Best THX moments in the cinema

[Brainstorm]

Tell me about the best THX cinema that you have attended in the past, I’d like to hear feedback of the practical THX cinema the type of film presentation be it Dolby stereo A, SR type 70mm Dolby stereo, dts, and SDDS 8 or even the CDS that was retired very early during the dawn of the digital sound age of the early 1990’s.

Tell you what I’ll start of with one of the finest THX cinemas in the whole wide land of the United Kingdom if not the word.

Empire was one of the first THX cinemas I attended during 1989 though to 1995 and 2000 which at the time the THX licence was dropped but Empire is now back, or should I say The Empire Strikes Back with a bruit force of THX JBL sound power of 56KW!!!

Having seeing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Empire in 70mm six-track Dolby stereo SR THX sound system where the lows where lower the highs higher and surround that was totally surrounding the large auditorium with some 22 JBL 8330 five-screen array consisting of JBL 4675-A and sub bass array of x8 JBL 4645 one things for sure the Empire is a tough act to beat even by home cinema standards.


Hears the little tramp Charlie Chaplin standing outside the Empire



Hears a closer view of the columns outside the Empire

The grandness of the architecture shows that this is place wait until you see the inside.



The sound is frigging awesome I Kidd you not, I've been there several times, sick around I'll be posting for quite a while.

This is a night time view of the of the neon lighting outside the Empire



This image was taken around 1991 at the premiere of Backdraft.

Backdaft was presented in 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo via the Lucasfilm THX sound system.



This image was taken around 1991 at the premiere of Backdraft note star William Baldwin in the background.



How do you like the show so far boys & girls!

View of the front lobby of the Empire



Grab that ticket and start running towards Empire Screen #1.



The cinema was refurbished in 1989 with a makeover cost around if memory severs me right £5 million pounds.

You can clearly see the money was well spent and put to very good use in the refurbishments.



While waiting to getting seated in the Empire's plush red rocker chairs and be surrounded with the delights of 70mm Dolby Stereo or Dolby Digital, dts SDDS and THX, relax with a drink at the bar.



This view shows "The Bodyguard" which was played at the Empire back in 1992 thou the Empire normally shows "Paramount and Universal" films the Empire took it on to show the "The Bodyguard" as the former "Warner West End" cinema was been refurbished herself at a grand cost around £20 million there about.



A different angle hear shows the doors to Empire screen #1 were getting closer now we are!

[Brainstorm]

WOW!!! I told you, this was voted the number cinema event in the world around the late 1980s not sure if she still holds that status, but in my view this is one hell of impressive cinema, the first time I saw a film hear was "Indiana Jones and the last Crusade" 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo SR with Split-Surrounds via the Lucasfilm THX Sound System.

The force of high power sound via some 20 JBL 4675-A 15inc bass mid arranged in the five screen array five horns placed above the bass cabs for the mid high frequencies for Dolby formats 42 and 43 / 70mm six-track, some 8 JBL 4645 these subs go below the most lowest of rumbling of soundtracks.

Note the surrounds JBL 8330 can be seen though not clearly as they blend in very well into the auditoriums design, look carefully.



The dimming of the auditoriums lights gives it a different view, note above the screen the stars these twinkle back a throw, it is said upon the premiere of "Forrest Gump" back in 1994 they where put to startling use as "Alan Silvestri" opening score with that gentleness in the music really gave the film a smashing impact.



This side view of the Empire auditorium, note the plumb plushest red rocker chairs.

It's also said that "James Cameron" raved about the cinemas sound system upon the premiere of "Titanic" 1997 where it played exclusively in dts 70mm THX Sound System, as the best he's ever heard.



Aspect ratio set on the screen to, W/S 1.85:1 though I've only seen one film at the Empire in W/S which was "Alive" Dolby Stereo Digital THX, the rest in Scope 2.35:1 and a handful of Star Trek films like the Star Trek day on Sunday 8th October 1989 all five films presented in 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo THX sound, except Star Trek the Motion Picture which was shown in Scope 2.35:1 Dolby Stereo A type.



This view showing a closer look of the red rockers, with the back part and the bottom part all movable for a rocking film show, and you them in this cinema, because when Indiana Jones throws a punch it will knock back into the chair LOL it's that good a film when I saw it there on September 13th 1989 Wednesday, and at £6.00 quid.



Upon my third attendance to the Empire Leicester Square, when I was working as a projectionist for UCI cinemas in Dorset 10 screen multiplex Tower Park, I met, Ilker Sherif' chief projectionists of the Empire back then, his now moved onwards but there's still someone there to run the shows to spectacular event levels.

Ilker' was kind to show me the booth which I must say is the heart of the machine, note the Philips DP 70 dual projectors 35 & 70mm capabilities these projectors won an academy award for technical excellence.

