Carmike Century Cinema 8, Decatur
Fairlane Litchfield Theatres opened this theatre, the Century Cinemas,
on Friday, June 18, 1982, with 4 auditoriums.
Click here if you are interested in the
movies that were shown on its first day of business!
United Artists appears to have taken over the theatre sometime in 1987.
Carmike took over the theatre on July 3, 1990 (at least that is when it
began being advertised as a Carmike location).
On May 5, 1992, this location became an 8-plex.
Click here if you are interested in the
movies that were shown on the first night of operation as an 8-plex.
Some previous managers: Teena Carpenter (1983), Richard Swank (1984),
Eric Entrekin (1985-1986, 1992), Jeff Kelsey (1987-1988), Ralph Owen (1996), Beverly Miller (1998), Lee Barnes (2000-2001)
Located on 14th Street in Decatur between US 31 (6th Avenue) and Central
Parkway, this theatre has 8 auditoriums. It has 4 auditoriums that are
about 44 feet wide (the originals built in 1982) and 4 that are about 32 feet
wide (the ones built in 1992). The larger auditoriums
have screens that are about 32-38 feet across in scope mode and about 27-29
feet wide in flat mode. The smaller ones are about 28 feet wide in scope mode
and about 22 feet wide in flat mode. The four large auditoriums
(1, 2, 7, and 8) have
flat screens and the four smaller auditoriums (3, 4, 5, and 6)
have curved screens. There
is one auditorium with DTS (auditorium 2). Six others have standard
optical surround audio. Auditorium 8 has optical mono audio.
Standard seating. Chairs have high backs are are comfortable, especially
for long movies. The only thing I dislike about the seating in this theatre
is that the amount of "rise" from one row to the row behind it does not
seem to be as great in other theatres, causing many more people's heads to
protrude into one's view of the screen. Some of the seats, especially the
ones in the back four auditoriums are falling into a state of disrepair.
Presentation quality at this theatre has been through several phases of
sloppiness and improvements. Overall, presentation quality has been worse at
this theatre than any other in Huntsville or Decatur. Images on the screens
in the large auditoriums are usually too dim and have poor contrast and color
as a result. On the average, a moviegoer can expect generally poor
presentation quality at this theatre.
List of movie presentations attended:
2004/10/10 19:00, Auditorium 1
Shark Tale
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 1.0000)
- Image comments: Image lacked one foot reaching right screen edge, and went slightly beyond the left black macking onto drapes and above top black masking area onto drapes. (-3) One commercial was a scope version, mixed with flat material, making everyone look tall and thin. (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 27 feet (flat mode). Flat animated film.
- Problem codes: A3 R1
2004/07/02 19:15, Auditorium 3
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.9319)
- Image comments: 5 things (fire marshall thing and 4 commercials) were flat format played with scope lens and aperture. (-2). Focus off in middle of image, noticeable even from the back row. (-2) Top edge of image showed significant aperture shadow. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 26 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed in Super35. 4 commericals were shown before the previews. There is a scene at the beginning and end of the credits.
- Problem codes: R2 A2 f2
2004/03/13 19:30, Auditorium 8
Starsky and Hutch
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.8562)
- Image comments: Image went beyond left masking onto drapes. (-1) One preview item was a scope version played with flat lens and plate. (-1) Image had hazy, low contrast appearance, more noticeable on scope material than on flat material. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 36 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed with an anamorphic lens.
- Problem codes: A1 R1 H2
2003/12/16 19:15, Auditorium 2
Something's Gotta Give
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.7958)
- Image comments: Image brightness fell off too much away from the lower center and became much darker at the upper corners. (-2)
- Audio comments: DTS. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet (flat mode). Flat film. 9 commercials were played before the previews, a record for a Carmike theatre attendance. It looks like Carmike is following Regal in drastically increasing the number of commercials shown in their theatres.
- Problem codes: U2
2003/11/11 19:15, Auditorium 6
School of Rock
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.7715)
- Image comments: Aperture shadow on right and bottom edges (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 21 feet (flat mode). Flat film. Only one commercial was played before the previews. Evidentally, Carmike has not yet followed Regal in showing many commericals before the previews yet. Hopefully, Carmike will remain to keep their commercials on screen before previews to a minimum.
- Problem codes: A2
2003/08/22 19:00, Auditorium 7
My Boss's Daughter
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.7167)
- Image comments: Slight aperture shadow on left and right edges, image went slightly above top masking onto drapes. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Flat film.
