Odeon Luxe London Leicester Square
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
45 people
favorited this theater
Showing 301 - 325 of 754 comments
CF100: Not certain exactly of the proximity of Leicester Square underground station to the Odeon but I have often been in the front stalls/orchestra pit area when the cinema has been “dark”, devoid of members of the public and otherwise completely quiet. The unmistakeable sound – and vibration – from the Tube is then quite noticeable and is clearly the sensation caused by a train starting and accelerating, presumably westwards. This leads me to think that it is the platform ends which lie beneath the Odeon. I have never heard any such sound in the same area when a performance has been in progress – including times when only non-sync music was being played as opposed to film sound.
In contrast, the former Empire Leicester Square suffered badly from having a Mecca ballroom below its 1962 superb auditorium and, during quieter films when the live orchestra underneath was playing something up-tempo, this could give rise to numerous complaints and trigger both refunds and complimentary tickets to be issued.
Digressing, the northern portal of the northbound Victoria Line lies beneath the stage of the Victoria Palace Theatre and, having been the V.P.’s assistant manager during the ‘seventies, the sounds in an otherwise silent OLS always remind me of those in the front stalls area at the V.P.
Terry:
The “general public” may not have any expectations regarding presentation—however, alas I’m in the same box of “dinosaur” as I remember all too well the high presentation standards achieved in the key West End flagships and being horrified to find multiplexes with bare screens and no moveable masking—and I certainly would expect tabs at the Odeon Leicester Square of all venues! I am willing to accept an absence of moveable masking if fully straight edges and good black levels in the disused areas can be achieved, albeit it would still be preferable.
Put another way, if it were up to me, ALL auditoria would have moveable masking and tabs, as well as seamless sequencing of lighting, non-sync music, and all the rest… I have been very critical on here of presentations that end with a “pop” and a flash on the screen, and non-sync music suddenly cutting in 30 seconds later—even if I’m the only one left in the auditorium by then!
CF100: Unless tabs happen to be lurking in the wings (quite literally) it seems very much the case that a veto has indeed been exercised. Odeon themselves, admittedly, prior to AMC’s acquisition, had dispensed with their use generally across the circuit; they did, however, retain same and continue their use here.
I am sure that the same organisation, following refurbishment, would have perpetuated the policy at their flagship theatre and I am 99.9 % certain that the decision to use the safety curtain image – as opposed to house tabs – is AMC’s way of paying ‘lip service’ to the old order. Big of them, indeed!
Safety curtains, no matter how ornate, are there for one purpose: namely to segregate the auditorium from the stage in the event of a fire. Audiences at the refurbished theatre are most unlikely to say: “Wow! That is a digital recreation of the Fire Curtain!”, as 99.9 % of them (yes, that percentage again) will never have seen it in the first place.
I could perhaps understand if, as in the case of the former York Odeon, a large screen were floated forward of the proscenium thereby not facilitating anywhere for a curtain track. However, as we all know, this is not so at the Odeon Theatre, Leicester Square where the screen is within the proscenium and where there is ample room for several tracks.
Fanatical About Odeon and I are probably dinosaurs when it comes to screen presentation and maintaining the belief that tabs are essential for this purpose.
AMC and other multiplex operators decreed many years ago that tabs are unnecessary. Maybe so, but this could be said about many things in this life. As the Season of Goodwill is approaching, perhaps AMC’s executives will consider just handing unwrapped presents to their nearest and dearest on Christmas Day. After all, gift wrapping is unnecessary and the recipients would only see what the present is anyway after the removal of the wrappings, ribbons etc etc – rather like Cinema Curtains, when you come to think about it………..
FanaticalAboutOdeon: Thank you for your very interesting reply—that does explain why the “Home Cinema Choice” article says that Odeon still “owns” the safety curtain.
Tube lines aren’t shown directly under the cinema in Google Maps—is part of Leicester Square station under there? IIRC, the cinema used to get its water supply from the ground underneath?
I am, of course, in full agreement with yourself and Terry about curtains—would be a terrible shame and a puzzling omission.
However, it doesn’t look to me as though AMC are “imposing” a carbon copy of their North American operations on the UK & Ireland, with the Odeon brand being retained and nurtured.
CF100: The original safety curtain is still there as far as I’m aware and, yes, it has always contained asbestos but, certainly on 10th January, it was not punctured in any way. For many years a network of water pipes was attached to the back of it for spraying water onto the stage/fire. A friend who is connected with OLS thought the “iron” would likely just remain out of sight and be more permanently secured in the fly tower. It would be a shame to think of its never being seen again although I don’t think it would be wise to be lowering and raising it at least several times every day. It’s on an iron frame and was installed before the stage house was completed (the case in most proscenium theatres) and the only way it could have been safely removed would have been to part demolish the stage house. Dismantling on sight after removing its sealing grooves which run from stage to just below the lantern on the stage house roof would have had safety implications and would have had to be done before any other auditorium/stage work could have commenced. More £s and more delay, of course.
