Odeon Luxe London Leicester Square
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
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Uploaded on: February 14, 2019
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Odeon Leicester Square - 2018 Refurbishment - “Flying Ladies.”
Following the reopening of the OLS on the 21st December 2018, in a not-quite-finished state, the 1998 recreations of the original 1937 “Flying Ladies” golden nymphs have returned to the front splay walls, following repair (and presumably reconditioning) work.
Taken February 2019.
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Comments (5)
Addendum: Photo taken from the front of the balcony.
The overspill of light onto the stage is regrettable, illuminated so brightly, the legs, screen masking and lower masking guide track shield all look very crude. Given the base colour of the auditorium – now a somewhat industrial dark navy blue – why is all the lighting cold white? Was no one with a rudimentary knowledge of stage/architectural lighting involved/consulted during such an expensive transformation to this important venue? Clearly not. Sad to think this gloomy old auditorium had, until just over a year ago, pale blue satin screen curtains operating and lit by fourteen 1k profile spots filtered by magenta gels and housed in the “pageant box” which was incorporated on the front of the balcony when the Odeon was built. The golden nymphs were tastefully lit by a further two spots at each end of the pageant box with the shutters of these lanterns arranged to prevent unsightly overspill so just the nymphs glowed. The walls and ceiling were then painted soft grey (which had replaced the previous pastel pink in 1998). I know which scheme I preferred and which still had the “glamour and charm” now so conspicuously absent.
The original pageant or lighting box was torn down last year and replaced by a somewhat temporary looking exposed bar on which are suspended ugly, semi spherical downward-facing Dolby speakers.
I wish I could say the present image and sound quality offered a sufficient improvement to justify making the auditorium into a large, black box with only the slightest nod to previous enrichments but I honestly can’t. Yes, picture and sound are extremely good but they were always pretty impressive here in the past so the average guest my well be hard-pressed to describe the improvements. The theatrical trappings of a traditional cinema may indeed be subliminal to the majority but their absence in this of all Odeons will be sufficient for me to look elsewhere for my ideal cinema.
Smaller, truly independent cinemas generally do not go in for the black box treatment and Keswick’s Alhambra, St. Albans' Odyssey, Stockport’s Plaza and Berkhamsted’s Rex are just a few of many cinemas which remain a pleasure to visit in themselves. They are now beacons which would once have tried to emulate the former grandeur of Leicester Square’s cinemas.
Odeon needed to put in color LED lights that they could adjust the color change. Just start out with dark BLUE to start please. Same in the USA so many new cinemas just put in bright white lights and the side wall lights all hit the corners of the screen during the pre show adds. I wonder if the people buying ads in movie theatres like(Screen Vision) know that the ads and trailers are mostly ruined by stray white lights. A dark low light blue light would not bother the screen that much but they won’t do anything about it in most circuits. Thanks FAO for your photos and notes. People need to complain and boycott the Odeon LS till they fix the lighting.
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Many thanks for your comment, the information on “past” lighting practices is most appreciated.
You have hit the nail on the head here, I think—the problem is likely to be that no-one knew any better!
Unfortunately, the lighting was probably just considered essentially as a subset of mechanical/electrical services rather than a specialisation in its own right.
As I mentioned in my long post on the main page for the OLS, I don’t think the lighting is “cold” white (5000K) but more like 4000K. Ideally, I think they could have used 2000K (“flame” white.)
Picture/sound—I agree, the picture/sound was already very good—whilst the acoustics have been improved, better coverage achieved to the rear of the auditorium, and Atmos has been added—but as I alluded to in my post on the main page, if anything the previous JBL stage speaker system with full active crossovers was actually better than its replacement.
Otherwise, I agree broadly with everything you say—however, there are still lots of special touches, including the sections of green “velour” (?) fabric coverings, and the wood panelling to the lower sidewalls/rear wall.
The reimagined foyers are knockout; I still find the auditorium, despite the bungles, splended, and can highly recommend a good seat in the Royal Circle for a special occasion.
As with anything, you pay in terms of inconvenience (if getting there is a trek) and cost, and take your choice—but I really do find it very sad indeed to hear that you won’t be visiting the OLS again?
“Forsooth Mr Lowther, the Philistines are upon us” – Jean Brodie exclaims in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”, first heard during the film’s screening at the 1969 Royal Film Performance at Odeon Leicester Square.
My reaction on seeing the spoiled auditorium on 3rd Jan. was, in essence, not dissimilar!
I may well make one more visit to my beloved Odeon Theatre after some months just to see if anything has improved with time otherwise I’ll be content to remember happier days. I’m blessed with a photographic memory (at least of those things which interest or fascinate me) and I have so many memories of the Odeon since my first visit in 1970. I lived in London for over thirty years and treated OLS as more of a local cinema – so easy was it to see almost every film shown there. A measure of my affection is probably the fact that I could watch a film there which I considered mediocre, or even, though rarely, poor and still feel afterwards that I had had an enjoyable evening. I tended to go with several less cinema-orientated friends and it never failed to please when they would gasp on entry and remark on the size of the screen or quality of the sound. When first the house tabs parted followed by the screen tabs billowing apart as colours changed and faded there would not infrequently be heard “wows” here and there in the auditorium.
I do nevertheless feel sad at the current situation but glad that the Odeon Leicester Square entertained me so much during over half my lifetime. When I first visited the Odeon I was still a Rank Odeon Manager but never worked in the West End. Three Royal Film Performances were all especially memorable for me, none more so than “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 70mm before the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Lord Mountbatten. It was when a full orchestra occupied the pit and ticket holders were greeted on entry by the orchestra playing the theme music from films shown at earlier RFPs. James Mason then made a welcoming speech from the side of the stage before the red velvet house tabs parted to reveal the royal trumpeters who played a fanfare as the royal party walked to their seats at the front of the Royal Circle. Having played the National Anthem, the trumpeters then left the stage and we saw the little boy from the film standing spotlit centre stage as pageants faded down to the deepest blue. The silver screen tabs began to part, the little boy ran off as his spotlight iris narrowed down to a dot and was extinguished, the enormous screen began to glow and, well, the rest is history.
Sic transit gloria mundi.