SIFF Cinema Downtown
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
47 people
favorited this theater
Showing 201 - 225 of 266 comments
A friend of mine saw Lawrence on Sunday and said that the presentation was flawless and that the print was excellent. She also said that the theater was about ¾ full, which is quite impressive for an early Sunday show. I’m planning to see it next Sunday. I’ll post my impressions afterwards.
Did anyone see the 70mm Lawurence of Arabia today? I hope it was better than the 2001 presentation on Feb. 3rd.
Oh Bob, stop it!… you’re making me homesick… again!!!
Why isn’t a WIDESCREEN WEEKEND done here each year as is done in Great Britain? Just think, a whole weekend with, 3-strip CINERAMA and 70mm “CINERAMA”, 3-strip CINEMIRICLE, 3-strip KINOPANORAMA, 70mm TODD-AO etc.! Everyone should bug the heck out of the Gods in charge of the Seattle CINERAMA. To see what we are missing see: View link
“Ladies and Gentlemen, This is CINERAMA!” Lowell Thomas September 30, 1952
11:59 pm on Thursday, my mistake.
Currently they are running engagements for the blind and deaf. Jumper ran recently and 10,000 B.C. starts at 12:01 am Friday.
According to this page about the Seattle Cinerama Theatre on the City of Seattle website, the original design of the theatre was by local architect Raymond H. Peck. The renovation was handled by the Portland-based firm BOORA Architects.
Too bad, too bad. I saw ‘2001’ at the old ‘red curtains’ Cinerama when it came out in ‘68, and a couple other times there in reissue. No reason to trek in if the latest go round is flawed, though. Hopefully, the malfunctions won’t happen again. Audiences may put up with a lot, but the management better kick some butt, so to speak.
Brian, you and your team did a GREAT job of handling ‘HTWWW’ when I saw it on Superbowl Sunday a few years back. Also, I really appreciated listening to you guys up in the booths, explaining about the process. A truly memorable occasion.
I went on Tuesday night and had to leave it was so messed up. I am one of the projectionists that ran 3 projector here(able booth for one show of How The West Was Won and one show of This Is Cinemrama) We used to have a good union operator here but AMC cut the position 3 years ago. What was wrong on Tuesday was poor focus and no sound from the stage speakers or subwoofers till midway thru reel 2 when I left to get my money back. Sad. When they ran 2001 on the deep curve several years ago it was great. Normal 35 presentations usually run okay here but with 70mm they really should use an experienced projectionist.
Well, I saw it this afternoon. It was phenomenal, with one exception. The film just….stopped. Just before the intermission was supposed to happen. Lights came up, and the curtain closed. When it started again, it started where it stopped. The intermission portion never played. When it did finally come back up, there were no problems afterwards. I hope this doesn’t happen on Tuesday night for the last showing. The audience was appreciative, though.
Has anyone seen any of the “2001” screenings this week?
Thanks again, Dan! Maybe I’ll get to see “How the West Was Won” there too.
Bill,
It certainly is impressive on the big Cinerama screen and of course is the optimum way of seeing it.
Periodically, the Seattle Cinerama schedules week-long 70mm/wide screen festivals usually featuring two or three 3-panel Cinerama films. This is when they pull out all the stops and use the massive Cinerama screen. Although it’s been a couple of years since the last one, I’m hoping there will be one in the not too distant future. When one is scheduled, I’ll be sure to post here.
Dan
Thanks, Dan. I was going to make the trip to Seattle from NJ, but only if it was on the curve. I’m a sucker for “2001” in Cinerama, the way I saw it in 1968.
L.A.’s Cinerama Dome is showing it this month also, but I have jury duty that day. This is just not my year for seeing “2001”. Maybe Seattle will show it on their big screen another time, since theirs is a “real” Cinerama screen (vertical strips, 146-degree curve, etc.) I’d love to see it there someday.
Bill:
“2001” will NOT be shown on the curved Cinerama screen. The logistics of tearing down the “regular” screen and reassembling it afterwards are just too time-consuming (and costly) to perform for only two showings (on separate days, with regular programming shown in between).
However, “2001” will still look spectacular on the “regular” screen. Just be sure to sit below the crossover aisle for best viewing.
Dan
Can anyone confirm whether “2001” will be shown on the curved Cinerama screen later this month, or will it be on the smaller, flat one? Thanks.
(Just a short note to get me back on the notification list)
…because it looks like a nice atmosphere to see a movie in. If i lived there I’d go all the time. But I wouldn’t make the long trip unless they assembled the big deep-curved screen.
Regerding previous commments about the deep Cinerama screen being totally complete behind the existing screen: It’s not just a matter of revealing the deep screen, there is most definitely “some assembly required.”
I have seen numerous pictures of the long arduous process of dismantling the front screen and assembling the pieces of the deep screen that are stored behind it. This includes unfurling sections that are rolled up, and replacing the center of the curtain track so that it follows the curve of the deep screen.