The screen has always been retractable and screen speakers mounted on trolleys to enable this. The 2D screen was retracted to the very back of the stage thus was never seen at BAFTA awards and the stage shows celebrating, for example, the careers of Julie Andrews and Sean Connery when they appeared on stage following a live musical spectacular. Similarly the orchestra pit floor has always been able to be brought up to stage level to form an apron and create an even deeper stage. Built into the orchestra pit floor is the organ’s “grave” which required yet more excavation – then comes the Tube a little further below! I agree with Terry that if a representation of the design on the safety curtain is used instead of at least one pair of proper curtains then the ship, or should I say flagship, really will have been spoilt by saving a ha'porth o' tar. The beautifully lit and sweeping curtains of the Odeon have always been part of the charm and glamour allegedly being so lovingly recreated and to do without them altogether would be criminal.
terry:
Quite, but would AMC really “veto” proposals for tabs coming over from their Odeon colleagues?
joeswin: Thanks for the link to the Home Cinema Choice article.
Apparently, 70mm projection is being retained, and the flying ladies will be reinstated, the article saying they are being restored, one with a broken toe.
I’m slightly confused by the article’s statement that line arrays are “uncommon” in cinemas. Various companies market line array products for cinema applications, including Dolby SLS, as IIRC specified for this refurbishment.
If they are using line arrays to reinforce the screen speakers on a delay, then that would certainly be unusual.
Regarding the photos, multiple publications feature some of the same photos, of which several are also included in an official press release:
Iconic ODEON Leicester Square Undergoes Significant Transformation to Become the UK’s First Dolby Cinema.
Do you have a link to the photos to which you refer on Twitter, please, as I can’t find them?!
Also for those of you who have Twitter there is a video on Odeons page of the interior, and quite a few pictures not featured in the articles which I assume were taken by the journalists they invited.
“Rather cutely, visitors will now see a digital recreation of the original safety curtain, first lifted in 1937…..” So, this is what will greet people as they look at the stage end of the refurbished OLS – a digital image of a safety curtain which was only occasionally seen. I might have guessed that AMC would do something like this and an old maxim which includes the words ‘ship’ and ‘tar’ comes to mind…..
https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/making-dolby-cinema-behind-scenes-odeon-luxe-leicester-square
This link confirms the suggestion that the safety curtain is in fact a digital recreation.
joeswin: Hadn’t even noticed that when booking, interesting pricing strategy.
This means that ticket prices in the main auditorium on opening day are, in some cases, significantly less than the former Studios/Mezzanine auditoria?
Since the opening day titles are standard DCPs rather than Dolby Cinema releases, perhaps the cost will be increased for those releases—presumably, also a surcharge for 3D?
For the “Luxe Recliner” option, the £10.75 seats are in the rear stalls to the sides—mostly under the balcony (last 3 rows.)
For the “Luxe Classic” option, £10.75 applies to ALL of the circle except for the front “Royal Circle” recliner rows.
However, there are three different “Luxe Classic” options/sections shown in the circle, all priced at £10.75, which points to pricing being increased for the better locations, at least.
With an evening adult non-2D “Luxe Classic” seat currently being £18.25 in the former “Studios” auditoria, I can’t see these prices being held down—but maybe Odeon’s thinking is that it’s the only way to fill all parts of the main auditorium?
Do you think the prices will remain the same when it’s open for a full release such as Mary Poppins? £10.75 seems very reasonable for a cinema of this kind.
website taking booking for 20/12/18
Dolby Cinema London are advertising Mary Poppins Returns on instagram would make me suspect Mary Poppins will be the first full release here.
terry: That’s what I referenced. Perhaps the the old safety curtain design being shown is aimed at presenting the retention of heritage aspects; as no pleating is shown in the render, it isn’t clear as you say whether it’s meant to be tabs or the screen itself.
I expect the old safety curtain was disposed of, as IIRC it contained asbestos (and should I remember incorrectly, it’s highly likely that it did.)
CF100: Unless I have missed one of the rendered views, all I can see is what appears to be a ‘slide’ image of the old safety curtain on the cinema screen.
All will be revealed shortly, I suppose……
Terry—Yes, the tabs look to be the same as those from the 1992 rebuild; no idea if they’ve been replaced since then. Particularly 5/7 also have other “traditional” theatrical elements to their design, including splayed sidewalls and the “stepped” coving below and to the sides of their proscenia.
