SIFF Cinema Downtown
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
2100 4th Avenue,
Seattle,
WA
98121
47 people
favorited this theater
Showing 151 - 175 of 266 comments
The Cinerama will debut its new 3D system when the Tron sequel opens there in mid-December. How it will look, I’ll never know since I am unable to view 3D.
This means that Harry Potter will only be there for four weeks, and that’s a good thing. Rapid turnover is essential for single screen theaters to survive. Those long, forced runs with the same film playing past its “sell by” date spell nothing but doom. I hope this is a sign of things to come.
so I gather the theatre is reopening for the midnight showing of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (Part 1) on the 18th.
Amen to that! Thanks.
Kryten,
35mm for sure…and everything else in my last post. Since Paul Allen renovated the Cinerama, it’s been a major venue for many film festivals (Seattle International, Jewish, Gay and Lesbian to name a few) and not everything shown at these festivals is digital, to which I am very thankful. Nothing beats projection of FILM when it’s done right!
Yay! 35mm for sure? And 16mm? Wow…truly retro along with Cineranma. I guess we are the luckiest movie-goers in the world. Props to Paul Allen for keeping it going. :)
When the Cinerama renovations are complete, they will be able to present 16mm, 35mm, 70mm, digital, 3D and three-panel Cinerama. The only format missing is IMAX and Seattle has a fine real IMAX theater about a half-mile away.
I have not heard what digital system will be used, but I’m sure it will be the best Paul Allen’s money can buy.
I have no idea what the layout of the projection room is like, but the AFI Silver theater has screen 1 set up to playback 35mm, 70mm and DLP digital projection – I’m sure a similiar installation at the Cinerama could be accomplished. Has anyone heard what type of projector is being installed – the best at the moment are Christie and Barco (4K DLP) that has enough light to throw on specifically extra large screens.
Hello kryten, They didn’t mention 35mm in the e-mail I received from them (I should have asked that specifically too). But, I would assume since their projector is a “35/70”, they would retain both capabilities. As for normal engagements though, it could very well be all Digital.
Awesome! It would be a shame if they lost those capabilities. Thanks for the update. Did they say anything about 35mm? So far, it sounds like it’s all digital after the upgrade.
Ok, good news… The theater told me they are indeed retaining it’s 70mm & 3-panel Cinerama capabilities! And will continue it’s occasional screenings of such in the future! Wheew!
Great photo on that article.
Well done Seattle.
Hmmm…3D at the Cinerama? Wonder how much THOSE tickets will cost? As far as digital projection, it was bound to happen as technology improved. At other theaters DP does look impressive. I just hope they don’t completely get rid of the 35/70mm equipment; It would still be nice to see a (real) movie on film there once and a while!
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2010/seattle/index.htm
More Info
New retrofit, and AMC won’t be running it afterwards:
View link
Hmmmm…not sure about 3D here. There’s enough of those in this part of town.
“Just this morning I saw ‘Toy Story 3’ here and it was a great presentation and the curtain presentation was near spot on”.
Well, that is good to hear…At least once and a while they get it right. I have not had good luck when I attend. Ron, Agreed. A theater like the Cinerama should have a seasoned (older) projectionist! “No kids allowed” in the booth!
Per the web site AMC runs the Cinerama.
Sounds like the Cinerama needs to hire a good old fashioned projectionist. It’s unforgivable to have a great venue with sloppy projection work. I know Paul Allen ownes the place but it is run by one of the major circuits. If Mr. Allen was told about the presentation issues he might be able to put some presure on whoever runs the theater to clean up their act.
Just this morning I saw ‘Toy Story 3’ here and it was a great presentation and the curtain presentation was near spot on.
To sit in a cinema balcony these days is a rare and fantastic experience!A brilliant place to see a movie.
It also may be that the system is completely automated and not programed correctly. I have seen this same senario happen in other theatres. The concept of projection is vastly becoming left with a few of us and with todays automated projection booths no one to pass the craft on to. In a venue like the Cinerama you would think that the nature of the theatre would demand that projection be done correctly. Sadly, apparently not!
Interesting. I only saw that problem with Indy. I’ve seen a number of films there and that’s the only time it happened for me. I thought maybe it may be the unfamiliarity presenting 70mm, but I could be wrong.
