New FLASH….EARTHQUAKE in SENSURROUND will be at the Egyptian Sat Jan 3rd, that’s coming up very fast. I think less than 2 weeks away.
Repeat Earthquake in Sensurround at the Egyptian Hollywood Jan 3rd!!! If you missed it at the Picwood in 1974 you can STILL see it in 2009! Whooooo-whoooo!
This will the last great show of all time, after that everyone will be broke and all businesses will fold from bankruptcy, we’ll be on the streets in a Mad Max atmosphere killing each other for food.
Strangely enough there is also a strong window of possibility for a major REAL quake sometime this month, but don’t quote me on that
Many fond memories of this theater in the early 80’s, I remember the long lines for new releases. I believe this where i first saw “Raiders” and “American Werewolf in London” and sat through them both twice in a row. I remember waiting in line for “The Dead Zone” and “Halloween III” after buying a stack of records near-by. Going to the miniature golf center next door and hopping the trampolines was a ritual as a child. Didn’t realize they were equipped with 70mm, this sounds like it was quite the happening place at the time, Kim Basinger used to hang out, Jackie Earle Haley applied for work,..wow this was the spot!
wow I’m surprised to find this theater listed up here, i thought it was long forgotten. I used to ride my bike (as a kid) from the end of Devonshire to this theater and remember seeing things like “Orca”, “Laserblast” and “The Crater Lake Monster” here. Sometime in the early 80’s i can remember taking my grandmother to see a double bill of “Blade Runner” and “Dragonslayer” here. Yea i remember it as a dingy dive as described above, interesting it was owned by the old Criterion people. Few people remember the Santa Monica Promenade back in the late 70’s/early 80’s when it was a ghost town with closed down businesses and homeless., the Criterion was a seedy cheap dive then as well. i think i prefer it that way. Things will probably revert to the way they were on the course we’re going.
I grew up in Chatsworth and saw many films here in the 70’s/80’s. This was my grandmothers favorite theater because of the prices, she was extremely thrifty. $1 admission suited her just right.
All i remember is alot of small screens with murky image and tinny sound, but a lot of fond memories of the whole area, including Farrell’s ice cream parlor and the “Okinawa Karate” center near-by where i made it to a green belt as a child!
This is probably one of more obscure and forgotten mall theaters but it was a regular hang out for me as a kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s. I think mainly because they had a DEFENDER (video game) machine in their tiny lobby and it was right across from the Malibu Grand Prix arcade which was a 2nd home for me around 1980-82. Though i remember seeing a lot of films here at the time as well, hopping from screen to screen, things like “Heavy Metal”, “Megaforce” and “Tron”. The one i think i saw the most here was WIZARDS (Bakshi) i guess i was just old enough to be dropped off by myself (around 10) at the mall and this film was a childhood obsession, must have seen it 50 times. I remember walking past that Mexican restaurant (Don something or other) and a jewelry shop right on the corner every day for years. Haven’t been back there since the 80’s and really don’t care to see how it’s changed, i’m sure it looks like every other modern homogenized place.
i can remember so fondly opening night of DUNE at the Picwood, getting into the first show (at midnight i believe) My friend Paul had to quit his job at Straw Hat Pizza in Westwood that night so we could go. I was working at the Mann National and a bunch of us who were eagerly looking forward to it (for many months) went over that night. Those were the days.
All those…moments, will be lost ..like tears…in rain.
Interesting news update, they are going to be showing Earthquake in SUNSURROUND at the Egyptian (or Aero i can’t remember) sometime in Jan 2009 I believe. It’s either Jan or Feb.. can’t remember, their doing a whole disaster series. The original inventor of Sensurround will be coming in as well (as he did at LACMA few years ago) I just wish they’d show some of the others like Rollercoaster, Midway and Battlestar Galactica but they never do. Strange to think that the last film to show in Sensurround was “Zoot Suit” of all things, what could that have possibly been enhancing….the fight scenes?
