SIFF Cinema Downtown
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
47 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 266 comments
I wonder what Paul Allen’s will had to say about his intentions for the theater
Who is it that will actually decide the fate of the Seattle Cinerama? The city of Chicago purchased the iconic Chicago Theatre to save it.
I’m glad I got to live here in Seattle while it was open, since I moved here in 2013. I never saw anything on the deep curved Cinerama screen (afaik still installed behind the modern, less-curved screen), but I’m grateful for all of the films I got to see there, including 2001. I hope someone steps in to rescue it.
Absolutely true: the Cinerama Dome in LA was designed to present 70mm single projector “Cinerama”. Stanley Kramer, director of the opening feature Mad Mad Mad World, stated “It’s not Cinerama.” The screen in the Cinerama dome is not louvered but is deeply curved and somehow manages not to wash out the projected image, perhaps using lenticular technology. Despite its large size I did not find it entirely successful at “putting you in the picture” even with the two projectors later added to present three strip Cinerama. This makes losing the Seattle Cinerama an even greater tragedy.
Giving up the Seattle Cinerama leaves only a single Cinerama equipped theatre in the US, namely the Cinerama Dome in LA which has such a steep projection angle the screen is tilted. I find that decreases the Cinerama experience, which probably means a complete loss of the process in the near future. Transferring 3 individual 35mm images to a single 70mm frame will preserve the Cinerama releases, but does not replicate the original experience. I hope the original triple reels will be turned over to the Library of Congress film restoration and preservation division.
So Paul Allen’s estate is f-cking up this theater?
This is unfortunate, but not unexpected given today’s pandemic. I suppose another philanthropist needs to step in and take over. Probably would need to be a Hollywood type individual who appreciates the film experience. Page Steven Spielberg and/or George Lucas, please. :) Or both of them. How about programming on during the weekends/week of exclusive screenings of their films? Maybe do the original un-tweaked Star Wars one weekend..CE3K original edition the next? Yeah..yeah.. Disney owns Lucasfilm now. Its just an idea.
Sounds like the Cinerama is going the way of the late UA 150. They were the last Seattle theatres with deep-curved screens. The Blue Mouse was long gone when I lived in Seattle and it may have had a deep-curved screen, ditto the Paramount during its Cinerama phase. Now Seattle will be like everywhere else, a nation of flat screen multiplex exhibitors.
On the news yesterday, they mentioned the Cinerama is closed, possibly never to re-open.
what a shame it’s being shutdown…it’s an iconic theater and one of the last cineramas in the world.
Hello-
to MSC77- in my original post discussing Manhattan’s roadshow houses during the prime period of Sept. 1952 to Dec. 1972 as opposed to Seattle’s I listed the 7 that were “regularly” used. though they are/were fine theaters the Royale, Sutton, Coronet etc….. were not “regularly” used as roadshow houses.
also to Mike(saps)– you are correct in that the Liberty (which is now used as an event space for the adjacent Hilton Hotel) was used for the roadshow run of The Birth of a Nation Feb. 1915 it doesn’t fall into the time period I stated.
The Cinerama is currently closed for “upgrades”. Does this mean that it is going to be divided up into a multiplex?
Or how about the Liberty (Birth of a Nation)?
bigjoe59: Regarding the New York roadshow houses you have been citing here and elsewhere, is there a reason you haven’t been including the Royale (Gigi), Sutton (The Blue Max), Coronet (The Taming of the Shrew), Fine Arts (The Charge of the Light Brigade), 57th Street Lincoln Art (The Lion in Winter), Ziegfeld (Marooned), or the Columbia (Young Winston)?
Hello-
since I was talking about the fate of the prime roadshow houses in New York as opposed to Seattle I think it was a valid comment to make.
I’m not sure how the current observations apply to the Seattle Cinerama, but it was heartbreaking to see a gem like the United Artists in Detroit run into the ground with adult films and neglect. The United Artists in Los Angeles is often referred to as a twin, but is in fact much larger and more elaborate and beautifully restored. What happens to theatre buildings is a direct reflection of the health of their community. That does apply to the Seattle Cinerama.
to Mike(saps)– many thanks for your reply. Boys Scouts Honor the first two times I tried only 5 theaters ever showed up. I have no idea what I clicked on. speaking of Seattle. its interesting none of the 7 theaters the studios used for their roadshow engagements in Manhattan(Criterion, Loews State, RKO Palace, Demille, Warner, Rivoli and Loews Capitol ever wound up showing “adult” films. that apparently is not the case in other cities.
