Odeon needed to put in color LED lights that they could adjust the color change. Just start out with dark BLUE to start please.
Same in the USA so many new cinemas just put in bright white lights and the side wall lights all hit the corners of the screen during the pre show adds.
I wonder if the people buying ads in movie theatres like(Screen Vision) know that the ads and trailers are mostly ruined by stray white lights.
A dark low light blue light would not bother the screen that much but they won’t do anything about it in most circuits.
Thanks FAO for your photos and notes.
People need to complain and boycott the Odeon LS till they fix the lighting.
This former cinema is about to be sold again back to the owners that had the place in the 1990’s and now have the surrounding properties. Looks like It’s days of movies or music are coming to a end when a new condo building with shops on the bottom try to take over this old fun movie spot on the river.
Maybe things will change and the new owners will keep It as a movie or live event theatre for the locals and tourists to enjoy after It is fixed up or will It be torn down like so many movie theatres in California have been?
Cinemark Theatres under their Century Theatre brand has way too many cinemas in the SF Bay Area same with AMC. It’s time for a new cinema company to move into S.F.
Bow Tie & National are mainly on the East Coast.
Many new theatre operators are ready to take over old cineama’s or build new ones in California like Cineapolis opening this June in the Hillsdale area of San Mateo CA along with Maya, Showcase Icon and the new Cineworld Regal Theatre brand.
Bring on the huge X curved screens along with 4DX, Screen X & Dolby Atmos®
We are ready in San Francisco for the new guys to bring us some new movie going treats that are missing at Century.
The old AMC 14 at least had Dolby Atmos® in one of their small spaces. Whoever takes on the remodel upgrade job at the AMC SF 14 may add more new type sound systems as there are other new sound companies available besides Dolby® these days like Barco .
One bad thing the seating will be way reduced when they put in recliners. I am not a fan of these way too big sleeper seats. I’d put in some new nice hi back deluxe seats and just put in the recliners in the largest auditoriums.
If the Cineworld Group (Regal) takes on the remodel of the AMC 14 Van Ness in SF maybe we will have under one roof a Dolby Cinema®, Screen X and a 4DX. It will be a big comeback to Regal Theatres under their new owners Cineworld. Regal at one time was a huge operator in the San Francisco area. With the new Regal Theatre going into the old Macy’s spot in the Stonestown area of SF they will have two new movie spots in SF If they take on the AMC Van Ness 14 location.
Looks like It may be the Mexican Theatre group CINEPOLIS that may be moving into the AMC 14 Van Ness spot in SF. They love 4DX and will be the fist for SF. Many new theatre companies are coming in California for the fist time like Showcase Icon with two brand new openings a few months ago in Mountain View CA and a location near San Jose CA in Century Theatre land. Cinepolis is opening a new movie theatre in San Mateo CA near the Hillsdale Center.
Thanks Gary for the news. 4D will do well in SF since the other two big chains in SF did not bother getting in sooner. Lets hope the new lease owners put a marquee up in the front of the building so you even know it is showing movies inside. The new guys also need to put in a giant curved screen with the best sound in SF,even better then Dolby Atmos®. AMC was pulling equipment out the last few months like their surround speakers and just left a few on the side walls. Lets see if the MAYA chain moves into the old AMC spot and does the remodel work AMC did not do. The area had many cinemas over the years and is on a very busy street in SF. At last some competition for Cinemark/Century and AMC. Regal Theatres will soon open a brand new spot in the Stonestown shopping area in SF at the old Macy’s location to replace their twin a few feet away.
Thanks for the great CinemaScope® notes. I was always surprised by these first Fox CinemaScope® ads. You will never find the CinemaScope® Magic Mirror semi curved screen going that much into the first 15 rows like the drawing ad claimed It did. Many people seeing the advertisement were probably a little taken back. The Cinerama® people needed to take Fox to court to block this copy cat look as their curved screen did in most theatres come off the stage into the seat area with wrap a round curtains and way better stereophonic sound. Still It was the best thing for me as a kid to go to the Fox West Coast Paramount Theatre in Oakland Ca to see The Robe in 1953. They did a great job with showmanship and opened up the giant semi curved CinemaScope® screen curtains to a blue lighted screen and a recorded speaker came on to welcome everyone to the first showing of this magic wonder to the East Bay for the first time. Then they closed the curtains waited 2 minutes and then started the film with the opening. Great days for me and still too this day I can remember the seats we sat in on the middle left. The Paramount Theatre Oakland CA is still going but the drop down scope screen is way smaller then the original was. Thanks again Greg & film for the article.