William; regarding your very first Jan 4, 2002 post all the way at the very top of the thread,
you say neighborhood people remember the SENSURROUND rumble when films like Earthquake and Midway played there in the mid 70’s? Meaning neighboring residents in their homes (or apts) could hear it? Thats amazing
I would venture a guess the platter doesn’t have to be such a bad thing if they were specially designed to handle the film better and much more carefully (ala the IMAX or SHOWSCAN systems) instead of the designs they took for mass manufacturing.
Also apparently they have been experimenting with a new 10k “ultra definition” system at the egyptian which take’s 70mm negatives and transfers them to a new digital format, supposed to look better than Showscan or Imax. I don’t know much about it other than vague reports from the inside, it’s supposed to be mindblowing. Anyone know anything about this?
thank god we still have the Egyptian and Aero running prestine 70 prints (on rare occasions) which may not happen again, or for a long time knowing how cautious and penny pinching the cinematheque is getting. Understandably when few people show up to see a beautiful new 70 print of “Star” or “Khartoum”. (God knows why they chose such a dull film like “Khartoum” to do a restoration on)
Though I thought the platter system could run 70, i even remember back in the mid 80’s when the platter took over and projectionists were being eliminated we were running 70 prints on platters, usually tearing them to shreads. I guess thats why
that in70mm.com list is incomplete, they’ve shown some 70 prints recently at the Aero theatre, a stunning new print of “Star”, which had the best colors and clarity i’ve ever seen in my life. But really there are only a small handful of 70 prints out there in circulation, and these L.A. theatres keep showing the same 3 or 4 films over and over. Why does Oslo, Norway keep getting all the cool stuff?
I saw an ad on craigslist today looking for a projectionist for the Landmark in W. LA, here is the ad URL View link
It’s not every day you see a “projectionist wanted” post, especially these days, and i know there are some who frequent these boards so thought i’d pass it on
That’s what i was wondering it can’t be THAT Carl could it? I vaguely remember another Carl so assumed it couldn’t be him, The Plaza Carl was a young guy, i frequented those Plaza midnight showings.
There was a young bright manager named Mac Carter who ran the National in ‘84 for a short spell, i’ve often wondered what became of him, he was a good friend. He was going to USC film school FT while simultaneously managing the National, talk about a juggling act.
wow Rita is still at the Chinese? I’ll have to visit her sometime, she was wonderful, probably the most ‘chipper’ person i’ve known. I faintly remember some of these projectionists (Mike and Carl) sad to hear of their passing, the projectionist i used to hang out with in the booth at National (back in ‘84-85, when Trumball left a showscan projector up in the booth for years) was the kind of slightly crazy and paranoid Burt Calderon, but Burt was a great guy, really loved film and had filmmaking aspirations himself. Sigh those were inspiring days when things were still possible, when dreams were still (faintly) alive, the energies of the 60’s & 70’s were still mildly crackling in the air through the 80’s, but they died out completely by 1989
haineshisway is right! Scope is not what it used to be, another aspect of the downfall of cinema into homogenization, in an age where we don’t even have projectionists anymore! Just character-less boxes run by character-less automation in character-less shopping complexes full of more character-less businesses and stores and people selling characterless junk all the while you get monitered by security camera’s and blank glazed faces. it’s over
presentation standards are much better than any AMC but yea i agree some of their screens could be bigger, one thing i gotta say really irks me about both Arclights especially Sherman Oaks is their “tiny screens” which is typical for most multiplexes but i think it’s an outrage for this theater at the prices they charge and the quality standards they boast. It seems the last 3 or 4 times i went to the Sherman Oaks (or Hollywood) Arclight, whatever film it was i had a tiny shred of interest in seeing was always playing in one of those TINY houses, y'know the one’s all the way at the end of the hall hidden in the far corner. Now i realize they expect to run films that aren’t going to draw big crowds/business and can’t justify playing them in the larger houses but frankly every release is like that now after opening weekend and i think it’s a jip to pay that kind of money after making the special trip to a theater like that (hoping for a better presentation) then get stuck in a tiny theatre! And that goes for playing new releases on multiple screens, nobody wants to see a big new film in the tiny house just because it falls into the time schedule they chose, I saw Rambo on one those tiny screens and I was furious!
your crazy, that’s what was good about the national the 1970 decor hadn’t changed.
