Imagine Cinemas Carlton

The name should be changed to Imagine Cinemas Carlton. Carlton Cinema was used by Magic Lantern Theatres from 2010-2016.

The Carlton recently converted to digital projection… hurray! This gets rid of the following problems: pictures out of frame (microphones in frame), out of focus, poor sound reproduction, scratchy and, or dirty prints. These are some of the reasons I stopped going to this venue. A recent visit with perfect digital projection and sound was a real treat!

I visited the theater this afternoon – Magic Lantern refurbished much of it including installing new seats, carpeting and other changes including more seating the lobby area (removing Alan Smithee’s a bar that was there as Cineplex, however closed when I was there last), a new mural, and a new paint job. The place looks good – the screens are still small, but the theater is comfortable and far cheeper than their competitors ($9 adult price verses $13 elsewhere in town), hopefully it’s filling a niche because the programing is excellent.

It’s also worth noting it’s showing features day and date with many competitors including AMC Younge & Dundas, Scotibank, Varsity and even (currently) TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Great news indeed, hopefully they’ll continue the art house mix that Cineplex had – I only went once (and took the cinema tour pics on the eve of the 2008 TIFF, we saw Outsourced that night). I don’t know what impact Bell Lightbox will have aside from providing a permanent home for the Cinematheque Ontario – even though AMC and Scotiabank split films they certainly haven’t really made the best of over screening by playing more art pictures, which is sad since I’m now based in Buffalo and would dig an art movie day-cation in Toronto, but there’s not much to see that won’t come to Buffalo with the Carlton gone.

The Carlton Cinemas is set to reopen in June 2010 by Magic Lantern Theatres. Here is the link:
www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2010/18/c2870.html

A picture of the theater shortly before its closing: View link

Those were the days for sure! We had the: University, Towne Cinema, Uptown, Cinecity, Varsity, New Yorker, Cumberland and the Plaza. Have I left any out?

You’re right Tim, they did have an auditorium called La Reserve and it was equipped for 70mm projection. It had a ridiculously small screen sitting high up over two exit doors. I remember when a 70mm print of the 3rd Star Wars film was booked into the Cumberland, Famous was forced to do a bit of a renovation so that they could install a slightly bigger screen. It was maximized for a 1.85 35mm presentation. Unfortunately, when they projected a 70mm print the masking was lowered which resulted in the smallest 70mm picture I ever saw anywhere. Needless to say, it did not impress. Mike Todd would have rolled over in his grave.

Tim, I totally agree. The lobby was serviceable and the location excellent – but that was it. I was the art director for Famous Players at that time and from my desk I was able to look down into the Cumberland’s lobby. Each afternoon I could smell the popcorn being popped, and what made it almost irresistible was a spray that simulated the scent of butter. One afternoon I spotted Leonard Cohen walking into an auditorium. Unfortunately, I was too far away to note which movie he was about to see.

Sad to think that the poorly designed Cumberland Cinema with its small screens, mediocre projection and so-so sound is now the only specialized movie house left in downtown Toronto. I remember seeing Brokeback Mountain there on it’s opening day – the place was sold out. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the picture jumped out of frame near the end of the movie. Heads appeared at the bottom of the screen, the frame line was in the centre. I finally had to run out to find someone to complain to. Turns out that management was aware of the situation but didn’t know what to do about it. Their non-union projectionist (probably an usher) finally framed the picture. It was still wrong but at least you could see the actors. I’ve never gone back to that theatre since. If the Cumberland is the only place to see a movie I’m anxious see, I prefer to wait for the film to play somewhere else, and if it doesn’t, I’ll watch it via Blu-ray on my big screen with a sharp image and great sound.

Yes, it was renovated in 1988 and the screens were re-designed so that you entered each cinema from the rear instead of the original layout from the front beside each screen. It was most distracting because every time someone entered during the movie or went out to the lobby, you tended to look at them coming and going. They also re-designed the layout of the individual theatres to enlarge the lobby to include a larger cafe area. So on May 6 1988 it re-opened with 9 screens instead of 10. The ads said “Return of the Elegant Theatre” and “North America’s Premiere Arthouse”

Maybe Cineplex Entertainment should seriously consider building a brand new state of the art “art” house to replace the Carlton. After all, Toronto is supposed to be one of the most serious film going cities in the country. Otherwise we need something similar to the Angelika Film centre in the states or similar to a Landmark theatre which shows the same kinds of films that the Carlton did. I remember many years ago Alliance cinemas was looking for a replacement site for the Cumberland with more screens but that never happened. And if that one closes, well then we’re really in trouble in terms of the type of cinema that would show these kinds of films. Unless they turn the Canada Square in to an exclusive art/foreign/indie type of theatre. I haven’t seen as many articles about a theatre closing since the Uptown and Eglinton closing years ago