Regal Continental Stadium 10 & RPX

That’s very true about the louvered Cinerama screen at the Cooper. However the problem with the 35 to 70MM blow-up of Star Wars was the muddied focus as the film grain was simply magnified in the quick-and-dirty process to rush larger format prints to the market. (Another reason it was digitally enhanced later in life.) The Continental enjoyed a true D-150 screen that was carefully curved for the dimensional effect — part of the specs demanded by Michael Todd when he was promoting an anamorphic alternative to the three-projector Cinerama process. As discussed here earlier, the Continental Theatre(s) were built for the three projectors (and fourth audio unit), but changed their hardware after construction for the single, switch-over 70MM system.

Harold — as one of the original Assitant Managers of the Denver Continental, I can attest that even the doormen were required to wear tuxedos to work there. When I started working there, I was attending a local high school, and wore the tux shirt to school so that I had less to change when I rushed to the theater to work the matinees… and it being a time of more outlandish hippie attire, the ruffled shirt really fit in to the whole aesthetic with beads and jeans (before dressing up for the job!). But in response to an earlier post: The Continental in Denver did not premiere the original Star Wars. That was at the Cooper Cinerama Dome, and it was initially presented in 35MM. After a few weeks, an extra 70MM print was struck and used… but the 35MM actually looked better on screen. The effects work was shot in 35MM (with the camera turned 90-degrees for more negative area), as was the overall picture itself. The 70MM prints were just 35MM blown-up, so they looked “soft” on the big screen, though the six track audio made up for some of the diminished picture. (It was very easy to see the occasional poor matting on the action sequences.) As far as 35MM presentations at the Continental, not only were the original theater lenses made for the specific throw of the house (including the curved screen installed for the D-150 effect), but the aperture plates on the projectors had to be re-filed by the projectionist to accommodate showings of earlier Academy Frame prints that were still available for classic films — some of which included a special Tom Mix Film Festival that Harold’s grandfather asked us to present.

Thanks for the updates everyone. I was an assistant manager at the original Continental and then when it reopened as a six-plex. I was sent to the Greenwood Plaza and the Cooper 5 during reconstruction to hire and train new staff members. That opening week was hell as we were so busy and understaffed. We were hiring as quick as we could.
I always thought the original Cooper was better but am so proud to have worked at the old Continental and still love the old auditorium. Hope the new seats don’t ruin it.

AT – That is a very intresting bit of information about W.A. using “Church of the Risen Christ’s” facade for his “Sleeper” movie. I’ll have to go and rent the movie. I understand that area is quite bulit up now. I’m going to try one of these days to get back and see the area. I have very fond memories of my elementary school years there grades 4-6. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

My family moved to the South East area – Hutchinson Hills in Denver in 1969. I recall attending Sunday mass at this theatre while construction was taking place on a new church being built – “Church of The Risen Christ” on Monaco Pkway. Does anyone else recall this? I remember the seats being very comfortable. By any chance would anyone have any pictures of this theatre to share. I would enjoy seeing some.

This is the last remaining Continental Theatre. The Continental in Tulsa was torn down in 1981, and Oklahoma City’s was razed only a few months back.
All three designs were exact duplicates of one another. Seen on site below are photos of the one in OKC -
http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcontinental.htm

Starting Mid-April 2007, the Continental is getting a major facelift. Additional auditoriums (2, I think) are being added via a building expansion, all the theaters (except the main house) are being upgraded to stadium seating and the main auditorium is getting new carpeting and seats. The work is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2008 and the complex will remain open throughout construction.

The Continental Theatre (please note that it originally used the “re” spelling and it was not part of the Commonwealth chain) was part of a three theater chain built by an Oklahoma oil man — the other two theaters in Tulsa and Oklahoma City (also called the “Continental Theatre”) were constructed from the exact same blueprints, so that each theater was identical. When this building was constructed in the 1960s, it featured the third largest screen in the world (for a contoured suspended screen) — the largest at that time having been in Japan. The building featured three projection booths (plus a separate sound booth) as it was originally designed to handle Cinerama shows, but during the final stage of constriction the Michael Todd’s D150 anamorphic 70MM process became available, so only the main center booth was used. (The left booth became storage, the right became the manager’s office… and as it had a large window for the missing projector, it also served as a screening box for celebrities who would attend premieres.) The projectionist union required two operators whenever 70MM prints were used, because of their weight to mount on the machines, and the lenses were specially made for the screen because it was not only large, but curved to 150-degrees — NOT a flat projection. Until 1970, all seating was sold as “hard tickets” (reserved seats) and the single refreshment stand sold only orange drink and Toblerone chocolates. Popcorn came later, and to save money, was often popped at off hours in Oklahoma, shipped to Denver in giant plastic bags, and re-heated before the doors opened. It was THE site for premieres of major productions (“The Bible”, “Funny Girl”, “Hello Dolly”, “Hawaii”, etc.) because it lended a very exclusive aire to the runs… and also because the Continental would agree to roadshow a film for an extended period. “Funny Girl” played there for 18 continuous months. The large theater chains in Denver stretched their muscles in the 70s and funneled the big releases towards their cracker boxes, so the Continental went through a period of “experimentation” for a while. We’d collect as many 70MM prints of films like “Sound Of Music”, “South Pacific”, “2001” etc. as could be found, then mix and match the prints until we could create one perfect assembly from the bunch… then re-premiere in 70MM 6-track surround. We’d play films no other theater would consider — like the 8-hour uncut “The Sorrow & The Pity”, or a Beatles marathon, a Tom Mix marathon, even “The Stewardesses in 3D”. Finally, Highland Theaters bought it up and brought it down a bit in class with their ability to keep fresh films flowing through. But there’s no comparison between seeing “2001” in 70MM and Burt Reynolds in “White Lightning” in 35MM… even if there are more people in the seats. Ah well….