Everybody is experiencing a different reality and we are in the middle of a battle of realities
is it just me or does it seem like the number of digitally projected engagements has dropped recently, or maybe they just aren’t advertising it as much? At one point it seemed like every big film opened in nothing but digital presentation at all the major theaters. Has it dropped or increased, or are they just waiting for some kind of new overhaul of projection systems or something? Also, what are the typical quality stands of digital, i thought they stadardized it to 4k, it this not true? And have you heard IMAX is going to start digital presentation late this year or early next! They just don’t want to spend the bucks on 70mm prints anymore, this is really sad. Talk about the downfall of cinema.
I think everyone is just in a muted state of downtrodden uncertainty about what the future holds, nobody knows anything, it’s a total state of unknowing and blank cynisism. Like when Johnny Depp/Hunter Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas wanders into a cloud of dust mumbling “..what now..?”
Saw Indy at the Dome last night, presentation was fine, image was sharp and bright, sound excellent, it did look like the edges were cropped pretty badly for the trailers, particularly the bottom as the titles hit the edges, but the movie itself seemed ok. The ‘warping’ from the curved screen isn’t bad at all, i still like this theatre and give it a 9, it always brings back memories of a more exciting time visiting the cinermadome, though we certainly don’t live in exciting times anymore, at least for cinema. Reality has plenty of all the wrong kinds of excitement we need
yea i was there for that Khartoom screening. But let’s take the two common ratio’s for most hollywood studio films, 1:85 and 2:35, is there a difference in ratio presentation whether it’s shown in 35 or 70? Most films are shot in 35, so most were blow-ups, so i would guess not. I mean for example the big difference between seeing Raiders or Temple of Doom in 70 was a brighter, sharper, more stable image and of course the sound, right?
I agree with that, these big screens were meant for 70..no doubt about it! Though someone correct me if i’m wrong, is there any difference in the actual ratio of the presentation, whether it be 1:85, 2:35 or 2:40 whether it’s in 35 or 70? Cause i don’t think there is, 70 mainly gives you a higher resolution, sharper, brighter image, and of course mag sound in the old days. Though i’m not sure about this, especially for some of the old fashioned mega-wide scopes ala Vistavision, Ultra or Super Panavision 65mm, Todd AO, etc someone with better knowledge fill me in
i’ve been reading some of the above posts about design flaws of the dome, the warped screen distorting the image, i guess it’s always been that way though i don’t recall it being a huge problem or distraction, I probably haven’t seen anough scope films there to pay enough attention. Though i do vagely recall someone commenting on how warped the german plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark was when it played there in ‘81. (whats the advantage of a curved screen anyway?) And then there is the dark and soft image issue on the screen, yea I seem to recall this was a problem in recent years, have they fixed or improved that? Haven’t seen anything there in quite some time. I thought the arclight was all about bringing picture brightness up to the highest standards, but it sounds like the main dome has posed a problem with this, mostly because of bad corporate (save money) decisions. This is really unfortunate, and all too typical
ahh, the guy who’d rather see digital presentation than 35mm? Well, hey as a film purist i’m with you there, I endlessly complain about the loss of 70mm, audiences these days don’t realize just how much better 70 was but the cost differences just couldn’t justify “progress” in the name of technology and mindless automation. Don’t worry, we’re still a few years away from seeing everything as a pixilated i-pod flash clip but it ain’t that far off. It’s all over anyway, so i pretty much stopped caring accepting the end of the world, the days when films were actually good and genuine cinemas & movie palaces existed, when films were an event, when things had more character, and the experience was gratifying, meaningful, before over-inflated ticket prices & parking enforcement drones, before everything became a target audience market niche, a comic book/videogame, when there was real life and possibilities, when everyone didn’t have that glazed empty dead look in their eyes, and, oh well you get the idea, those days are gone.
New FLASH….EARTHQUAKE in SENSURROUND will be at the Egyptian Sat Jan 3rd, that’s coming up very fast. I think less than 2 weeks away.
