@LARGE_screen_format: She didn’t say. Comparing the new pics of the screen to older ones, it looks like it might be the same size. I plan to go back and will try to get the dimensions with the measuring app on my iPhone from the balcony.
@HowardBHaasHowardBHaas: I had forgotten that they used to raise the curtain before the show! I think there was even a musical accompaniment. The more I think about it, I think this Dolby conversion is a real net loss. I like Dolby Cinema very much but it wasn’t worth losing this very handsome contemporary movie space, the last one that remained in NYC. There was nothing like watching a film together with a full house of 1,000 moviegoers.
And here is a link to the full page movie ad for the 70mm Wild Bunch at “Sony Theatres Lincoln Square”:
@HowardBHaas: A 70mm print of The Wild Bunch was shown in Loews in 1994 or 1995, shortly after I got to NYC for school. It was a blowup 70mm print but I didn’t complain. There was also the 70mm restoration of Vertigo in 1996 but that may have been at the Ziegfeld. And I saw The Godfather in the Loews in 1997 when it was re-released but it may have been 35mm. There have been other 70mm limited engagements but I’d have to dig through some old files. There were also new releases that got 70mm prints shown at the Loews like Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master in 2012 and non-IMAX 70mm Dunkirk last year. I think some of Nolan’s other pics got 70mm prints in the Loews. And I think 70mm Titanic played in the Loews in 1997.
@digital3d: I know that film can be projected in the other rooms but I always preferred the 70mm shows in the Loews because of its size. I saw quite a few classic 70mm re-releases in the Loews over the years and will miss the opportunity to see older movies on a really big screen since all of them are now closed (Astor Plaza, Ziegfeld and now Loews).
I heard back from the projection manager at Lincoln Square with some details. She said a new screen was installed in the Loews/Dolby Cinema auditorium without masking. The film projectors that used to be installed in the projection room were removed “some time ago” and are only brought back when film features are booked. She said she doubted the Dolby room would be used to show films again because the Dolby projectors take up the port window space. She said the last film they screened was shown in the Kings auditorium #2 so it’s likely that room would be use for future film screenings.
The Loews auditorium was already Dolby Atmos-certified before the renovations so unless the Dolby Cinema spec has audio requirements beyond Dolby Atmos, I don’t know if speakers would have played a role in the choice of screen. My impression is that nothing changed with the visible speakers installed on the walls. I’m not even 100% sure if the screen itself was changed. I will try to contact the AMC projection manager for Lincoln Square and see if she can provide more details about what changes were made to the projection and sound systems. I hope they kept their 35/70mm projectors.
Your point is fair – the Regal 4DX in 3D is pricier. 4DX for a 2D pic is $26.15, less than the 2D ticket at Dolby Cinema Lincoln Square. We won’t know what AMC would charge for 3D Dolby Cinema ticket until they book a 3D movie but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is higher than the Regal 4DX 3D.
I didn’t get close to the screen to see if it was a floating type but even if it is, it’s unfortunate that they chose an option that doesn’t allow for masking. Unlike other Dolby screens where the screen are installed to fill the walls from left to right, leaving no room for side masking panels, the Dolby room at Lincoln Square still has plenty of space on the sides for the panels. Lincoln Square is one of the theatres in the AMC chain that continues to mask so it’s a shame that its premium room no longer does.
Just came from a show at the renovated and newly designated Dolby Cinema theatre. It’s no longer named the Loews theatre which is sadly appropriate because the renovations have striped the theatre of its charm and character and installed a generic black box. I’ve been going to this theatre since the mid-90s and it wasn’t a golden age cinema treasure – it was and is a big multiplex. But to the credit of the chains that built and operated it, the theatre was built with a lot more character than the typical multiplex. Unfortunately, all those features and details have been taken out of the former Loews auditorium. The golden half-dome chandelier? Gone. The elephant motifs above and below the screens and along the walls? Erased or covered up. The spacious lobby area outside the theatre has been turned into a narrow and dark corridor with low ceiling and a video wall. Since the seating capacity was cut so severely, the crowds from sold-out shows won’t necessarily be a bottleneck with the new layout but the new foyer is still needlessly claustrophobic.
Nevertheless, although I think the alterations to the physical space are a big mistake, the new Dolby projection is top-notch. The image is bright, the focus is tack sharp and noticeably improved from the old projection which tended to be on the soft side, and the screen size has been retained which means it is the biggest “regular” screen in NYC (only the IMAX screen on the 4th floor is bigger). But even here, AMC has scored an own goal in my opinion – the masking elements on the sides of the screen have been removed so the screen is now set to a fixed scope shape. Non-scope movies like The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which is the movie I saw that have an 1.85 aspect ratio, are simply projected in the middle of the screen with the sides of the screen left exposed. I had hoped that AMC would retain the screen masking elements since they were already there but it seems they are actively removing masking.
Ultimate, the Lincoln Square Dolby Cinema is no worse than any of the other three Dolby Cinema rooms in the NYC, all of which have fixed, scope screens without masking and bland, black interiors. When screening a scope movie that matches the shape of the movie, the Dolby Cinema at Lincoln Square will offer a very compelling viewing experience. The question is whether it’s worth the asking price, which at $26.49 for a evening ticket is the most expensive movie ticket in NYC – possibly the entire country – even higher than the IMAX screen at the same multiplex which is a dollar cheaper. By comparison, a evening ticket at the Dolby Cinemas at the Empire 25, 34th St and Harlem locations are $23.29, $21.99 and $18.69, respectively.
