Concorde 1 was accessed from its back and was located on ground floor. Carpeting, seats and screen curtains were beige/amber. Before entering Concorde 1, a staircase on the right led to Concorde 2 which was located on top of Concorde 1. In Concorde 2, carpeting and seats were blue while the screen had white curtains. The Concorde wasn’t a bad place but had a cold feeling.
Films played at the Concorde were always diverse but focused on author films most of the time. Films I saw at the Concorde 1: Pete’s Dragon, a re-run of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes back in 1983, The Purple Rose of Cairo, a premiere screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Cannonball Run II, a one-off screening of A Clockwork Orange, My Father’s Glory and its sequel My Mother’s Castle, and The Player from Altman. At the Concorde 2: a re-run of Jaws, a re-run of 2001 A Space Odyssey and Mississipi Burning.
Sound was improved in the late 1980s by replacing the walls material with something more absorptive to damp sound reverberation and by installing Dolby Stereo when the Group Claeys renovated the Palace at the same time. From its opening in 1973 to its renovation, each screen only had mono sound and a pair of Cinemeccanica projectors with large spools operating in automatic change-over mode. On each projector, a lens turret was equipped to show the 1.66 and scope formats. During the renovation, one of the projector for each screen was removed and Kinoton ST200 platters were installed.
For the sound, a Dolby CP55 processor was installed along with 3 JBL two-channel amplifiers (model 6260) and JBL loudspeakers: 3 full-range speakers (model 4673) behind the screen and 4 surround speakers (model 8330) on each side wall (8 in total). One JBL subwoofer was also visible under the screen. Due to the lack of depth behind the screen, this model (a model usually not used in cinemas) was protruding on the “stage” and prevented the side masking and curtains from being closed, hence no longer used from then on unfortunately.
The senior projectionist was Claude C., a nice chap and a true film fan though a bit unkept, often seen in the foyer chatting with the usherette, wearing charentaises slippers, unshaven and smoking cigars.
In the 1950s, it was equipped in Vistavision with a new screen in the 1.85 aspect ratio to occupy the largest possible space inside the stage. The previous projection booth was keystoned in the second balcony (when I visited it in 1993, the old projectors were still there in the dust). For Vistavision, they installed a new booth in the first balcony. Yul Brynner attended the premiere of The Ten Commandments.
The Forum also got Perspecta stereophonic sound along with Vistavision but it was kept deactivated most of the time. Perspecta was fake stereo extracted from a mono soundtrack using directional cues. As the Forum had dreadful acoustics, Perspecta produced a lot of reverb in the balconies where dialog intelligibility was poor.
In the 1960s, because of the need to handle more conventional formats, new projectors were installed for Cinemascope and 1.66 widescreen. These two formats were projected on a constant height model with adjustable side masking, on a screen surface less tall than the previous Vistavision frame. Optical mono sound was the norm and a book about the Forum mistakenly reports it as having been equipped for 4-track magnetic sound, which is not true even at the times of Vistavision. Its author must have confused with Perspecta.
The exact seat count was 3004 which included a few seats never sold to the public because the view they offered was blocked. These seats had been installed for marketing reasons so that the Forum could sell itself as a theatre in the “3000 seats category”. This information was given to my dad by Mr Emile Ledent whom he knew very well, who was general manager of the Forum for decades.
At some point in the late 1970s, business ownership changed from the Masereel family to the Defawe family although Ms Masereel (widow of Mr Jean Masereel who was a great showman) remained the landlord of the whole building that also included the Churchill cinema in its basement.
Interesting that this illustration shows a ticket the THE PLAYER, as this is precisely in this theater that I saw the film. A great film, but not many spectators when I saw it on a Saturday afternoon.
Thank you M for your input about 70mm. Your articles and compilations have always been very enriching. I’m surprised to learn that The Star Chamber and Dead Poets Society benefitted from a 70mm release, quite unexpected in my opinion for films like these.
