This is good news. I hope Everyman restore the circle foyer and remove the false ceiling to reveal the decorative frieze that has been hidden for decades.
The Vue WestEnd closes in March for a major refurbishment and not before time!
Seating capacity will be reduced by half as more luxurious fully reclining seats are installed.
Dolby Atmos will also be installed in the two largest screens.
The greatest venue on earth to see a movie.
I remember going there in September 1972 to see a movie and stage show. I remember the organ being played and the orchestra rising out of the pit and gliding onto the stage, The film was The Last of the Red Hot Mamas and the hall for a weekday afternoon was busy!
as much as I dislike Cineworld they do invest in their newer properties and the Empire we all loved so much as a 1300 seater was never going to work longterm.
Odeon give no regard for their older traditional cinemas.
I only hope that AMC will invest in the flagship Leicester Square site….the loss of Marble Arch was appalling as a magnificent single screen venue
Well my guess was wrong!! in a swap deal the Haymarket cinema will become an Empire to maintain a west end presence. Cineworld were keen to have a large West End venue following the closure of the Trocadero site and to compete with the AMC owned Odeon which hopefully will get a much needed internal refurb.
it has bought 5 Empire cinemas one of which a previous 4 screen odeon will be rebranded as a Picturehouse.
I am guessing the Haymarket venue will close.
The Empire has today been bought by Cineworld…..I do hope they keep the Empire name but I am guessing it will be rebranded leaving only The Odeon with its original name
It is indeed a shame this magnificent cinema does not get the care it deserves. I remember going to an early digital presentation of Toy Story. The painted fire curtain rising in synchronisation with the theatre organ, cove and pageant lighting all in full working order and two sets of tabs gloriously lit….
I was sat in row k in the stalls so that might explain the smiley end credits and from the stalls the tabs do seem dimly lit but then the whole auditorium was dimly lit giving it a shabby beige appearance.
Fanatical..thanks for the comments on masking.I think you are correct abut the lenses.When the end credits were running on 8 they curved upwards giving a very bendy look!
I also remember seeing many 70mm presentations here when the screen height was indeed much higher.
CF100 That is great photo of the House tabs and its a shame they were not kept.Unfortunately the suits have no idea as to how to make the most of this iconic venue…its not a multiplex!
Made my first visit in many years yesterday to see The Hateful Eight.The 70mm print was superb but unfortunately for the ads and trailers the massive screen was not masked down to standard widescreen format.The wonderful auditorium was dimly lit and none of the cove lighting was working.In such conditions people were struggling to find their seats in the stalls and of course there were no staff in the auditorium.
Sad to see this place not getting the tlc and showmanship it deserves.
The two screens below the circle are now closed for refurbishment.I hope the front stalls area is re-instated as happened at Rex Berkhamstead and St Albans Odyssey.
Although I also regret the twinning of Empire 1 it was not sustainable in that form with over 1300 seats to fill.The screen is NOT tiny and the laser projection is superb.
At least the cinema will not suffer the same fate as the Odeon West End with two cinemas in the basement!!!
This is one of my favourite San Francisco theatres and will hopefully remain showing film for many more years as my other favourites The Coronet and Metro are no longer with us.
For me Cannon represented the dark days of cinema in the U.K. I was even hopeful that the ABC Management buy out would be a success but sadly this was not to be and many of our great cinemas have now disappeared from the townscape to be replaced by Odeon dull multiplexes.
This is good news. I hope Everyman restore the circle foyer and remove the false ceiling to reveal the decorative frieze that has been hidden for decades.
The Vue WestEnd closes in March for a major refurbishment and not before time! Seating capacity will be reduced by half as more luxurious fully reclining seats are installed. Dolby Atmos will also be installed in the two largest screens.
Great picture MichaelBrent!
a stunning refurbishment of the long disused stalls.A far better colour scheme than the cold blue Odeon
The greatest venue on earth to see a movie. I remember going there in September 1972 to see a movie and stage show. I remember the organ being played and the orchestra rising out of the pit and gliding onto the stage, The film was The Last of the Red Hot Mamas and the hall for a weekday afternoon was busy!
as much as I dislike Cineworld they do invest in their newer properties and the Empire we all loved so much as a 1300 seater was never going to work longterm.
Odeon give no regard for their older traditional cinemas. I only hope that AMC will invest in the flagship Leicester Square site….the loss of Marble Arch was appalling as a magnificent single screen venue
Well my guess was wrong!! in a swap deal the Haymarket cinema will become an Empire to maintain a west end presence. Cineworld were keen to have a large West End venue following the closure of the Trocadero site and to compete with the AMC owned Odeon which hopefully will get a much needed internal refurb.
it has bought 5 Empire cinemas one of which a previous 4 screen odeon will be rebranded as a Picturehouse. I am guessing the Haymarket venue will close.
The Empire has today been bought by Cineworld…..I do hope they keep the Empire name but I am guessing it will be rebranded leaving only The Odeon with its original name
the stalls area is to be reinstated at this magnificent cinema .Everyman are doing a superb job on making this venue an event cinema
Another 70mm film playing here now..Batman v Superman…I hope the lighting and curtain tracks have been fixed!!
It is indeed a shame this magnificent cinema does not get the care it deserves. I remember going to an early digital presentation of Toy Story. The painted fire curtain rising in synchronisation with the theatre organ, cove and pageant lighting all in full working order and two sets of tabs gloriously lit….
I was sat in row k in the stalls so that might explain the smiley end credits and from the stalls the tabs do seem dimly lit but then the whole auditorium was dimly lit giving it a shabby beige appearance.
Fanatical..thanks for the comments on masking.I think you are correct abut the lenses.When the end credits were running on 8 they curved upwards giving a very bendy look! I also remember seeing many 70mm presentations here when the screen height was indeed much higher.
CF100 That is great photo of the House tabs and its a shame they were not kept.Unfortunately the suits have no idea as to how to make the most of this iconic venue…its not a multiplex!
Made my first visit in many years yesterday to see The Hateful Eight.The 70mm print was superb but unfortunately for the ads and trailers the massive screen was not masked down to standard widescreen format.The wonderful auditorium was dimly lit and none of the cove lighting was working.In such conditions people were struggling to find their seats in the stalls and of course there were no staff in the auditorium. Sad to see this place not getting the tlc and showmanship it deserves.
In January Odeon will be showing the super panavision 70mm roadshow version of Hateful Eight
The two screens below the circle are now closed for refurbishment.I hope the front stalls area is re-instated as happened at Rex Berkhamstead and St Albans Odyssey.
This lovely cinema is now open again and the frontage restored to its former glory
Although I also regret the twinning of Empire 1 it was not sustainable in that form with over 1300 seats to fill.The screen is NOT tiny and the laser projection is superb. At least the cinema will not suffer the same fate as the Odeon West End with two cinemas in the basement!!!
The laser system goes live October2 with The Walk. Spectre and the new Star Wars film will also be shown here in IMAX
This is one of my favourite San Francisco theatres and will hopefully remain showing film for many more years as my other favourites The Coronet and Metro are no longer with us.
For me Cannon represented the dark days of cinema in the U.K. I was even hopeful that the ABC Management buy out would be a success but sadly this was not to be and many of our great cinemas have now disappeared from the townscape to be replaced by Odeon dull multiplexes.
Now open again with a pop up bar!!