posted 05-27-2006 03:28 PM                    

Very interesting. Looks like Harkins is putting some money and showmanship back into the moviegoing experience. (Assuming of course their projectionists and installing/servicing technicians are truly up to snuff.)

I find it odd though that they are advertising "the largest screen in Dallas/Fort Worth". According to the article here, the big screen is 70 feet wide. Cinemark Webb Chapel has two 75 foot wide screens and UA Galaxy has two 78 foot wide screens, both of which are in Dallas.


Link to article

quote: Dallas Morning News

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Multiplex has lots to wow you

THEATERS: Amenities at Southlake 14 include child care, gourmet eats

06:26 PM CDT on Thursday, May 25, 2006

By PHILIP WUNTCH / Movie Critic

At Harkins Southlake Town Square 14, everywhere you look, you'll be wowed.

Unlike some multiplexes, the new complex doesn't evoke the mood of a stately corporate office.

Instead, its marble, neon and granite colorings and textures create a sense of celebration, fun and glamour.

The Southlake multiplex, which opens today at 1450 Plaza Place, is the first that Phoenix-based Harkins Theatres has built in Texas.

It's also one of the chain's first ventures outside Arizona.

"We believe in a word that's missing from some exhibitors' vocabularies," says owner and president Dan Harkins. "The word is 'showmanship.' "

And nowhere is showmanship more evident than in the Southlake's premier auditorium, the 600-seat Cine Capri.

The first glance at the auditorium reminds veteran moviegoers of how theaters used to look in a less streamlined era.

During intermissions, gold waterfall curtains cover the Cine Capri's giant 70-foot screen.

On the draped walls and behind the screen are 150 speakers delivering 26,900 watts of virtually flawless digital sound.

The other 13 auditoriums also are attractive, with handsomely designed soundproof walls. And the seats, designed by Mr. Harkins' chiropractor wife, Karen, are comfortable, with just the right amount of mobility.

The original Cine Capri opened in Phoenix in 1966 as a Cinerama showplace and had the country's best run of Star Wars in 1977. The theater was leased in 1988 to Mr. Harkins, who sought to restore its former glory.

"In 1992, I negotiated with George Lucas to have a special run of the original Star Wars," Mr. Harkins says. "He agreed, as long as all the receipts went to charity. It grossed a fantastic $73,000, all of which went to charity. And its success prompted Fox to rerelease Star Wars IV-VI before they released The Phantom Menace."

Sadly, despite a two-year period of petitions and protests, the theater was torn down to make way for condominiums.

"When you look at the Cine Capri in Southlake, you understand how much the original theater must have meant to Phoenix," Mr. Harkins says.

Another enhancement to the Dallas-Fort Worth movie scene is Southlake's play center, where parents can drop off kids ages 3-8 while they see a movie. Its supervisors have previous child-care experience and have passed the chain's mandatory background checks.

For $6 per child, they can play house and enjoy movie-themed games, beanbags, board games, blocks and toys, including movie-related stuffed animals. Parents and children have matching wristbands, and parents are given a pager in case an emergency occurs.

While the tots are playing, parents can grab dinner at the gourmet concession stand, which features 150 items, including frosted pretzels, cheese sticks, chicken tenders, pizza, spring rolls, brownie bites and popcorn made with canola oil and real butter.

With dinner, a movie and child care available at the theater, it looks as if things just got a little tougher for the neighborhood baby sitter.

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And I must ask...what's up with the "150 speakers" bit? I'll bet anything they are counting actual drivers. For example, a 3 way screen speaker with a quad bass cabinet is probably being counted as seven speakers, even though most people would call it one speaker. Can anyone confirm?

posted 05-27-2006 04:43 PM                    

quote: Brad Miller

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Cinemark Webb Chapel has two 75 foot wide screens and UA Galaxy has two 78 foot wide screens, both of which are in Dallas.

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posted 05-27-2006 06:35 PM                    

quote: Monte L Fullmer

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..wonder how the picture looks like on these big of screens. A lot of acreage to cover from a small 35mm frame.. let alone the maximum 7k bulb illumination for 35mm..

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posted 05-27-2006 07:12 PM                    

quote: Monte L Fullmer

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..wonder how the picture looks like on these big of screens. A lot of acreage to cover from a small 35mm frame.. let alone the maximum 7k bulb illumination for 35mm..

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posted 05-28-2006 01:47 AM                    

quote: Brad Miller

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Those Christie SLC consoles go a long way, even with matte screens.

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