AMC Lincoln Square 13
1998 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
1998 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
77 people
favorited this theater
Showing 276 - 300 of 1,699 comments
Hello-
this may be a silly question to asks at this point but what exactly was the point of turning the Loew’s auditorium into a Dolby Cinema other than to extract more $$$ from the public?
The Loews auditorium was already Dolby Atmos-certified before the renovations so unless the Dolby Cinema spec has audio requirements beyond Dolby Atmos, I don’t know if speakers would have played a role in the choice of screen. My impression is that nothing changed with the visible speakers installed on the walls. I’m not even 100% sure if the screen itself was changed. I will try to contact the AMC projection manager for Lincoln Square and see if she can provide more details about what changes were made to the projection and sound systems. I hope they kept their 35/70mm projectors.
@celboy No, it doesn’t have to do with that. I wish it would get rid of the effect. For instance the IMAX here at Lincoln Square is a floating screen and it still shows the speckle effect.
The way I understand it a floating screen is good to get a bigger screen when installing to a wall would limit the size.
From the ekran article: “Lightweight and compact construction of such frame and the ‘wrap-around’ system of installing the projection surface allow maximization of projected image size to the total available area of the wall behind the screen. The use of such screen frame is recommended in situations when the availability of the area of the wall behind the screen is limited and the client requires the maximum size cinema screen.” http://www.ekran.co/s3-cinema-screens.html
The screen at the Loews before was mounted to a wall, so I don’t think they chose a floating screen because they wanted more space used but rather because that’s the standard with Dolby Cinema screens. Maybe also to better install the Dolby speakers behind the screen.
Is the floating screen concept a way to deal with the digital laser “speckle” effect?
The way I understand it even if there is room on the sides, a floating screen cannot be masked.
http://www.ekran.co/s3-cinema-screens.html “The nature of this construction and its destination makes it impossible to equip it with screen masking.”
That’s also why a lot (most/all?) IMAX screens don’t have masking.
I share your frustration with pillarboxing. But I am glad they went with scope since more movies come out in that aspect ratio. If the screen would have been flat there’d be a lot of letterboxed shows.
It will be interesting to see how much the 3D Dolby will cost. But at least there are matinee prices for the Dolby here. Regal for instance doesn’t provide matinee prices for their 4DX.
Your point is fair – the Regal 4DX in 3D is pricier. 4DX for a 2D pic is $26.15, less than the 2D ticket at Dolby Cinema Lincoln Square. We won’t know what AMC would charge for 3D Dolby Cinema ticket until they book a 3D movie but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is higher than the Regal 4DX 3D.
I didn’t get close to the screen to see if it was a floating type but even if it is, it’s unfortunate that they chose an option that doesn’t allow for masking. Unlike other Dolby screens where the screen are installed to fill the walls from left to right, leaving no room for side masking panels, the Dolby room at Lincoln Square still has plenty of space on the sides for the panels. Lincoln Square is one of the theatres in the AMC chain that continues to mask so it’s a shame that its premium room no longer does.
I think the new Dolby here is a floating screen, so masking it isn’t possible. Correct me if I’m wrong though. From the pictures it appeared as a floating screen.
$26.49 isn’t the most expensive ticket in NYC. Regal charges $30 for 4DX 3D. Also, as a tip: on Tuesdays the price gets reduced to $17.25 for all Stubs members.
Just came from a show at the renovated and newly designated Dolby Cinema theatre. It’s no longer named the Loews theatre which is sadly appropriate because the renovations have striped the theatre of its charm and character and installed a generic black box. I’ve been going to this theatre since the mid-90s and it wasn’t a golden age cinema treasure – it was and is a big multiplex. But to the credit of the chains that built and operated it, the theatre was built with a lot more character than the typical multiplex. Unfortunately, all those features and details have been taken out of the former Loews auditorium. The golden half-dome chandelier? Gone. The elephant motifs above and below the screens and along the walls? Erased or covered up. The spacious lobby area outside the theatre has been turned into a narrow and dark corridor with low ceiling and a video wall. Since the seating capacity was cut so severely, the crowds from sold-out shows won’t necessarily be a bottleneck with the new layout but the new foyer is still needlessly claustrophobic.