There appears to be relatively little latitude for radical changes to the Vue West End, with auditoria being surrounded by fire exits and services/plant rooms. My previous trawls through Westminster Council’s planning records revealed that Screens 8/9 were actually a “later” addition with a further planning application to the original, being essentially a roof extension—and it’s pretty clear from aerial images that the roof adjacent to auditorium 8, at the rear of the building, slopes down to avoid overshadowing the Church of Notre Dame—the circular building next door.
Screens 5/7 could perhaps have had new floating screens just ahead of their proscenia—albeit I’d estimate that would make them ~20% wider and a bit closer to the audience in exchange for losing the “unique” features that those screens have over typical multiplex auditoria.
Tabs are shown in the publically released rendered views of the refurbished auditorium.
D'oh! Hadn’t noticed that antovolk had already posted a link to the Engadget article.
Addendum (again!): Perhaps I should have read the Engadget article before posting — some key features of the refurbishment noted:
“Essentially” two Atmos rigs to service both stalls and circle level, “Dolby added a series of line array speaker stacks in the ceiling. Only two of these are visible, however, with the rest hidden by a blue cloth.”
“The bas-relief figures of nymphs dancing toward the screen are being restored and will soon be reinstalled.”
“And, despite weighing around 55,000 lbs, the screen and [screen] speaker[s] can be retracted, turning the cinema into a theater.”
The article is littered with mistakes, but ho-hum.
The retractable screen speakers can be seen among the photos in Engadget, seemingly mounted at the end of trusses. Below the screen appears to a be new steel structure, perhaps to form an “extended” stage?
Addendum: Correction to above link: Inside the new look Odeon Leicester Square.
Many more photos over at Engadget — including of the proscenium end.
Another rendering of the proscenium shows a curtain with the old “safety curtain” design, as shown in another previously released rendering.
Additional renderings of the foyer areas.
Photos of the foyer areas—largely unfinished—installed escalator can be seen, as well as the formation of the new circular recessed ceiling elements.
Cut-outs for the sidewall speakers can be seen at circle level.
Wooden panelling referenced in previous post appears to be wood sheets to form walls rather than finished panelling.
Sidewalls stripped back to bare brickwork ahead of circle circle, existing finishes removed from front splay walls.
Ceiling from balcony to proscenium completely removed, not sure if what’s largely covering it over is a dust sheet? AFAIK fabric for stretched fabric systems is usually supplied in widths of a few metres maximum.
New wall within proscenium built, presumably using British Gypsum SoundBloc.
Ceiling below booth appears to be a perforated acoustic type.
At long last, some photos of the refurbished auditorium:
(Warning—it is not in a finished state, and the refurbishment is very extensive—the faint of heart may just want to turn away!)
Inside the new look Odeon Leicester Square
The primary decorative finish is the coved plasterwork to the sidewalls/ceiling above the circle balcony, which appears to have been retained, albeit now near-black in colour. If I’m not mistaken, some of the new wooden panelling has been fitted to walls in the far left (or right, when looking at the photos) corner of the circle.
The new concealed lighting behind the coves seems to be operational; it’s not clear from the photos whether this will allow for changeable colours—it mostly looks very warm white, but there are some oddly cyan segments—albeit these might just be misregistrations in the shot.
It looks like the old front of the circle, with its “pageant” lightboxes, has been removed?
Sidewalls past the balcony to screen end have been stripped back to what appears to be brickwork, with new ducting attached. The construction of the new Royal Circle stadia and vomitory can be seen.
Additionally, two speaker arrays can be seen suspended from the ceiling.
I’m not quite sure what’s happening with the mess of portholes to the front of the booth?
Alas, no shots of the proscenium end, I’m afraid.
CF100: I am guessing that tabs exist (and are used at least on certain occasions) at the Vue owing to Warner Bros having installed them when the complex originally opened. I assume, therefore, that after the most recent refurbishment they were allowed to remain, given the importance of the venue’s location (not that this was taken into consideration by Empire after the latter’s carve – up).
I am aware, however, of no exceptions to the ‘no tabs’ policy by AMC, Odeon’s parent company. Should they happen to diversify from their stringently enforced doctrine at OLS, I shall be amazed – albeit most pleasantly……….
Detailed feature on the refurb with new photos – https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/30/dolby-odeon-movie-theater-leicester-square-cinema/
thomastace: Going by the recent licensing plans (linked to in my previous posts here,) the old Mezzanine/Studios Screen 1 (approx. Ground Floor level) has been converted into 2 VR Rooms.
On a side note it now appears that the smaller screens have gone from 5 down to 4. Screen 2 35 seats, screen 3 42 seats, screen 4 41 seats and screen 5 54 seats.