Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6712 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
106 people
favorited this theater
Showing 201 - 225 of 279 comments
The D-150 process was used only on two films from Fox “The Bible” & “Patton”. In the exhibition world the Dimension 150 company had an idea to market an All-Purpose projection system to theatres. The system provided aspect ratios suitable for D-150, Todd-AO, Ultra-Panavision, CinemaScope, Widescreen 1.85 and other projection formats. The theatre would be retrofitted with a large curved screen and in most cases an Ampex 8 channel stereo sound system for full magnetic sound. The screen at the Egyptian Theatre was 90 feet wide, when opened to the fullest masking setting. You also had to pay a licensing fee to present your film in the full D-150 screen, like what MGM and a few other studios did with Cinerama.
That is just a few highlights of the system.
“And just think – it would play the Egyptian for a total of 68 weeks!”
We are lucky now if a film can play 68 days.
What is a “D-150” screen?
And just think – it would play the Egyptian for a total of 68 weeks!
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Source: MPTV
Caption: Hollywood and Los Angeles Landmarks Egyptian Theater Marquee: “My Fair Lady” 1964
I have some shots of the auditorium with the D-150 installed in one of my files on the theatre.
Does anyone have pictures of this theatre when it had its D-150 screen installed?
G.A.DeL.: Terrific post card. It’s an amazing building.
Here is an old postcard showing the entrance area of the Egyptian.
Thanks so much Don, for the kind words about the theater! I will look further into the group. It’s funny that I remember some of the old theaters had a strange echo-like sound to them… but it’s one of the things that I miss the most in today’s theaters. I wonder if Cinemathque has considered that the classic films just sound all the more authentic with the accoustics the way they were? At least I think so.
The Egyptian has special meaning to me. I was only a few months old early in 1951, when my mom took me there. She went to see a film premier. She has always been a big movie fan. She arrived and realized she HAD to use the ladies room. She found a beautifully dressed red head with another lady sitting in the waiting room outside the door (I wonder if it is still there?). Mom asked the lady if she could me for a few minutes. She knew it would be alright because the lady was a pregnant Lucille Ball. Lucy said “of course” and when my mom came back, chatted with her about her own condition. Lucy said she was so excited about the baby. The baby turned out to be Lucille Arnaz, born later that year… and I wrote to her about 3 years ago. She sent me a reply and said it was a great story and published my letter on her website. Of course, later around the age of 5, 6 and 7… I remember sitting in the theater and looking up at the beautiful sun ornament fully lit and glowing above the curtain. It all stays with you.
The Egyptian is definitely on my list when I visit Hollywood next month. Thank God for this group. At least they are on the right track and have not destroyed anything and the theater may one day be fully restored. Thanks again.
Christian,
The Cinematheque is generally only open in the evenings on weekdays. On weekends they offer tours, a special documentary “Forever Hollywood” and then normally two movies. Their programs are usually themed (Film Noir, etc.), and whenever possible they get people involved in those movies to come by for a Q&A session. These can be classic old movies or stuff that has recently been released. They seem to rely heavily on volunteers; if you spoke to someone and didn’t get a clear answer about the Cinematheque’s mission, it’s possible they’re just helping out to get access to the cool movies.
As for the Egyptian itself, edward1 is correct that it’s a disappointment. Partly because it has been greatly reduced in size, but also because of improvements to correct acoustic problems. The beautiful walls and ceiling, for the most part, have been covered with panels that leave the place feeling like a black box in one of them newfangled multiplexes. But it appears that they have been preserved, which is good.
If you can get past that, then the Egyptian is still a good place to see movies because of their programming. They’ve also just reopened the Aero in Santa Monica, which is closer to where I live, so I give the Cinematheque a thumbs up.
There have been a number of marquees above the entrance to the Egyptian…. here are some great photos to show how dramatically those signs altered the entrance ….
1924 – small vertical sign on right wall…
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014533.jpg
1930 – larger vertical on left wall and broad electric marquee over entrance to courtyard…
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics39/00039150.jpg
1955 – larger curved neon “wall” in the art-moderne style….
