I too recognized the architecture of the Carlton/Haymarket around the Thunderball marquee when I watched the trailer but I have no other information. Howard, was the film good? I’m always eager to see a film set in London.
@CF100 - Glad to hear that your ankle is alright. COVID safety rules indeed complicate everything. A pity especially for those who got the jab twice. I hoped that, this year, the pandemic would be over and we would be able to travel normally again, and I could have seen Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile in 70mm or 4K at the OLS (or the new James Bond episode).
Not taken in 2008. Taken by me in February 1993, but CP200 aka Andy Summers picks pictures and posts them wherever he wants, even copyrighted ones, without thinking.
“Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois” (The ghost of Henri Langlois) is a 2004 French documentary film about Langlois, founder of the Cinémathèque française, here on YouTube.
It was the “Special Edition” from 1997 with effects added or improved, except for some shots lacking contrast and sharpness probably due to originally using higher-sensitivity film stock for lower light environments, which could have been better restored by taking the most out of the negative. I noticed scenes in the other two episodes back then in 1997 which deserved restoration but, for some reasons, they were left in their original condition of 1977/80/83.
I prefer the Cinema City Kazimierz because it’s more central and more convenient for me, and located in more pleasant surroundings.
My interest in cinema architecture and equipment faded a bit too. I had started 2020 by retyping on a computer my dissertation written in 1993 about the Empire when I completed my studies, rescanned pictures from books, retouched the colours of the slides I had taken back then. First in my native language, then with an English translation in mind. Then gave up out of exhaustion after Easter (yes, in 2020). I should get at it again and finish the damn thing. I’ll share it on Cinema Treasures when it’s done. I still anticipate our gathering at the Montagu Pyke. Do they have Old Speckled Hen? I love it but can’t find it here on the continent.
Despite the situation with COVID and its gloomy consequences (and I personally suffered from it professionally, although I can’t complain when I see other people’s situation), I would like to wish the best in 2021 for all my fellow cinema treasurers, hoping that you all managed to remain safe so far.
I’m not British but I believe in this great quote: “Keep calm and carry on”. The perspective of meeting at the Montagu Pyke pub one day is one of the little things that keeps us rooted in normality. What would the world be if we started to believe that proper screen masking is less important than a pandemic?
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
I recently bought a copy of Philip Turner’s book “Cinecenta Cinemas” (see it here . It’s an excellent book. Very rich of informations and illustrations despite its small size (A5 format, 30 pages). Copies are still available on various online shops including Amazon.
I wish you a good recovery. I’ve read the article for which you posted a link on the Empire’s page. Dark clouds are looming indeed, and not just in the cinema sector.
I had promised my Dad to come with him to London last April for his 80th birthday and it was cancelled because of lockdown. Now we don’t know where this is all going. He wanted to visit his English friends in Cambridgeshire as well (same age) and is a bit depressed as he starts to wonder if he will ever have the opportunity to see them again.
I saw two films here: The Black Hole from Disney in 1980 (and I remember the folding screen masking opening up for Cinemascope) then Parsifal from Hans-Jürgen Syberberg probably in 1982, shown in 1.37 ratio.
Ah, my beloved 1.66 aspect ratio! Close to the golden number. Always considered it to be a more balanced ratio than the 1.85 which always looked like it was invented to use as much surface as possible on tiny screens.
With the exit doors on the sides, there is just enough space for the curtains and masking to retract, so it shows the maximum screen width, which is visibly the 2.20 aspect ratio and slight screen curvature intended for films made accordingly to Panavision specifications. If you consider the aspect ratio, and also the screen size vs auditorium size, this is definitely a 70mm screen like they were thought out in the mid-sixties, when the deep curves of Cinerama and Todd-AO began to become a thing of the past except for Dimension 150 that would land at the Odeon Marble Arch 3 years later.
A projection booth was built in 1958 at the rear of the stalls for Todd-AO, presumably using Philips DP70 projectors (the only Todd-AO projectors at that time). Yet on some pictures, we can see small rectangles looking like portholes on the wall at the rear of the dress circle, and a picture taken in a projection booth with blue walls showing a pair of Cinemeccanica 35-70mm projectors, tilted down. Also, the small red box to the right of a projector is a remote control for a Dolby CP100 processor. Does somebody know when this new projection booth was built ?
Occasional films after 1981 also included a limited engagement of “Gremlins” in 70mm from August 17 to 26, 1986 (I believe it was 1986). In the early eighties, I saw the “Chinese Acrobatic Show” there, the only time I went to the Dominion. I just added 2 pictures of the theatre front to the photos section, which I took around 1986-1988.
I’m a latecomer for Christmas but I wish you all fellow Cinema Treasurers the best for the coming year. I hope all of you are safe, vaxxed or not.
A 45-minute-long report made in the late 90’s was just posted on YouTube on this cinema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RDkWuPUTQs
I too recognized the architecture of the Carlton/Haymarket around the Thunderball marquee when I watched the trailer but I have no other information. Howard, was the film good? I’m always eager to see a film set in London.
@CF100 - Glad to hear that your ankle is alright. COVID safety rules indeed complicate everything. A pity especially for those who got the jab twice. I hoped that, this year, the pandemic would be over and we would be able to travel normally again, and I could have seen Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile in 70mm or 4K at the OLS (or the new James Bond episode).
