Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Going to be in the Denver area end of August

This is topic Going to be in the Denver area end of August in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 07-01-2008, 12:14 PM:

Joe, Anyone else living in the Denver Area give me any info on Theatres there? Please drop me a line. I noticed that Colorado Cinemas has sold out to Kerasotes. Wondering if they are still doing curtain calls between the ad's and movies at the Former Mann locations that had curtains and if there presenation is worth a flip.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-01-2008, 05:09 PM:

No more curtain calls. Kerasotes presentation is pretty bad, much worse than Mann and even worse than Colorado Cinemas. I have had former employees tell me that there is absolutely no decision making whatsoever permitted at the theater level. You will do as they say in all situations and that is the end of it. I will PM you a link to something you should see that is about Kerasotes. You will laugh!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-02-2008, 02:45 AM:

If you stop by the Chinese, insist that you see the booth. I just want to know if the interlock rollers I setup are still there, and if anyone even has a clue as to how to string it up. Last story I heard (and I can't remember who told me this) was that a projectionist said it was impossible to interlock the complex together, and then they were directed to the videos page here. [Big Grin]

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 07-02-2008, 05:21 PM:

Normally I would recommend the Continental - a fantastic old single screen D-150 that has been kept in operation by adding 9 screens alongside it instead of cutting it into pieces.

But I understand that they will be closing the main auditorium in early August for renovations. They are putting in stadium stadium - something I can't quite understand because the slope & sight lines are fantastic. They claim the 78 foot-wide screen won't be modified, except to fix the curtains. It's supposed to re-open in November for the holiday season.

It's a fantastic auditorium were you can catch current blockbusters AND classics during their Wed PM flashback series. I saw Wall-E there recently and hope to catch Back to the Future later this month.

(The other 9 screens range from typically average to small.)

Geoff

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-02-2008, 05:41 PM:

quote:
It's a fantastic but UNDERLIT auditorium were you can catch current blockbusters AND classics

Fixed.

Brad... remember when I showed you the Continental? Remember how bright the screen was?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-03-2008, 07:46 AM:

Yup, I felt like I was at a drive-in...with permanently bolted down lawn chairs and a roof. The sound was about that good too.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 07-03-2008, 03:17 PM:

Well, either you guys are pickier than I am, or they've improved things since then.

I saw Wall-E on 6/30 and found the presentation to be flawless. The image was bright, sharp, steady, clean and HUGE. The sound was deep, rich, and enveloping.

Cheers,
Geoff

PS: I'm in the process of moving back to the Denver area after 14 years in the SF Bay area. I'm interested in checking out the Cine Capri at Northfield. Any other theatres in the area I should visit?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-03-2008, 04:38 PM:

So they hadn't scratched their print yet? I know they scratched two of their Indy 4 prints on the first weekend. We refuse to receive any more circuited prints from the Continental because they are always scratched and usually very sloppily built.

The fact that they have a mixed Strong/Christie booth doesn't help things. When they opened up the 4 new screens, the owners just ordered Strong packages without first seeing what the Continental actually had. At least they have the SCDC brains, though. Tile in one half of the booth, carpet in the rest. You can really tell what was done by UA and what was done by Regal (who is obviously a lot cheaper). I wonder what equipment they'll put in when they expand to a 16-plex in 5 or 6 years.

The entire Harkins theater up north is very unimpressive. I'd recommend the Continental over that any day!

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 07-03-2008, 07:31 PM:

Nope, no scratches.

You still haven't answered my question, though. Where SHOULD I go to the movies in the Denver area? (I'm planning to catch TDK in Imax at the Colorado Center.)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-04-2008, 02:22 AM:

Nothing is really recommended here, sadly. If you are satisfied with average presentations, then Denver metro theaters are fine. Not tremendously different than other cities.

[ 07-04-2008, 03:34 AM: Message edited by: Joe Redifer ]

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 07-04-2008, 03:19 AM:

Joe have you been to the Harkins in Denver? How does it stack up to the others?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-04-2008, 03:36 AM:

Yes. Well we only have one Harkins, so I don't know how it stacks up to other Harkins. I went with Bobby Henderson. We were not impressed. I have NEVER been impressed with the Klipsh sound, either. The yellow color scheme of the place is just ghastly. I dunno, maybe it was Bobby's fault.

You can see a few pics of the place over on Cinematour.

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 07-04-2008, 06:20 AM:

Yeah I've been there so I know what it looks like, I'm not wild about the color scheme either. I like the color scheme they went with at my theatre. Just curious what your thoughts were.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-04-2008, 10:25 AM:

The big screen is underwhelming. I personally feel if you are going to advertise your screen/auditorium size all over the place, then it should be so big that people walk in and say "This is just ridiculous". Also, there should be moving sidewalks/escalators on the aisles since it would be so big.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 11-16-2008, 06:41 PM:

So I finally checked out the Cine Capri at Harkins Northfield (Quantum of Solace). Their daily listings in the Denver papers proclaim "Colorado's Biggest Screen" or something very similar.

I very nicely asked the general manager for the dimensions of the screen. He was a bit curt with me and said that was proprietary company information.

I later asked another manager, who was a bit more friendly, but he wouldn't tell either. I asked if he'd ever been to the Continental, and he said no. I told him their screen is 78' wide, and he seemed a bit surprised and impressed. Heh.

It's hard to say, but the Cine Capri screen sure didn't look as big as the Continental to me (or to my wife).

Then I went searching on the intertubes and found a cached press release stating:

quote:
the Harkins Cine Capri, a movie auditorium which boasts seating for 600, an enormous 70x30-foot screen

So I guess Harkins is guilty of false advertising.

Nevertheless, the presentation at the Cine Capri will get a B+ at my Movie Theatre Review blog. The image was big, bright, steady, and well framed. It might have been a tad soft, but that also could have been the film.

Incidentally, I've seen 3 films in the Giant Screen at the Continental since their re-model, and the presentation was excellent for all three.

Cheers,
Jonesy

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-16-2008, 07:42 PM:

You've seen 3 movies at the Continental in the last 3 weeks?

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 11-16-2008, 07:56 PM:

Yup. I saw Fellowship of the Ring (Extended) and Madagascar (1) during their reopening week, when they had a bunch of older films on the big screen, and then Madagascar 2 on opening weekend.

What, you don't read my Movie Theatre Review blog every day?

[Smile]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-16-2008, 08:49 PM:

I'm pretty sure that the Large Giant Screen™ at the Tamarac is officially the most impressive screen in Colorado, as certified by state government and law.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-18-2008, 01:04 AM:

Colorado - Cooper-Hyland country. Like the grande 70mm house - the COOPER and the massive ALADDIN downtown.

Glad to see the Continental retaining that huge screen. That is where they debuted that 70mm digital only film (forget the name) which had no backup soundtrack....which flopped big time.

MANN THEATRES were big there as well in the 70's - The Tamarac 6 was their baby at the time along with a host of them in that city and surrounding cities.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 11-18-2008, 06:06 AM:

The 70mm sound process without backup was Cinema Digital Sound.

Films available in this process were:
* Days of Thunder
* Dick Tracy
* Edward Scissorhands
* Final Approach
* Flatliners
* Hudson Hawk
* Terminator 2: Judgment Day
* The Doors
* Universal Soldier

[ 11-18-2008, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Mark Lensenmayer ]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-18-2008, 10:47 AM:

I remember the manager of the Continental at the time later relating to me all of the problems he had with the CDS unit. He said he would sometimes have to cancel sold-out shows because it wouldn't boot, but other times it worked just fine. He said he wanted to hit the machine. It probably would have helped.