinued.

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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 07-22-2013 08:20 PM

Michael -

I'd double check whether the UA Continental and the UA Midway (in Queens, NY) both played Jurassic Park at the same time. They're two blocks away from each other and I doubt that was the case.

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 07-22-2013 11:22 PM

quote: Michael Coate
Los Angeles (Beverly Grove) – Cineplex Odeon BEVERLY CENTER 16*

This cinema did not have DTS until summer of 1994. I was working there at the time, and I remember they were "testing" the system (i.e. using but not advertising on the marquee or with trailers) in the two large rooms with movies like SPEED and FORREST GUMP. I did not work there in 1993, so there is no chance that I'm misremembering.

quote: Michael Coate
Fort Lauderdale – General Cinema GALLERIA CINEMA I-II-III-IV

Yes. This is where I saw it -- many times during its initial release. It was the sole reason for my visiting Florida so many times that summer.

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Bernie Anderson Jr
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: Woodbridge, New Jersey
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 07-23-2013 05:37 PM

East Brunswick and Edison Movie City Theatres were 4 channel DTS only with I believe was a CP50 with Cinemacannica V5 and Potts Platters. Both Theatres had the DTS installed in screen 1. Edison was using CP55s with Simplex 1050s on Strong X10 consoles and Alpha (Potts) Platters. Original players had the Caddy for the CD drives. East Brunswick Movie City had an extra theatre added on in a store room to get a 6th screen for that summer, knowing JP would be playing in the big house through out the summer. JP at East Brunswick played well into November. Edison's print moved over to the Woodbridge Movie City in Mono. I remember every show sold out for weeks at EB. I saw this on opening night at Menlo Park Cineplex to a sold out crowd. Theatre 4 was the screen with DTS. Menlo was also 4 channel sound with CP 55s, Simplex 1050s and Highlight 2 consoles-Alpha PlattersI remember the attached trailer was the Flinstones with the bouncing rock and the flying disc blew everyone out of their seats. It was one of those nights that stuck with me. Nevermind that summer. Edison Movie City is still there as an eight plex called Big Cinemas. Menlo is now a Dine In AMC Theatre, remodeled but original theatres are intact

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Edward Havens
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 614
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Mar 2008

posted 08-02-2013 05:09 PM

quote: Manny Knowles
This cinema did not have DTS until summer of 1994. I was working there at the time, and I remember they were "testing" the system (i.e. using but not advertising on the marquee or with trailers) in the two large rooms with movies like SPEED and FORREST GUMP. I did not work there in 1993, so there is no chance that I'm misremembering.

Manny, I believe you are misremembering, as I was a manager at the Beverly Center 13 from September 1991 to June 1993, and I know for a fact we were testing DTS Unit #1 there from September 1992 to June 1993, and that unit remained in service until I closed the Beverly Center in June 2010.

My last night at the Beverly Center, ironically, ended with that opening midnight show of Jurassic Park, and it was the one and only time I ever got to see that first DTS trailer on the giant screen in House 1 during my time there, since all the test screenings did not have the trailer in front of it. The theatre was sold out, and the crowd wowed with the crispness of the digital sound in a THX house. It was the only time I was sad about leaving.

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-03-2013 12:34 AM

quote: Edward Havens
I know for a fact we were testing DTS Unit #1 there from September 1992 to June 1993

What movie were y'all testing it with?

Word on the street is that JP was the first DTS feature released to cinemas with DTS sound. So either Spielberg slipped you guys a copy of JP -- while he was still filming in September of 92 -- or you guys played Dr. Giggles for 10 months.

Question for installers from that era: Were DTS units even shipping as early as Sept 1992?

Widescreen Review interview with Terry Beard.

Legend has it that film was simply used as a test to convince Spielberg to invest in DTS and help get it off the ground.

DTS Trial-Run Discussion

Was Dr. Giggles actually released to cinemas with DTS sound?

quote: Edward Havens
the test screenings did not have the trailer in front of it.

