Cinerama Hollywood
6360 Sunset Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6360 Sunset Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
142 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 1,416 comments
For years it was my dream to develop my own cinema man cave with a large curved screen that would accommodate every aspect ratio by adjusting the side mattes–all films to be presented at the same height. Stereo sound, but of course. Back in the day this was not an affordable luxury. At 79 I am a bit late in attempting to find a place that might meet my “needs” (wants), and then there’s all that energy needed but in shorter supply these days.
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to Roger A. thanks for your assessment of the situation. aside from how big an HD or 4K t.v. most people would be able to afford if a t.v were to big wouldn’t it hurt your eyes or be overwhelming? for instance in the rec room in my house the largest t.v. I could buy and put in the spot I’ve always put my t.v.s is 50". an 80" t.v. would be way too much.
There will be theaters private and public. The Director’s Guild and The Academy just spent a lot of money upgrading and in new construction. The Legion on Highland in Hollywood is running film and digital and this is a new install. The Egyptian is getting a redo. So these sites and others are going to be around for a while just for the true movie buffs.
Meanwhile all the real money, the general public, have purchased big screen televisions or set up their own home theater and are happy with that. There is no shortage of product for a home theater. I’m sure the Pirates love day and date release.
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even if the pandemic had never happened I still can’t see a true movie buff being comfortable with watching say WW84 or No Time to Die on their computer rather than at the Chinese or this theater.
Historic monument? You are referring to landmark status the Chinese has that inside and out yes they can do only part of the building. So not sure what the status is of the Dome but I doubt its in danger.
That doesn’t mean they have to run things like 2001 in 70mm or How the West Was Won in 3 strip Cinerama. I can see the Dome being used for special screenings and private rentals.
As for all the box cinemas built in the last two decades they are all in danger. AMC is all but bankrupt others are looking at buying some of their sites. A large percentage of the cinema going audience has been lost. Executives at the studios have been wanting to do day and date release for years not caring that it will damage the theaters. Now they are running to day and date like rats to peanut butter.
My understanding is The Cinerama Dome was legally declared a LA historic monument decades ago, so it will be preserved.
HOWEVER, the surrounding Arclight Theater’s 14 screens and complex were built (in 2002) with several inches minimum of clearance separated away from the Dome structure itself. So that theoretically that all could be demolished without impacting the Dome, leaving it 100% untouched. It was a nice compromise.
If movies really don’t recover in a couple years, I suppose gutting some or all of the interior of the newer Arclight complex and turning it into office space, or more shopping space or convention space or whatever could happen. That location is certainly valuable. And the pandemic won’t last forever.
Thanks for your response not sure how many people check this site any more as it seems the sun is setting on the movies and the theaters that show them.
I don’t think the Dome is in danger of being torn down anytime soon but the site is used less and less as time goes on. Before the pandemic and the lock-downs the Dome was closed more than it was open for business.
But cinema fans should check out the people at the Legion in Hollywood. The Legion Theater is state of the art. They turned the parking lot into a drive-in theater; the first drive-in in Hollywood.
to bigjoe59
Filmmakers tweak their films that’s what they do and many times they tweak using audience reactions in the case of IAMMMMW that was done during the roadshow. Now its done with a test audience.
After watching this monster time and time again I can see the desire to trim it as it runs a bit long even now. But for the sake of history I am all for preservation so I am glad to have what we there is.
I was at the 25th anniversary showing of MMMMW premier night back years ago and the only print available was a 35mm optical that was borrowed from one on the archives. It wasn’t in the best of shape but it was better than the print they ran for the public for the week following that premier night. For the public in the Cinerama Dome they ran a mono optical TV print. Yes a pan and scan print of a Ultra-Panavision film.
During intermission someone asked me if it was worth saving the negatives and original elements from these old films. My reply was for the sake of history save as much as possible in it original form.
There are Ultra-Panavision 70mm prints of MMMMW in circulation and they run it at the Dome every once and a while.
I bought a Kubrick fan I knew a ticket for the new restoration of 2001 when it played in 70mm at the Dome. I bought seat row BB center so he sat in the Cinerama Zone and was just blown away.
Many people who saw the original roadshow of MMMMW remember it fondly because it was an event. Hard ticket and only at a Cinerama theater. Of course eventually it ran in neighborhood theaters but many people went to see the roadshow presentation and they just loved seeing all those celebrities on the Cinerama screen.
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to vindanpar. I thank you for your note of 11/10. I still don’t understand the reason tweaking a film while still in its original roadshow run. LOA was still at the most 2 shows a day so tweaking it wouldn’t have increased the box office. perplexing decision on Lean’s part.
My mom still talks about taking a bus with a bunch of her high school classmates from Orange County to see “It’s Mad Mad Mad Mad World” at the Dome.
It was very famously so shortly after its Criterion American premiere. David Selznick tried to talk Lean out of it. I don’t know why Lean did it. Maybe the grosses were less than he had hoped?
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if a film was tweaked during its roadshow run in Manhattan I assume it happened in L.A. as well. now I knew 2001 and IAMMMMW were tweaked while still in their roadshow runs in Manhattan at respectively the Loews Capitol and the Warner but I wasn’t Lawrence of Arabia was tweaked while still in its roadshow run at the Criterion. I assumed it was tweaked before it played the neighborhood theater circuit.
So Mad World, 2001, Lawrence. Any others?
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it is my understanding that IAMMMMW was tweaked when it was still in its roadshow at the Warner in Manhattan. when they made the circuit of neighborhood theaters around NYC after they finished their original roadshow runs films would be tweaked or not depending on how they were. but I never understood the point to tweaking a film when it was still in its roadshow run.
Is there a comprehensive history of the film, its cuts, lengths, what cannot be found and opinions as to the quality in terms of the different versions? Even when I first saw it when it was brought back in the 70s it had its longueurs.
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this question has probably already been asked but I would appreciate if some one provided the answer again. how long ‘ did the original 3hr. 12min. cut play during the roadshow engagement?
Please update, total seats 4048
There were messages posted by edlambert in 2018 about the aspect ratio. Recently I was watching a program about digital restoration of Cinerama and Cinemiracle films. They showed original 35mm 3-strip negatives where the top and bottom of the picture was actually slightly curved (because of camera lenses and aperture) and had to be cut out during projection. Also, as we all know, the intersection of panels with each other caused an additional loss due to the superimposition, then finally the far left and right edges of the projected image were often slightly cut out using screen masking correction to ensure a perfectly rectangular image for the viewers despite the curvature. Practically, the projected aspect ratio of 3-strip usually varied from 2.55 to 2.60 in most theaters.
1965 photo added, with link to Los Angeles Theatres Blogspot that will not post here because CT reads it as spam.
Link with a Fall 1981 photo credit Brad Adams.
https://www.in70mm.com/news/2009/zoot_suit/index.htm
The film print looks great especially if you sit in the Cinerama zone I didn’t get to go see this showing a lot of my friends did. I saw a previous showing of the film version and knew there a lot of people out there who wanted to see it.
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it was nice it was almost out. what I meant to ask was how was the viewing experience of seeing it in original 3-Strip Cinerama on film and not a digital print.
It was packed almost sold out.
Hello from NYC-
how was the recent screening of HTWWW in original 3-Strip Cinerama?
Grand opening ad:
Cinerama Dome opening Thu, Nov 7, 1963 – 76 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com