Museum Disappoints

At the urging of your “Best Bets” (Calendar Weekend, Aug. 12), some friends and I ventured to the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach for a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” We were really disappointed.

When an art museum is doing a revival screening, one would assume that they got their hands on a 35-millimeter print of the film. Indeed, your article read as such. At least it didn’t explicitly state otherwise.

Upon arrival, my friends and I were shocked to learn that the museum would be projecting a regular videocassette version of the film. They were charging for what I could do after a trip to Blockbuster. Kubrick no doubt is rolling over in his grave. We never purchased tickets. The worst part of the story is the attitude of the ticket vendor at the museum.

After another group requested their money back the employee was overheard saying, “To me, I do not see what the difference is as long as it’s being projected on the screen.” The difference is celluloid! The difference is hamburger versus filet mignon. The difference is poor picture quality versus a crisp look. All the difference in the world.

The Times should have printed that the museum would be running a video. The public certainly has a right to know this information next month when the museum screens “Dr. Strangelove.”

SHENANDOAH G. LYND

Huntington Beach