`Big movies are still big'
Old movie palaces like D.C.'s Uptown still add grandeur to a film's premiere.

By Amy Dickinson. Special to the Tribune. Amy Dickinson is a columnist for Time magazine and a regular contributor to National Public Radio
Published November 19, 2001

The Uptown, which was built in 1936, is a remnant of our rapidly disappearing cultural landscape -- it's a real movie house with 830 comfy seats, a large balcony, a screen the size of an ocean liner, and a Dolby Digital sound system that sends a movie sound track caroming through its spacious Busby-Berekley interior.

The Uptown, like many others across the country, is a movie lover's dream, a place where $8.25 for a movie somehow manages to seem like a bargain, and where every movie is an event -- though some movies are bigger events than others. "Star Wars" opened here in 1977, playing an exclusive East Coast engagement from Memorial Day to Christmas. "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon" each showed here exclusively for months before wider release.

"It was the best time I ever had," sighed 7-year-old Alec. A look down the sidewalk along the theater revealed a line of 2,000 people snaking through the neighborhood, patiently waiting their turn to leave their lives for a few hours and see a really big movie, just the way it should be seen.

Read the full article at:
Chicago Tribune Article about Uptown Theatre, Washington DC

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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I'm sure Steve will obtain many more pictures for us soon. Right Steve?

Bet more than a few of them will have "ties" to participants in Film-Tech.

My guesses as to the nominees, not in any order:

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I'm sure USA Today is just as qualified as the indie publication Dallas Observer is. Once a year those idiots get together and decide "The Best of Dallas"...and occasionally they even review every theater in town. They don't judge the presentation, nor quality of service, nor quality of concession items. Oh no. They rate theaters based upon things like "make-out possibilities" (or, can we have sex in the theater and not get caught because the lights go completely out and there are never any ushers checking in on things). One year they even said that the AMC Glen Lakes had a "perfect and crisp picture". Yeah right! So...what, the scratches were colorful and in focus? (This theater is notorious for destroying prints on opening day, sometimes with only one run.) Theaters like the Inwood and UA Cine (no longer around, thankfully) get high reviews just because they show art films. Never mind that these theaters have horrible presentations with godawful sound, right? Just try and leave with your shoes. Can't be done! They'll be forever stuck to the floor, just as that seat spring will be forever penetrating your ass. Oops, I'm ranting.

I'm sure USA Today won't sink to quite that level, but I'll bet you're not too far off! It's all fluff.

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