Thanks Al. If it was one of the few having Dolby SR for six-track magnetic sound on 70mm then it was truly a well equipped theater and I would assume the screen wasn’t that small vs auditorium size.
I just posted 3 additional pictures of basement lounges around World War 1 including a saloon which was later converted in the additional screen called Studio Palace. I apologize for the poor quality, it was a difficult scan made from a book about local cinemas. Photographer unknown.
The curtain frame of screen #1 looks quite narrow. How was the screen structured? Was it Cinemascope letterboxed in 1.85? Does anybody remember which aspect ratios the Academy was equipped for in its 3 screens?
Thank you Darron for your reply. Actually, as an example, a user here posted the following link regarding the Swiss Center, allowing to download the cinema plan as PDF from the Westminster.gov website when it was submitted in 2005 for the building plan:
Based on this, I searched the same site for the address 16 Oxford Street but it gave no result. Maybe it’s too old to be available digitally in their online library. I’ll keep searching…
Can somebody point me to a site where it would be possible to find the plans of the building when it was the 5-screen cinema? Maybe some local government site where estate properties are registered? I’m not familiar at all with that kind of service in the UK and don’t know where to start.
The link I provided in my previous post is still valid but the page in question was updated with more pictures since I mentioned it in 2019. Worth seeing.
Concorde 1 was accessed from its back and was located on ground floor. Carpeting, seats and screen curtains were beige/amber. Before entering Concorde 1, a staircase on the right led to Concorde 2 which was located on top of Concorde 1. In Concorde 2, carpeting and seats were blue while the screen had white curtains. The Concorde wasn’t a bad place but had a cold feeling.
Films played at the Concorde were always diverse but focused on author films most of the time. Films I saw at the Concorde 1: Pete’s Dragon, a re-run of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes back in 1983, The Purple Rose of Cairo, a premiere screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Cannonball Run II, a one-off screening of A Clockwork Orange, My Father’s Glory and its sequel My Mother’s Castle, and The Player from Altman. At the Concorde 2: a re-run of Jaws, a re-run of 2001 A Space Odyssey and Mississipi Burning.
Sound was improved in the late 1980s by replacing the walls material with something more absorptive to damp sound reverberation and by installing Dolby Stereo when the Group Claeys renovated the Palace at the same time. From its opening in 1973 to its renovation, each screen only had mono sound and a pair of Cinemeccanica projectors with large spools operating in automatic change-over mode. On each projector, a lens turret was equipped to show the 1.66 and scope formats. During the renovation, one of the projector for each screen was removed and Kinoton ST200 platters were installed.
For the sound, a Dolby CP55 processor was installed along with 3 JBL two-channel amplifiers (model 6260) and JBL loudspeakers: 3 full-range speakers (model 4673) behind the screen and 4 surround speakers (model 8330) on each side wall (8 in total). One JBL subwoofer was also visible under the screen. Due to the lack of depth behind the screen, this model (a model usually not used in cinemas) was protruding on the “stage” and prevented the side masking and curtains from being closed, hence no longer used from then on unfortunately.
The senior projectionist was Claude C., a nice chap and a true film fan though a bit unkept, often seen in the foyer chatting with the usherette, wearing charentaises slippers, unshaven and smoking cigars.
In the 1950s, it was equipped in Vistavision with a new screen in the 1.85 aspect ratio to occupy the largest possible space inside the stage. The previous projection booth was keystoned in the second balcony (when I visited it in 1993, the old projectors were still there in the dust). For Vistavision, they installed a new booth in the first balcony. Yul Brynner attended the premiere of The Ten Commandments.
The Forum also got Perspecta stereophonic sound along with Vistavision but it was kept deactivated most of the time. Perspecta was fake stereo extracted from a mono soundtrack using directional cues. As the Forum had dreadful acoustics, Perspecta produced a lot of reverb in the balconies where dialog intelligibility was poor.
