Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place,
London,
WC2 7BY
7 Leicester Place,
London,
WC2 7BY
10 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments
After a Pandemic pause, I revisited London last month & enjoyed 2 movies at the Prince Charles, in the main theater, a 35mm print of “Badlands” (1973) and “The Lighthouse” (2019). I really enjoy this theater and the immaculate presentations with proper use of the curtain, masking, projection, and surround sound. What happened to the vertical sign? Online, it seems to have been there in the last year, but now gone. Why?
Grand opening ad posted.
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
Lionel: The flickr account holder “dusashenka” (your Eros Piccadilly link is to an album of that user) certainly does have an amazing and large collection of photos, and I’ve certainly enjoyed browsing through them! ;–)
I still get “goosebumps” in anticipation of seeing a presentation of a first class movie in a first class venue. I don’t think I ever took it for granted—as long as I’ve been old enough to go to the cinema unaccompanied, it was obvious that the largest auditoria were on “borrowed time.”
Less obvious were the coming changes to auditorium design, and, the move to digital photography and projection.
(In the former case, digital cameras, I remember suggesting to someone in the late 90s—that they would NEVER be good enough to match 35mm…!)
Even if we might not consider all the changes to be welcome, I don’t think it is necessary to get too nostaglic. This is an amazing time—ranging from dual 4K laser projection to the “immersive” sound formats to the latest 65mm sensor cameras from Arri, Panavision and Sony.
Select classic titles are getting digital re-releases with new full restorations from the original negatives, in some cases yielding far better quality than would ever have been seen from a release print. For example, just a couple of months ago “Apocalypse Now”—with a Q&A shown after the film.
I do hope you are seeking out the best cinemas in your neck of the woods and enjoy visiting them.
A banner year of programming for the Prince Charles including To Live and Die in LA with a live Q&A with William Friedkin (I ended up sitting next to Sherry Lansing), Robert Altman’s The Last Goodbye…am there again soon for Springsteen Western Stars
https://tinyurl.com/y4q4yjkr TIme Out’s annual love letter to London cinemas including of course the Prince Charles
Indeed Howard, these 2 films are ideal for a visitor. I too enjoy films showing London because I particularly love the city. By the way, the Eros cinema shown in “Werewolf” is featured on this site has an extensive photo album on Flicker here : Eros Piccadilly
I wish I could have been old enough to see a film there when the cinema still existed. Never been to a porno cinema in my life, but because of all this nostalgia we have now, This is some kind of an experiment I regret not having. “Death Line” is great too, I saw it a few times and once again recently. This is a very unusual and good film with great scenes of underground stations.
Speaking of nostalgia, I believe we should enjoy what we experience as if it were the last time, but how can we guess in advance that it is something special ? For example, it seemed so common to me to see the restoration of Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm at the Odeon Marble Arch in the summer of 1989. A very exciting memory. I was just 19 years old. Today, almost 30 years later, I realised that what looked like a rather common experience was actually a privilege for few people. When I now tell the young generation about this, they look at me as if I were a war veteran – “Wow, you were there!”. We didn’t realise back then how spoiled we were to have all this. And today we can only mourn the deceased… ;–)
Last month, I saw that the Mens toilets had been totally redone & were nice looking. Staff said they had been redone about 4 months prior to my visit. I don’t recall that the downstairs foyer or the ground floor space had changed. I enjoyed 2 classic movies, An American Werewolf in London (DCP) & Death Line (1972, 35mm), both perfect for this visitor from the States. As to the prior comment, I enjoyed better the sightlines from the balcony/circle, which had been open during weekday matinees, and alas is now the 2nd screen. I do have my favorite vantage point in the stalls, about the 10th row from the screen. I’ve not seen a movie in the upstairs auditorium.
Visited today for the first time in a few months and noticed a significant refurbishment has taken place, in the foyer and especially the toilets which are much more modern and nicer looking. Still a brilliant cinema with excellent 35mm presentations, £1 member tickets and all-night themed movie marathons.
I was reading all comments posted since the beginning. I remember the theatre when it was a single-screen theatre. I went only once, to see The Last Emperor in 70mm, in 1988. Visited the booth with the chief projectionist Ian Mitchell, his assistant was a young French lady. The stalls slope was inverted if I’m not mistaken, so the screen was quiet high for viewers seated at the rear of the stalls, but if you sat at the first row of the balcony as I did, you were almost facing the center of the screen, or at least the upper half of it, and it looked great.
I saw movies when it was a single screener sitting in both stalls & balcony/circle, and agree with Lionel as to his commments. I preferred the sightlines from the balcony. I’ve since seen more movies in the main floor auditorium, finding the rows I like most there. There are still 70mm presentations including currently 2001 and Die Hard.
Great great summer season of films in 35mm and 70mm…Caught The Right Stuff in 70mm last night stunning presentation…good popcorn and bar too…we need to support this!
Just added a 1973 MG print ad to the photos section.
Exterior photos from February 2009.
I was the senior projectionist in 2000-2002 and amanda ireland was the chief projections and we where running phillips dp-75 with 70mm add ons.good times
Interesting.
The theater’s website flyer says the downstairs auditorium will be closed for a few days in early March to spruce it up with new chairs, drapes, carpet, lighting and more.
I remember it being pretty notorious as the only cinema playing Tinto Brass' dreadful ‘Caligula’ for seemingly years and years in London.
Some photos taken this week – February 2009 – of the interiors of the two cinemas, and (just for Simon Overton) a shot of the exterior from the other side – note how the signage is angled away towards Leicester Square!
Exterior:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3277684583/
Downstairs screen and new projection box:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3277684883/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3278507494/
Upstairs (new) screen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3277685281/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3277685117/
A good conversion, with the new screen luxuriously fitted out. Interesting to see the unusual arrangement for the new projection suite at the front of the former balcony.
LM, that December 28, 2007 marquee was most likely a promo for French Connection UK, the clothing store. They were quite famous for their “FCUK Argentina” World Cup campaign.
That is largely because it is practically only possible to photograph this theatre from one angle – the streets are so narrow and the only other facade is rather dull!
However here is an interior photograph :-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/61348848/
Everyone’s above photos are repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats!
prince charles and the zombie strippers – sept 08
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2870309878/
View link
It’s from the ultra cool film “Bad Santa.” A line as a bonnie lass has it off in a car with Billy Bob Thorton who plays a down in the dumps department store Santa Claus. Brillant stuff that.