At the time, the technology didn't exist to get the image there with clarity. A similar attempt was made in the '80s by AMC, Jacobsen recalls. The technology existed, but they didn't know how to do it. So those regressions over past history are going to happen again. But, just as with the SUV, complaints about safety and expense have begun rumbling on the horizon, and some predict this fixture of contemporary cinema design will go the way of the earlier gas guzzlers.
Stadium seating is too expensive, they say.
The steps it requires present the possibility of accidents and, thus, lawsuits. It limits seating configurations for optimal sightlines. Lawrence Dworkin, whose New York, N.Y. construction firm has built General Cinemas' sites, says the end of the rake is near. It's going to be phased out, because it's twice as expensive to build. The Canadian-based Mesbur and Smith aren't quite as adamant on the subject, but the partners do see a relaxation of American building codes that will give seating designers more leeway.