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Author Topic: Regal Continental Randy Bowden Expert Film Handler Posts: 146 From: Portland, OR, USA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 09-28-2009 05:57 PM                     I'm posting this at the request of my boss... So we hear tale that Regal has an 80' screen at the Continental 10 in Denver and filling it up with 35mm no less. We are curious as to what they are running there for equipment. Projector, lamphouse, what size bulb and how are the light levels, Etc. If you know anything, please speak up as we are most curious to know more. Thanks! Randy American Cinema Equipment  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 09-28-2009 08:30 PM                     I saw it in person recently. I don't believe it's 80 feet, perhaps 60. It is, however, deeply curved. Pre-show looked dim, didn't see any film on it though.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-28-2009 08:41 PM                        Brad really loves the GIANT SCREEN at the Continental. I remember that Dwayne and I had to carry him back out to the parking lot because he fainted due to being so impressed. Many people die at the theater each year because they are not able to handle the sheer awesomeness of the Continental GIANT SCREEN. Mike didn't see the "pre-show", but the trailers running in 35mm scope. Yes, even scope is extremely dim. Remember, Mike? The equipment is all Christie 35mm. I think 6000 watt bulb AT MOST. I wouldn't be surprised if it is less. The lamphouse just says "SLC", not "SLC-60" or whatnot. Sound is Dolby CP-650 which replaced a CP-500. Pictures are here from when it was a 6-plex. They recently added 4 mediocre screens so that it is now a 10. The new screens use all Strong equipment because Regal likes to mix and match things like that. They aren't very bright (both the screens and Regal's corporate offices themselves). 70mm capability was removed from the "giant" screen when they converted it to stadium seating, though they never used it since it was a 1-plex. I guess they were selling too many tickets for the big screen so they had to get rid of some seats by converting it to stadium for no reason whatsoever. It doesn't even make sense from a financial standpoint since the "big" screen never had any difficulty selling out.  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 09-28-2009 10:21 PM                        Years ago, I was told by a former manager that the screen is 78' wide x 35' tall. They used to advertise it as "three and a half stories tall." It is a deeply curved D-150 screen. If you sit in the back, horizontal lines can appear distorted because of the curvature, but up close I find it to be overwhelmingly immersive. I feel that the seating & sight lines are not as good as they used to be because of the recent stadium remodel, at least up front. Over the past year or so, I've seen 6-8 films there and haven't perceived a brightness problem. Is it possible that the screen seems brighter up close, because of the curvature, with more light being reflected inwards? Or is it more likely that I'm just not as picky as Joe? Is it perfect? No. But I think it's a pretty awesome, and I'm glad it's still around. I'm planning to make the 30 minute drive there this weekend to see Zombieland, past dozens of other theatres showing it on screens half that size. Hopefully I won't faint or die!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 09-29-2009 12:20 AM                     The UA Galaxy in Dallas has two 78 foot wide screens. They burn a 4.5K lamp because the tech (three techs ago) burned a print of Mission Impossible 1 due to not focusing the bulb properly and decided the lamp power was too great for 35mm to handle. Their lamphouse is a Christie SLC. The best light they ever got was something like 10fl in the center of the screen (with what I would call dark corners). It was acceptable for what it was, but it would have looked better with a 6K lamp in there. (I've got tons of 6K screens with the same lamphouse with no film damage whatsoever, so his theory was bs.)  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Althaus Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: Bedford, TX Registered: Dec 2008 posted 09-29-2009 01:58 AM                     wow, might have to make a trip to the galaxy to see that, compare it to the 2 huge screens Cinemark has in DFW  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-29-2009 02:10 AM                        Galaxy has the biggest screens in Texas, or at least they used to. I heard they had to take their signs down that proclaimed as such. I think those screens were definitely bigger than the Continental, though. It's just too bad the Galaxy can't seem to fix the mistakes and poor judgment calls made by former technician Al Remy. Then they had a guy after him called George something-or-other who didn't seem any better. What is it with UA/Regal techs in the DFW area? As for the Continental, the apertures are kind of "bow-tie" shaped due to the extreme curve. You have to crop a LOT of picture on that screen. It's always fun with any movie that has any amount of subtitles anywhere as sometimes you'll need to frame up a bit so they don't get cut off in the center. The GIANT SCREEN auditorium really isn't that great presentation-wise. A former GM there told me that he felt that #6 was his best auditorium sight and sound-wise. This is the second biggest screen. This was before they stadium-ized #6 and the rest of the theater, so the sound has probably suffered a bit. When I saw Dark Knight in #6, it had a few minor issues. But they had long since changed managers since then, more than a few times. Plus they got rid of their THX certification, if that means anything any more. Geoff, which former manager did you speak with?  