- Problem codes: A2
2003/06/01 19:15, Auditorium 2
Finding Nemo
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.6604)
- Image comments: Excellent.
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet (flat mode). Flat animated film.
- Problem codes: none
2003/04/22 19:15, Auditorium 4
Agent Cody Banks
- Grade: -5 (Current grade weight : 0.6333)
- Image comments: 2 flat commercials shown with scope lens and aperture. (-2). Mildly out of focus. (-2). Light from booth illuminated a rectangular area on lower right of screen. (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 26 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed with an anamorphic lens.
- Problem codes: R2 f2 b1
2003/02/17 19:15, Auditorium 4
About Schmidt
- Grade: -1 (Current grade weight : 0.5882)
- Image comments: Jagged aperture edge visible on left side of bottom of screen.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 22 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: A1
2002/12/19 19:15, Auditorium 5
Treasure Planet
- Grade: -9 (Current grade weight : 0.5479)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film, making left and right edges look bad (-4). Top edge was jagged and faded across entire image (-2). Screen had a rather large bad area 4 feet left and 2 feet below the center of the screen (-2). Stray light from booth was illuminating the top right corner of the image and beyond (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width (scope mode): 24 feet. Image width: 19 to 20 feet. Projector was started initially and framed improperly. Projector stopped within a minute of being started. I heard someone shout Dad Gummit! from the booth, after which, the projector was restarted and framed properly. Several chairs in this auditorium were in a state of disrepair. I was the only person in the auditorium. Flat animated film.
- Problem codes: m4 A2 b1 s2
2002/11/30 19:15, Auditorium 1
Eight Crazy Nights
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.5347)
- Image comments: Image lacked 6 inches touching right edge (fading), lint in bottom right of aperture. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 27 feet (flat mode). Flat film, animated.
- Problem codes: A2
2002/10/17 19:00, Auditorium 2
Sweet Home Alabama
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.5049)
- Image comments: Image had a slight left slant due to anamorphic element being slightly crooked. (-1) Two short commercials in flat format were shown with scope lens and aperture, making them appear stretched 2x horizontally. (-1)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 34 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed in super35.
- Problem codes: R1 c1
2002/07/13 19:15, Auditorium 5
Scooby Doo
- Grade: -10 (Current grade weight : 0.4396)
- Image comments: Image lacked 6 inches to a foot touching left edges of screen (probably due to masking not pulled in enough) (-3), and top edge had fading. (-1) Shutter ghosting on upper half of image, producing tails of about a foot when bright objects were on a dark background. (-4) Image brightness was non-uniform, with the top left and bottom left corners being significantly darker than the rest of the image. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Image width: 20 feet. Flat film. Adjustable side masking.
- Problem codes: m3 A1 G4 U2
2002/05/13 19:00, Auditorium 2
The New Guy
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.3979)
- Image comments: Excellent.
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: none
2002/03/10 19:00, Auditorium 1
The Time Machine
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.3542)
- Image comments: Excellent.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 35 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed with anamorphic lens.
- Problem codes: none
2002/01/31 19:10, Auditorium 1
The Mothman Prophecies
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.3271)
- Image comments: OK.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 34 feet (scope mode). Scope film, filmed in Super35. 72CC 60EC17 605 B7151FD 537 D81 B7151FD0D23F 5D07D. 0 5E0D D702E17 605 2F 573FD 35 0EE D81 5C3B1 F0D1720E. 0 5E298D 84F 605 F3D2C10BE1 2F D81 04D23. D3B 38 2F091 605 D2FF17 D80F 715D 35 2F091. F3 B73BE1F B6 2D51E5 605 5172345 1F3498 D3 60770FD D1D4CD23F.
- Problem codes: none
2001/09/30 19:15, Auditorium 8
Zoolander
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.2431)
- Image comments: Flat trailers played as scope at the beginning (stretched 2x horizontally). Projectionist too lazy to do proper flat/scope changeover. (-2) Non-uniform brightness: left edge of screen got very dim about 2 feet from edge. (-3) Staff here need to pay more attention to this frequent problem (bulb focus). Image wet slightly above black area at top of screen onto drapes and slightly beyond left black area onto drapes. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. Mono. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 35 feet (scope). Scope film, filmed in Super35. There was a note on the auditorium door stating that the air conditioning was out and if this was a problem, another movie could be seen or a refund could be given. The temperature was OK, since it had been a somewhat cool day. Update 2001/12/05: Franklin Harris of the Decatur Daily informed me that there was no heat in this auditorium on the night of 2001/12/04.
