Cinerama Hollywood

Was at the Arclight tonight to see M:I 4 and noticed a sizeable improvement in the digital projection in the Dome. I asked around after the show and my suspicions were confirmed… The Dome actually recently installed a newer 4k projector to replace the older NEC 2k they’ve been using for a few years. While it didn’t solve the geometric and cross wash issues the Dome has always had, it seemed noticeably brighter and much more detailed without all the chromatic aberration that frequently accompanied the older NECs. I was impressed. I doubt it will address the issues of 3D in the Dome, but I was pleasantly surprised at how great the 2D image from this new projector looked on that big screen.

Since most film prints are made from video (most films are edited on video these days so most film prints are made from the video) the difference between the video presentation and the film presentation is not that obvious to most. Of course those of us with an eye for it notice the dirt and splices in the film version (no matter how much care someone takes there is always a little dirt). Focus in a film presentation is also more critical as the focus on most film projectors tends to shift more then their digital counterparts. Of course nothing yet beats something that was filmed in 65mm then printed and shown in 70mm.

The Dome will be hopping on November 7 for the John Wayne tribute. Patrick Wayne, Kim Darby and others will be there for the showing of “True Grit.” Tickets are $25, but Goldstar discounts them to $16.50.

Last year’s Steve McQueen tribute was fantastic and included the rare opening of the main Dome entrance and outside box offices.

Danny, according to the website the Dome uses a NEC-2500 for digital features. I also read that they are using NEC’s for all their 3D showings in the multiplex, so you have to assume they are going with all NEC’s.

Digital is essentially required for 3D. There are two 3D systems that allow for 35mm-based presentation—Technicolor and Panavision—but they are widely recognized as inferior and two studios (Disney and Fox) refuse to make prints for them.

Prints are already becoming somewhat scarce for lower-grossing sites, as the studios are dropping production numbers rapidly. But as one of the top grossing sites in the country, ArcLight certainly could have continued to get prints had they wanted them. But there’s clearly not enough of an upside for them.

Anybody know what type of digital projectors they just installed?

It’s not a matter of hating digital; it’s just that many of us on here find 35mm superior when that’s the native shooting format of the movie — it’s warmer, has more authentic texture, it’s more traditional, etc. Also, I like knowing how long I’ve got left when the movie is bad, and counting the reel changes allows me to do that.

My main point is that this is one more thing to put the mighty ArcLight back in line with your everyday megaplex, which has likely been all-digital for awhile now. This was, of course, an inevitable transition, but I personally had hoped they would hold out as long as possible (at least two more years).

Now, what does make me angry is that I hear they are screening some of their “ArcLight Presents” repertory programming from digital sources without indicating it on the website (“Bonnie & Clyde” being the latest example). That’s highway robbery.

ArcLight Hollywood now 100% digital, with only four auditoriums equipped for 35mm. Another reason to not pay the premium.

I love the original Cinerama Dome, but the Archlight is way over priced and nothing special. I’d much rather they renovated and re-opened the Pacific, Vogue and Ritz- and kept the Galaxy. At least it would have helped bring back the Boulevard.

Wow, so now Arclight is withholding 2D showtimes in favor of forcing more 3D. Conan is opening this weekend and is getting 5 Dome showtimes in 3D, but they’re only offering 3 2D showtimes (at 1, 7, and midnight) on the weekends and only 2 (TWO) 2D shows during the week. Arclight Pasadena gets 6 3D showtimes of Fright Night everyday and 0 (zero, ZERO) 2D showtimes.

As people have, more and more, started choosing 2D showtimes over mediocre and overpriced 3D options Arclight has answered back… “If you won’t choose the overpriced, mediocre presentation on your own, we’ll just remove any other options.” Bravo Arclight. Do you actually care AT ALL about your customers anymore or is it just about how many extra dollars you can squeeze out per seat now?

I said it before and I’ll say it again… the day they opened Sherman Oaks they pushed aside what had made the Hollywood location so great and became more focused on creating a “chain” rather than maintaining a respectable brand. They took something that was unique and worth the additional surcharge and dumbed it down to go into the neighborhood multiplex business. Just take a look at their Facebook page and you’ll see they’re so busy creating dumb polls, doing trivia, and giving away T-shirts that they don’t have time to actually attend to someone with a grievance or see that their presentations are up to the standards that they, themselves, originally employed.

There used to be nothing to complain about when you saw an Arclight show and now they’re almost as bad as going to an AMC or Regal theater with texting audiences or poor projection or sound. I complained about the awful Transformers shows back in June and after ignoring my complaints on several occasions, I told them I wouldn’t be back for at least the rest of the summer to see anything else there and I held my ground. I’ve not been back there since June. It’s nothing they’ll feel, but I’m not going to reward someone who blatantly screws over paying customers (word was that they didn’t fix the Dome projectors showing Transformers 3 for AT LEAST a week). Arclight used to be something special, now it’s more or less the same as any other chain and that’s sad.

I went to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes yesterday at the Dome and loved it. The presentation was quite nice; I have not been in the Dome itself for many years even though I go to Arclight almost every weekend. It is great that it remains open and even with the refurbishing has not strayed far from what it originally was.

It’s a no-brainer: the Vista.