The walls at most AMC theaters are pretty thin so the sound does travel. Of course they set the volume so low that it is hard to hear especially when there is a large crowd. Showmanship is dead and AMC helped kill it.
I was in Hollywood today and decided to go see Prometheus. To late for the early show I got a ticket for the 2 pm showing. To my surprise the show was already almost 70% sold. After the ticket girl suggested several different seats that were way in the back of house. I told her to put me right on top of the screen and she sold me a front row ticket. I ended up sitting in the second row from the front. The real reason I went to see a film here was to figure out what seat I wanted for the upcoming showing of the Cinerama films and the new short film In the Picture, While I was hanging out waiting for the show to start I was offered a tour of the Cinerama projection booth. Of course I accepted. That was an unexpected treat.
Those who know the Dome know it has a deeply curved screen so there is some distortion from the curve and keystone. I was amazed that the picture was for the most part sharp and clear. The huge screen and great spread on the sound more than make up for any distortion caused by the screen and projection angle. So enough about the distortion people. While it was no way as clear and sharp as film it was without a question of a doubt a great presentation. The movie wasn’t that good but I expected that. So this is one of the few theaters in Los Angeles where it is worth the price of a ticket.
Diana I hope if you do buy the H.P. and reopen it that you will restore it to what it once was. The only problem with that is the cost. Big theaters just don’t make money like they used to.
Your memory is not distorted 2001, My Fair Lady, West Side Story etc. were spectacular in the roadshow versions. Film still is the superior image especially on large screens and wide gauge. The cost of film especially for release prints is the problem.
You are referring to the old Warner Pacific on Hollywood blvd. At one time this theater was used to run reserve seat Cinerama films but the Cinerama screen was replaced with a smaller flatter screen (not sure when). In the 70’s I attended a 70mm festival in New York at the Strand Theater http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2975. This was also at one time a Cinerama Theater. I marveled at the huge (90+ feet) screen and talked at length to the projectionist. His comment was' “you should have seen the screen before we cut it down in size.” So most of the deep dish screens that were used for Cinerama and Todd-AO were replaced with more conventional sized and shaped screens in the late 60’s early 70’s.
The information on this site is pretty bogus sometimes. The address they have listed for this theater isn’t even close to where the theater was and it never was the largest screen in Boston!
There are a few curved screens left on the planet. In70mm.com lists a few of the active theaters showing wide format films many of them have curved screens. http://in70mm.com/now_showing/index.htm
That is a problem that needs to be corrected as without the LE and RE channels there are two distinct holes in the sound field. This is only a problem in venues like the Dome where there is a Ultra large screen. The movies that the sound was mixed to end up with five screen channels should be able to be played back in the format they were meant to shown in. It is unfortunate that the sound mix that was used for so many big films has been remixed to eliminate the Left extra and Right Extra channels.
many of the older theaters had multiple balconies but as the buildings aged they were closed or used only when needed. May areas of the older theaters were condemned in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s by public safety. The second balcony in most theaters was closed. The first balcony at the Astor was unsafe because the fire escapes were rusted and weak.
The Astor was at one time the Tremont Street theater and dated way back. There were gas lights in the stairwell leading to the second balcony. There was a steam engine in the basement that had not been used for years. Keeping these buildings up to current code was a challenge. Theater owners got in the habit of using the balconies only when the lower seats were filled. One Easter Sunday in the 70’s the Astor filled up and the balcony was opened. If a theater had a balcony that people liked then that management might tend to open it more often; that is if it wasn’t condemned and they had staff to patrol it. Boxes went out in the early twentieth century. In many theaters like the Astor and Graunam’s Chinese they were removed when the theater was renovated for sound or wide screen.
the second balcony and original projection booth remained intact but was closed to the public. The door leading to the stairway that went up to the second balcony was in the rear of the first balcony. the first balcony was closed to the public also
the second balcony and original projection booth remained intact but was closed to the public. The door leading to the stairway that went up to the second balcony was in the rear of the first balcony. the first balcony was closed to the public also
The booth that was in the second balcony was replaced by the Todd-AO booth. The Todd-AO booth was installed in the first balcony. At that time all the dressing rooms and the stage were torn out to make room for the Todd-AO screen.
