UA Berkeley 7
2274 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
(800)326-3264 498
Saw JAWS in Auditorium 2 on 05/31/07
This review is a tough one to write. I want to give the UA Berkeley 7 as much credit as possible for participating in Regal's Flashback Features series, but sadly, it's not a very good theatre.
The screen is small. A bright green exit light to the left of the screen is distracting during dark scenes. Portions of the image were projected onto the masking. The image was dark.
The second and third trailer shown were misframed, with the bottom half of the image at the top of the screen and vice versa. This problem wasn't fixed until someone left the theatre to complain.
On the plus side, the print was beautiful, with very little dirt or scratches.
The sound (original mono!) was scratchy, despite the fact that it was a good print. Rumbling sound came from neighboring auditoriums throughout the entire film. (It seemed like there was a major thunderstorm outside.)
Everyone received a Comment Card & Ballot to fill out, with a list of 40 titles to vote on for their next series.
Bravo to Regal for supporting this series. It's great to have a chance to see past favorites, especially at reasonable times (as opposed to midnight screenings). Other chains should follow Regal's lead.
Ultimately, it was great to see JAWS Back on the Big Screen, but a shame it wasn't at a better theatre.
Cinema Grade = C
Room For Improvement:
- An employee should be in and out of the theatre frequently during the first 10 minutes, and regularly during the rest of the show. No one should ever have to get up to complain about mis-framing.
- Bulbs should be replaced when they get dim.
- Sound equipment should be serviced regularly.
2 comments:
After seeing postings at this site (thanks for the info!) I've alerted my friends to the fantastic showings at this theater. I've had several friends go to the Jaws, Spaceballs, Conan and Neverending Story screenings. I don't think any of them ever would have known about the screenings if it weren't for this site.
I saw Conan at this theater, and while it was GREAT to see the movie. A few things did detract from the experience. But, for my personal tastes, the only thing that really stood out was the seating. The seats at this theater are very uncomfortable. The next movie I see here (and I can't wait to see more old movies here) is going to be while seating in a camping chair in one of the open spaces for handicapped people.
It was great to see the old movie. Parking was easy. Ushers checked the theater several times, and the ticket price was only about 5 dollars.
Even with the negative aspects of the theater I'm looking forward to going back, and I know my friends are, too.
While I agree with some of the aspects that are mentioned here I have to say it really depends on which one of the screens you are at. Some of them are very small fitting only about 100 people while others even have a balcony and fit about 1500. I have seen this theatre go through a lot of changes over the years and they have only gotten better over time. Unfortunetly the time does seem to begoing very slow. I still see movies here all the time.
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