“There was a problem when they started it up. Lights went down, curtain parted, and…nothing”.
Actually that alone, is a common problem at the Cinerama. Happened with Iron Man 2, and every movie I see there. Great theatre, but I don’t think the current projection staff knows how to use the curtain properly. The curtain opens, then you wait, and wait, and wait for the film to start. They SHOULD NOT open the curtian until the first frames hit the screen and the lights begin to dim for dramatic effect. At least that’s how it was done traditionally! They are practically the only theater left in Seattle with a screen curtian. They should use them correctly!
Listed below are the films which played at the Cinerama from its opening in 1963 through 1976. Research is from microfilms of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Variety. The dates are the Wednesday of the opening week.
01/23/63 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
04/10/63 How the West Was Won
04/22/64 It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
03/24/65 The Greatest Story Ever Told
08/11/65 The Hallelujah Trail
11/03/65 The Greatest Story Ever Told
12/22/65 Battle of the Bulge
03/30/66 Russian Adventure
06/29/66 Khartoum
10/12/66 The Appaloosa
11/09/66 Texas Across the River
12/21/66 Gambit
02/01/67 Grand Prix
10/04/67 Thoroughly Modern Millie
05/29/68 2001: A Space Odyssey
11/19/69 Ice Station Zebra
02/25/70 Krakatoa, East of Java
04/29/70 Ben-Hur
05/13/70 2001: A Space Odyssey
06/17/70 A Boy Named Charlie Brown
07/01/70 2001: A Space Odyssey
07/29/70 Two Mules for Sister Sara
08/05/70 Catch-22
12/23/70 Song of Norway
05/05/71 Julius Caesar
05/19/71 They Might Be Giants
06/09/71 The Andromeda Strain
09/22/71 Two-Lane Blacktop
10/06/71 The Devils
11/03/71 Carry on Camping
11/10/71 Bless the Beasts and the Children
11/17/71 Ryan’s Daughter
12/22/71 Sometimes A Great Notion
02/09/72 A Clockwork Orange
06/14/72 Silent Running
07/19/72 Frenzy
08/16/72 The Man
08/23/72 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…
11/08/72 Cancel My Reservation
11/15/72 Oh, Calcutta!
12/20/72 The Great Waltz
01/31/73 Innocent Bystanders
02/07/73 Up the Sandbox
03/14/73 Save the Tiger
04/11/73 Brother Sun, Sister Moon
05/02/73 Camelot
06/20/73 The Friends of Eddie Coyle
07/11/73 This is Cinerama
08/15/73 Romeo and Juliet
09/19/73 Blume in Love
10/17/73 Electra Glide in Blue
11/14/73 Executive Action
12/19/73 The Day of the Dolphin
02/27/74 The Exorcist
07/17/74 That’s Entertainment
11/13/74 The Gambler
12/25/74 Freebie and the Bean
03/12/75 Funny Lady
07/16/75 Rollerball
09/24/75 Undercovers Hero
10/15/75 Three Days of the Condor
12/24/75 Dog Day Afternoon
02/11/76 Barry Lyndon
03/31/76 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
06/23/76 Logan’s Run
08/25/76 The Return of A Man Called Horse
10/06/76 A Matter of Time
11/03/76 Shout at the Devil
12/22/76 A Star is Born
Saw Indy today. The print was in pretty good shape. There was a problem when they started it up. Lights went down, curtain parted, and…nothing. About 30 seconds later, the sound started to spin up. When the audio was coming up, there was no picture. No Paramount logo or anything else. Then the picture came on and it was just in time for the title. Then it all went blank and silent again. Another 10 seconds and then audio spun up, everything came back up like it should. After that, no problems whatsoever. I know projecting 70MM is different than 35MM, but what is the difference that would cause this kind of problem? A similar audio problem happened when Lawrence was here in Feb. 08.
Awesome! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 70MM starting this Sunday! View link
I was a bit upset to hear that the Cinerama showed “Vertigo” earlier in the year—this is my alltime favorite film. After the restoration release around ten years ago the Cinerama had an exclusive showing of the film for a good period of time (might have been a month), and I saw it at least five times. It was simply amazing. I haven’t seen it in 70mm since, but will now be keeping my eyes open in case it returns—and I hope it does.