The federal government cared that some rather shady characters were running a club where ambulances were lined up in front like taxi cabs. I testified at the hearing telling the court that I didn’t see any violence. I did go on about the projection system. The court reporter had trouble with Todd-AO and I had to spell it out for her when I was finished testifying. I was safe in the projection booth when it was the Union Station. The celebs would come up to the projection booth be safe and to do their coke (they don’t like to share). I will just say that there were a number of fights, stabbings, etc. in the club or around the club. Crime in the area went way up for a while. I am sure there were plenty of drugs for sale in men’s room. It was a sad end to a great theater. And this was the mid to end 70’s
The new management ran movies (picture only) because it was a licence issue. I believe they were operating with a movie theater licence and it was the late 1970’s . The Feds closed them down.
Yes that played in 70mm at the Charles. When Sack took over the theater it had two 35/70 Italian projectors with carbon arcs. After they were forced to install the sound processor for Star Wars the Charles ran 70mm more often and my source tells me that they ran Gettysburg in 70mm. Still they only ran 70mm when it was demanded of them. New York and Los Angeles Washington and other cities ran 70mm prints of many, many, films that were run in 35mm in smaller cities. There was a time almost every major film had a 70mm release print. Just about every major theater in the Los Angeles area was equipped to run 70mm. So theaters like the Chinese and the Avco had three 70mm prints of different movies all running at the same time. There were 8 movies released in 1993 in 70mm and Boston got one 70mm run maybe two. check out this theater in Boston http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6447
The last glory days of the Astor must have been in the late 1960’s. I discovered the theater in the early 70’s when it was running black exploitation and Bruce Lee films. I worked as a projectionist while attending college for film. The only theater management in Boston that liked me was the Astor.
Sack Theaters hated me. I was working the Charles once and someone from Hollywood called the theater to ask about what type of speakers they had behind the screen. I told the truth and Sack had to put in better speakers.
The Astor had Altec A4's And I think they were double A4's but they were the large Altec speakers and they did the job. The Charles had A7's a much smaller speaker. They had to put in A4's for Days of Heaven. People think the screen at the Charles was large but the largest screen in 1975 was the Astor. The Astor never had Dolby but it did have a full Todd-AO projection system. Todd-AO projectors and lenses.
It was a sad end for such a great theater but things had changed. The price of energy went up in the 1970's and it cost a fortune to heat that huge building. A building so old it had gas lights. There was a stairway to the second balcony that had been closed off for years. There were gas lights in that stairway. There was no insulation. They had to put in a dry sprinkler system to keep the pipes from freezing in the remote area of the theater.
A new group called Cates Enterprises tried running the theater for a while. When they took over the building was heated with city steam. They installed a boiler which a later management ran low on water and damaged. The last person to run the Astor as a Theater was Joe Ramos. He owned the company that did security for the theater. One time an Edison crew came to disconnect the electric because the bill wasn't paid. The Edison guy couldn't find the meter. There was none. So he just pulled a bunch of main fuses and thew them on the floor. We just picked them up and plugged them back in.
After Ramos gave it up some rather interesting people tried to run an after hours club. They ripped out some seats in the front and installed a stage. They opened at 11p.m. as a juice bar and closed at 5a.m. To try and appear legitimate they hired a union crew to run movies but picture only. The sound came from the newly installed club system. The Charles was running a midnight show of 2001 and they had an original Cinerama print. 70mm the good stuff. I managed to borrow a few reels.
