Hey ED… at the AMC, I have seen movies in theatres 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 25. Wow – that makes me look like a geek ;–) The sound is better in the tiny theatres – less echo, I imagine.
I have seen movies in all the theatres at the Loews E-Walk across the street. It’s a far superior experience at the E-Walk. Their small screens are not that small and their big screens are really big. Plus, in their two big houses, the rows of seats are gently curved (unlike AMC) which lets even the aisle seats have a view of the screen as opposed to a view of the black masking and the wall (like the AMC). Additionally, even when the volume is too low or there is some sort of sound problem, you can always make out the dialog, it never sounds like mush – again, unlike AMC where I have seen entire movies that might as well have been in Hungarian or some ancient long forgotten language.
The E-Walk, the Ziegfeld, the Regal Union Square and the Regal Battery Park are the best theatres in the city based on consistently good presentation.
This is really not a bad neighborhood theatre. In fact, both projection and sound can be excellent if someone puts their mind to it. It’s clean and pretty well kept. The screens aren’t even that small.
Minor complaints: sometimes they need a volume boost (a common complaint), the masking in theatre 2 hasn’t been working lately and the masking in theatre 4 has been out of order going on 2 years now – but even when the masking did work, the screen in #4 isn’t proportioned properly for scope – quite a bit of the picture ends up on the wall.
1-4 seat about 180 each
5 and 9 about 225
6, 7 and 8 average about 90 (but the screens are not as small as you’d expect!)
I was here recently for the first time in years to see Family Stone in their “big” theater. The projection was a bit off. The volume was WAY too low. No one cared. I had low expectations and they were met. They got new seats though. That’s all I have to say.
Someone’s been giving this place some TLC lately. It’s starting to resemble itself from when it first opened.
If you catch them on a good day, THIS is the place to see the weeks big blockbuster (try to catch a showing in #13 and don’t let them talk you into #12. The sound in 13 is much more impressive and less prone to trouble)
Approximate seating capacities:
1 – 275
2 – 225
3 – 180
4 – 205
5 – 205
6 – 205
7 – 205
8 – 205
9 – 205
10 – 180
11 – 180
12 – 500
13 – 550
9 and #12 are prone to sound problems and #13 does have a “ghost” problem that they seem to be working on. However, even the small screens are not that small and overall the sound is usually loud and clear.
This, the Ziegfeld, the Regal Union Square and the Regal Battery Park are the city’s best theatres.
This is a horrible, HORRIBLE theater. I have had exactly ONE good experience here (Shopgirl in their largest house – #6) since they opened.
The sound quality is inexcusable for a new theatre. And the sad thing is that the management of AMC KNOWS it is horrible. They blame it on the fact that their screens are “nonperforated,” that their surround speakers are all at ceiling heght and on the bare concrete construction, all making for a terrible echo effect – particularly in their larger houses – and that in turn makes dialog pretty much unintelligible unless they turn the volume WAY up – which is what happened with Shopgirl. Apparently, in house 6, they run the trailers low and the movie high. Supposedly because house 6 is the only one with a Dolby processor. (AMC = SDDS) Still, they ONLY do this in house 6. Beware.
Here’s a fun thing to do next time you visit one of the large houses in this plex… stand in the corridor leading into the theater – notice that the sound is clearer in the corridor than it is in the auditorium. Shameful.
Sometime in the early 90’s they started to mask the bottom of the screen for scope presentations. I recall seeing a “sneak preview” of Ghost (which was flat) and in those days you could stay for the regular feature afterwards which in this case was Days of Thunder (which was in scope) and during the interval, they opened up the side masking and a couple ushers carried in two long black strips that they used masked the bottom of the screen.
I also recall reading something around that time about people complaining that the screen at the Ziegfeld was too low and that audience heads were always blocking the screen… perhaps this was their response to that complaint. Who knows…
On another note – the quality of the presentation here has been on the upswing lately. The Island, Rent, The Producers, Tristan and Isolde, hell – even The Baxter were presented extremely well. It was pretty sketchy there for a while – sometimes worse than a third-rate multiplex. Good for them!
As you can probably tell, I’ll see any old crap they put up here. ANYTHING. I just don’t want them to close. The Astor Plaza was my house of choice, but now this is all we have left. Gotta support it.
I also heard that they will be doing a short program of revivals… anyone know details?
RCDTJ: This pit does business for the same reason the DREADFUL Angelika and Lincoln Plaza do…they book movies you can’t see anywhere else. And, speaking for myself, just like with the Angelika and Lincoln Plaza, if this is my only option, I’d rather not see the movie.