Repeat Earthquake in Sensurround at the Egyptian Hollywood Jan 3rd!!! If you missed it at the Picwood in 1974 you can STILL see it in 2009! Whooooo-whoooo!
This will the last great show of all time, after that everyone will be broke and all businesses will fold from bankruptcy, we’ll be on the streets in a Mad Max atmosphere killing each other for food.
Strangely enough there is also a strong window of possibility for a major REAL quake sometime this month, but don’t quote me on that
Many fond memories of this theater in the early 80’s, I remember the long lines for new releases. I believe this where i first saw “Raiders” and “American Werewolf in London” and sat through them both twice in a row. I remember waiting in line for “The Dead Zone” and “Halloween III” after buying a stack of records near-by. Going to the miniature golf center next door and hopping the trampolines was a ritual as a child. Didn’t realize they were equipped with 70mm, this sounds like it was quite the happening place at the time, Kim Basinger used to hang out, Jackie Earle Haley applied for work,..wow this was the spot!
wow I’m surprised to find this theater listed up here, i thought it was long forgotten. I used to ride my bike (as a kid) from the end of Devonshire to this theater and remember seeing things like “Orca”, “Laserblast” and “The Crater Lake Monster” here. Sometime in the early 80’s i can remember taking my grandmother to see a double bill of “Blade Runner” and “Dragonslayer” here. Yea i remember it as a dingy dive as described above, interesting it was owned by the old Criterion people. Few people remember the Santa Monica Promenade back in the late 70’s/early 80’s when it was a ghost town with closed down businesses and homeless., the Criterion was a seedy cheap dive then as well. i think i prefer it that way. Things will probably revert to the way they were on the course we’re going.
I grew up in Chatsworth and saw many films here in the 70’s/80’s. This was my grandmothers favorite theater because of the prices, she was extremely thrifty. $1 admission suited her just right.
All i remember is alot of small screens with murky image and tinny sound, but a lot of fond memories of the whole area, including Farrell’s ice cream parlor and the “Okinawa Karate” center near-by where i made it to a green belt as a child!
This is probably one of more obscure and forgotten mall theaters but it was a regular hang out for me as a kid in the late 70’s/early 80’s. I think mainly because they had a DEFENDER (video game) machine in their tiny lobby and it was right across from the Malibu Grand Prix arcade which was a 2nd home for me around 1980-82. Though i remember seeing a lot of films here at the time as well, hopping from screen to screen, things like “Heavy Metal”, “Megaforce” and “Tron”. The one i think i saw the most here was WIZARDS (Bakshi) i guess i was just old enough to be dropped off by myself (around 10) at the mall and this film was a childhood obsession, must have seen it 50 times. I remember walking past that Mexican restaurant (Don something or other) and a jewelry shop right on the corner every day for years. Haven’t been back there since the 80’s and really don’t care to see how it’s changed, i’m sure it looks like every other modern homogenized place.
i can remember so fondly opening night of DUNE at the Picwood, getting into the first show (at midnight i believe) My friend Paul had to quit his job at Straw Hat Pizza in Westwood that night so we could go. I was working at the Mann National and a bunch of us who were eagerly looking forward to it (for many months) went over that night. Those were the days.
All those…moments, will be lost ..like tears…in rain.
Interesting news update, they are going to be showing Earthquake in SUNSURROUND at the Egyptian (or Aero i can’t remember) sometime in Jan 2009 I believe. It’s either Jan or Feb.. can’t remember, their doing a whole disaster series. The original inventor of Sensurround will be coming in as well (as he did at LACMA few years ago) I just wish they’d show some of the others like Rollercoaster, Midway and Battlestar Galactica but they never do. Strange to think that the last film to show in Sensurround was “Zoot Suit” of all things, what could that have possibly been enhancing….the fight scenes?
William; regarding your very first Jan 4, 2002 post all the way at the very top of the thread,
you say neighborhood people remember the SENSURROUND rumble when films like Earthquake and Midway played there in the mid 70’s? Meaning neighboring residents in their homes (or apts) could hear it? Thats amazing
I would venture a guess the platter doesn’t have to be such a bad thing if they were specially designed to handle the film better and much more carefully (ala the IMAX or SHOWSCAN systems) instead of the designs they took for mass manufacturing.