Note the cake plates these can hold up to a three hour feature film, something like "Lawrence of Arabia" would require two cake plates, note the bottom plate this can be rewound onto the middle cake plate or the top one, re-lacing the film back up takes only a few minutes at the most.



Closer view of the Philips DP 70, note the rectifiers placed behind the projectors, these power up the powerful Xenon lamps inside the projectors lamp house, in the old days carbon arc rods where used where the two rods come together and create an electrical charged bright light, much in the same way as arc welding, is done except where showing films.



Closer view of the print on the cake plate, note in the centre there is a mechanism this is called the feeder or the Brain the film is treaded though and past the little rollers and though the finger and then around a set of rollers up down up and around and onto the projector and back to the cake plate, then
lacing the projector up and start.



Holy cow now that's a rack system with some 15 JBL uri 6290 amplifiers or around 30 amplifiers for the JBL sound system placed to the right sides of and taking up three rack two & half rack framing, in the last two rakes placed to the left side, note two frames above JBL 6290 amps, is the Lucasfilm THX 3417 crossover monitor sound system, above that is a dual tape deck and above that a CD deck this is used for none sync music, that you hear coming from the front left and right stereo JBL in the auditorium.

Next to that is the Dolby DA-10 Dolby Digital processor below that is the Dolby CP-200 processor with multiple 27 band 1/3 octave EQ for left centre right split-surrounds left centre and right centre screen channels, and Dolby A type NR this is regarded as a fine Dolby processor within the industry, also in the racking is a Dolby SR type module for Dolby SR type prints found on all 35mm prints to day SR-D as there so called.

With around 15Kw of sound power you can imagine what "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" must have sounded like, as well as Star Trek, totally out of this world I swear.

[Brainstorm]

A different angle showing the awesome mighty powerful, note in this picture placed below the THX 3417 crossover monitor is a dts CD-Rom drive and decoder.



The Empire as a few surprises up it's sleeve with a laser show presented before each running of the show, it's used to fantastic effect which is played along with a high tech fast tempo musical piece, which last for around 60 seconds, though today it's not used well at least the last time I saw it operating was back in 1995, well Id be very surprised to know it back up and running.

As this played some funky Star Trek images played over the screen and around the auditorium walls with U.S.S. Enterprise attacking a Klingon bird of Pray LOL that was exciting, then the lights dimmed the music faded and moderately the music started up and grandly pressing on you body Star Trek 3 was a real kicker.

The newly refitted, Empire with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet.

Quote
Empire Cinemas Limited knew they had a task on their hands when they assumed responsibility for the Empire cinema, in London’s Leicester Square. Once the flagship cinema of the UCI chain, and the venue for many European film premieres in the past, the theatre was sorely in need of a refit; its once state-of-the-art surround sound system was outdated, and it had lost its THX licence, the Lucasfilm sound specification seen by many as the ‘gold standard’ for cinema sound. When the newly formed Empire Cinemas group took over the venue in late 2005, they knew that they wanted to return the cinema to its former glories — and surpass them. And they wanted that THX licence back. So they turned to some of the best names in cinema sound to help them. The completed installation, a custom-built system assembled with the help of the Harman Group and renowned London-based cinema installation specialists Bell Theatre Services, includes an impressive array of Harman Group equipment. There are Crown power amps, dbx DriveRack 4800 processors, and JBL custom ScreenArray™ speakers containing technology for which JBL engineers received the Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Everything is networked with CobraNet™ technology, and managed using Harman’s proprietary HiQNet™ control protocol.

The involvement of JBL is no surprise to anyone familiar with the history of cinema sound; some of the earliest products developed by company founder James B Lansing over 70 years ago were cinema loudspeakers, and sixty percent of cinema speakers sold today worldwide are made by JBL. Indeed, the former sound system at the Empire was built around JBL speakers, which is what led the Empire’s new management to contact Harman Pro UK, the British arm of JBL’s parent group. And Max Bell, Managing Director of Bell Theatre Services, was only too happy with Empire’s choice. “We’ve always used JBL speakers”, says Bell. “For me, they’re the best on the market — and JBL are still the only speaker company that has a proper research division, which means their products are always improving. We’ve always had a close relationship with Crown International, too — we specify a lot of JBL/Crown systems.”

One of the reasons Empire Cinemas took on Bell Theatre was that the latter have had a long association with the venue — Bell had carried out the Empire’s previous refit, back in 1988. And Empire were sparing no expense this time around, as André Mort, Technical Manager at Empire Cinemas Limited, explains: "As a new organisation within the UK cinema industry, we wanted to show that only the best would do for such an important venue." "They said ‘Go for it. This is our flagship; we want the best’," adds Max Bell. "So that’s what we gave them".