Thanks for the info JJ. How strange to open another place so close and still call it Cinerama 7. Pacific just needed to turn the old place into a small multi unit venue. They probably wanted the property money they got for the building space or maybe they just leased the building? Most people drove to the Warner Cinerama Hollywood when Cinerama first came out from San Diego. SD got Cinerama late. I think San Diego also had a few other large curved screens in the Mission Bay hotel area run by Fox West Coast and another circuit.
Thanks JJ for this great classic SD Cinerama® photo. If only some of today’s cinema’s had large deep screens and curtains. I think after they closed this large cinema Pacific Theatres got money hungry and divided up the cinema to smaller spaces but they had the nerve to call the place still the Pacific Cinerama® Theatres
Thanks Neeb for this classic Pacific Theatres Cinerama photo. I saw ‘Top Gun’ here and most of the surround speakers had all the cones blown out. I got a refund and left. Nice curved screen but bad sound near the end.
For some odd reason AMC changed the red look to blue at least on the sides of the Dolby® Cinema in space #13. I’ll have to check the next time I go to see If they even light up the ceiling speakers anymore. This special Dolby® Cinema is one of the most expensive movie theatres to go to in SF. Most SF movie people skip the extra Dolby® Cinema money and see the same movie at the Century 9 a block away or go to the AMC on Van Ness in SF. AMC just wants you to buy their monthly A Stub pass. The Dolby® Cinema projector here at the AMC Metreon auditorium #13 has problems and is always going out all the time. Many refunds are given.
From Theatre #2 space on the left of the refreshment counter. Older Sony DCP projectors but they give out plenty of light and a crisp picture down to a tiny screen that at one time was large till UA Theatres split the cinema down the middle to make more money and they did not put in new seats or re angle them.
This was taken in the left entrance side of the lobby into Theatre #2 space. You can see how the seats on the outside wall slant inward and don’t face the screen that much. If It is crowded you have to twist a little to watch the picture If you don’t get a good seat in the center section of the original cinema.
Sorry this is a photo of the cinema space #1 on the right side of the lobby. I got mixed up with my photos as both auditoriums almost look the same. The trick is the placement of the projectors and the slant of the seats. They slant in toward the screen from the outside sides of the large building. Terry
This former cinema when It was a movie theatre had way more then 100 seats as listed . Seemed about 400 seats were in the cinema in two sections or even more?
Thanks Dustin**
I remember as a kid many single screen box office windows had a clock that told you the time going in and the time you would exit after the movie.
They never show up on E Bay.
I wonder If any one has a photo of one to share on Cinema Treasures?
I think the parents loved these clocks when they let out their noisy kids at the movies to see the pick up time. Thanks
This nice great former curved screen 70mm film theatre is still open. Went to see ‘Green Book’ today in 1.85 and at least they are closing their side masking again now for flat DCP movies.
Id’d like the place to still stay open with the new furniture store to build around it and in the large parking lot. The new store will not fit in the area with the houses across the street.
A few years ago Century was going to put in a larger XD curved screen and do some remodel work with new curtains and seats, that never took place.
Lets hope It will stay open a little longer. So nice to see a new movie in a large single screen cinema these days.
Thanks so much CC for this Todd-AO ad. The UA Egyptian Theatre also later on had the huge curved D-150 screen. I was lucky enough to see this giant screen with curtains many years ago.
Odeon needed to put in color LED lights that they could adjust the color change. Just start out with dark BLUE to start please. Same in the USA so many new cinemas just put in bright white lights and the side wall lights all hit the corners of the screen during the pre show adds. I wonder if the people buying ads in movie theatres like(Screen Vision) know that the ads and trailers are mostly ruined by stray white lights. A dark low light blue light would not bother the screen that much but they won’t do anything about it in most circuits. Thanks FAO for your photos and notes. People need to complain and boycott the Odeon LS till they fix the lighting.