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 09-29-2009 02:45 AM                     I recall reading on the forums here that Al Remy died several years ago. I know he installed the equipment at the Amarillo UA in 1999, so it must have been in the early 2000's. He was our regional tech in the 80s when I worked for UA in Lubbock, and I butted heads with him a few times. If George is who I am thinking of, he was originally from Tulsa and had been in the booth since the 40s. He was knowledgeable, but quite prone to errors. He also was bald, but had a gray beard and one of the employees in Lubbock nicknamed him "Pappa Smurf." I butted heads with George a few times, too. He chain-smoked and let his cigarettes burn on the electrical conduit rails. Unlike some of our current techs, he didn't have to send an employee to a convenience store to get a lighter to apply heat shrink tubing - George always had a lighter. I'm thinking George is probably gone, too.  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 09-29-2009 08:06 AM                        Rich Vincent  |  IP: Logged Randy Bowden Expert Film Handler Posts: 146 From: Portland, OR, USA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 09-29-2009 11:11 AM                     Wow guys! thanks for the response. I have in laws in Denver, so if I ever make it out that way, I'll have to check it out. I really miss the old Eastgate theatre here in Portland and it's massive auditorium. I was pretty ticked off with Regal when they decided to close it down. I used to run the Norelco AA machines there. It was a great place to see a film and could seat nearly 1100.  |  IP: Logged Randy Bowden Expert Film Handler Posts: 146 From: Portland, OR, USA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 09-29-2009 02:54 PM                     So now I'm curious, about how wide does the screen at the continental end up measuring out to, from corner to corner in a strait line from where the masking starts. Here is what I'm getting at. If you have an 80' foot screen like this and it's curved how much width do you loose vs. it being a flat screen? So how does the continental measure up against say the Harkins Cinecapri in terms of screen size and picture quality?  |  IP: Logged Vern Dias Film Handler Posts: 28 From: AllenTX USA Registered: Apr 2009 posted 09-29-2009 03:16 PM                        That Norelco hiding in the background and I were great friends back many years ago when I used to work the Continental (and the Cooper a few miles north). I never ran 70 at the Continental, but certainly remember running "Grease" there in 35mm Dolby Stereo. Ran a bunch of 70 at the Cooper, though. The "Star Wars" films, "The Tem Commandments" and a number of others. No shortage of light with the Ashcraft Corelights that were originally in both houses, either. Sorry to see it's been altered by Regal, as the old seating had some really great sight lines from the front half of the auditorium. Vern  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-29-2009 04:28 PM                        They ran that Norelco up until the very last day of it's one-screen operation. It never ran again. I was there last year before they built the new booth and it was still in the same position, same parts missing and more dust. Rich Vincent was the guy who worked at the Continental for a very long time and handled the 1 to 6 screen conversion. He hung out at Greenwood a lot during the conversion since that's where D.O. was located. He used to tell me horror stories about the CDS machine. I kind of feel bad for Rich, I don't think he was quite prepared for how extraordinarily busy the rejuvenated Continental would be. I think he was replaced by Adam Leiberman and then Barb DeHart (who also got very worn down from the theater). I have no idea who managed after her. Mike Allen eventually managed it, but surely there was someone between him and Barb. Now it is managed by some guy named Brad something-or-other. Randy, measuring corner to corner in a straight line is probably 55-60 feet.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 09-29-2009 11:47 PM                     I'm curious about the big house at the Continental... Did Regal have to install an elevator after they retrofitted the big auditorium to stadium? Pictures of the sloped floor in that auditorium appears to show an insane amount of seats, like almost 700 or 800. I believe an stadium auditorium with more than a certain number of seats require elevators to the upper deck per ADA guidelines...  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-30-2009 01:45 AM                        It had around 904 seats before it was stadium-ized, I think. The new stadium retrofit isn't very steep since the original auditorium just wasn't very tall in comparison to its length. The original auditorium did have a step between each row so it was stadium seating, technically. No elevators, but handicapped folks can sit in the middle and front. Before stadium, they could sit back, middle and front. Do not dare question Regal, they know what they are doing! They make sure any applicant's IQ is below 90 before hiring anyone for a corporate position.  |  IP: Logged

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