- Problem codes: A1 U3 R2
2001/08/31 21:30, Auditorium 3
American Pie 2
- Grade: -1 (Current grade weight : 0.2229)
- Image comments: Strange effect in left third of image: bright objects from far left portion of image were ghosting or smearing into darker areas to the right. (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 22 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: z1
2001/07/22 19:15, Auditorium 7
Legally Blonde
- Grade: -24 (Current grade weight : 0.1958)
- Image comments: Image lacked 6 inches to a foot touching left edge of screen. (-2) Jagged edge of aperture plate visible (fading) at right portion of top edge. (-1) Brightness not uniform. Image was of sufficient brightness just left of the center of the image, with the corners and rightmost part of image being very dim in comparison to the bright portion. This problem has become quite severe in this auditorium. (-10) Anamorphic lens element slightly crooked, making vertical lines slant leftward at an angle of 3 to 4 degrees. (-2) Several flat trailers were played with scope lens and aperture. (-2) Projectionist too lazy to do proper flat/scope changeovers? Projector shut off about 10 seconds after credits began. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. Noise was audible during quiet scenes and significant distortion was noticeable during the previews and the entire movie, especially during background music in scenes. (-5)
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 34 feet (scope mode). Scope film; appears to have been filmed in super35.
- Problem codes: A3 U10 c2 R2 C2 d5
2001/06/22 21:15, Auditorium 1
Dr. Dolittle 2
- Grade: -9 (Current grade weight : 0.1750)
- Image comments: Jagged edge of aperture plate visible on right edge (6 inches to 1 foot). Bottom edge did not reach bottom of screen. Top edge had fading on right portion. (-5) Several flat previews shown at scope setting. (-2) Projectionist too lazy to do proper flat/scope changeovers? Brightness uniformity: Top of image (within 2 feet to image top) and bottom right corner significantly dimmer than rest of image. (-2).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width (scope mode): 35 feet. Scope film, filmed in super35. Music played before projector started was terribly distorted.
- Problem codes: A5 U2 R2
2001/06/01 21:15, Auditorium 7
The Animal
- Grade: -3 (Current grade weight : 0.1604)
- Image comments: Image went above top masking onto top drapes. Image brightness not uniform (corners and left and right edges darker, upper left center much brighter). (-3)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen wdith: 30 feet (flat mode). Flat film. 61FD D3 14D2D3734F 107E6 0FD 605 05C1D D3 602D 2F E3BB6.
- Problem codes: A1 U2
2001/05/19 21:10, Auditorium 4
Bridget Jones's Diary
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.1521)
- Image comments: Image went one foot beyond black area of left masking onto drapes. (-2). Image lacked one foot touching right screen edge; jagged edge of aperture plate visible there. (-2). Strange ghosting effect in leftmost fourth of image with bright backgroung objects smearing or ghosting into dark regions to the right. At one point, background lights were visible through Hugh Grant's head. Similar artifacts were visible in other scenes. (-1) Several flat ads were played as scope, stretched horizontally by a factor of 2. (Projectionist too lazy to do proper flat/scope changeovers? (-2) Light from booth illuminated a rectangular area on screen in lower right portion, noticeable in darkest scenes. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width: 26 feet in scope mode. Scope film.
- Problem codes: A4 z1 R2 b1
2001/05/19 19:00, Auditorium 1
Shrek
- Grade: -10 (Current grade weight : 0.1521)
- Image comments: Image was noticeably out of focus in right half of image, getting worse toward right edge, which was even very noticeable from the auditorium rear. This was more distracting than usual due to this being an animated film. (-6). Image lacked 6 inches reaching right edge of screen (jagged edge of aperture plate visible). (-2).
- Audio comments: Optical. Audio was overly harsh and distorted during portions of movie. (-2).
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 27 feet (flat mode). Flat film, animated.
- Problem codes: f6 A2 d2
2001/04/21 19:00, Auditorium 7
Joe Dirt
- Grade: -7 (Current grade weight : 0.1326)
- Image comments: Image went above top masking to ceiling. (-2) Misframed noticeably so that center of image was one foot too high on screen. (-1) Image brightness was much lower at corners than at screen center. This was very noticeable from seats toward the rear of the auditorium. (-4)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 29 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: A2 M1 U4
2001/02/19 21:10, Auditorium 3
O Brother, Where Art Thou
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0896)
- Image comments: Jagged edge of aperture plate visible on top and right edges (several edges from edge of screen in each case). (-4) Image was noticeably out of focus in right half (especially right third) of image, althought left side was sharp. This was distracting in many scenes. (-4)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width (scope mode): 27 feet. Scope/Super35 film. Exit sign to right of screen was rather bright and unshielded, but I did not notice light from it washing out the right portion of the picture during this movie from my fourth row seat in the center of the auditorium.