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014528.jpg
1969 – the horizontal neon stripe tubes were removed after the 60s…
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014548.jpg
1989 – the theater had turned into a tri-plex at this time…
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028678.jpg
Geez! I mean, they could’ve saved the huge wall in front, but …….
Hello Edward1, Thanks for the note about Cinamateque. I went back to their website for an hour and had no idea the organization was about preservation and presenting classic film. I had the impression they were about “experimental film making”. At the time I visited the Egyptian, it did not seem there was anyone around who could tell me what the organization was about or doing. I was there around noon, yet the courtyard was so austere, unoccupied and uninviting. Cinemateque seems very worthwhile and I will see if someone can tell me more. Thanks so much for inspiring me to take a second look!
Thanks edward 1
It seems clear in the theater description above that there are TWO screens in this theater. The main auditorium and a small screening room taking over part of the lobby. The theater itself is a huge disppointment to visit but the Cinemateque is a fantastic organisation promoting the appreciation and preservation of motion pictures. Take a quick look and go downtown instead to Broadway to see true old movie palaces in original condition.
I don’t live around Hollywood, but I am planning to visit someone there soon. Is this theater still a twin, or did they return it to single screen during the so called “restoration”?
I found an early view of the Egyptian Theater Courtyard taken in 1924. The photo shows the space as almost a carnival-like atmosphere … certainly entertaining …
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015761.jpg
Thanks Christian
Yes, this is Sid Graummans Egyptian. I would like to add a couple of thoughts on this theater, if
I may. I was very thrilled when I saw the Egyptian was to be “restored” a few years ago and saw a wall at the entrance and construction workers busily working behind it.
In March of this year I finally came back and stopped by to see what was done. In the courtyard. I found the business on the left side of the entrance was newly reconstructed, but empty and a “For Lease” sign in the window. Though the last time I saw the theater exterior was in 1998, there was already graffiti staining 2 walls. I was very happy to see the “Pig N' Whistle” restaurant replicated, and it looks like a great job on that…. but the entrance to the theater itself seemed empty and lifeless. I still have NO idea what Cinemateque is but also not compelled to find out more about it other than to have scanned their confusing website and scratch my head about their “mission”.
I was raised in Hollywood in the 1950s and remember the theater when it had a massive neon sign over the sidewalk and many potted plants along the walkway to the elegant entrance. I don’t advocate replacing the 50s neon by any means, but it just seems to me the romance and beauty is missing from this remodelling job that was there even in the 50s. A restoration to it’s 20s appearance would be ideal, but if not economically possible, perhaps some nice potted plants or a coffee kiosk in a 20s theme would warm this place up and make it more atmospheric and bring some much needed life to the courtyard.
Needless to say, I have little interest in seeing the stripped-down interior. I love “urban”, but only in the historic context of what historic Hollywood was and COULD BE once more. This seems more “urban” in the current strip mall sense… and there are thousands of those types of spaces without making our historic sites look like them as well. What happened to our culture and history?
Is this the Egyptian Theater that was built by Sid Graumman, or was that demolished? I plan to visit the LA area and, considering it’s entertainment history, it would be dumb not to visit a picture palace.
scenicroute – I agree 100%. Could you contact me directly: got a projection question regarding another theatre here on CT.
Will
I was one of the people who posted negative reactions to the ‘restored’ Egyptian but I need to clarify my stance. Yes, it’s great that the theater is still open and vital but it did not have to be altered by a group that claims to be about film preservation. On top of that, the Cinemateque boasts that they restored this theater, it’s not a restoration, it’s a remodel. Don’t advertise something you never accomplished or ever attempted. As a side note, I was a projectionist at the Hollywood Egyptian for five years. The sound quality was (when kept up by the notoriously lazy UA) was superb. When we ran 70mm (“Return of the Jedi”/ “Oklahoma”) it was astounding. The theater didn’t have the echo or loss of clarity some concrete palaces suffer.
fantastic i would love to visit.
Found this link and thought it might be of interest.
http://cgi.cnn.com/STYLE/9812/07/egyptian.theatre/