The refurbishment, which reportedly cost a six-figure sum, involved enlarging the projection screen to dimensions of 18.2 by 7.68 metres, reconstructing and acoustically treating the space behind the screen and rebuilding the THX baffle wall, and completely revamping the cinema’s sound system. The completed setup comprises a Dolby CP650 digital processor, five newly THX-certified 96kHz-capable dbx 4800 DriveRack processors to manage the loudspeaker channels and handle delay compensation in the auditorium, and the power amplifiers: 13 CTs 3000s, six CTs 8200s, and five Crown CTs 2000s. This range of amps drives the generous complement of 16 JBL 4645C 18-inch subwoofers and 42 JBL 8340A surround speakers (each of which has a dedicated amp channel), as well as the five JBL Custom ScreenArray™ 5632 full-range, four-way speakers, which handle the Left, inner Left, Centre, inner Right, and Right channels. Everything is managed via Harman’s HiQNet™ digital control protocol from a PC in the projector room.

In keeping with their usual hands-on approach, Harman closely assisted Bell Theatre as the refit proceeded, providing advice on system design and configuration and ensuring the equipment arrived on time. This was a particularly important role, given that the entire refit had to be completed in just two weeks, before the start of the important summer blockbuster season. As the project neared its end, Harman also sent Mark Bailey of JBL’s European Technical Support team to help fine-tune the finished auditorium’s acoustics.

With the work complete, the reopened Empire is now capable of an earth-trembling combined sound output of 56kW — a great improvement over its former 13kW best. And of course, the THX certification is now firmly back on the cinema’s wall. The only element remaining from the original installation is a Dolby CP200 analogue processor, which has been retained for those occasions when the cinema wishes to screen restored 70mm analogue prints. Thus the Empire is now capable of handling the best in analogue and digital formats, as befits a top-flight London cinema. “I’ve been involved with The Empire for many years,” comments André Mort, “and the performance of the new system has greatly exceeded my expectations.”

Dave Budge of Harman Pro UK comments, “It’s a pleasure to be involved with Empire Cinemas, who have committed to this considerable investment in the name of making the cinema experience at the Empire truly memorable.”
Quote







The spec as follows:-

Dolby CP650SD (10 channel AES/EBU Output Studio version)
Dolby CP200/DA20/MPU-1/SA10 retained for 70mm magnetic and backup replay. CP200 Modified with CAT 64B EQ cards removed for lower noise operation.
2x SDDS DFP2000 (One main, one backup)

5x DBX4800 24bit/96Khz Loudspeaker Management Systems with HiQNET Control. Digital Feed from CP650, Analogue Feed from CP200/SDDS.

5x JBL Custom Screen Array each fed by 1x Crown CTs2000 and 1x Crown CTs3000 Amplifiers

16x JBL 4645C Sub Bass fed by 8x Crown CTs 3000 Amplifiers

42x JBL 8340A Surround Loudspeakers individually driven and time-aligned from 6x Crown CTs8200 8-Channel Amplifiers

Total System Power 56kW

The system now carries THX license

Screen size has now been increased to a maximum 18.26x8.14m

[basite]

...



...

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.

[Brainstorm]

...



...

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.

[kelsci]

Brainstorm; I think this is the best post that anybody has ever made on the audioreview site here. You have given the members of audioreview a tremendous insight that is nothing less than a phenomenon of a movie theater that I doubt few knew even existed including myself.

During the 1980s, Fox opened up a few THX multi-cinemas in the S. Florida area. I saw three pictures in those theaters which I will discuss shortly. I never heard any great sub-woofer type bass in these theaters. The left and right walls had 4 speakers each. The back wall had 4 speakers. They looked like some kind of three-way jobs that were inverted, that is that the woofer was on top and the tweeter was on the bottom. This was however in one of the theaters, one of the other's I am not too sure what they had. Up front, I could hear left, center and right stereo sound.

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS---The audio was stunning on this film , particulaly the battle scene near the end of this movie. The whole theater was engulfed in surround sound with bullets and explosions coming from a multitude of points around the theater. In the early part of the film, one see's a cable car approaching and I could actually hear that car pass me by as smooth as silk as the 4 right side speakers handled the action so perfectly as in real life.

I was using a simple passive surroud sound circuit based on Dynaquad. After seeing this movie, I wanted to see if I could make a version of this THX that I heard in that theater. I did create a passive 5.0 channel system that created stereo separation in the surrounds based on a Dynaquad circuit and powered by a NAD receiver. I eventually listened to THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS at home on this configuration. The cable car did pass me by on my right rear speaker but it was not as dramatic as the 4 speakers in the theater that handled that particular sound effect. The same with the battle scene but only because of the lack of a multitude speaker set-up for the home which would have been impossible to do. However, the circuit on its own merit was fantastic.

INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE---A THX theater is only as good as it is properly calibrated. I do not think this theater was becuase the surround sound seemed so one sided to one side of the theater. I have this movie on Laserdisc. Those sections that have good surround sound in this movie to play well but overall this movie is not a surround sound wonder. The dvds of these films as far as the audio goes are worthless with the so called 5.1 sound that they have on them.