- Problem codes: A4 f4
2000/12/29 19:00, Auditorium 2
Dude, Where's My Car
- Grade: -1 (Current grade weight : 0.0549)
- Image comments: Image misframed by 1 foot on screen (center of image 1 foot higher that it should have been), but was barely noticeable during movie. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet. (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: M1
2000/11/12 19:15, Auditorium 2
Little Nicky
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.0222)
- Image comments: Screen illumination not uniform; right 1 foot of screen, especially the lower right corner, was noticeably darker than the rest of the image. (-2)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 27 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: U2
2000/09/01 19:15, Auditorium 2
Whipped
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Fading on top edge. (-2) Dark area in lower right region of image. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: A2 U2
2000/08/01 19:00, Auditorium 2
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Excellent.
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: 28 feet (flat mode). Flat film.
- Problem codes: none
2000/07/27 19:00, Auditorium 8
Chicken Run
- Grade: -12 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film (left and right edges looked bad). (-4) Image was misframed enough that the image from this hard-matted print did not quite reach the top of the screen, although the previews did (not hard-matted). (-2) Previews and first half of movie had many noticeable scratches. (-2) Brightness not uniform over entire image (brightest at center and significantly darker toward edges). (-4)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium: 44 feet wide. Masking still inoperable.
- Problem codes: m4 M2 S2 U4
2000/06/18 18:00, Auditorium 2
Fantasia 2000
- Grade: -11 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film (left and right edges looked bad). (-4) Image went above top black masking (-1). Reel 2 had been scratched during the first few minutes. (-1). Image had very noticeable jitter during entire movie. (-3) DTS timecode faintly visible left of image on screen. (-1)
- Audio comments: DTS. DTS sound was not activated until 5 minutes into the movie. (-1)
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Flat film. The Sorcerer's Apprentice was presented 1.37:1 with black on the sides.
- Problem codes: m4 A2 S1 J3 D1
2000/06/17 19:00, Auditorium 8
Boys and Girls
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film (left and right edges looked bad). (-4) Image off center on screen by approximately 1 foot to left. (-1) Screen brightness was noticeably dimmer at top and bottom of image (brighter in center). (-3)
- Audio comments: Optical. Mono. OK
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Flat film. Image width was approximately 29 feet while the screen width was about 32 feet.
- Problem codes: m4 A1 U3
2000/06/06 19:00, Auditorium 8
Big Momma's House
- Grade: -7 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film (left and right edges looked bad. (-4) Image off center on screen by approximately 1 foot to left and slight jaggedness of aperture plate visible at top of image. (-1) Previews were incredibly sloppy. The first couple of previews were scope, and were shown as flat. When the setting was changed to scope, the image went a foot or two past the left edge of the screen. Remember, the movie was flat. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. Mono. OK
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Flat film. Image width was about 29 feet while the screen width was about 32 feet.
- Problem codes: m4 A1 R2
2000/05/18 19:30, Auditorium 1
Gladiator
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Slight jagged edge of aperture plate visible at right side of top edge. (-1) Middle third of image was slightly out of focus, while rest of image was in focus. (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width (scope): 34 feet. Scope film, filmed in Super35.
- Problem codes: A1 f1
2000/04/28 19:15, Auditorium 2
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for a flat film.; left and right edges looked bad as a result. (-4). Image went above top of screen to ceiling. (-2).
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Flat film. There was one out-of-frame splice between the previews and the start of the movie (2 perforations off), but it was immediately fixed as it happened.
- Problem codes: m4 A2
2000/04/17 19:15, Auditorium 2
28 Days
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for a flat film; left and right edges looked bad as a result. (-4). Image went above top of screen to ceiling (-2). Image faded before reaching bottom of screen (3 inches in center, 6 inches at edges). (-2)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width (scope mode): 34 feet. Flat film.
