Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Regal Cranleigh (UK) closes.

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Topic: The Regal Cranleigh (UK) closes.

Bernard Tonks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 619
From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 04-08-2002 09:22 AM

Yesterday was the farewell Regal lunch with all the staff. And a good time was had by all.

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 04-08-2002 10:05 AM

It's good that you and your staff had the chance for a good send off Bernard.

Oddly enough......
Having got back from Spain late on Sunday, I'm taking a couple of days off to sleep! Of course I con't in daylight so I took a walk into town today, as usual walked past my old cinema, and stood outside staring at it looking melancholy was a guy who worked there at the same time as I did. Like me he'd moved away from the town and now has come back. He didn't know it had closed and had gotten quite a shock. We wound up nipping into the establishment across the road and having 'lunch' and talking about the times when we worked there.

I read a newspaper article on the plane that made my blood boil. It was basically saying that cinemas are bad for you because you have to sit still for so long, and with longer films it's worse. It then went on to say that old cinemas were the worst as they have the smallest leg room and seat width. A 'top ten' most uncomfortable list was included, but whoever wrote that obviously hadn't sat in the same seats I have in the cinemas mentioned! According to this two page dribble, all old cinemas will give you DVT and therefore you should only visit new multiplexes. 'Real' cinemas have a hard enough time without ill researched rubbish like that going to press. Our local multiplex has the most uncomfortable seats I have ever experienced in a modern building! I'm 5'10" and struggle for leg room in that place, imagine how my poor girlfirned suffers there as she stands at a lofty 6'2"! She always has to take an aisle seat so her legs can stick out and not have to be amputated after the show. Not to mention the 'numb bum' feeling you get after 90 minutes or so.

Sorry rant over. It just wound me up at the time and is kind of relevant to this topic.

Bernard I will probablo pop into the Cameo tomorrow, I'll let you know if Ray has survived ! Poor lad he's quite sensitive, especially about cinema closures.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 04-09-2002 02:18 AM

The problem, IMHO, happened when a lot of 'old' single-screens were twinned, tripled or even worse, and the gap between each row of seats was reduced from the original architect's spec in order to maximise the capacity (and thus income).

Being 6'3", my solution is to sit in the front row. I'm quite lucky in that my local cinema (and former workplace) has reasonably good sightlines from the front in all three screens, and for watching older films in 1.33 that's probably the best place to be.

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 04-09-2002 03:56 AM

I dunno about that Leo, my first cinema when tripled actually got far more leg room and bum width than it had previously. The Cameo in Edinburgh once sat 600+, now seats 253, and the seating area of the auditoreum has not changed. In fact the seating in there does not tip, you can walk across a row full of people without them having to get up for you. I'll grant you that's unusual for any cinema, but it is nice!

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 04-09-2002 04:36 AM

The Cameo clearly has an enlightened view of its customers (like many art/rep houses). All I can say is, try the Odeon Exeter - I did once, because my girlfriend at the time was demanding to see Shitanic and thank goodness, we (their main opposition cinema) weren't showing it. The gap between rows was so tiny my knees were virtually jammed into the back of the person in front! The same thing happened when they converted the Odeon Wimbledon from 3 screens to 5. I've come across several others like this, too.

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 04-09-2002 12:47 PM

Very true Leo. That place does remember who's paying the wages. The Dominion in Edinburgh also takes that same attitude. I will bow down and say that they don't have the worlds best seating, sound or picture, but they make up for that in customer service. How many places do you find these days where they owner shakes you hand as you leave and thanks you for coming to see the show in his cinema?

Not so my local building, that sells sweets, ice cream, popcorn, hot dogs and apparently shows films too, sorry multiplex, where I raised a complaint about a show I'd seen of Harry Potter that was really unbelievably bad. They looked at me like I'd come down with ET and asked me what I thought I knew about film exhibition !!!!

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 04-09-2002 03:30 PM

Yes, I do remember that about the Dominion. I saw Wilde there at the '97 (I think) Edinburgh Film Festival, and the manager was in the foyer in full evening dress (i.e. dinner jacket, the works) to greet people as they came in. Sadly, it's very rare to get showmanship like that nowadays.

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