In the 1960s, because of the need to handle more conventional formats, new projectors were installed for Cinemascope and 1.66 widescreen. These two formats were projected on a constant height model with adjustable side masking, on a screen surface less tall than the previous Vistavision frame. Optical mono sound was the norm and a book about the Forum mistakenly reports it as having been equipped for 4-track magnetic sound, which is not true even at the times of Vistavision. Its author must have confused with Perspecta.
The exact seat count was 3004 which included a few seats never sold to the public because the view they offered was blocked. These seats had been installed for marketing reasons so that the Forum could sell itself as a theatre in the “3000 seats category”. This information was given to my dad by Mr Emile Ledent whom he knew very well, who was general manager of the Forum for decades.
At some point in the late 1970s, business ownership changed from the Masereel family to the Defawe family although Ms Masereel (widow of Mr Jean Masereel who was a great showman) remained the landlord of the whole building that also included the Churchill cinema in its basement.
Screen 2 upstairs.
Screen 2 upstairs.
Interesting that this illustration shows a ticket the THE PLAYER, as this is precisely in this theater that I saw the film. A great film, but not many spectators when I saw it on a Saturday afternoon.
Illustrations for this cinema are available on this page, at the time of 35mm technology.
http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/pics/pennyan/pennyan.html
Thank you M for your input about 70mm. Your articles and compilations have always been very enriching. I’m surprised to learn that The Star Chamber and Dead Poets Society benefitted from a 70mm release, quite unexpected in my opinion for films like these.
I’m updating a link I previously posted to Thomas Hauerslev’s in70mm.com website and its article about the ABC Shaftesbury Avenue.
https://www.in70mm.com/news/1998/shaftsbury/index.htm
Thanks Al. If it was one of the few having Dolby SR for six-track magnetic sound on 70mm then it was truly a well equipped theater and I would assume the screen wasn’t that small vs auditorium size.
Was this cinema equipped for 70mm? What was the screen size? Which Dolby processor?
A question for Al Alvarez.
You wrote here on 20 May 2019 “Trump was a Ziegfeld regular. I saw him there many times when my office was there”.
Out of curiosity, which films was he coming to see?
Definitely closed !? sigh
I just posted 3 additional pictures of basement lounges around World War 1 including a saloon which was later converted in the additional screen called Studio Palace. I apologize for the poor quality, it was a difficult scan made from a book about local cinemas. Photographer unknown.
Pictures of the original GCC Burlington 10 here: http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/pics/gcc/gcc.html
The film opened on November 12th, 1982, at The Screen on the Hill then moved over to the Minema on January 20th, 1983, where it stayed for six months.
The curtain frame of screen #1 looks quite narrow. How was the screen structured? Was it Cinemascope letterboxed in 1.85? Does anybody remember which aspect ratios the Academy was equipped for in its 3 screens?
Photo album :
https://flickr.com/photos/oldcinemaphotos/albums/72157604068136284
Short film showing the building, the projection booth and the screen, made in the late nineties:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQv6BIqvfGw
Thank you Darron for your reply. Actually, as an example, a user here posted the following link regarding the Swiss Center, allowing to download the cinema plan as PDF from the Westminster.gov website when it was submitted in 2005 for the building plan:
https://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/licencingDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=IIUOEERPXJ000
Based on this, I searched the same site for the address 16 Oxford Street but it gave no result. Maybe it’s too old to be available digitally in their online library. I’ll keep searching…
Another picture of the marquee in the 1990s:
https://www.dreamstime.com/editorial-image-empire-cinema-london-england-image63186885
Can somebody point me to a site where it would be possible to find the plans of the building when it was the 5-screen cinema? Maybe some local government site where estate properties are registered? I’m not familiar at all with that kind of service in the UK and don’t know where to start.
The link I provided in my previous post is still valid but the page in question was updated with more pictures since I mentioned it in 2019. Worth seeing.
Blob fest 2010 (28-min doc) on YouTube showing commemoration at the Colonial. The auditorium is well shown both outside and inside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNCzzHBnPqg
Royal Film Performance 1997 for TITANIC in 70mm. Nice views of the marquee, foyer and projection booth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfquSxcN084&t=1s