This former cinema is about to be sold again back to the owners that had the place in the 1990’s and now have the surrounding properties. Looks like It’s days of movies or music are coming to a end when a new condo building with shops on the bottom try to take over this old fun movie spot on the river. Maybe things will change and the new owners will keep It as a movie or live event theatre for the locals and tourists to enjoy after It is fixed up or will It be torn down like so many movie theatres in California have been?
Cinemark Theatres under their Century Theatre brand has way too many cinemas in the SF Bay Area same with AMC. It’s time for a new cinema company to move into S.F. Bow Tie & National are mainly on the East Coast. Many new theatre operators are ready to take over old cineama’s or build new ones in California like Cineapolis opening this June in the Hillsdale area of San Mateo CA along with Maya, Showcase Icon and the new Cineworld Regal Theatre brand. Bring on the huge X curved screens along with 4DX, Screen X & Dolby Atmos® We are ready in San Francisco for the new guys to bring us some new movie going treats that are missing at Century.
The old AMC 14 at least had Dolby Atmos® in one of their small spaces. Whoever takes on the remodel upgrade job at the AMC SF 14 may add more new type sound systems as there are other new sound companies available besides Dolby® these days like Barco . One bad thing the seating will be way reduced when they put in recliners. I am not a fan of these way too big sleeper seats. I’d put in some new nice hi back deluxe seats and just put in the recliners in the largest auditoriums.
If the Cineworld Group (Regal) takes on the remodel of the AMC 14 Van Ness in SF maybe we will have under one roof a Dolby Cinema®, Screen X and a 4DX. It will be a big comeback to Regal Theatres under their new owners Cineworld. Regal at one time was a huge operator in the San Francisco area. With the new Regal Theatre going into the old Macy’s spot in the Stonestown area of SF they will have two new movie spots in SF If they take on the AMC Van Ness 14 location.
Looks like It may be the Mexican Theatre group CINEPOLIS that may be moving into the AMC 14 Van Ness spot in SF. They love 4DX and will be the fist for SF. Many new theatre companies are coming in California for the fist time like Showcase Icon with two brand new openings a few months ago in Mountain View CA and a location near San Jose CA in Century Theatre land. Cinepolis is opening a new movie theatre in San Mateo CA near the Hillsdale Center.
Thanks Gary for the news. 4D will do well in SF since the other two big chains in SF did not bother getting in sooner. Lets hope the new lease owners put a marquee up in the front of the building so you even know it is showing movies inside. The new guys also need to put in a giant curved screen with the best sound in SF,even better then Dolby Atmos®. AMC was pulling equipment out the last few months like their surround speakers and just left a few on the side walls. Lets see if the MAYA chain moves into the old AMC spot and does the remodel work AMC did not do. The area had many cinemas over the years and is on a very busy street in SF. At last some competition for Cinemark/Century and AMC. Regal Theatres will soon open a brand new spot in the Stonestown shopping area in SF at the old Macy’s location to replace their twin a few feet away.
Thanks for the great CinemaScope® notes. I was always surprised by these first Fox CinemaScope® ads. You will never find the CinemaScope® Magic Mirror semi curved screen going that much into the first 15 rows like the drawing ad claimed It did. Many people seeing the advertisement were probably a little taken back. The Cinerama® people needed to take Fox to court to block this copy cat look as their curved screen did in most theatres come off the stage into the seat area with wrap a round curtains and way better stereophonic sound. Still It was the best thing for me as a kid to go to the Fox West Coast Paramount Theatre in Oakland Ca to see The Robe in 1953. They did a great job with showmanship and opened up the giant semi curved CinemaScope® screen curtains to a blue lighted screen and a recorded speaker came on to welcome everyone to the first showing of this magic wonder to the East Bay for the first time. Then they closed the curtains waited 2 minutes and then started the film with the opening. Great days for me and still too this day I can remember the seats we sat in on the middle left. The Paramount Theatre Oakland CA is still going but the drop down scope screen is way smaller then the original was. Thanks again Greg & film for the article.