STAR TREK V---I only heard one instance with a space ship flying over my head to the rear speakers in the theater. Again, I do not think the theater was adjusted properly. I also do not think that this movie is any wonder in the surround sound area either, though the film is very entertaining.

STAR TREK 3---I did not see that in the theater. It was the first movie on Laserdisc that had digital sound. The digital sound left alot to be desired. The analog track was fine. There is alot of surround sound in this movie particulaly near the end. Played great on my dynaquad system with its analogue track.

[anamorphic96]

[/IMG]

This is a pic of the Klipsch 10.2 system created at a Malco theater in Tennesse. Over 60,000 watts and capable of extension to 17hz.

Here is another link with more info.
http://www.klipsch.com/news-center/f...h-klipsch.aspx

[Brainstorm]

anamorphic96

Holy Markel I thought I’d seen a few THX installations this tops it!

LOL you sure that ain’t an IMAX screen granted the width is less. Very impressive I’m already getting ideas. WOW!



I can see the mid range and high range and what appears horn loaded bass cab for each of the five-screen array the sub bass array and extra top or height to give dimension to the sound like in real life.

[anamorphic96]

I was suspicious at first about Klipsch in the commercial cinema market but after installing and spending alot of time listening to Klipsch systems I can understand why we sell so much of there equipment and why they account for so many of the new installs. I am convinced they are the leader in commercial cinema loudspeakers. JBL is good stuff but Klipsch is a cut above.

Regal, Malco, Harkins, and Krikorian all use Klipsch exclusively. I will be working on a new install starting on 2-26 in Arizona so I will take some pics and post them when I get back.

[Brainstorm]

Looking forwards to seeing them here JBL has been around 80 years now and still going strong. But after seeing this set-up, dear lord. I’ve toyed around with some films like Goldeeye and Apollo 13 with a what I call an upper height centre channel that gets its source signal from the left and right or centre phantom. When passed though a Dolby pro-logic processor certain types of sound effects of dialogue that is sent to left and right in-phase really gives the film a different approach in the home.

But 10.2 is totally discrete when its going to be made affordable for all homes that’s the question. I mean they haven’t even got there act together with 7.1 for the yet let alone 10.2.

60KW well looks like Empire has got a challenge over its 56KW, they always try for more power don't they.

“Mr. Scott I need more power!”

“She can’t, take no more she’s starting to breaking up"!

Granted this maybe a home cinema version even the owner here has done right with installing in the THX baffle wall for video projection, except I can’t see the high frequency absorbent on the wall to stop the high frequencies bouncing of the screen and back onto the wall.



Still that’s the approach I’d take when I get a video projector.

[PeruvianSkies]

Thank you so much for posting this thread. This is the type of content that I love to see and I am glad to have another person on this forum with film knowledge! Welcome!

btw...3 of my best cinema experiences are as follows...

TERMINATOR 2 in 70mm blow up
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO in a restored 35mm print
STARSHIP TROOPERS in 8channel SDDS
SOPHIE's CHOICE in a beautifully preserved 35mm print
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in restored 70mm print
Jacques Tati's PLAYTIME in 35mm print from 70mm source restored
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in 35mm restored print from 70mm source
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946) with live orchestra

[Brainstorm]

PeruvianSkies

There’s few on that list that I would have liked to have seen in a THX sound system cinema. Lawrence of Arabia which I only happed to see in a substandard cinema but still it was it was presented in Super Panavision 70mm Dolby SR type at the Odeon Marble Arch London 1988, about a year later it played at the Warner Bros West End in 70mm Dolby SR THX. I’m still kicking myself!

Terminator 2 played over at UCI High Wycombe in THX where only happed to have seen just one film there during early 1990 (Arachnophobia) in Dolby stereo SR the bass and sub bass extension during the opening credits was phenomenal it was deeply on DEEPLY pressing my body with clear octave to octave of each bass note with sheer SLAM KICK RUMBLE that never let up once.

I would have liked to have seen T2 there, the cinema site was voted on of the best THX cinemas in the world. Sadly the licence has been dropped at that site some time around the early 2000?

Also when the THX trailer (Broadway) played dear god it was pressing on my body before it reached the peak level of its dynamic range 10/10!

[PeruvianSkies]

Brainstorm...

What do you think/feel about the new DLP movie theaters???

[Brainstorm]

PeruvianSkies

It’s been years since I worked in the cinema of 1998. I have only read the reports on it and heard a few visual effects artists commenting on its performance Richard Edlund described it fairly well which made my nod one or two times during the Die Hard commentary session.

So if I where to see it in the cinema I’d be looking for (black levels) “pixels” where Edlund pointed out, you can see it all moving around its close its good but its got a long way too go, its like trading one artefact for the other being you see soft grain and golf balls on 35mm.