- Problem codes: m4 A4
2000/04/14 19:05, Auditorium 5
Keeping the Faith
- Grade: -12 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for a flat film; left and right edges looked bad as a result. (-4) Left couple of feet of the image was dimmer than rest of image. (-2) Out-of-frame splice in previews. One preview shown one perf out of frame and this was fixed during the first few seconds of the movie. The projector had to be stopped twice to fix misframings (the one I just mentioned, and the initial misframing when the projector was first started). (-2) Projection people should be trained to thread in frame, and splice in frame. Of course, this is the kind of place that has improperly cut aperture plates and uses tape on the port glass to correct for it.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 32 feet. Screen width scope: 28 feet. Image width was about 22 feet. Flat film. Exit sign was far too bright to be in the front of the auditorium and also threw red light all over the left side of the screen. (-4) Projection quality might improve a little at this location if mirrors were installed up in the projection booth next to each porthole in such a way so that one could see himself and the screen at the same time. (That last comment was intended to be humorous. I wonder if anyone will get it.)
- Problem codes: m4 U2 M2 E4
2000/03/03 19:15, Auditorium 7
Drowning Mona
- Grade: -30 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Projector aim/aperture plate problems: image lacked 6 inches to a foot reaching left edge of screen (-2), image went above top of screen to ceiling (-2), jagged right edge of aperture plate visible on right edge of screen. (-1)
- Audio comments: During nearly all previews, audio was very faint and only came from right front speaker. After this problem was fixed, the audio came primarily from left front speaker (very unbalanced), and had a lot of distortion at times. (-10)
- Other comments: Lights above screen (that shine directly on screen) were not turned completely off during movie, washing out the image during dark scenes, and hurting the contrast. (-10). Movie started 20 minutes late because of the audio problem. (-2) There were two rather bad water leaks in this auditorium and the sound of water dripping was very noticeable during the entire movie. (-3) The floors got very wet where the leaks were. There was a quite interesting bunch of teenagers sitting in the front of the theatre who were nearly as entertaining as the movie, one of which was a guy who talked on a cellular phone for about 10 minutes, quite loudly, and most of the others were rowdy girls who got up every few minutes. It was fun to hear them let out an 'Ooh!' when they'd walk under the water leaks and water would drip on them. Everybody sing: 'Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...'
- Problem codes: A5 d10 w10 T2 W3
2000/02/18 19:00, Auditorium 2
The Whole Nine Yards
- Grade: -11 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope, and left and right edges looked bad since it was a flat film. (-4) Image went above top masking almost to ceiling. (-1) Out-of-frame splice between previews. (-1) Very noticeable shutter ghosting, which produced tails one to two feet in length when bright objects were on a dark background. (-5)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium: 44 feet wide. Flat film. When box office was first opened, neither ticket machine would work. I did not get a ticket stub, and a huge line formed outside the theatre. This theatre had a new manager. Originally, this movie was to play in auditorium 3, but was switched to auditorium 2 at the last minute because the movie to be played in auditorium 2 was scope, which currently cannot be handled in that auditorium.
- Problem codes: m4 A1 M1 G5
1999/12/27 21:05, Auditorium 1
The Talented Mr. Ripley
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Image went above top masking to ceiling. (-2) Slight fading on right edge. (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. Sound failed for about 3 minutes during movie (approximately 1 hour into it). (-3)
- Other comments: Auditorium: 44 feet wide. Screen: 28 feet wide (flat mode). Flat film. Projectors in auditoriums 2 and 3 of this theatre failed and were inoperable on this night.
- Problem codes: A3 a3
1999/12/24 12:25, Auditorium 8
Man on the Moon
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Image went approximately 2 feet past the left and right edges of the screen onto the curtains on both sides, which was quite distracting during brighter scenes. (-5) All trailers had a lot of dirt and scratches (-1); Flat version of the Carmike trailer was played at wrong setting (scope instead of flat), and was very scratched. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. Mono. There was a constant hum in the audio, noticeable in quiet scenes. (-1)
- Other comments: Auditorium: 44 feet wide. Screen: 32 feet wide, although image width was 36 feet. Scope film: Filmed in Panavision. I believe I was the only person in the auditorium.
- Problem codes: A5 S1 R1 d1
1999/11/12 17:00, Auditorium 2
Dogma
- Grade: -35 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Major focus problem. Projector was adjusted for 10 minutes and was stopped twice during previews to try to fix, and during this period every possible adjustment was made to the projector, with the image varying from poorly focused to totally unviewable (blob of light). During movie, the image was seriously out of focus. Either vertical or horizontal lines could be focused, but not both (anamorphic lens focus problem). (-20) Shutter ghosting was very noticeable during the entire movie, often leaving 1 foot long upward tails on bright objects when on dark backgrounds. (-5) Image went 1 foot beyond the screen left edge (-2) , 1 foot beyond the screen right edge (-2) , and 1 foot above the screen top edge, which was distracting, since the bottom of the adjacent frame was visible above the movie screen (-4). The image lacked about six inches reaching the bottom edge of the screen (-2).