There was a clause in the new contract that if we ran 70mm at the Astor it was time and a half so Joe Mooney the operator on duty let me run the 70mm. I ran one of the reels from the Dawn of Man sequence in 70mm and the dance floor stopped cold. Everyone turned and looked at the huge picture. Most theaters used the same size screen for scope and 70mm. The Astor did it right. 70mm had a larger picture so large you had to open the top and sides to the limits. The masking closed in for all other formats. The lamps were rotating carbon arc 13.6mm at over 160amps (we could take one projector to 190amps) so the picture was bright. A Cinerama print of 2001 at the Union Station (aka The Astor) That was the last time 70mm ran at the Astor.
The walls at most AMC theaters are pretty thin so the sound does travel. Of course they set the volume so low that it is hard to hear especially when there is a large crowd. Showmanship is dead and AMC helped kill it.
The link works and it is a great view of the auditorium http://capp360.com/pacific-cinerama-dome-hollywood/ thanks PYTinLA
The best Todd-AO presentation was at the Astor.
Well bigjoe59
The Chinese opened on May 18, 1927
I was in Hollywood today and decided to go see Prometheus. To late for the early show I got a ticket for the 2 pm showing. To my surprise the show was already almost 70% sold. After the ticket girl suggested several different seats that were way in the back of house. I told her to put me right on top of the screen and she sold me a front row ticket. I ended up sitting in the second row from the front. The real reason I went to see a film here was to figure out what seat I wanted for the upcoming showing of the Cinerama films and the new short film In the Picture, While I was hanging out waiting for the show to start I was offered a tour of the Cinerama projection booth. Of course I accepted. That was an unexpected treat.
Those who know the Dome know it has a deeply curved screen so there is some distortion from the curve and keystone. I was amazed that the picture was for the most part sharp and clear. The huge screen and great spread on the sound more than make up for any distortion caused by the screen and projection angle. So enough about the distortion people. While it was no way as clear and sharp as film it was without a question of a doubt a great presentation. The movie wasn’t that good but I expected that. So this is one of the few theaters in Los Angeles where it is worth the price of a ticket.
Diana I hope if you do buy the H.P. and reopen it that you will restore it to what it once was. The only problem with that is the cost. Big theaters just don’t make money like they used to.
Are this all going to be 2K digital? That screen is so big the 2K digital looks very grainy.
Your memory is not distorted 2001, My Fair Lady, West Side Story etc. were spectacular in the roadshow versions. Film still is the superior image especially on large screens and wide gauge. The cost of film especially for release prints is the problem.
You are referring to the old Warner Pacific on Hollywood blvd. At one time this theater was used to run reserve seat Cinerama films but the Cinerama screen was replaced with a smaller flatter screen (not sure when). In the 70’s I attended a 70mm festival in New York at the Strand Theater http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2975. This was also at one time a Cinerama Theater. I marveled at the huge (90+ feet) screen and talked at length to the projectionist. His comment was' “you should have seen the screen before we cut it down in size.” So most of the deep dish screens that were used for Cinerama and Todd-AO were replaced with more conventional sized and shaped screens in the late 60’s early 70’s.
The information on this site is pretty bogus sometimes. The address they have listed for this theater isn’t even close to where the theater was and it never was the largest screen in Boston!
There are a few curved screens left on the planet. In70mm.com lists a few of the active theaters showing wide format films many of them have curved screens. http://in70mm.com/now_showing/index.htm
That is a problem that needs to be corrected as without the LE and RE channels there are two distinct holes in the sound field. This is only a problem in venues like the Dome where there is a Ultra large screen. The movies that the sound was mixed to end up with five screen channels should be able to be played back in the format they were meant to shown in. It is unfortunate that the sound mix that was used for so many big films has been remixed to eliminate the Left extra and Right Extra channels.
Yes, Ed the image was such that it would project onto a deep curved screen. A special projection lens was needed for flat screens.
Todd-AO made special prints to correct for screen curve for keystone and other distortion caused by the angle of projection.
The best show I remember was back in the 90’s when the Dome ran 2001 in 70mm. It was a good mag 6 channel print.