Thanks DAVE…The Dolby 500 and SDDS 3000 are both equipped with this feature. They work in a slightly different fashion from each other, but offer the same results – lower for the trailers, proper volume for the feature.
Hey DAVE – Totally off subject. But since u seem to know what you are talking about… The newest sound processors are capable or storing many sound (volume) cues. ie: one for commercials, one for trailers, one for the feature. Why do projectionists refuse to use this feature? I’ve been in plenty of theatres where the trailers are screamingly loud and people complain to turn it down which they invariably do, but then when the feature starts, it’s WAY too soft. And honestly, the trailers and features have been pretty much equallized in recent years. Do they really not know that this feature is available to them? Or are they just lazy??
Hi VALENCIA – You should go on a weekday to avoid the masses. I’ve posted before that this is actually a very nice place. Very clean, decent size screens even in the small rooms, good presentation, great popcorn ;–) My only gripe is that they don’t turn the house lights down all the way – it’s way too bright in there – you can read as the movie is going on. Auditorium #1 is the big room.
It’s nicely decorated and has a big screen with a working curtain and a balcony. The sound quality is uaually OK – the volume on the other hand runs the gamut from inaudible to so-loud-it-blasts-you-out-the-back-wall. I suppose it depends on the phase of the moon ;–) Better you might try the IMAX screen upstairs…
Hey BELLA! >>>how can anyone focus on the movie with the thought of a mouse may jump in my bag<<< With me, at theatres where they show the movies at very low volumes (Beekman, Cinemas ½/3, Chelsea West, Lincoln Square, 84th St, Village7, etc etc) I can’t focus on the movie cuz all I’m thinking is “It’s not loud enough!” I’ll still take the mice ;–)
And ROB! I got an electric shock from the hand dryer at the Selwyn. And also recall cats wandering about. I LOVED this place tho' Double and sometimes triple features of new releases on a big screen! For $5!!!
Yeah…they have a few mice. But you can actually HEAR THE MOVIES here! Clearly. Every word. Without straining. The picture is also always ON THE SCREEN. ALL OF IT. In focus. Consistently. There’s not another theatre in the entire city that has such consistently fine presentation. I’ll live with the mice. The popcorn IS expensive, but it’s GOOD! They all have mice…Kips Bay, Ziegfeld, Ewalk
This place has two decent size screens and 12 small ones. HOWEVER…they have the most consistent projection and sound in the entire city. Probably the best place to go for a good presentation. And that includes the Ziegfeld.
I’ve been here twice. they have one large auditorium that seats I’d say maybe 500. Other rooms vary from 100 odd to 225ish. Actually a nice place, but they won’t turn the lights down enough. It’s bright enough to read in the theatre as the movie is going on. the manager claims that it’s so they can “videotape the auditorium.” Whatever.
I don’t understand why anyone would pay $10 to see ANY movie here. The biggest screen is MAYBE 15' wide. They apparently think that if the movie is subtitled, it is perfectly fine to show with almost NO volume. And if the movie is in English, you can sit on top of the screen and STILL not be able to hear all the dialog. If something i really want to see is showing here (or the Angelika or Film Forum) I’d rather not see it at all. The last thing I saw here was Lone Star (John Sayles) and it was inaudible. When I found a manager, he told me (this is hysterically funny) “It’s like a play, you’re not supposed to hear all the words.” Needless to say, I’d never go back.
When this place opened, it became my favorite theatre. Then, about two years into it’s run, someone decided to turn the volume down. Tried to see AFTER THE SUNSET there a couple months ago – it was literally inaudible. They were happier to give me a refund than to turn the volume up. I won’t be back.
Hey Guys. Not for nothing, but the Cinema I has been a s#thole for YEARS. Small screens, uncomfortable seating, bad sound, clueless employees – good riddance.
Ditto for the Beekman – yes, it was nicely kept up since the renovation, BUT,,,they had (might still have – don’t go there anymore) a focus problem w/their scope lens, had a busted speaker for over a year and they LOVE to run the movies at a volume level that is just above inaudible. Really, if you’re gonna play a movie on level 4.0, what’s the point of going to a theatre? $10.50 for television sound? No thanks.
Ummm…guys…check out the Clearview Cinemas website :–) It’s better than what you could hope for!
Hey Guys,
I was told that they were toying with the possibility of showing the Godfather movies in February.
Hey ED… at the AMC, I have seen movies in theatres 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 25. Wow – that makes me look like a geek ;–) The sound is better in the tiny theatres – less echo, I imagine.