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet, screen width in scope mode: 32 feet. This was the worst presentation I've seen in a movie theatre since October 17, 1997, and I believe it ties the all time worst presentation ever of those that I have seen.
- Problem codes: f20 G5 A10
1999/07/10 15:15, Auditorium 1
American Pie
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Fading on right and bottom edges. Left edge didn't quite touch left masking. (-4). Film was misframed so that the center of the image was projected one foot lower on the screen that it should have been, causing vertical centering problems in the movie and all the previews. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film. Auditorium width: 44 feet, screen width in flat mode: 29 feet.
- Problem codes: A4 M2
1999/06/27 19:00, Auditorium 2
Big Daddy
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking set for scope for flat film, making left and right edges look bad. (-4) Aperture plate filed out too much in height, making picture go far above top black masking to ceiling and also slightly below bottom black masking (-2). Slight ghosting was noticeable occasionally throughout the movie when bright objects were on a dark background, due to the shutter mechanism allowing light to pass while film was moving. (-1) Carmike trailer was a scope version, played as flat, stretched 2:1 vertically. (-1).
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width (scope) 32 feet. Flat film (masking incorrectly at scope setting).
- Problem codes: m4 A2 G1 R1
1999/06/18 17:15, Auditorium 2
Tarzan
- Grade: -1 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Top edge of image went above top masking onto top curtain. (-1)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Flat film. Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width (flat): 26 feet. When I bought my ticket, I asked if the 5:15 showing were in the DTS auditorium and the girl selling the tickets had no idea what DTS was, so I asked if it were in auditorium 2, and she didn't know. Sigh.
- Problem codes: A1
1999/04/02 19:00, Auditorium 8
10 Things I Hate About You
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Top and left edges had some jaggedness. Bottom edge had slight fading. (-3).
- Audio comments: Optical. Mono. Hum was audible during very quiet scenes. (-1)
- Other comments: Flat film. Auditorium width was 44 feet. Screen was 28 feet wide in flat mode.
- Problem codes: A3 d1
1999/01/24 19:15, Auditorium 1
Varsity Blues
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Flat film, masking set for scope. Left and right edges 3-4 feet from screen edges. Left edge sharp, right edge fuzzy. Bottom edge faded. Top of image went above top masking all the way to the ceiling. (-6)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 29 feet (flat).
- Problem codes: m4 A2
1998/12/30 19:00, Auditorium 8
Patch Adams
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Slight fading on bottom edge. Slight jagged protrusions on top and right edges, especially near top right corner. (-3)
- Audio comments: Optical. Slight hum was audible during very quiet scenes, during movie and all previews. (-1) Mono (no rear or side speakers in this auditorium).
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 29 feet (flat). 35 feet (scope). Scope film, filmed using anamorphic process (probably Panavision).
- Problem codes: A3 d1
1998/12/06 19:15, Auditorium 1
Home Fries
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Fading on bottom edge. Fading on right edge. Image went above top masking onto curtain, to ceiling. Image off center to left 6 inches. (-5) Image framed so that center of image was 6 inches low. (-1) Top 1/6 of image was a bit darker than the rest of the image (image got darker toward the top). (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 29 feet (flat). Flat film.
- Problem codes: A5 M1 U2
1998/11/29 18:45, Auditorium 2
A Bug's Life
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Fading on left edge. (-2)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 27 feet (flat), 32 feet (scope). Scope film. Animated (could not determine whether Super35 or anamorphic).
- Problem codes: A2
1998/10/23 19:00, Auditorium 7
Pleasantville
- Grade: -5 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Aperture plate: Right edge didn't reach right curtain. Bottom edge did not reach bottom masking on right half. Top of image went above top masking onto top curtain, nearly reaching the ceiling. (-5)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 28 feet (flat). First row seats put you 22 feet from the screen. Flat film.
- Problem codes: A5
1998/10/19 19:10, Auditorium 2
Practical Magic
- Grade: -5 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Aperture plate: Left edge looked bad and right part of image went onto right curtain past black area. (-3) Top edge slightly faded at left side (-1). Bottom edge faded (-1).