We need a good 70mm festival in Los Angeles? So few theaters can run 70mm these days especially reel to reel.
many of the older theaters had multiple balconies but as the buildings aged they were closed or used only when needed. May areas of the older theaters were condemned in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s by public safety. The second balcony in most theaters was closed. The first balcony at the Astor was unsafe because the fire escapes were rusted and weak.
The Astor was at one time the Tremont Street theater and dated way back. There were gas lights in the stairwell leading to the second balcony. There was a steam engine in the basement that had not been used for years. Keeping these buildings up to current code was a challenge. Theater owners got in the habit of using the balconies only when the lower seats were filled. One Easter Sunday in the 70’s the Astor filled up and the balcony was opened. If a theater had a balcony that people liked then that management might tend to open it more often; that is if it wasn’t condemned and they had staff to patrol it. Boxes went out in the early twentieth century. In many theaters like the Astor and Graunam’s Chinese they were removed when the theater was renovated for sound or wide screen.
the second balcony and original projection booth remained intact but was closed to the public. The door leading to the stairway that went up to the second balcony was in the rear of the first balcony. the first balcony was closed to the public also
the second balcony and original projection booth remained intact but was closed to the public. The door leading to the stairway that went up to the second balcony was in the rear of the first balcony. the first balcony was closed to the public also
The booth that was in the second balcony was replaced by the Todd-AO booth. The Todd-AO booth was installed in the first balcony. At that time all the dressing rooms and the stage were torn out to make room for the Todd-AO screen.
The federal government cared that some rather shady characters were running a club where ambulances were lined up in front like taxi cabs. I testified at the hearing telling the court that I didn’t see any violence. I did go on about the projection system. The court reporter had trouble with Todd-AO and I had to spell it out for her when I was finished testifying. I was safe in the projection booth when it was the Union Station. The celebs would come up to the projection booth be safe and to do their coke (they don’t like to share). I will just say that there were a number of fights, stabbings, etc. in the club or around the club. Crime in the area went way up for a while. I am sure there were plenty of drugs for sale in men’s room. It was a sad end to a great theater. And this was the mid to end 70’s
The theater was gutted long ago. So far the only photo I have seen is the one I posted.
The new management ran movies (picture only) because it was a licence issue. I believe they were operating with a movie theater licence and it was the late 1970’s . The Feds closed them down.
I will wait until September they should run some Cinerama again then.
Yes that played in 70mm at the Charles. When Sack took over the theater it had two 35/70 Italian projectors with carbon arcs. After they were forced to install the sound processor for Star Wars the Charles ran 70mm more often and my source tells me that they ran Gettysburg in 70mm. Still they only ran 70mm when it was demanded of them. New York and Los Angeles Washington and other cities ran 70mm prints of many, many, films that were run in 35mm in smaller cities. There was a time almost every major film had a 70mm release print. Just about every major theater in the Los Angeles area was equipped to run 70mm. So theaters like the Chinese and the Avco had three 70mm prints of different movies all running at the same time. There were 8 movies released in 1993 in 70mm and Boston got one 70mm run maybe two. check out this theater in Boston http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6447
The last glory days of the Astor must have been in the late 1960’s. I discovered the theater in the early 70’s when it was running black exploitation and Bruce Lee films. I worked as a projectionist while attending college for film. The only theater management in Boston that liked me was the Astor.
There was a clause in the new contract that if we ran 70mm at the Astor it was time and a half so Joe Mooney the operator on duty let me run the 70mm. I ran one of the reels from the Dawn of Man sequence in 70mm and the dance floor stopped cold. Everyone turned and looked at the huge picture. Most theaters used the same size screen for scope and 70mm. The Astor did it right. 70mm had a larger picture so large you had to open the top and sides to the limits. The masking closed in for all other formats. The lamps were rotating carbon arc 13.6mm at over 160amps (we could take one projector to 190amps) so the picture was bright. A Cinerama print of 2001 at the Union Station (aka The Astor) That was the last time 70mm ran at the Astor.