Curzon Soho
93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London,
W1D 5DY
93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London,
W1D 5DY
6 people
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Grand opening ad from October 16th, 1998 posted.
I have read (in Estates Gazette) that the building has recently been sold and the new owners plan to refurbish the building. The article says they will take a ‘conservationist'approach, so looks like a good future for this cinema.
Screened the World premiere of tne movie “Dad’s Army” on 12/3/1971.
Exact opening date 4 February 1959. Renamed Premier in 1984 but closed for refurbishment 29 November 1984. Reopened as the Curzon West End 8 March 1985. It was announced in December 2014 the cinema was under threat from Crossrail 2 project and a campaign to save the cinema was started, backed by Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry. Two more premieres: the film “Lolita” had a Gala Premiere here in 1962 and “The Competition” had a Royal Charity Premiere here in June 1981 in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
I have a press photo of child star Ian MacLaine being presented to HRH Princess Margaret at the royal premiere of the Columbia Pictures release “The Boy and The Bridge” on July 22nd, 1959 at the Curzon. Was this the same Curzon that is featured on this page?
The opening film here, Gigi, was not in 70mm. Gigi was in 35mm CinemaScope. The practice of blowing up 35mm to 70mm didn’t begin until 1963 and was initially applied only to Panavision films (that company having devised the process). The problem with doing a long roadshow run of a non-British film is that you would run into quota problems. When Gigi transferred to the Ritz it eventually had to come off because of quota and they actually advertised that that was why its run was ending.
Exterior, lobby and projection booth photographs from February 2008.
press ad from august 1982 when it reopened as the Classic Shaftsbury Ave, with slightly less classy programming than todays
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/5447698533/
Another photo of the Curzon here:–
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/4364914804/
I worked as an usher there for a few months in the late eighties. The management used to run it along the lines of a theatre, and it was always a very highbrow crowd. The auditorum was all in blue, and the seats were extremely comfortable for the time. A shame to see it sliced and diced, though am not suprised. It was rarely very busy, though the new improved version seems to be doing a roaring trade in DVDs and carrot cake!
and by day in the same month :–
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Photographed at night in August 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zonca/214891038/
I visited the Curzon Soho last week for a screening of the French film “Lemmings.” Interesting film, but what I found most notable was that “Lemmings” was presented (in the largest auditorium of the Curzon Soho) in DLP without any promotion in the local press that the Curzon engagement of “Lemmings” was presented digitally.
A classy arthouse—-far superior to its equivalents in NYC such as the Angelika and Lincoln Plaza.
A recent exterior photograph of the Curzon Soho:
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The Columbia was built on the site of the bombed out Shaftesbury Pavilion/Gaumont News Theatre of 1912. The new cinema was originally going to be a sister theatre to the Curzon Mayfair and had the same architectural firm of Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners. The architect in charge being H.G. Hammond. Columbia Pictures took over the lease during construction and it opened as the Columbia. It was equipped to show 70mm and Todd AO films.