As for this being the only “true” Cinerama theatre in the US… well Pacific did decide against installing the louvered screen at the Dome because they saw the unahchored louvres fluttering in the AC breeze when the Seattle first ran HTWWW. Certainly a mistake in my mind. And it’s true that Seattle has a deeper curve, which is probably better.
However the specs for Cinerama were not set in stone, and the 126 degree (like the Dome) curve was used in some Cinerama theatres, others had a 146 degree curve like the Seattle). Some of the screens had flat sides like a bowtie, some were cylindrical. Some were even a flat sheet in the center and louvred only onthe sides. So you can’t claim the Dome isn’t “true” Cinerama just because of the degree of the curve.
The Seattle Cinerama people decided not to permanently install the deep curved screen because of some talk about picture distortion, (which could have been minimized). The Cinerama Dome people chose not to install a proper louvered screen, instead opting for a low-gain screen, which provides a less effective picture.
The Cinerama experince in Seattle may well be more impressive, but it requires a massive and expensive conversion process to assemble then dismantle the deep screen every time they want to use it, making even some 70mm films worthy of the deep screen more likely to be shown on the smaller one in front. (as is the case with 2001 and others in their current 70mm series). The Dome, however, shows everything on the curved screen, and when they want to run Cinerama, all they have to do is bring in the print and three very good projectionists.
Bottom line, The Seattle CInerama and the Dome each have attributes the other doesn’t and some of their biggest differences were influenced in some way by each other. Seattle: nicer deepscreen experience, but that is very rare because it is not set up for regular use of the bigger screen. Dome: screen and picture could cartainly be better but it is there all the time. Advantage regarding Cinerama: Neither. Advantage regarding decor and atmosphere: Seattle.
having said all that, I’d love to visit the Seattle Cinerama, because it
Any reports on how the “Blade Runner” engagement is faring in Seattle? The NYC engagement has been extended into its 5th week and expanded to an additional house as of this past Friday.
Seattle does it right: “Blade Runner” opens Oct 26. Should be a cool show at the Cinerama!
JSA
Seattle is a great town – best seafood I’ve ever had! I’ve been there several times (mostly for business) and always enjoyed its hospitality and restaurants. Unfortunately, all my visits occurred before I knew (thanks to this site) that there was a working and lovingly restored Cinerama theatre in town! Even more unfortunately, here in NYC (where the format premiered) all of the original Cinerama venues have been demolished. Well, actually, the theatre where Cinerama was actually first unveiled to the public (the Broadway Theatre) is still standing and in fine shape, but has been converted to legitimate live theatre. I would definitely make the trip out west to experience a true Cinerama presentation (and I’d much prefer to do so in Seattle rather than Los Angeles), so please do keep us informed if you hear anything, D Roben! Thanks.
John Harvey did bring his personal “cobbled together” print of HTWWW for the premiere of Cinerama in Seattle under the Paul Allen era, but subsequent showings have utilized the newly-struck print, and it looks fantastic on the Seattle Cinerama screen.
I have not experienced Three Strip Cinerama at the Dome, but I can say that the Seattle Cinerama is the only TRUE Cinerama theater left in the country. While Pacific Theaters should be commended by bringing back Three Strip to Southern California, that screen (as noted above) uses a single sheet, which has a curvature of 120 degrees, while the Seattle Cinerama uses a proper louvered screen with the original deeper 148 degree curvature.
It’s been about three years since Three Strip Cinerama has last been shown in Seattle, so I’m hoping that it’ll be brought back soon. I’ll post here as soon as I hear anything as I am an acquaintance of one of the Cinerama projectonists (he works the Abel booth). If he hears of anything, he’ll let me know.
New and restored prints of “"This Is Cinerama” and “HTWWW” were struck a couple of years ago at the Crest National Labs; information about them can be found at the “Cinerama Adventure” website at http://www.cineramaadventure.com/crest3.htm
I have seen the new print of “HTWWW” at the Cinerama Dome a few years ago soon after it was struck; it looked good, but probably would have looked even better if a proper strip screen had beeen installed.
If I am not mistaken, the last time “HTWWW” was shown at the Seattle Cinerama, the print was the lovingly cobbled together one that John Harvey put together that was shown at the New Neon Theater in Dayton, Ohio during the Cinerama revival that blossomed there in the late 1990s. I think this was shown soon after Paul Allen’s restoration of the Seattle Cinerama.
Ed, I asked the same question on the Cinerama Dome’s page. Here’s HowardBHaas response:
“My guess is that it is still very enjoyable,and even more interesting because it is an ORIGINAL print. Perhaps there’s a little color fading in a few places or the sound isn’t perfect. Remember that B means good or very good, by definition. I sure wouldn’t want to see a print in a D condition, but that’s not this one.”
I am not 100 % clear on what “original” means. My guess is that it would be a print struck before the re-issue from 6 years ago.
As far as HTWWW, the print screened a few years ago at the Cinerama Dome was in great shape, with a terrific soundtrack. I don’t know the condition of “This is Cinerama”. As of this time, I am not aware of any plans to show 3-strip Cinerama in the near future.
I’m thinking seriuosly to make the trip for “2001”: it will be the 40th anniversary of the film.
JSA