Prior to that midnight screening, how many "test screenings" of JP did you do? And why not run it with the trailer? Wasn't JP delivered with the damn thing attached? I distinctly remember that being an issue because analog theatres got to play the trailer too.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 08-03-2013 02:20 AM

Manny, go back a page.

quote: Edward Havens
However, as I have mentioned before elsewhere, the Beverly Center was one of the theatres chosen to be a DTS test locations in the months leading up to the June 1993 opening of Jurassic Park. I do remember Mr. Baseball, The Public Eye, Dr. Giggles, Trespass, Matinee, Mad Dog and Glory, and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story were amongst those Universal titles we ran with DTS during the Fall and Winter of 1992 and the Spring of 1993. Other Universal titles may have been available to test in DTS, but we did have to split product with the GCC Beverly Connection, and I do not remember their having a DTS unit prior to Heart and Souls in August 1993.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-03-2013 08:31 AM

The first DTS players I saw were in Spring of 1993. I remember the trailer for JP was in DTS and was to be used as a test run of the system prior to playing the feature. That is, we got the players in advance of JP...then when the trailer hit the streets...discs were issued and theatres were to run the trailer in DTS to flesh out any issues that may have been in the system.

Despite the massive roll-out of a new system prior to a specific feature, it was one of the most well laid out/prepared that I have seen. I think the biggest thing they mis-predicted was the 2-Channel versus 6-channel popularity. At the very low price of DTS...they were going in FAST. There was a breakout board for just about anything being used in the day.

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-04-2013 09:59 AM

Thanks very much for all of the comments and information.

quote: Bobby Henderson
It would be kind of neat if anyone has newspaper stack ads of Jurassic Park from different cities and posted some of them here.

Here are a few that I have. I apologize for the shitty quality; the printer wasn't working too well the day these were obtained and so I took photos directly off the microfilm reader's screen using my cell phone camera. In most of these cases you'll notice differences between the DTS presentations identified in the ad and those identified on the DTS install list, supporting my contention the DTS install list is incomplete.

If anyone is willing to hunt online or pay a library a visit and make some scans of "Jurassic Park" ads, please consider doing so and posting them here (or send them to me via email). Thanks.

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
I think it would be interesting if there was a DTS Jurassic Park ad thread, I would do my part.

I think it would better if any ads are posted here in this thread, given the subject matter and requests being made, rather than starting up another separate thread. What do the rest of you think? Post here or start a new thread?

Anyway, here are a few to get started...

Denver

New Orleans

Phoenix

Seattle

San Francisco

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 08-04-2013 11:25 AM

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 08-04-2013 04:28 PM

Holy crap, Target Village 3 was still open back then? Damn. It's hard to tell which theater was advertising which sound. I know Greenwood Plaza had 5.1 DTS so I guess that's the arrow-looking thing?

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 08-05-2013 08:32 AM

Here's an ad for the Dallas market (clipped from The Dallas Morning News) in July 1993, several weeks into the Jurassic Park run.

I really could not stand how "The Digital Experience" logo was bastardized in various ways. The proper version of it was pretty cool looking, but it didn't work all that well at small point sizes and didn't fit into long rectangular blocks that were common in newspaper stack ads. So we got the kind of eyeball poison shown in the ad above, or other goofed up versions of it like the one seen in the Jurassic Park end credits on DVD.

The DTS logo wasn't as cool looking as The Digital Experience logo, but it worked better at small sizes and fit that rectangular kind of motif.

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 08-05-2013 03:03 PM

Bobby, if it says Northpark 1 - 2 does that mean it played in both auditoriums or was that just how GC called the Northpark?

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 08-05-2013 04:08 PM

Jurassic Park played in both auditoriums of the GCC Northpark 1-2. Both shows were in DTS-6 format. The #1 screen was THX certified. JP held both screens for roughly 2 months. By the way, the sound in the #2 house was very good. Not quite as powerful as the #1 screen, but it did sound better than a lot of THX certified theaters I've visited.

IIRC, Heart & Souls took over the #1 screen in mid August. I can't remember if Hard Target played at the Northpark as well. But I seem to remember Jurassic Park playing on the #2 screen there for a few more weeks.

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Jarod Reddig
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 513
From: Hays, Ks
Registered: Jun 2011

posted 08-14-2013 11:57 PM

What stage speakers where used in theater 1 at GCC Northpark?

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