Cinerama Hollywood

DEFG: I’d never heard about “2001” using Todd-AO until this week, first in a Wikipedia article about Cinerama and now from you. Do you have any idea which scene or scenes they might have been? I know one shot of an exploding galaxy during the Star Gate sequence was shot in New York City. All the rest of it, I always assumed was shot in England. Thanks for sharing your knowledge (and your photos – they’re really amazing) with us!

2001 was not a Todd-AO production, it was filmed in Super Panavision 70 for Cinerama presentation.

“2001” will be playing here in digital format on April 15th. If anyone goes, could you please report back about the show? I’m curious whether a digital picture could compare to 70mm and successfully fill that huge screen, unless they’re only using part of it. Thanks.

question are any of the auditoriums able to playback movies in discrete 7.1 surround sound?

Arclight Hollywood has been having 9am showings this week. I went to We Bought a Zoo (Tues) and War Horse (Weds) Both showings I was the only person in the audience. I loved having my own private screenings, both of which I used points and had free popcorn from the scratchers they gave me. Wish it was that easy all time time. :–)

Was at the Arclight tonight to see M:I 4 and noticed a sizeable improvement in the digital projection in the Dome. I asked around after the show and my suspicions were confirmed… The Dome actually recently installed a newer 4k projector to replace the older NEC 2k they’ve been using for a few years. While it didn’t solve the geometric and cross wash issues the Dome has always had, it seemed noticeably brighter and much more detailed without all the chromatic aberration that frequently accompanied the older NECs. I was impressed. I doubt it will address the issues of 3D in the Dome, but I was pleasantly surprised at how great the 2D image from this new projector looked on that big screen.

Since most film prints are made from video (most films are edited on video these days so most film prints are made from the video) the difference between the video presentation and the film presentation is not that obvious to most. Of course those of us with an eye for it notice the dirt and splices in the film version (no matter how much care someone takes there is always a little dirt). Focus in a film presentation is also more critical as the focus on most film projectors tends to shift more then their digital counterparts. Of course nothing yet beats something that was filmed in 65mm then printed and shown in 70mm.

The Dome will be hopping on November 7 for the John Wayne tribute. Patrick Wayne, Kim Darby and others will be there for the showing of “True Grit.” Tickets are $25, but Goldstar discounts them to $16.50.

Last year’s Steve McQueen tribute was fantastic and included the rare opening of the main Dome entrance and outside box offices.

Danny, according to the website the Dome uses a NEC-2500 for digital features. I also read that they are using NEC’s for all their 3D showings in the multiplex, so you have to assume they are going with all NEC’s.

Digital is essentially required for 3D. There are two 3D systems that allow for 35mm-based presentation—Technicolor and Panavision—but they are widely recognized as inferior and two studios (Disney and Fox) refuse to make prints for them.

Prints are already becoming somewhat scarce for lower-grossing sites, as the studios are dropping production numbers rapidly. But as one of the top grossing sites in the country, ArcLight certainly could have continued to get prints had they wanted them. But there’s clearly not enough of an upside for them.

Anybody know what type of digital projectors they just installed?

It’s not a matter of hating digital; it’s just that many of us on here find 35mm superior when that’s the native shooting format of the movie — it’s warmer, has more authentic texture, it’s more traditional, etc. Also, I like knowing how long I’ve got left when the movie is bad, and counting the reel changes allows me to do that.

My main point is that this is one more thing to put the mighty ArcLight back in line with your everyday megaplex, which has likely been all-digital for awhile now. This was, of course, an inevitable transition, but I personally had hoped they would hold out as long as possible (at least two more years).

Now, what does make me angry is that I hear they are screening some of their “ArcLight Presents” repertory programming from digital sources without indicating it on the website (“Bonnie & Clyde” being the latest example). That’s highway robbery.

ArcLight Hollywood now 100% digital, with only four auditoriums equipped for 35mm. Another reason to not pay the premium.

I love the original Cinerama Dome, but the Archlight is way over priced and nothing special. I’d much rather they renovated and re-opened the Pacific, Vogue and Ritz- and kept the Galaxy. At least it would have helped bring back the Boulevard.