Everything Old is New Again: Harkins Recaptures Movie House Grandeur with Klipsch
By Sarah Knight
As the nation's historic single-screen movie palaces fall prey to the wrecking ball, Arizona-based Harkins Theatres has found a creative way to follow today's trends and keep the grandeur of the past with its new cine Capri.
Considered Arizona's largest traditional movie house, the new cine Capri, named after the last of the Valley's movie palaces, features all of the latest technology, including Klipsch professional cinema loudspeakers. The original cine Capri charmed Biltmore area audiences for more than 30 years prior to its untimely demise in 1998.
Ironically, the new theater - part of a 14-screen multiplex in northeast Phoenix - represents the very industry-wide innovation that doomed the original, but Harkins hopes to revive its memory with this new $14 million theater-inside-a-theater concept.
The new cine Capri features a large 29-foot by 70-foot screen and can accommodate up to 600 guests. In order to fill this auditorium with dynamic and lifelike sound, Harkins chose five stage channels consisting of dual Klipsch KPT-415 bass cabinets and a KPT-402 and Grand-HF horn, eight KPT-684 subwoofers and 28 KPT-250 surround speakers.
According to Kirk Griffin, director of engineering for Harkins Theatres, he prefers the performance of Klipsch loudspeakers because they provide superior coverage from the first row to the back of the house, and their quality control and power handling are excellent.
"We have yet to lose a driver in the 83 screens we have installed using Klipsch," said Griffin. "Customer service is great and Harkins worked personally with Klipsch engineers to create the custom stage speaker system used in the new cine Capri."
With 40,900 watts of RMS amplifier power, this large auditorium currently presents films in 6.1 Dolby Digital EX but has the speakers and amplifiers in place to convert to 10-channel Digital Cinema sound when it debuts.
In an effort to capture the essence of the original cine Capri, the new theater features similar luxurious pleated gold drapes and a gold curtain that opens and closes for each show. The new cine Capri, however, includes stadium seating that meets the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers guidelines for optimum viewing.
The multiplex's other 13 auditoriums also feature Klipsch loudspeakers for the highest level of performance for the space and an ideal rotation of blockbuster films. These screens utilize KPT-535-T stage speakers, KPT-684 subwoofers and KPT-8001 and KPT-1201 surrounds.
This multiplex offers moviegoers with an award-winning snack bar, a full-size, in-lobby movie preview screen, rocking high-backed stadium seating and Internet accessible ticketing.
Griffin said Harkins prides itself in presenting the finest movie-going experience to its patrons by using the latest technology, maintaining well-stocked snack bars and providing exceptional management and customer service.
"Every last detail is taken care of, whether it's the imported German projection systems or state-of-the-art Klipsch speaker systems, nothing is left to chance," said Griffin. "You will not find a better 35mm film presentation anywhere."
The relationship between Klipsch and Harkins can be traced back to the 1960s when Harkins' founder, Dwight "Red" Harkins installed a Klipschorn in the mono sound system at his Tower Plaza theater. However, it wasn't until November 2000 that Harkins' began using Klipsch exclusively in all its new and retrofit theater installations. The first contemporary Klipsch professional cinema system was installed during Harkins' $1 million refurbishment of the Valley Art, a single-screen theater built by "Red" in 1940. Since then, Klipsch loudspeakers have been installed in six complexes, totaling 83 screens.
This exclusive partnership began after Harkins and Klipsch officials got together for a comprehensive shootout conducted at Malco's Majestic theater in Memphis. This opportunity allowed Harkins to compare its current loudspeaker brand and others with Klipsch.
"The differences between Klipsch and our former loudspeaker provider were quite startling," said Griffin. "The Klipsch speakers reproduced nuances in the soundtrack that were not even audible in the other speaker systems. The coverage of the Klipsch speakers were clearly superior, especially off-axis, in the front row and at extreme cross-auditorium angles."
Harkins has been entertaining audiences since 1933, making it the oldest theater chain in Arizona. The company currently operates 259 screens in 22 locations throughout the Phoenix metro area and Northern Arizona, but will soon expand into Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where a new 16-screen theater is scheduled to open July 2004.