Not taken in 2008. Taken by me in February 1993, but CP200 aka Andy Summers picks pictures and posts them wherever he wants, even copyrighted ones, without thinking.
“Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois” (The ghost of Henri Langlois) is a 2004 French documentary film about Langlois, founder of the Cinémathèque française, here on YouTube.
18-minute-long footage from 1989 exploring the Odeon Marble Arch: street, foyer, projection booth, stalls and circle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCKDStXcP1U
The new building shape is similar to that of the former Regal…
Short film from 1997 showing the auditorium and projection booth of the then-called Richmond Filmhouse in a detailed manner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihEfNT9Ny40
@rivest266 Thanks for posting this ad. It’s interesting to see what was playing when a multiplex opened.
It was the “Special Edition” from 1997 with effects added or improved, except for some shots lacking contrast and sharpness probably due to originally using higher-sensitivity film stock for lower light environments, which could have been better restored by taking the most out of the negative. I noticed scenes in the other two episodes back then in 1997 which deserved restoration but, for some reasons, they were left in their original condition of 1977/80/83.
I prefer the Cinema City Kazimierz because it’s more central and more convenient for me, and located in more pleasant surroundings.
My interest in cinema architecture and equipment faded a bit too. I had started 2020 by retyping on a computer my dissertation written in 1993 about the Empire when I completed my studies, rescanned pictures from books, retouched the colours of the slides I had taken back then. First in my native language, then with an English translation in mind. Then gave up out of exhaustion after Easter (yes, in 2020). I should get at it again and finish the damn thing. I’ll share it on Cinema Treasures when it’s done. I still anticipate our gathering at the Montagu Pyke. Do they have Old Speckled Hen? I love it but can’t find it here on the continent.
Despite the situation with COVID and its gloomy consequences (and I personally suffered from it professionally, although I can’t complain when I see other people’s situation), I would like to wish the best in 2021 for all my fellow cinema treasurers, hoping that you all managed to remain safe so far.
I’m not British but I believe in this great quote: “Keep calm and carry on”. The perspective of meeting at the Montagu Pyke pub one day is one of the little things that keeps us rooted in normality. What would the world be if we started to believe that proper screen masking is less important than a pandemic?
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
Yet other pictures of the OMA when it opened. It’s the first time I see the auditorium photographed under that angle, and how the foyer was back then.
Side view of the stalls
Refreshment kiosk on the first floor
I recently bought a copy of Philip Turner’s book “Cinecenta Cinemas” (see it here . It’s an excellent book. Very rich of informations and illustrations despite its small size (A5 format, 30 pages). Copies are still available on various online shops including Amazon.
Today’s article in the Telegraph mentioning it in a wider economical and political context :
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/10/04/cineworld-just-latest-scalp-claimed-short-termist-politics/
I wish you a good recovery. I’ve read the article for which you posted a link on the Empire’s page. Dark clouds are looming indeed, and not just in the cinema sector.
I had promised my Dad to come with him to London last April for his 80th birthday and it was cancelled because of lockdown. Now we don’t know where this is all going. He wanted to visit his English friends in Cambridgeshire as well (same age) and is a bit depressed as he starts to wonder if he will ever have the opportunity to see them again.
It seems that the damn virus won’t let us have our meeting at the Montagu Pyke anytime soon. Anyway, I hope all of you are safe. So far, I’m alright.
I saw two films here: The Black Hole from Disney in 1980 (and I remember the folding screen masking opening up for Cinemascope) then Parsifal from Hans-Jürgen Syberberg probably in 1982, shown in 1.37 ratio.
Ah, my beloved 1.66 aspect ratio! Close to the golden number. Always considered it to be a more balanced ratio than the 1.85 which always looked like it was invented to use as much surface as possible on tiny screens.
With the exit doors on the sides, there is just enough space for the curtains and masking to retract, so it shows the maximum screen width, which is visibly the 2.20 aspect ratio and slight screen curvature intended for films made accordingly to Panavision specifications. If you consider the aspect ratio, and also the screen size vs auditorium size, this is definitely a 70mm screen like they were thought out in the mid-sixties, when the deep curves of Cinerama and Todd-AO began to become a thing of the past except for Dimension 150 that would land at the Odeon Marble Arch 3 years later.
@vindanpar : I just uploaded a picture which should answer your question. Transformation for 70mm in 1964, but still as a single-screen theatre.
A projection booth was built in 1958 at the rear of the stalls for Todd-AO, presumably using Philips DP70 projectors (the only Todd-AO projectors at that time). Yet on some pictures, we can see small rectangles looking like portholes on the wall at the rear of the dress circle, and a picture taken in a projection booth with blue walls showing a pair of Cinemeccanica 35-70mm projectors, tilted down. Also, the small red box to the right of a projector is a remote control for a Dolby CP100 processor. Does somebody know when this new projection booth was built ?
Occasional films after 1981 also included a limited engagement of “Gremlins” in 70mm from August 17 to 26, 1986 (I believe it was 1986). In the early eighties, I saw the “Chinese Acrobatic Show” there, the only time I went to the Dominion. I just added 2 pictures of the theatre front to the photos section, which I took around 1986-1988.