I have seen movies in all the theatres at the Loews E-Walk across the street. It’s a far superior experience at the E-Walk. Their small screens are not that small and their big screens are really big. Plus, in their two big houses, the rows of seats are gently curved (unlike AMC) which lets even the aisle seats have a view of the screen as opposed to a view of the black masking and the wall (like the AMC). Additionally, even when the volume is too low or there is some sort of sound problem, you can always make out the dialog, it never sounds like mush – again, unlike AMC where I have seen entire movies that might as well have been in Hungarian or some ancient long forgotten language.
The E-Walk, the Ziegfeld, the Regal Union Square and the Regal Battery Park are the best theatres in the city based on consistently good presentation.
This is really not a bad neighborhood theatre. In fact, both projection and sound can be excellent if someone puts their mind to it. It’s clean and pretty well kept. The screens aren’t even that small.
Minor complaints: sometimes they need a volume boost (a common complaint), the masking in theatre 2 hasn’t been working lately and the masking in theatre 4 has been out of order going on 2 years now – but even when the masking did work, the screen in #4 isn’t proportioned properly for scope – quite a bit of the picture ends up on the wall.
1-4 seat about 180 each
5 and 9 about 225
6, 7 and 8 average about 90 (but the screens are not as small as you’d expect!)
I was here recently for the first time in years to see Family Stone in their “big” theater. The projection was a bit off. The volume was WAY too low. No one cared. I had low expectations and they were met. They got new seats though. That’s all I have to say.
Only go to see a movie here in houses 7, 8, 9 and 10.
You have been warned ;–)
Someone’s been giving this place some TLC lately. It’s starting to resemble itself from when it first opened.
If you catch them on a good day, THIS is the place to see the weeks big blockbuster (try to catch a showing in #13 and don’t let them talk you into #12. The sound in 13 is much more impressive and less prone to trouble)
Approximate seating capacities:
1 – 275
2 – 225
3 – 180
4 – 205
5 – 205
6 – 205
7 – 205
8 – 205
9 – 205
10 – 180
11 – 180
12 – 500
13 – 550
9 and #12 are prone to sound problems and #13 does have a “ghost” problem that they seem to be working on. However, even the small screens are not that small and overall the sound is usually loud and clear.
This, the Ziegfeld, the Regal Union Square and the Regal Battery Park are the city’s best theatres.
This is a horrible, HORRIBLE theater. I have had exactly ONE good experience here (Shopgirl in their largest house – #6) since they opened.
The sound quality is inexcusable for a new theatre. And the sad thing is that the management of AMC KNOWS it is horrible. They blame it on the fact that their screens are “nonperforated,” that their surround speakers are all at ceiling heght and on the bare concrete construction, all making for a terrible echo effect – particularly in their larger houses – and that in turn makes dialog pretty much unintelligible unless they turn the volume WAY up – which is what happened with Shopgirl. Apparently, in house 6, they run the trailers low and the movie high. Supposedly because house 6 is the only one with a Dolby processor. (AMC = SDDS) Still, they ONLY do this in house 6. Beware.
Here’s a fun thing to do next time you visit one of the large houses in this plex… stand in the corridor leading into the theater – notice that the sound is clearer in the corridor than it is in the auditorium. Shameful.
Sometime in the early 90’s they started to mask the bottom of the screen for scope presentations. I recall seeing a “sneak preview” of Ghost (which was flat) and in those days you could stay for the regular feature afterwards which in this case was Days of Thunder (which was in scope) and during the interval, they opened up the side masking and a couple ushers carried in two long black strips that they used masked the bottom of the screen.
I also recall reading something around that time about people complaining that the screen at the Ziegfeld was too low and that audience heads were always blocking the screen… perhaps this was their response to that complaint. Who knows…
On another note – the quality of the presentation here has been on the upswing lately. The Island, Rent, The Producers, Tristan and Isolde, hell – even The Baxter were presented extremely well. It was pretty sketchy there for a while – sometimes worse than a third-rate multiplex. Good for them!
As you can probably tell, I’ll see any old crap they put up here. ANYTHING. I just don’t want them to close. The Astor Plaza was my house of choice, but now this is all we have left. Gotta support it.
I also heard that they will be doing a short program of revivals… anyone know details?
I loved the old Orpheum…There’s an usher working at the “new” Orpheum who is left-over from the old days…just a tidbit ;–)
In under six years, this place has managed to go from great to mediocre but it is still preferable to the AMC across the street.