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 34 feet (scope). First row seats put you 22 feet from the screen. Appeared to be a Super35 movie (Scope print).
- Problem codes: A5
1998/10/15 19:00, Auditorium 7
Holy Man
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Minor jaggedness on top edge at right side. (-1) Left edge faded slightly at bottom half (-1). Image had a slightly hazy appearance, as if something was slightly diffusing the light. (-5) During the previews (flat setting), the aperture plate setting was way off, putting the image 2 feet to the left of where it should have been, and the image went all the way to the ceiling. There were only a couple of minutes of material presented this way. After the scope changeover, things were much better. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 32 feet (scope), 28 feet (flat). First row seats put you 22 feet from the screen. It appears that an anamorphic lens was used in filming this movie. Scope print. In many auditoriums in this theatre, the images are darker than in most theatres, and this magnifies contrast problems and any light diffusion problems due to dirty optics, etc.
- Problem codes: A3 H5
1998/10/10 19:00, Auditorium 2
What Dreams May Come
- Grade: -1 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Bottom edge slightly faded. (-1)
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width 32 feet (scope), 27 feet (flat). The manager mentioned to me before the showing that the print would not focus properly, so the focus would be a little off. I found the focus acceptable, and think the soft, unfocused appearance she mentioned was due more to the fact that the movie was filmed in Super35, rather than being the fault of the theatre's equipment. Super35 movie; scope print. Middle of 1st row seats put you 22 feet from the screen.
- Problem codes: A1
1998/10/02 21:45, Auditorium 8
A Night at the Roxbury
- Grade: -2 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Bottom edge slightly faded. (-1). Minor jaggedness on top edge at left corner. (-1)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film. Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width about 29 feet (flat mode). This auditorium had no side or rear speakers.
- Problem codes: A2
1998/09/18 19:15, Auditorium 1
Rush Hour
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Bottom edge faded, right edge mildly faded. (-3) Film became misframed at most of the transitions between previews, but each misframing was immediately fixed each time. (-1) There were no problems with misframings during the movie itself.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: This showing lacked 2 seats selling out, according to the staff. Filmed in Panavision (Scope print, of course). Auditorium width 44 feet. Screen width about 36 feet (scope mode).
- Problem codes: A3 M1
1998/08/20 18:45, Auditorium 1
The Parent Trap
- Grade: -9 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Top of image went above masking onto top curtain all the way to the ceiling. Image faded and did not reach right edge of screen. Image faded before reaching bottom of screen. Image went to left of left masking a slight amount onto the left curtain. (-7) Framing: Image was framed one foot too high so that I was not seeing the top foot of the intended image and was seeing a foot of unintended image at the bottom. This was very obvious during the previews, some of which had hard matted scenes. The movie was soft matted, so it wasn't very noticeable. (-2)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: I was the only person in the auditorium. Soft-matted flat film. Auditorium width: 44 feet. Screen width: about 28 feet (flat mode).
- Problem codes: A7 M2
1998/08/02 19:00, Auditorium 8
Baseketball
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Raggedness at top left edge. (-2) Bottom edge faded before reaching edge of screen (-1).
- Audio comments: Optical. Significant hum/noise in background, noticeable in silent scenes. (-3)
- Other comments: This auditorium had no rear speakers. Flat film, auditorium width 44 feet, screen width 28 feet. Two kids had laser pointers and aimed them at the screen many times during the movie. Watching the two red dots chase each other around the screen and auditorium walls were almost more entertaining than the movie.
- Problem codes: A3 d3
1998/08/01 19:15, Auditorium 5
There's Something About Mary
- Grade: -23 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: This was a flat film and the masking was not pulled in far enough, making the left and right edges look fuzzy. (-4) The image brightness fluctuated constantly thoughout the film, changing every few seconds. (-5) There appeared to be a smudge of some sort on the optics, which showed up just below the center of the right edge. (-2) The movie was significantly misframed. The proper center of the image was approximately 2 feet below the center of the screen. This was a flat, soft-matted film, so the screen was filled at all times, but titles were cut off at the bottom. In the scene with the psychiatrist, a microphone was visible in the top of the image due to the misframing. (-12)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film. Auditorium width was approximately 32 feet, screen width was approximately 22 feet. It was difficult to determine these widths accurately in this auditorium because of the lighting and because the ceiling is painted red.
