Odeon Luxe London Leicester Square
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
26 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7LQ
45 people
favorited this theater
Showing 351 - 375 of 755 comments
Giles: The screen is shown as still being 48ft. wide in the planning documents, albeit it might have been moved further forward to the proscenium opening.
I’ve previously posted “pie in the sky” ideas for what might have been possible, but—for whatever reason—it’s clear now that they aren’t going down that path, and various structural constaints have been mentioned here by FanaticalAboutOdeon (girder above the proscenium opening, for instance.)
The poor sightlines from the rear stalls are well known, with the top of the screen only just being visible from the last row. It is clear from the plans that the stalls have been “restepped” for the recliners and as no steps nor level change is shown between the ground floor foyer and the rear of the stalls, i.e. the new rear of the stalls is presumably at the same or about the same level as the previous.
Thus, it is likely that the last row of the stalls will still have very tight sightlines—this alone would constrain the screen height (and thus width.)
48ft. wide for an auditorium of that size is definitely too small with the last row of the circle being ~2.75x screen width away from the screen. (Max. 1x for IMAX—or at least a “classic” IMAX!) However, the front stalls should be OK (~0.4s screen width away), or the front circle (~1.3x screen width away) for those not inclined to recline (!) and prefering a more traditional distance, as well as a better optimised vertical position and viewing angle in relation to the screen.
I’m not up to speed on all the requirements for a “Dolby Cinema,” but, I don’t think having an “immersive” screen size (in the IMAX or “giant screen” sense) is mandatory. Rather it is focused on picture/sound (including a black auditorium to optimise contrast.) Additionally, the “classic” IMAX requirements have been set aside in certain cases (TCL Chinese Theatre being an obvious example, where the last row is much further than 1x screen width away from the screen.)
I have just revisited the licensing application previously linked to, and it is not yet shown as approved. However, an additional “POLICE CONDITIONS” document, dated 14th November 2018, has been added; of the new conditions, of note (to quote):
“There shall be a minimum of two SIA door supervisors on duty from 20:00 until 02:00 Thursday Friday and Saturday. They shall display their licences in yellow hi viz arm bands. At all other times the premises shall risk assess the requirement for SIA security and document their assessment, which shall be made available to the Responsible Authorities upon request.
“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 22:00 and 02:00 hours, all bags shall be searched. At all other times the requirement to conduct searches will be on a documented risk assessment basis.”
I shall avoid any political comment on this other than to say it all sounds like a lot of intrusive “security theatre” and seems highly inappropriate to the cinema experience! :–(
so I apologize if this question has been asked and answered but did Dolby make the screen larger during the conversion to Dolby Cinema? A 48 foot wide screen seems rather small in this day and age
Update: Quick visit to Leicester Square last night—conditions were not ideal due to the wet weather!
There was no sign (visually or aurally) of building work being underway, but the foyer areas were well lit.
There was very little externally visible progress, with some additional services (ducting, pipes, cable trays, etc.) added to the circle foyer ceiling.
Lest anyone think that the works are far from complete, it is instructive to review Zappomatic’s photos of the Cineworld (Empire) Leicester Square foyer works undertaken earlier this year.
Whilst that project had a different scope and set of constraints, it can be seen that from the end of February 2018 to ~6 weeks later, the public areas had been transformed from plasterboard to a finished state.
Cropped photo of the view in from LSQ uploaded.
An early view of the original “Flying Ladies”:
Craftsmen put final touches to the ‘Flying Ladies’ plaster figure reliefs.
Paul Stephenson: That canopy signage is in fact an LED display, as shown in the first document titled “EXTERNAL SIGNAGE” of the relevant planning application.
“OSCAR DEUTSCH ENTERTAINS OUR NATION” was example text, one might imagine to present the external proposals/signage in a favourable light; see p10 of the “DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT” in the main application relating to the external alterations.
To quote:
“It is also proposed to have a white lit band to the edge of the canopy featuring a written historical reference – ‘Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation’. The Text will be provided by LED panels, and will be capable of change – e.g. for Premiere performances.”
Obviously, no such condition for “historical references” is among those in the advertising consent!
From the new renders, the slogan on the canopy now says “Odeon Luxe Leicester Square Home of Premiers”, rather than the original, more classy “Oscar Deutsch Entertains our Nation”
joeswin: Thanks for the link.
Looks like an error in that part of the rendering?
I would imagine the old safety curtain was permanently removed in the strip-out along with the rest of the asbestos-containing materials. It’s not apparent if what’s rendered is supposed to be a curtain or simply a projected image?
Alas, the proscenium end is just too dark in this picture to make out much. It looks like the ceiling has been altered, with a “kink” just behind an overhead line array speaker.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/iconic-odeon-reopen-uks-first-dolby-cinema-experience-170628672.html?guccounter=1
You can just about see the proscenium in the rendering here, however the screen is covered by the safety curtain, which is pleasing to see is retained. However I assume that renderings are not always accurate to what is physically created in the finished result, as it looks like the curtain is strangely floating in place.