Link to Seattle page
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/united-states/washington/seattle
Hello from NYC-
to MSC77. NYC is a big city comprised of five boroughs. but if one eliminates all the neighborhood theaters in the other four boroughs Manhattan alone had countless theaters. but if we narrow our search to just the 1st run theaters that have existed in Manhattan that’s still a hell of a lot of theaters. my question being simple. when I clicked om “all theaters” for Seattle all that comes up is five theaters. you mean in the entire history OF Seattle there have only been 5 movie theaters?
Goodbye Mr Chips shown at the Colosseum in 70mm. Sound of Music shown at the Music Box in 70mm. Both were first run Seattle theaters in city center.
I have seen a regular movie at the Cinerama, a silent movie at the Paramount, and had a quick tour of the Fifth Avenue…
bigjoe59:
5TH AVENUE (Cinema Treasures Database Entry #2447)
The Ten Commandments
El Cid
Lawrence of Arabia
The Sound of Music
The Bible
Doctor Dolittle
Star!
Hello, Dolly!
BLUE MOUSE (#18183)
Oklahoma!
Around the World in 80 Days
South Pacific
The Big Fisherman
Ben-Hur
Exodus
King of Kings
Mutiny on the Bounty
Hawaii
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
BROADWAY (#11447)
Ulysses
BURIEN (#20408)
Ulysses
CINERAMA (#360)
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
How the West Was Won
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Hallelujah Trail
Battle of the Bulge
Russian Adventure
Khartoum
Grand Prix
Thoroughly Modern Millie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Ice Station Zebra
Song of Norway
MAGNOLIA (#11358)
Oliver!
MUSIC BOX (#2457)
Gigi
Spartacus
West Side Story
My Fair Lady
Doctor Zhivago
Camelot
Finian’s Rainbow
The Lion in Winter
Paint Your Wagon
PARAMOUNT (#237)
This is Cinerama
Cinerama Holiday
Seven Wonders of the World
Windjammer
The Diary of Anne Frank
Can-Can
Holiday in Spain
The Longest Day
Mediterranean Holiday
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Blue Max
The Sand Pebbles
Gone with the Wind (’67 re-issue)
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Ben-Hur (’69 re-issue)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Sweet Charity
Patton
RIDGEMONT (#2474)
Ulysses
UPTOWN (#3765)
Funny Girl
Fiddler on the Roof
Man of La Mancha
Last Tango in Paris
The Seattle Cinerama has closed for renovations—suddenly it seems, and someone tweeted that the staff was laid off without much notice. According to the Seattle Times article renovations include “new carpet, general wear-and-tear refurbishment, and an overhaul to the kitchen, which will allow the theater to expand its food offerings.” Makes me wonder if they’re going to expand the lobby.
As to when it will reopen: “The Vulcan rep declined to give a specific date for the theater’s reopening, saying only that Cinerama would be back in business ‘later this year ahead of the year’s biggest films.’” Sounds like Vulcan is being vague on purpose, as that could mean ahead of the summer releases, or the end of year awards-driven output.
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/seattles-cinerama-to-close-for-renovations/
Hello from NYC-
during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972)what Seattle theaters did the studios use on a regular basis for their roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.
I agree the 3-projector original Cinerama is in a class by itself when it comes to putting the audience in the picture. Of all the Cinerama installations I have viewed, the Cooper circular auditoriums were the most effective. Both the Minneapolis and Omaha Cooper Cineramas were torn down years ago. They featured floor to ceiling screens and 3 individual projection booths at the rear of the steeply raked main floor. Their shallow balconies placed viewers in the action unlike the balcony and rear of the main floor at Seattle Cinerama, which is quite distant from the screen. The Los Angeles Cinerama Dome screen has a noticeable tilt to accommodate the steep projection angle from the booth at its rear. We have yet to build a theatre where today’s audiences can see Cinerama at its best.