I would say it would be very unlikely I’ll ever see DLP in the cinema Dolby digital cinema is still a long way off before its widely used in all the cinemas only the large metropolitan areas have DLP in the UK.

Since1999 not looking good at all. Maybe you should ask David Lean this question.

Film is original television isn’t.
David Lean

Not even the Warner Village 12 screen had DLP and not like it would and that was a brand new site during the late of 1998.

The DLP technology is probably more widely used in the consumer home cinema, except even all that’s about to change with LED projection in the home coming soon?

[PeruvianSkies]

PeruvianSkies


Since1999 not looking good at all. Maybe you should ask David Lean this question.

Film is original television isn’t.
David Lean

I would ask him, but he's been dead nearly 16 years now.

[Brainstorm]

PeruvianSkies

The only good thing about it is no scratches on the print and what’s this with running it with 1KW light most 70mm house run 2 to 3KW.

[Woochifer]

I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of several great single-screen theaters in L.A.'s Westwood Village (next to the UCLA campus), which is also where many of the early THX installations went. If a film was available in 70mm or any of the higher quality pre-DD/DTS/SDDS sound formats available with 35mm (4-track mag stripe, CDS), that print was showing in Westwood.

The very first THX installation in the world (along with a now demolished theater in suburban Dallas) was the AVCO Center cinema in Westwood, which premiered in conjunction with Return of the Jedi. Wonderful theater with excellent imaging, deep bass, razor sharp projection quality, great acoustics, and excellent sight lines (the seating arrangement was shaped like a V with the rows narrowing as they got closer to the screen).

Seeing Die Hard in 70mm at that theater was a transcendent moviegoing experience. It was all the more transcendent because at that time the AVCO was the only theater in the country showing Die Hard, so there was a huge buzz in the audience that had been building over the past couple of weekends. Hard to imagine now, but Bruce Willis was considered box office poison, which forced Fox to roll out Die Hard gradually to quietly build up the buzz, since they knew that they had a potential box office hit on their hands that required some creative marketing (I remember when the early Die Hard trailers featuring Bruce Willis got booed by audiences, which forced Fox to pull them and eventually reissue a different trailer that barely showed Willis). I know that the AVCO got the only 70mm print in southern California, not sure if any other 70mm prints of that movie went to other markets. As a side note, that screening was also when I saw the THX "Broadway" trailer for the first time.

Unfortunately, the AVCO management decided to halve that wonderful auditorium after the 1993 run of Jurassic Park, which totally ruined the acoustics and the great sight lines (that V-configuration was kept, which meant that half the seats in the new smaller auditoriums would be at an angle, despite the screen being repositioned).

Another great theater is the Mann Westwood Village, which is a massive single-screen 1,400 seat auditorium with a 60-foot silver emulsion screen and a great sound system. This was one of the early THX installations, and the lobby used to have a lighted placard listing all of the components used in the sound system. At one point, the Village Theater was one of THX's showcase theaters, where they would try out new components. It was also where Dolby Digital (with Batman Returns) and SDDS (with The Last Action Hero) made their premiere. The theater is also the site for countless Hollywood premieres, and they like to pull out the little decorating touches like illuminating the theater with a batsignal (see below).



The acoustics are not ideal because the theater has a balcony (in fact, I would say that the sound is better up in the front of the balcony), but the showpiece of that theater for years was a massive subwoofer array up front. I recall that the theater ripped out three rows of seats to build a custom enclosure that housed 12 Cerwin Vega subwoofers (the same ones used by Universal for its gut churning Sensurround presentations). The thing was freakin' loud and could move your hair from the middle of the theater, but it never felt boomy or overworked. It could clearly do a lot more damage if they wanted to crank the volume up a bit more. More recently though, they removed that subwoofer array and redid the sound system (not sure if it's an improvement). They've also gone to digital projection, which I think does not work well for this theater because of the large screen size and the high quality of their film projection.

The movies I've seen here include Lethal Weapon I-III, Batman, Batman Returns, Star Trek V, Star Trek Generations, Star Wars Ep. I-IV, Last Action Hero, Titanic, Lord of the Rings: TTT and ROTK, and Superman Returns. Even though I live in the Bay Area, I will often schedule my moviegoing around trips to L.A. so that I can take advantage of the better theaters down there.

Like some of the others, I love the Cinerama Dome, but it also has its own set of caveats. For one thing, the deeply curved 90' Cinerama screen looks great if you're sitting dead center, but if you're off to the side, the image can look warped. When the Dome was refurbished a few years ago, they substantially reworked the acoustics. It's now pretty good (before, the acoustics were awful and very inconsistent from location to location), but the dome shape still creates dead spaces in some parts of the auditorium. Even with these presentation inconsistencies, the Dome is beloved by film buffs because they will periodically run the big 70mm and Cinerama roadshow prints. The Dome's refurb restored the two side projection booths, so they can now screen three-strip Cinerama movies, which they've done to packed houses. The Dome is also known for its occasional 70mm roadshow festivals. I've seen 70mm presentations of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apocalypse Now, and Lawrence of Arabia at this theater.

