
TCL Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
161 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 1,682 comments
I don’t think that Sid Grauman ever went to China he just built theaters. Sid built the Egyptian to cash in on the Egyptian revival craze started by discovery of King Tut’s tomb.
Did the guy who created the Chinese go to China before making this theater?
Dome and Chinese has more bad seats, plus that’s not really a great comparison.
Different locations, different theaters, different times, different prices, different parking rates.
I saw Ready Player One last night looked okay. Not enough base good show great theater. Some people like the 2D version some like the 70mm version and some like the 3D version. The only one the even comes close to filling the theater is the 70mm version in a SMALL theater at the Arclight. There are plenty of seats at the Dome in 3D and plenty of empty seats at the chinese.
Zubi, thanks for the info on the II-III. When I first started traveling and taking pictures of theatres, I snapped a few shots of the lobby of the II-III after it was closed. Had I known they were going to be torn down I would’ve taken more.
They’re at the bottom of our page for it at Cinematour.com
https://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/2129.html
Would you say Chinese is the only theater that shows IMAX Laser in 2D concurrently with 3D when there’s a 3D blockbuster movie?
Let’s not forget the reason for building the twins. Star Wars was selling out and they were forced to move it to another theater for six weeks because of a previous booking arrangement. The twins solved that problem for future engagements. With the twins they could kick the dog into a twin and keep the big house for the blockbuster or a new release. All three theaters had Todd-AO 35/70 projectors. And they were a class act.
Does anybody have any photos or details about the original multiplex that was built to accompany this theatre? And how, historically, does that fit in. Were people irritated if they went to see a movie at the Chinese and they got stuck in the multiplex? Or was it just par for the course at the time?
Wouldn’t really make it any better still.
Sucks that last jedi didn’t premiere here like the first star wars movie.
“Windjammer” premiere April 8, 1958. Photo added courtesy of Mark MacDougal.
Justice League was shot in 1.85:1. Zack Snyder intentionally shot it that way because 1.85:1 will fill 85% of a TrueIMAX screen as opposed to 2:35 sitting smack dab in the center of the screen. Never saw the IMAX version so can’t confirm if any scenes were shot with IMAX cameras.
Imdb.com is goofy
damn, I double checked 3 weeks ago when I reserved my seats, it showed 2.35:1…
Justice League is listed as 1:85 on IMDB and like most movies these days it was shot in a variety of formats and used a digital intermediate.
And the center rail at the Chinese is annoying and I don’t like an isle where I want to sit. I am never happy with my seat at the Chinese.
I just saw Justice League, I notice they seem to be shown in ratio 1.89:1.
And since Justice League is 2.35:1 (on imdb), does that means they crop out the sides?! What the heck!?
I agree on the Chinese center railing. Unfortunately that is a building/safety code requirement. The only way to have avoided it would be not having a center aisle. My favorite seats are the last 3 rows of lower section, right on the center aisle, even with the railing.
@Cliffs
Citywalk: Yeah, and that’s understandable because the screen is actually 1.33:1 instead of 1.43:1, so cropping would have to occur (I sat in 3rd to last row).
Chinese: That’s what I hate too!!!
But it doesn’t really get onto the lighted up screen when the movie’s playing, if you avoid 1st & 2nd row.
I sat in 3rd row to see Blade Runner 2049 and it was at bay (but you do peek at it during the slow parts lol).
I saw Dunkirk at the Citywalk 70mm IMAX and was surprised (sitting higher in the middle) that the bottom of the screen was cropped at the lower corners by railings and the floor. The screen is so massive it’s hard to notice unless you’re looking for it, but it’s happening.
The thing about the Chinese that makes me crazy is that god*$&m center railing that cuts down the middle of the front. If you’re sitting anywhere within the middle 8-10 seats for about the first 3-4 rows in the back half, that rail pops right up into the screen (and even on the center edge of row K). It’s a massive screw up in the otherwise beautiful IMAX conversion.
@*Haas
For True IMAX, You would have a poor viewing distance/angle at lower rows no matter what. By reservation, I mean higher rows.
You might try harder to spell. “Rows” not rolls. Haas not Hass.
@Norton
“lie-max” still means legitimate IMAX screens, just not the “big ones”, I thought it’s common sense? People do use “True IMAX” to describe “original format”.
Quote from Nolan: “I have been a longtime proponent of film – particularly the Imax film format – as a storytelling medium, the immersive quality of the image is second to none, drawing the audience into the action in the most intense way possible.”
I “actually” sat in multiple rolls and seats at AMC Citywalk and TCL Chinese to calibrate my viewing angle/distance, and I only reserve those seats. If I don’t get those seats, I don’t watch the movies.
I agree some seats are not good, but you did just dismiss the whole theater because of that.
@Hass
For True IMAX, You would have a poor viewing distance/angle at lower rolls no matter what. By reservation, I mean higher rolls.
Norton is saying that most of the seats at the Citywalk auditorium with 70mm have poor sightlines. Not a matter to be solved with seat reservations.
Hi leotyx,
I’m not going to get into a discussion about what IMAX is best other than to say that “true” IMAX means nothing because any theatre licensed to show IMAX is legitimate. Maybe call it “original format” IMAX if you want!
I’d also question “as intended” by the director. Certainly he knew it would be shown in multiple formats and was OK with that, or he would have pulled a Tarantino and only released it in IMAX 70mm. When I worked in the film biz we had monitors with multiple formats outlined so all information was captured for all formats. I’m sure Nolan did that.
My point was really to compare the architecture, the relationship of audience to screen. The theatre was almost empty, I could have sat in almost any seat, and I did more once. I stand by my conclusion that the steep rake and relationship of seating to screen at the Universal Citywalk is not conducive to watching a full length movie, at least for me. The seating relationship was designed for short event films, and is spectacular for that use in my opinion, but it doesn’t work for me for a full length drama. In the end, there is no “right”, it is a matter of opinion, and I expressed mine knowing I would get some pushback!
@Escort Norton
That’s not the point of seeing Dunkirk in beautiful IMAX Laser, the point is to see it “as intended” by the director.
Which is IMAX 70mm (closest true IMAX screen is AMC Univeral Citywalk).
Also, you can’t blame a theater just because you didn’t reserve a good seat in advance.
Question for anyone:
I do watch other movies at Chinese Theater, especially those with 2.39 aspect ratio because its screen is closest to that ratio in LA.
Am I correct in thinking that? Or AMC Universal Citywalk would just Letterbox/mask their screen so I get the same experience even when the screen size will become smaller than Chinese’s?