- Problem codes: m4 F5 H2 M12
1998/06/12 19:15, Auditorium 1
Can't Hardly Wait
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Aperture plate: Image went above the top masking to the ceiling, and did not quite reach the right edge or bottom edge of the screen. (-6) Otherwise, image quality was very good.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film.
- Problem codes: A6
1998/04/27 19:10, Auditorium 7
The Big Hit
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Picture was about 6 inches from the right side and bottom side of screen. Picture was about 6 inches higher on the right side than on the left. Picture went way above top masking onto curtain above screen (nearly touching ceiling). (-8) Otherwise, image quality was very good.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film.
- Problem codes: A8
1998/04/01 19:10, Auditorium 1
Grease
- Grade: -13 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Noticeably out of focus. (-3) Bottom edge fuzzy and unclean. (-2) Left edge unclean. (-1) Top 20 percent of image darker than rest of image. Image got darker toward top of screen. (-4)
- Audio comments: Optical. A lot of distortion was noticeable during the musical parts of the movie. During the intro song (Grease), the distortion was most noticeable, especially in the low frequencies. (-3)
- Other comments: Filmed in Panavision.
- Problem codes: f3 A3 U4 d3
1998/03/07 19:00, Auditorium 5
Krippendorf's Tribe
- Grade: -8 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Projected image was excellent, but the masking was not drawn in properly so that its black edges could hide the unclean and fuzzy edges of the projected image, which stopped short of the masking on the left and right. (-4)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: The exit sign at the left front of the auditorium was very bright and distracting until I got used to it. It was far too bright for a movie theatre auditorium, and it threw too much light onto the leftmost side of the screen. (-4)
- Problem codes: m4 E4
1998/02/15 19:00, Auditorium 8
The Wedding Singer
- Grade: -10 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: During previews and movie, entire picture had a hazy appearance, giving the entire picture a washed-out appearance. Bright objects on a dark background had a hazy glow around them. Image contrast and color quality were quite poor as a result. (-10)
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: The kids in this auditorium were nearly as entertaining as the movie. One group, three or four rows behind me, would drop many pieces of hard round candy at once, and it would roll under all our seats down to the front rows. When the candy reached the group of kids in the front, they all got up and moved into the right side aisle seats. Every now and then, I'd see a piece of candy sail across the auditorium.
- Problem codes: H10
1997/12/20 19:00, Auditorium 1
Mousehunt
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Projected image went far beyond the top of the screen, which was quite distracting throughout the movie, especially since the topmost part was hitting the ceiling in the front of the auditorium. (-4) Otherwise, the image quality was OK.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film. On this night, this was the only flat film showing. All others were scope.
- Problem codes: A4
1997/12/19 19:00, Auditorium 2
Titanic
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Excellent presentation. As perfect as could be expected from a movie filmed in super-35.
- Audio comments: DTS; Excellent.
- Other comments: This showing, as well as the 21:00 Titanic showing at this location, sold out! Filmed in super-35, except for underwater scenes, which were filmed in 2-perforation Techniscope. Scope print. This was a very long movie (previews plus movie = about 3.5 hours).
- Problem codes: none
1997/11/21 19:00, Auditorium 2
The Little Mermaid
- Grade: 0 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Perfect.
- Audio comments: DTS. Excellent.
- Other comments: Flat film. This showing was full of rowdy girls whose age I'd estimate to be 12-14. They were pretty funny, the way they'd get up and move every 5 minutes and the way some of them would sing along with the songs, and the way some groups would throw candy at other groups.
- Problem codes: none
1997/08/10 21:00, Auditorium 5
Hercules
- Grade: -4 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: Masking was not pulled in far enough for the 1.85 image, making the left and right edges look bad, especially the left one, which was not straight. (-4) Otherwise, excellent picture quality.
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Flat film.
- Problem codes: m4
1997/05/19 19:05, Auditorium 4
Chasing Amy
- Grade: -6 (Current grade weight : 0.0000)
- Image comments: The portion of the image being projected was too high in the frame (misframed). This was obvious when the Miramax logo was displayed. It went off the bottom of the screen, and was also apparent in several scenes of the movie. This was, of course, a flat widescreen 1.85:1 movie. (-3) The image was crooked on the movie screen. The left side was aligned properly, but the right side was about a foot higher than the left. The image did not appear rectangular, but had a warped appearance, curving upward toward the right side. In fact, the right bottom corner of the projected image was about 6 inches above the bottom masking. (-3),
- Audio comments: Optical. OK.
- Other comments: Filmed in Super-16. 35mm flat print.
- Problem codes: M3 A3
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