That Dome refurb also added a 12-screen Arclight Cinema multiplex, which IMO features some outstanding presentation quality. They are basic black rectangular theaters built to exceed the THX specs, and the acoustics, seating, projection, and surround imaging in these theaters are outstanding. Plus, the Arclight features outstanding service, reserved seating, 21+ screenings, and a bar in the lobby. Coupled with diligent attention to presentation quality, this is easily the best moviegoing experience I've ever had from a multiplex.

http://www.arclightcinemas.com/Arcli...tml?path=about

This is one of the Arclight Cinema's "black auditoriums"

Interior of the Dome


For whatever reason, I've never been overly impressed with the presentation quality at Grauman's Chinese. Make no mistake, if you're visiting L.A. and can only visit one theater, this is the one to go for because of its architecture, location, and history. For presentation quality, there are better theaters in L.A., but the Chinese theater is still better than the vast majority of theaters elsewhere, including most other THX auditoriums.

Even though I think that THX has done a great job at elevating the overall level of theatrical presentation quality, the THX label doesn't mean as much as it used to. The early THX installations went well beyond the basic THX specs and equipment list, and a THX auditorium at a 25-screen megaplex does not deliver the same experience as, for example, the Village theater which has other enhancements aside from the THX certification.

Sir Terrence (a movie sound engineer who used to post regularly on this board) felt that John Allen's HPS-4000 theater sound system was far superior to THX. For one thing, HPS-4000 designs and builds their own horn speakers, and does the installation and testing themselves. The now-demolished Century Plaza Theater in Los Angeles used to have a HPS-4000 system, and I've seen movies there and can vouch for the imaging and sound clarity of that system. Unfortunately, they were in the smaller auditoriums, which were chopped up from larger rooms, so the shape of the theaters were not ideal acoustically.

The 8-channel HPS-4000 installation at the General Cinema (now AMC) in Framingham, MA is their reference theater, and I've heard from others that the HPS-4000 theaters in Waikiki delivered the best theater sound they've ever heard. There's a list of other HPS-4000 installations on their website. Anyone who's ever been to one of these should post their impressions, because I'm very curious as to how others compare HPS-4000 to THX.

http://www.hps4000.com/pages/mainpage.html

[Woochifer]

Here's a nice historical shot of the Cinerama Dome, with its original Altec VOT screen speaker setup. You can see the curvature of the screen (which goes 90' and uses 5 screen speakers), which the Dome preserved after its renovation. The current setup uses JBL screen speakers, and they've also done some much needed acoustical treatment behind the screen.

[anamorphic96]

Thanks for the input and pics Woochifer. Now that I live in LA I have had a chance to visit alot of the theaters talked about here.

The Westwood Village when I watched The Departed had poor acoustics as you mentioned and a very harsh sound with no sub bass to really speak of. Maybe it has not been balanced and EQ'd in a while, but I was not impressed with the sound. It was a DLP presentation and looked great though.

Tried to watch Lady In The Water at the Bruin but walked out and asked for a refund due to the light being out of focus and very dim. Not even close to 16fl. There was also a very noticeable shutter ghost. I brought the issues to the managements attention but have not been back since. The sound was good but nothing close to the Arclight.

I watched Clerks 2 at The National, which was ok but nothing special. Light was dim and not focused well. Good sound but could not really judge it completely due to the movie.

The Westwood theaters are good places IMO to watch movies but don't even come close to the Arclight.

The Arclight is the be all end all. They get it right every time. Perfect light with perfect sound. Never watched a movie that started out of frame or have I seen a scratch on any print. You get exactly what the director wanted you to see and hear. I have now watched probably 50 movies if not more there. I am now working with one of the old projectionists and will be getting a tour in the next couple of weeks. Can't wait for this.

On a side note. Klipsch is making all the speakers for John Allen's HPS 4000 systems now. I think he has used various manufactures but Klipsch is the current one.

Post some more pics if you have them.

[Woochifer]

Thanks for the input and pics Woochifer. Now that I live in LA I have had a chance to visit alot of the theaters talked about here.

The Westwood Village when I watched The Departed had poor acoustics as you mentioned and a very harsh sound with no sub bass to really speak of. Maybe it has not been balanced and EQ'd in a while, but I was not impressed with the sound. It was a DLP presentation and looked great though.

