Best THX moments in the cinema

[Brainstorm]

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there are no words for it,
it's enormous, it's beautiful, it's very very nice, that's very much power...

I think this puts any other cinema to shame...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

Unquestionably, that it is, she’s quite untouchable.

You can stop drooling now. I guess you’re getting a hunger to visit the Empire, Indiana Jones will be playing there in 2008, and cross my fingers who knows they might do all four for one day only?

The Empire is full of lots of surprises…

[anamorphic96]

The Pacific Cinerama Dome in Hollywood is on par with this theater. It has 44 surrounds and 12 JBL 4645's but is also slightly smaller. Mann's Chinese and Pacifics El Capitan are also on par in presentation quality. We should not also forget the AMPAS theater.

I have spoken with a couple of technicians who have watched movies at the Empire and feel it's impressive but not the holy grail of theaters. The Empire get's the sub bass system correct in that they use a proper amount of subs. But feel the stage system could have used double stacked bass bin's.

Thanks for the pics though. Hopefully this will help some members appreciate how good a cinema can still be and that all places are not like your typical multiplex. Film is still superior to all digital formats when properly presented.

[Brainstorm]

The Pacific Cinerama Dome in Hollywood is on par with this theater. It has 44 surrounds and 12 JBL 4645's but is also slightly smaller. Mann's Chinese and Pacifics El Capitan are also on par in presentation quality. We should not also forget the AMPAS theater.

I have spoken with a couple of technicians who have watched movies at the Empire and feel it's impressive but not the holy grail of theaters. The Empire get's the sub bass system correct in that they use a proper amount of subs. But feel the stage system could have used double stacked bass bin's.

Thanks for the pics though. Hopefully this will help some members appreciate how good a cinema can still be and that all places are not like your typical multiplex. Film is still superior to all digital formats when properly presented.

That’s what I was thinking about the screen channels they should have used x2 JBL 4642 for that set-up. But I’m sure it will be quite impressive when I get around to popping up to London soon!!

AMPAS doses have impressive JBL array the 5000 series I believe? Unless they have changed it.

Manns Chinese theatre in Hollywood looks like it would go beyond what (((Sensurround))) did there back in 1974 with a net above the audience, LOL now that is a good marketing campaign, the cinema in my home town didn’t use a net to catch fallen objects it sounded like the ceiling was going to give!

One thing I’ve noticed with THX professional is total assurance of the sound quality and picture as well, the home is different matter where we don’t have the large rooms we wish we had and that loudspeakers are smaller but it does come remarkable close.

Please multiplexes I’ve worked in two of those many years ago and what disappointment, but the loudspeakers will still eat home cinema alive, they just don’t have them pushed to the limits of what a grand THX set-up will do in the cinema.

[anamorphic96]

One thing I forgot to mention is that in Hollywood we have the Arclight multiplex behind the Cinerama Dome. It is 14 screens and all THX certified. It presents movies exactly how they where supposed to be seen and heard. The sound systems are tweaked to within an inch of there life and sound better than any multiplex I have been in. The picture quality is crystal clear and perfectly focused with a proper light level of 16fl at all times. This is the only theatre I have been in that offers the TRUE THX experience. It is a union operated booth that is getting constant service from Dolby and other technicians to make sure things are tip top all the time.

On another note you might not be aware of. Klipsch is actually making a HUGE dent in the cinema market with there speakers. They are extremely impressive and account for over 60 percent of all new installs in the US. They actually outperform JBL at this point. Especially with there sub bass systems. On the installs we have been doing we are getting a flat response all the way down to 18hz . Klipsch recommends placing there subs in the corners of the baffle walls. One end has the regular subs and the other end has the ultra low subs that extend to 18hz. They are the only company I know of using 4 way systems behind the screen as well.

You should check out there website at Klipsch.com under the pro section.

[Brainstorm]

kelsci


You lucky devil, The Living Daylights was realised in optical Dolby stereo A type during 1987, no 70mm prints where made, except the brilliant Graham V. Hartstone did on the Dolby mix.

Fair play to mate looks like you’ve been hooked slightly longer than I.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 70mm six-track Dolby stereo SR was WOW nothing but total WOW! I have never felt or heard such clear and easy dialogue along with loads of dialogue panning moving around the screen and surrounds that made my look behind when the German airplane fly’s off screen down the right side surrounds and over to a phantom surround and then heard on the left side array WOW!

So much detail I can talk about this film so much.

All Star Trek films at the Empire from Star Trek The Motion Picture Dolby Stereo A type sounded like nothing I heard before the (wormhole) had me moving from side to side with a high frequency sounds appearing to move around the cinema, and granted I was sat where the sound engineers calibrate the cinema it was out of this world.

I also have the film of NTSC laserdisc where I transferred it to DVD-RW and belaive it or not it gets played more than the directors cut, surrounds on the opening where a Klingon battle cruiser fires a photon torpedo comes from behind with a blast in the room, just like it did in the Empire.

Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo A type was fantastic, with each film playing during Sunday October 8th 1989 it just got more dynamic feeling Kahn lifting Chekov off the floor got my attention WOW! Now that’s a sound system that reproduced even the tiniest of sounds even during quite moments.

The attack on the U.S.S. Enterprise was a like some slamming there hand on my chest! Threatening it was “threatening” and very realistic I found myself looking around the cinema during the confusion and focusing to pin point screen channel sound.

When Genesis exploded it felt like the floor was going to give way! Even the James Horner score was hard hitting towards the end where each instrument was felt with deep depth magical, truly magical.

Star Trek III The Search for Spock 70mm six-track Dolby stereo A type, was even more deeper that Star Trek II, the opening alone was very moving, it had warmth and rich energy coming from the screen array. Mind you its magic is partly to do with the THX baffle wall and the THX 3417 crossover. When the Klingon bird of pray blew that small spaceship up dear god it erupted big time debars was flying all over the surrounds and while ducking thinking something gone crash into me made it all the more believable.

Hearing voices over the surrounds when Enterprise was docking was very neat I was looking above me as too see where the voices where coming from with such clear detail, this happened a few times in the film.

Leaving the space dock or more rather stealing the Enterprise without orders was thrilling that James Horner score was pounding me in the chest and going down very deep. When space dock doors opened it was like WHAM! Feeling Enterprise going from impulse power to warp speed jolted the Empire I Kidd you not while streaming down the right surround arrays!

When poor ole Enterprise was a dead stick floating in space with no option to destroy her, and when that ship went up it was like some just kicked me in the face!

When the planet finally gave it was HUGE, but feeling captain Kirk kicking Kruge, in the face with the cinema applauding “I have had enough of you” YEAH!!!

So when the planet exploded it was like nothing I felt before!

Star Trek IV The Voyage Home 70mm six-track Dolby stereo SR type was a chill out film was lots of humour and plenty of surprises. When the Bird of pray was travailing towards the sun, mad if you say, that I was on the edge of my seat gripping the rocker chair as if I where riding along with them, vibrations where pounding and when she passed down the surrounds with a leap of courage and faith was moving.

Towards the end when we see Enterprise the music by Leonard Rosenman just slammed straight into me, with Enterprise finally blasting off into warp speed made the cinema rock!

Oh note that there was print damage on the film with a brief 15 seconds there about where the mag tracks where muted due to flaking I guess of the oxide coating.

Star Trek V The Final Frontier 70mm six-track Dolby stereo SR It was the first film that used the THX (Cimarron) was used in 70mm six-track Dolby stereo just pashed me back in the seat with force!

Jerry Goldsmith one of the finest film score composers bless him, just liked slamming the score into the audience. Sound effects and dialogue panning lots of “dialogue panning” was going on in this mix.

Cape Fear 35mm Dolby stereo SR wow I sat right at the very front for this and Max Caddy was most defiantly off his trolley, granted I missed around 3/4of the film and was in Leicester square that day I managed to get in for free, courtesy for projectionists who have worked for UCI in the past.

Depth was great on this with sub bass extension, I liked the moment where Max was face to face with three guys each punch just knocked me back in the rocker as I’m naturally very jumpy wow, even when Sam Bowden dropped the anchor into the water it was SLAM with depth when it hit the bottom.

The standoff was chilling with each one slugging it out in the mud and lobbing rocks that was felt in the chest!

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country 70mm six-track Dolby stereo SR type, now this was the last 70mm presentation I saw at the Empire and one of the best along with Star Trek II and IV, the warmness from the fronts juts had me looking downwards towards the fronts while the choir made me look upwards.

I must have saw Star Trek IV three times that day while having a chat with the chief projectionist at the site Ilker Sherif' you could feel the shockwave from the opening in the coffee room next to the projection booth we both laughed out loud.

Empire even had a backup 35mm Dolby stereo SR print of Star Trek IV for some other purpose I doubt it was for screen 2, could have been after the 70mm exclusive presentation was over in screen 1.

Alive 35mm Dolby stereo SR-D the opening had clear dialogue and hearing the airplane move over the right side surrounds towards the fronts was remarkable I’d never had believed it possible to get six-track Dolby stereo onto 35mm film, which is a huge saving in costs as 70mm prints cost around £16.000 over a second hand 35mm print £1.500.

Timecop 35mm dts sounded great when travelling though time Foley body punches just kicked with bruit impact.

Gladiator 35mm Dolby stereo SR-D lacked the total signature THX impact due to the THX licence being dropped around a year and half before, and the Martin Audio loudspeakers wasn’t winning my applaud one way of the other. Still it had some impact but it just wasn’t JBL.

anamorphic96

(Klipsch) I’ve heard of the name and seen the home cinema loudspeakers. I’ll have a look at the site thanks mate.

18Hz seems good enough for deep extension of the sub bass array. Some screens do place the sub bass arrays spaced below the screen channels to give greater depth.

But after seeing the Empire JBL 4645C array 13 feet wide and 8 feet high, that would seriously damage a home with structural damage, you know roof tiles dropping off get the picture!