@LARGE_screen_format: She didn’t say. Comparing the new pics of the screen to older ones, it looks like it might be the same size. I plan to go back and will try to get the dimensions with the measuring app on my iPhone from the balcony.
@HowardBHaasHowardBHaas: I had forgotten that they used to raise the curtain before the show! I think there was even a musical accompaniment. The more I think about it, I think this Dolby conversion is a real net loss. I like Dolby Cinema very much but it wasn’t worth losing this very handsome contemporary movie space, the last one that remained in NYC. There was nothing like watching a film together with a full house of 1,000 moviegoers.
And here is a link to the full page movie ad for the 70mm Wild Bunch at “Sony Theatres Lincoln Square”:
https://www.in70mm.com/library/blow_up/year/1995/images/wild_bunch.jpg
@HowardBHaas: A 70mm print of The Wild Bunch was shown in Loews in 1994 or 1995, shortly after I got to NYC for school. It was a blowup 70mm print but I didn’t complain. There was also the 70mm restoration of Vertigo in 1996 but that may have been at the Ziegfeld. And I saw The Godfather in the Loews in 1997 when it was re-released but it may have been 35mm. There have been other 70mm limited engagements but I’d have to dig through some old files. There were also new releases that got 70mm prints shown at the Loews like Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master in 2012 and non-IMAX 70mm Dunkirk last year. I think some of Nolan’s other pics got 70mm prints in the Loews. And I think 70mm Titanic played in the Loews in 1997.
@digital3d: I know that film can be projected in the other rooms but I always preferred the 70mm shows in the Loews because of its size. I saw quite a few classic 70mm re-releases in the Loews over the years and will miss the opportunity to see older movies on a really big screen since all of them are now closed (Astor Plaza, Ziegfeld and now Loews).
I heard back from the projection manager at Lincoln Square with some details. She said a new screen was installed in the Loews/Dolby Cinema auditorium without masking. The film projectors that used to be installed in the projection room were removed “some time ago” and are only brought back when film features are booked. She said she doubted the Dolby room would be used to show films again because the Dolby projectors take up the port window space. She said the last film they screened was shown in the Kings auditorium #2 so it’s likely that room would be use for future film screenings.
The Loews auditorium was already Dolby Atmos-certified before the renovations so unless the Dolby Cinema spec has audio requirements beyond Dolby Atmos, I don’t know if speakers would have played a role in the choice of screen. My impression is that nothing changed with the visible speakers installed on the walls. I’m not even 100% sure if the screen itself was changed. I will try to contact the AMC projection manager for Lincoln Square and see if she can provide more details about what changes were made to the projection and sound systems. I hope they kept their 35/70mm projectors.
Your point is fair – the Regal 4DX in 3D is pricier. 4DX for a 2D pic is $26.15, less than the 2D ticket at Dolby Cinema Lincoln Square. We won’t know what AMC would charge for 3D Dolby Cinema ticket until they book a 3D movie but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is higher than the Regal 4DX 3D.
I didn’t get close to the screen to see if it was a floating type but even if it is, it’s unfortunate that they chose an option that doesn’t allow for masking. Unlike other Dolby screens where the screen are installed to fill the walls from left to right, leaving no room for side masking panels, the Dolby room at Lincoln Square still has plenty of space on the sides for the panels. Lincoln Square is one of the theatres in the AMC chain that continues to mask so it’s a shame that its premium room no longer does.
Just came from a show at the renovated and newly designated Dolby Cinema theatre. It’s no longer named the Loews theatre which is sadly appropriate because the renovations have striped the theatre of its charm and character and installed a generic black box. I’ve been going to this theatre since the mid-90s and it wasn’t a golden age cinema treasure – it was and is a big multiplex. But to the credit of the chains that built and operated it, the theatre was built with a lot more character than the typical multiplex. Unfortunately, all those features and details have been taken out of the former Loews auditorium. The golden half-dome chandelier? Gone. The elephant motifs above and below the screens and along the walls? Erased or covered up. The spacious lobby area outside the theatre has been turned into a narrow and dark corridor with low ceiling and a video wall. Since the seating capacity was cut so severely, the crowds from sold-out shows won’t necessarily be a bottleneck with the new layout but the new foyer is still needlessly claustrophobic.
Nevertheless, although I think the alterations to the physical space are a big mistake, the new Dolby projection is top-notch. The image is bright, the focus is tack sharp and noticeably improved from the old projection which tended to be on the soft side, and the screen size has been retained which means it is the biggest “regular” screen in NYC (only the IMAX screen on the 4th floor is bigger). But even here, AMC has scored an own goal in my opinion – the masking elements on the sides of the screen have been removed so the screen is now set to a fixed scope shape. Non-scope movies like The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which is the movie I saw that have an 1.85 aspect ratio, are simply projected in the middle of the screen with the sides of the screen left exposed. I had hoped that AMC would retain the screen masking elements since they were already there but it seems they are actively removing masking.
Ultimate, the Lincoln Square Dolby Cinema is no worse than any of the other three Dolby Cinema rooms in the NYC, all of which have fixed, scope screens without masking and bland, black interiors. When screening a scope movie that matches the shape of the movie, the Dolby Cinema at Lincoln Square will offer a very compelling viewing experience. The question is whether it’s worth the asking price, which at $26.49 for a evening ticket is the most expensive movie ticket in NYC – possibly the entire country – even higher than the IMAX screen at the same multiplex which is a dollar cheaper. By comparison, a evening ticket at the Dolby Cinemas at the Empire 25, 34th St and Harlem locations are $23.29, $21.99 and $18.69, respectively.