I've now seen two movies at the Village with DLP, and I much prefer the film projection. For whatever reason, the digital projection looks darker than the film projection. The Village has a great screen, so even a dark DLP image looks good, but compared to what I had grown accustomed to at that theater, it simply didn't measure up. (Keep in mind that when I lived around there, the majority of movies showing at the Village were in 70mm)

The Village sound system was something to behold right after the Village got its THX certification. As maligned as Bose is on this board, the Village (and the National) used to use the 802 monitors as the surrounds. And I actually liked that tonality better than the generic JBL surrounds that they currently use. I never thought that the Village sound system was harsh (you want harsh, try the Chinese), but that might also depend on where you sit. Up in the balcony, I thought that the imaging from the screen speakers better blended with the surrounds. I've only been to the Village twice since they removed the CV subwoofer array from the front of the auditorium, and you're right in that the sub-bass does not have nearly the impact that it had before.

I know that the Village has updated the sound system at least twice since the initial THX installation, and sadly, it seems that it becomes more and more like a generic THX setup each time.

Tried to watch Lady In The Water at the Bruin but walked out and asked for a refund due to the light being out of focus and very dim. Not even close to 16fl. There was also a very noticeable shutter ghost. I brought the issues to the managements attention but have not been back since. The sound was good but nothing close to the Arclight.

I watched Clerks 2 at The National, which was ok but nothing special. Light was dim and not focused well. Good sound but could not really judge it completely due to the movie.

The Westwood theaters are good places IMO to watch movies but don't even come close to the Arclight.

I have not been to the Bruin in years. I've heard that the management has done a poor job at maintaining that theater, which is too bad. Along with the Village, National, and AVCO, the Bruin was one of the early THX installations. It differed somewhat from the Village and National in that it used acoustic suspension Boston Acoustics speakers as the surrounds. It did not have the gutteral bass impact that the Village had, or the top to bottom excellence of the AVCO, but I loved the tonality of the surrounds at the Bruin.

The National helped catapult Westwood Village to prominence as a moviegoing destination when it premiered The Exorcist and had an exclusive engagement for months. It was the last single screen theater to be built in L.A.

While I think the Arclight's attention to detail is second to none, I still enjoy going to the Westwood theaters, because there's still something to be said for a good old single-screen movie theater, especially ones that have been refitted with decent sound systems. Just within a five-minute walk, Westwood Village has seven single-screen movie theaters, and to me, that's something worth supporting. I never realized how unique that was until I visited other cities and found how difficult it is to keep a single-screen theater afloat. I mean, Manhattan is now down to ONE single-screen movie theater (the Ziegfeld), and it goes dark for weeks at a time.

The Arclight is the be all end all. They get it right every time. Perfect light with perfect sound. Never watched a movie that started out of frame or have I seen a scratch on any print. You get exactly what the director wanted you to see and hear. I have now watched probably 50 movies if not more there. I am now working with one of the old projectionists and will be getting a tour in the next couple of weeks. Can't wait for this.

On a side note. Klipsch is making all the speakers for John Allen's HPS 4000 systems now. I think he has used various manufactures but Klipsch is the current one.

Post some more pics if you have them.

Enjoy the tour!

As much as I like the Arclight, it still has a multiplex feel to it, and the grand old Cinerama Dome has its own compromises. Oh well, I guess if I had my druthers, I would do all of my movie viewing at the Cary Grant Theater (the dubbing theater on the Columbia Studio lot where I have gone for a couple of movie previews), but alas I can't just walk up to the door and buy a ticket there!

[PeruvianSkies]

Has anyone else seen PLAYTIME in 70mm???

[Mathesar]

Hi there!
First of all, pardon by baaad english.
whoa, that's an old thread!


I live in France and I had some terrific cinema experiences, THx and non THx.
First of all, there was 3 THx theatres in Paris:

- Le Max Linder Panorama: The screen has a basis of 17 meters (56 feet), and it is still THx, but not officially: new owners doesn't want to pay the THx fee anymore (that's what they say).
Must say that, when they were officially THx, there was 2 magnificent DP70 with powerful Kinotons, a CP 200, JBL amplis, cinemeccanica monitor and of course, the THx crossover, a DBX 900. Last time I was in the projection booth (3 years ago), the DBX900 was still there and operating, but not officially.

The projectionnist, Christian Chauvet, is a friend of mine; he is now retired.

And that's where THx strated to go away. A new projectionnist -a snooty little bastard- started to change evrything: he tossed one of the dp70 and replaced with a 35mm projector, and he put a nasty black matte down the screen, thus reducing its hight. the photo below shows the screen before this disaster...

photos here. The guy on photos is not the snooty little bastard, this one is a cool guy. Snooty isn't even there anymore. Good, Thus, he stopped breaking things there.
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2010/max_...scal/index.htm

So I think that when the THx guys came over and saw that disaster, well, they did not renewed the THx agreement…

Since then, there is a digital projector. Not like a 70mm show, but not that far away: the image is magnificent.
Which leads me to my 70 mm experiences in le Max Linder:
I saw many many 70 mm movies in there, and it was just great! Among them:
-there was a Star Wars night, before 1997, withe the original prints, and whoaaa!!!
-There was 2001. And that blew my mind. What a show!!

of course the theatre had some prestige 35 mm prints like Arizona Dream, presented in LC CONCEPT, the french digital sound process (pre-dts), with the image filling the entire 1.85 screen. It was worth 70mm! They also had "La cite des enfants perdus" (City of lost children, by Caro et Jeunet), a beautiful show again.