Thanks for the info JJ. How strange to open another place so close and still call it Cinerama 7. Pacific just needed to turn the old place into a small multi unit venue. They probably wanted the property money they got for the building space or maybe they just leased the building? Most people drove to the Warner Cinerama Hollywood when Cinerama first came out from San Diego. SD got Cinerama late. I think San Diego also had a few other large curved screens in the Mission Bay hotel area run by Fox West Coast and another circuit.
They probably just trashed the nice Cinerama® sign?
Thanks JJ for this great classic SD Cinerama® photo. If only some of today’s cinema’s had large deep screens and curtains. I think after they closed this large cinema Pacific Theatres got money hungry and divided up the cinema to smaller spaces but they had the nerve to call the place still the Pacific Cinerama® Theatres
Thanks Neeb for this classic Pacific Theatres Cinerama photo. I saw ‘Top Gun’ here and most of the surround speakers had all the cones blown out. I got a refund and left. Nice curved screen but bad sound near the end.
For some odd reason AMC changed the red look to blue at least on the sides of the Dolby® Cinema in space #13. I’ll have to check the next time I go to see If they even light up the ceiling speakers anymore. This special Dolby® Cinema is one of the most expensive movie theatres to go to in SF. Most SF movie people skip the extra Dolby® Cinema money and see the same movie at the Century 9 a block away or go to the AMC on Van Ness in SF. AMC just wants you to buy their monthly A Stub pass. The Dolby® Cinema projector here at the AMC Metreon auditorium #13 has problems and is always going out all the time. Many refunds are given.
From Theatre #2 space on the left of the refreshment counter. Older Sony DCP projectors but they give out plenty of light and a crisp picture down to a tiny screen that at one time was large till UA Theatres split the cinema down the middle to make more money and they did not put in new seats or re angle them.
It has been 49 years in operation not 46. How time goes by and I went opening night that long ago.
These are the side exits from the cinema on the left of the lobby called Theatre #2 not #1 sorry-Terry
This was taken in the left entrance side of the lobby into Theatre #2 space. You can see how the seats on the outside wall slant inward and don’t face the screen that much. If It is crowded you have to twist a little to watch the picture If you don’t get a good seat in the center section of the original cinema.
Sorry this is a photo of the cinema space #1 on the right side of the lobby. I got mixed up with my photos as both auditoriums almost look the same. The trick is the placement of the projectors and the slant of the seats. They slant in toward the screen from the outside sides of the large building. Terry
This former cinema when It was a movie theatre had way more then 100 seats as listed . Seemed about 400 seats were in the cinema in two sections or even more?
Thanks CC. No mention of 70mm in the ad only Super Panavision®. This did play in 70mm film at the Chinese.
Strange I see no mention of CINERAMA in this ad and this was a Cinerama theatre? Thanks Movies for the ad.
Thanks Dustin** I remember as a kid many single screen box office windows had a clock that told you the time going in and the time you would exit after the movie. They never show up on E Bay. I wonder If any one has a photo of one to share on Cinema Treasures? I think the parents loved these clocks when they let out their noisy kids at the movies to see the pick up time. Thanks
This nice great former curved screen 70mm film theatre is still open. Went to see ‘Green Book’ today in 1.85 and at least they are closing their side masking again now for flat DCP movies. Id’d like the place to still stay open with the new furniture store to build around it and in the large parking lot. The new store will not fit in the area with the houses across the street. A few years ago Century was going to put in a larger XD curved screen and do some remodel work with new curtains and seats, that never took place. Lets hope It will stay open a little longer. So nice to see a new movie in a large single screen cinema these days.
Thanks SM for the photo. You won’t find any of the lame USA movie theatre circuits having nice color LED lights like these at this cinema.
Thanks so much CC for this Todd-AO ad. The UA Egyptian Theatre also later on had the huge curved D-150 screen. I was lucky enough to see this giant screen with curtains many years ago.
Thanks Dennis, you won’t find these days any movie circuit with Santa foil at the concession stand.