RCDTJ: This pit does business for the same reason the DREADFUL Angelika and Lincoln Plaza do…they book movies you can’t see anywhere else. And, speaking for myself, just like with the Angelika and Lincoln Plaza, if this is my only option, I’d rather not see the movie.
Thanks DAVE…The Dolby 500 and SDDS 3000 are both equipped with this feature. They work in a slightly different fashion from each other, but offer the same results – lower for the trailers, proper volume for the feature.
Hey DAVE – Totally off subject. But since u seem to know what you are talking about… The newest sound processors are capable or storing many sound (volume) cues. ie: one for commercials, one for trailers, one for the feature. Why do projectionists refuse to use this feature? I’ve been in plenty of theatres where the trailers are screamingly loud and people complain to turn it down which they invariably do, but then when the feature starts, it’s WAY too soft. And honestly, the trailers and features have been pretty much equallized in recent years. Do they really not know that this feature is available to them? Or are they just lazy??
Hi VALENCIA – You should go on a weekday to avoid the masses. I’ve posted before that this is actually a very nice place. Very clean, decent size screens even in the small rooms, good presentation, great popcorn ;–) My only gripe is that they don’t turn the house lights down all the way – it’s way too bright in there – you can read as the movie is going on. Auditorium #1 is the big room.
It’s nicely decorated and has a big screen with a working curtain and a balcony. The sound quality is uaually OK – the volume on the other hand runs the gamut from inaudible to so-loud-it-blasts-you-out-the-back-wall. I suppose it depends on the phase of the moon ;–) Better you might try the IMAX screen upstairs…
Hey BELLA! >>>how can anyone focus on the movie with the thought of a mouse may jump in my bag<<< With me, at theatres where they show the movies at very low volumes (Beekman, Cinemas ½/3, Chelsea West, Lincoln Square, 84th St, Village7, etc etc) I can’t focus on the movie cuz all I’m thinking is “It’s not loud enough!” I’ll still take the mice ;–)
And ROB! I got an electric shock from the hand dryer at the Selwyn. And also recall cats wandering about. I LOVED this place tho' Double and sometimes triple features of new releases on a big screen! For $5!!!
Yeah…they have a few mice. But you can actually HEAR THE MOVIES here! Clearly. Every word. Without straining. The picture is also always ON THE SCREEN. ALL OF IT. In focus. Consistently. There’s not another theatre in the entire city that has such consistently fine presentation. I’ll live with the mice. The popcorn IS expensive, but it’s GOOD! They all have mice…Kips Bay, Ziegfeld, Ewalk
Other than mine – there has been no comment about the actual theatre. Stop behaving like 12 year old girls y'all! ;–)
This place has two decent size screens and 12 small ones. HOWEVER…they have the most consistent projection and sound in the entire city. Probably the best place to go for a good presentation. And that includes the Ziegfeld.
I’ve been here twice. they have one large auditorium that seats I’d say maybe 500. Other rooms vary from 100 odd to 225ish. Actually a nice place, but they won’t turn the lights down enough. It’s bright enough to read in the theatre as the movie is going on. the manager claims that it’s so they can “videotape the auditorium.” Whatever.
I don’t understand why anyone would pay $10 to see ANY movie here. The biggest screen is MAYBE 15' wide. They apparently think that if the movie is subtitled, it is perfectly fine to show with almost NO volume. And if the movie is in English, you can sit on top of the screen and STILL not be able to hear all the dialog. If something i really want to see is showing here (or the Angelika or Film Forum) I’d rather not see it at all. The last thing I saw here was Lone Star (John Sayles) and it was inaudible. When I found a manager, he told me (this is hysterically funny) “It’s like a play, you’re not supposed to hear all the words.” Needless to say, I’d never go back.
Cinema 1 put up curtains in 1989 for the addition of Cinema “3."
It’s been downhill ever since.
When this place opened, it became my favorite theatre. Then, about two years into it’s run, someone decided to turn the volume down. Tried to see AFTER THE SUNSET there a couple months ago – it was literally inaudible. They were happier to give me a refund than to turn the volume up. I won’t be back.
Hey Guys. Not for nothing, but the Cinema I has been a s#thole for YEARS. Small screens, uncomfortable seating, bad sound, clueless employees – good riddance.
Ditto for the Beekman – yes, it was nicely kept up since the renovation, BUT,,,they had (might still have – don’t go there anymore) a focus problem w/their scope lens, had a busted speaker for over a year and they LOVE to run the movies at a volume level that is just above inaudible. Really, if you’re gonna play a movie on level 4.0, what’s the point of going to a theatre? $10.50 for television sound? No thanks.