Of course when Christian and his colleagues ran 70mm movies, we could see the 70mm THx trailers, including this sooo magnificent Cimarron 70mm version, where the soudtrack was different (way more psychedelic than the 35mm version); by the way I'm deseperately seeking it…


The second THx theatre was "le Forum Horizon" . Also had 2 DP70 with a dbx 900 and a CP 200, plus the usual JBL stuff. 17 meters also, 1.85 format too; It had a beautiful blue curtain, and had an elegant curve.
This screen still exsists; there is now a black matte in the bottom of the screen (d'oh…), and although the THx wall is still there, they have their own crossover (triamp instead of biamp). and there is THx no more. Well, the bright side of it: I got a THx 35mm trailer for my collction (Grnd, 1.85, Dolby A) The theater is now owend by UGC, and has several others screens.

The third one was the George V on les Champ Elysées. The screen had also a curtain, and was about 15 meters. It is now also owned by UGC, and no more THx...

There was a fourth one that had THx, it was "Le Gambetta", but I newer went there because the movies were dubbed!

Now about the non THx theatres:

-Le Grand Rex. Well. It is the only one ancien movie theatre in Paris that was preserved (it's classified…) The big screen (Le Grand Large, gorgeous), is a huge 25 meters screen, and believe me, you're just in the movie. The sound system,is of their own, it is of sourse bi amplified, and computorized, to compensate the reverberations of this huge thing.
There I saw Twelve monkeys and Tina, also Atalntis by Luc Besson. You must get there, plus now thay run digital projections there (I haven't tested them yed, as thay run movies dubbed for the most). But at least it is still there:

-Le Kinopanorama: Was closed a few years ago, because it was owned by some f…ers: Europalaces. They don't care for cinema, that's for sure. It is now a... fitness center! The architectural structure is still there, so I guess maybe one day...?
It wa an curved screen, 20 meters, formerly Cinerama (but the russian process, Kinopanorama.), and, had for years, 2 DP70, and a CP200. Was formerly an STS theatre, the french version of THx.
The most beautiful show I ever saw was probably there: Lawrence of Arabia, in 70mm.
Some years before, in the ancient version of the theatre (which was way more beautifu), I saw the last Blake Edward's movie, "Switch", and also Cyrano de Bergerac (with Gerard Depardieu), resented in LC Concept, and a prestige 35mm print. Whoa.

-le Gaumont Grand Ecran. 24 meters. Great theater. Alsot owned by Europalaces. Also closed. An association prevented its destruction till now. To be continued…
When I got there I sat in the first row (as I always do, by the way).
There, I saw an Indiana Jones night (3 movies), withe the 2 last movies in 70mm. Pretty cool!
I saw many movies there, actually, Fifth element, Stargate, Appolo13…

-L'arlequin: formerly owned by Jacques Tati, Then,it was owned by russians, and became "le Cosmos", then became "l'arlequin" again. It is near Montparnasse, and has 2 screens. I's pretty neat, not big big, but neat. And there I saw Playtime in 70mm! I was so plesaed. what a great movie. I just love Jaques Tati. I also saw there Vertigo in 70mm and DTS (it also was a test for 70mm dts, and it was great), and some others;

-Le grand Pavois: it is now closed, for personal reasons (silly really: a divorce, as they both owned the theatre ). It is now a sound studio...
well, is a tiny screen -2 originally actually-, but I just loved it! It was 2 tiny veru much curved screens, with huge Cabasse loudspeakers below the screen (3 column plus 2 LFE, same one than in the french Geode, an Omnimax theatre!). He had in each booth a 35mm prjector (don't know which) and CP55. Later he had the very frst digital sound process, the kodak's CDS.
Sound was already great in A and SR: he also had a bi-ampli sound of his own. Amplis were AMIX. But when he ran CDS films (3 actually: Doors, Flatliners and Final Approach), whoa!!!! just had to pick up my ears at the end of the show. ^^
I must have seen more than 50 movies in there. Well: size does'nt matter, eh? ^^

I must ad that I've been to collect some trailers (35mm), and film strip (35 and 70mm). I have a very rare piece, which is a strip from the original Thomsoncolor positive from Jacques Tati's "Jour de Fete". I was an apprentice at the GTC lab in Joinville, France, when Eurocitel restored the color version of this masterpiece. François Ede and Sophie Tatischeff gave me (and a few others) this filmstrip.

Well there is more to tell, but that's a start, eh?