Also apparently they have been experimenting with a new 10k “ultra definition” system at the egyptian which take’s 70mm negatives and transfers them to a new digital format, supposed to look better than Showscan or Imax. I don’t know much about it other than vague reports from the inside, it’s supposed to be mindblowing. Anyone know anything about this?
thank god we still have the Egyptian and Aero running prestine 70 prints (on rare occasions) which may not happen again, or for a long time knowing how cautious and penny pinching the cinematheque is getting. Understandably when few people show up to see a beautiful new 70 print of “Star” or “Khartoum”. (God knows why they chose such a dull film like “Khartoum” to do a restoration on)
Though I thought the platter system could run 70, i even remember back in the mid 80’s when the platter took over and projectionists were being eliminated we were running 70 prints on platters, usually tearing them to shreads. I guess thats why
that in70mm.com list is incomplete, they’ve shown some 70 prints recently at the Aero theatre, a stunning new print of “Star”, which had the best colors and clarity i’ve ever seen in my life. But really there are only a small handful of 70 prints out there in circulation, and these L.A. theatres keep showing the same 3 or 4 films over and over. Why does Oslo, Norway keep getting all the cool stuff?
I saw an ad on craigslist today looking for a projectionist for the Landmark in W. LA, here is the ad URL View link
It’s not every day you see a “projectionist wanted” post, especially these days, and i know there are some who frequent these boards so thought i’d pass it on
jesus christ you guys are still arguing about screen ratio’s?
this has got to be the most epic discussion about screen ratio’s i’ve ever seen
They’ve shown Mad Mad Mad World in 70 (restored) and How the West was One in multi-projection at the dome before already
That’s what i was wondering it can’t be THAT Carl could it? I vaguely remember another Carl so assumed it couldn’t be him, The Plaza Carl was a young guy, i frequented those Plaza midnight showings.
There was a young bright manager named Mac Carter who ran the National in ‘84 for a short spell, i’ve often wondered what became of him, he was a good friend. He was going to USC film school FT while simultaneously managing the National, talk about a juggling act.
wow Rita is still at the Chinese? I’ll have to visit her sometime, she was wonderful, probably the most ‘chipper’ person i’ve known. I faintly remember some of these projectionists (Mike and Carl) sad to hear of their passing, the projectionist i used to hang out with in the booth at National (back in ‘84-85, when Trumball left a showscan projector up in the booth for years) was the kind of slightly crazy and paranoid Burt Calderon, but Burt was a great guy, really loved film and had filmmaking aspirations himself. Sigh those were inspiring days when things were still possible, when dreams were still (faintly) alive, the energies of the 60’s & 70’s were still mildly crackling in the air through the 80’s, but they died out completely by 1989
haineshisway is right! Scope is not what it used to be, another aspect of the downfall of cinema into homogenization, in an age where we don’t even have projectionists anymore! Just character-less boxes run by character-less automation in character-less shopping complexes full of more character-less businesses and stores and people selling characterless junk all the while you get monitered by security camera’s and blank glazed faces. it’s over
presentation standards are much better than any AMC but yea i agree some of their screens could be bigger, one thing i gotta say really irks me about both Arclights especially Sherman Oaks is their “tiny screens” which is typical for most multiplexes but i think it’s an outrage for this theater at the prices they charge and the quality standards they boast. It seems the last 3 or 4 times i went to the Sherman Oaks (or Hollywood) Arclight, whatever film it was i had a tiny shred of interest in seeing was always playing in one of those TINY houses, y'know the one’s all the way at the end of the hall hidden in the far corner. Now i realize they expect to run films that aren’t going to draw big crowds/business and can’t justify playing them in the larger houses but frankly every release is like that now after opening weekend and i think it’s a jip to pay that kind of money after making the special trip to a theater like that (hoping for a better presentation) then get stuck in a tiny theatre! And that goes for playing new releases on multiple screens, nobody wants to see a big new film in the tiny house just because it falls into the time schedule they chose, I saw Rambo on one those tiny screens and I was furious!
your crazy, that’s what was good about the national the 1970 decor hadn’t changed.