HowardBHaas: As I’ve noted elsewhere on CT—Odeon Birmingham Broadway Plaza and Odeon Orpington—it seems that at least some of Odeon’s own brand premium large format “iSense” auditoria do include moveable masking.
Not sure what the impact of AMC’s ownership will be in this respect; mostly they seem to be implementing their “recliner” strategy, as well as their press releases mentioning concessions offerings. One would also imagine that the agreement with Dolby for UK Dolby Cinema sites also may be connected to AMC ownership. (Furthermore, AMC majority shareholder Wanda also has many Dolby Cinema locations built or in the pipeline in their own cinemas.)
As the new screen location appears to be behind the proscenium still, and the organ being kept in particular indicates the project’s objectives in relation to the continuity of heritage aspects, hopefully tabs and moveable masking will be reinstated—if not, at least the laser projection will yield low black levels for non-“scope” format content. Certainly letterboxed “scope” format images are, if not ideal, acceptable over in the IMAX with Laser auditorium across the square.
I would also love to see the seats upholstered in leopard print. Although from the images it doesn’t look likely.
Thanks to all for the heads up.
The joint Odeon Cinemas Group/Dolby press release went out via Businss Wire:
London’s Glittering Home of the Premiere Returns: ODEON Luxe Leicester Square to Reopen Following Multi Million Pound Luxe Upgrade and Introducing the UK’s First Dolby Cinema.
This is the same release but includes two high resolution renderings; alas, the auditorium is not included.
Still no view of the proscenium so it remains to be seen if tabs and masking are reinstated.
The release also reaffirms that the Compton organ will remain intact.
All is looking good though I’m still not sure what colour the sidewalls/ribbed plasterwork will be from these renderings?
Let’s hope the cinema does reopen for Christmas 2018 as stated…
Official Odeon press release:
https://www.odeoncinemasgroup.com/news/londons-glittering-home-premiere-returns/
I’m glad to see the ladies on the side walls. I would hope for use of curtains (tabs) & masking/matting. The AMC Lincoln Square (New York City) page indicates recent conversion (by Odeon’s owner AMC) of non historic but ornate “Loews” auditorium so that all ornate decoration has been removed from that auditorium, and installed is a “floating screen” with “flat” movies simply letterboxed, not masked/matted.
@joeswin – Thanks for sharing the link.
Dolby Cinema signage should be larger imo!
Apologies I didn’t mean front, I meant just a bit more of the side walls!
https://www.timeout.com/london/news/take-a-first-look-at-the-glam-new-odeon-leicester-square-110818 This has pictures of the front of the auditorium
Any closer to an opening date? Mary Poppins returns would make a good candidate for the opening feature
@moviebuff82 – Were there any other details or images included in that email? Seems Odeon is still keeping details very low-key at the moment, here in the UK.
Got an email from AMC that the Odeon, when fully open, will have the UK’s first ever Dolby Cinema.
Update: Construction of the “glass box” balcony feature has started, with metalwork (steel beams and profiles for a floor deck) now overhanging the front wall. It may still not be much to look at, but it shouldn’t be too long before the “Cat B” fit-out of the foyers is initiated…
A photo has been uploaded.
https://www.odeon.co.uk/cinemas/leicester_square/105/ now redirects to https://www.odeon.co.uk/cinema/odeon-leicester-square/. Presumably the former was a placeholder page that should never have been seen, since, AFAIK, no press release was issued, nor was there any media coverage, nor was the page linked to when selecting “Odeon Leicester Square” as a cinema option from elsewhere on Odeon’s site,.
Lest anyone reading this has not seen the posted renders:
OLS Refurbishment Rendered Images.
LARGE_screen_format:
“Spectre Thrills at the Royal Albert Hall” – Audio Media International.
These speakers are intended for sound reinforcement applications rather than cinemas—I suppose the Royal Albert Hall is a big, multi-level, place to fill! (Besides, I’d be surprised if cinema speakers are available to rent for “event” applications?)
There is an odd quote in the article which says “‘Of course the film is not recorded in 7:1…’” — not quite sure what that means—perhaps that Atmos is among the sound formats available for the theatrical release, or perhaps it’s simply an error?!
As 5.1 and 7.1 are mentioned, and among the sound formats for the theatrical release of the movie was a 7.1 mix, I’d assume the latter is what was used.
I intend to travel from Doncaster when OLS reopens in order to experience Dolby cinema here.
Which sound format would the Royal Albert Premieres have been presented in?
Re: Bond premieres at the OLS—
Licence to Kill – 1989.
Exterior Shot of Large Format Advert on Facade.
GoldenEye – 1995.
Tomorrow Never Dies – 1997.
The World Is Not Enough – 1999.
Casino Royale – 2006 (Empire Leicester Square and Odeon West End also.)
Quantum of Solace – 2008 (Page features a photo of the facade with “ROYAL WORLD PREMIERE” banner, and links to other exterior photos.)
N.B. Not all of the above are “world” premieres.
“Die Another Day,” “Spectre,” and “Skyfall” all premiered at the Royal Albert Hall.