Everybody is experiencing a different reality and we are in the middle of a battle of realities
is it just me or does it seem like the number of digitally projected engagements has dropped recently, or maybe they just aren’t advertising it as much? At one point it seemed like every big film opened in nothing but digital presentation at all the major theaters. Has it dropped or increased, or are they just waiting for some kind of new overhaul of projection systems or something? Also, what are the typical quality stands of digital, i thought they stadardized it to 4k, it this not true? And have you heard IMAX is going to start digital presentation late this year or early next! They just don’t want to spend the bucks on 70mm prints anymore, this is really sad. Talk about the downfall of cinema.
I think everyone is just in a muted state of downtrodden uncertainty about what the future holds, nobody knows anything, it’s a total state of unknowing and blank cynisism. Like when Johnny Depp/Hunter Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas wanders into a cloud of dust mumbling “..what now..?”
Saw Indy at the Dome last night, presentation was fine, image was sharp and bright, sound excellent, it did look like the edges were cropped pretty badly for the trailers, particularly the bottom as the titles hit the edges, but the movie itself seemed ok. The ‘warping’ from the curved screen isn’t bad at all, i still like this theatre and give it a 9, it always brings back memories of a more exciting time visiting the cinermadome, though we certainly don’t live in exciting times anymore, at least for cinema. Reality has plenty of all the wrong kinds of excitement we need
yea i was there for that Khartoom screening. But let’s take the two common ratio’s for most hollywood studio films, 1:85 and 2:35, is there a difference in ratio presentation whether it’s shown in 35 or 70? Most films are shot in 35, so most were blow-ups, so i would guess not. I mean for example the big difference between seeing Raiders or Temple of Doom in 70 was a brighter, sharper, more stable image and of course the sound, right?
I agree with that, these big screens were meant for 70..no doubt about it! Though someone correct me if i’m wrong, is there any difference in the actual ratio of the presentation, whether it be 1:85, 2:35 or 2:40 whether it’s in 35 or 70? Cause i don’t think there is, 70 mainly gives you a higher resolution, sharper, brighter image, and of course mag sound in the old days. Though i’m not sure about this, especially for some of the old fashioned mega-wide scopes ala Vistavision, Ultra or Super Panavision 65mm, Todd AO, etc someone with better knowledge fill me in
i’ve been reading some of the above posts about design flaws of the dome, the warped screen distorting the image, i guess it’s always been that way though i don’t recall it being a huge problem or distraction, I probably haven’t seen anough scope films there to pay enough attention. Though i do vagely recall someone commenting on how warped the german plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark was when it played there in ‘81. (whats the advantage of a curved screen anyway?) And then there is the dark and soft image issue on the screen, yea I seem to recall this was a problem in recent years, have they fixed or improved that? Haven’t seen anything there in quite some time. I thought the arclight was all about bringing picture brightness up to the highest standards, but it sounds like the main dome has posed a problem with this, mostly because of bad corporate (save money) decisions. This is really unfortunate, and all too typical
ahh, the guy who’d rather see digital presentation than 35mm? Well, hey as a film purist i’m with you there, I endlessly complain about the loss of 70mm, audiences these days don’t realize just how much better 70 was but the cost differences just couldn’t justify “progress” in the name of technology and mindless automation. Don’t worry, we’re still a few years away from seeing everything as a pixilated i-pod flash clip but it ain’t that far off. It’s all over anyway, so i pretty much stopped caring accepting the end of the world, the days when films were actually good and genuine cinemas & movie palaces existed, when films were an event, when things had more character, and the experience was gratifying, meaningful, before over-inflated ticket prices & parking enforcement drones, before everything became a target audience market niche, a comic book/videogame, when there was real life and possibilities, when everyone didn’t have that glazed empty dead look in their eyes, and, oh well you get the idea, those days are gone.