Nevertheless, although I think the alterations to the physical space are a big mistake, the new Dolby projection is top-notch. The image is bright, the focus is tack sharp and noticeably improved from the old projection which tended to be on the soft side, and the screen size has been retained which means it is the biggest “regular” screen in NYC (only the IMAX screen on the 4th floor is bigger). But even here, AMC has scored an own goal in my opinion – the masking elements on the sides of the screen have been removed so the screen is now set to a fixed scope shape. Non-scope movies like The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which is the movie I saw that have an 1.85 aspect ratio, are simply projected in the middle of the screen with the sides of the screen left exposed. I had hoped that AMC would retain the screen masking elements since they were already there but it seems they are actively removing masking.
Ultimate, the Lincoln Square Dolby Cinema is no worse than any of the other three Dolby Cinema rooms in the NYC, all of which have fixed, scope screens without masking and bland, black interiors. When screening a scope movie that matches the shape of the movie, the Dolby Cinema at Lincoln Square will offer a very compelling viewing experience. The question is whether it’s worth the asking price, which at $26.49 for a evening ticket is the most expensive movie ticket in NYC – possibly the entire country – even higher than the IMAX screen at the same multiplex which is a dollar cheaper. By comparison, a evening ticket at the Dolby Cinemas at the Empire 25, 34th St and Harlem locations are $23.29, $21.99 and $18.69, respectively.
The decorated Loews auditorium’s screen dimensions are in the intro above.
Does anyone happen to know the size of the screen in the Dolby Cinema at this theater and also the previous size of the screen in Loewes auditorium prior to the refurbishment?
Seat count doesn’t equal screen size, but either way the Rockaway one has 165 seats while the Linc Square one as 290.
How is the dolby at this theater compared to the one where i live in rockaway? I know it’s bigger since it used to be the THX certified Loews auditorium and is in a higher traffic area than Rockaway since it’s in Manhattan.
kistra: No probs, you’re welcome! :–)
CF 100: Many thanks for your information!!
You can find some pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/fffernandez99/posts/10216818865053437
Someone who was there on day 1 took them.
It would be great to see some photos of the Dolby Cinema auditorium if anyone is able to take and upload them onto here.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec
The film was shot on a combination of 16mm, 35mm and 65mm (IMAX/15 perf) film, as an intentional aesthetic choice.
In an IMAX with Laser venue with a 1.43:1 screen, it would be shown in 2.39:1 “scope” ratio, except for the scenes shot using 65mm IMAX cameras, which would “open up” to 1.43:1. All images for an IMAX version of a release usually go through IMAX’s DMR (Digital Media Remastering) process, the details of which do not appear to be public, but include noise reduction and colour grading (adjustment.)
This process is done in collaboration with the filmmaker; e.g., regarding Skyfall, Roger Deakins himself posted the following online:
“I did not like the look of the IMAX dmr process, which enhances contrast and saturation, so I insisted we timed our own version. Everyone seemed quite happy with the results.”
The use of noise reduction, one imagines, would be less aggressively used or not used if the image is supposed to look coarse grained!
(“DMR” originally was to allow for “blow ups” of 35mm to 15/70 IMAX so that the image quality would be acceptable on a classic “Grand Theatre” IMAX screen.)
So, you would see a potentially “enhanced” image, see the “IMAX” scenes in full height rather than cropped to scope, as they would be in non-IMAX venues, and get the benefit of IMAX with Laser projection system (including superior black level performance than Xenon-lamp projection, and the other benefits of a purpose-built IMAX, such as confirming to their auditorium geometry so that you’re sat sufficiently close to the screen, etc.)—but obviously 16mm (!) source—or 35mm for that matter—in particular will constrain the quality achieved on screen.
Hello-
what does Lincoln Square’s new Dolby Theater have in comparison to Regal’s Union Square 4DX Theater to justify the high price increase?
Yes, also looks like price is $1 more than the standard IMAX price here (and I think the same as IMAX 3D) which I would definitely prefer over the Dolby. I imagine AMC did some market testing, but seems really high, I would say if someone wants to go the Dolby fairly often, they should just join the A List service (which would cover the ticket and is $6.49 less per month than a single adult Dolby ticket here).
Hello-
a recent post mentions that the price for a ticket for the new Dolby Theater is $3 more than at Empire 42 St. is the extra $$$ really worth it?
Its seems they lost a lot of seats. But to charge $3 more than AMC25. I don’t think its worth the trip up there.
The new Dolby has stadium seating on the balcony. Rest is regular seating. Seat count appears to be 290 according to Fandango, which is a bit more than Empire’s Dolby (219).
http://www.rereleasenews.com/2018/10/25/new-dolby-cinema-at-amc-loews-lincoln-square-now-open/
I wonder if this will be the largest Dolby Cinema in the US, as the Odeon Leicester Square will break the record for largest Dolby Cinema in the world.
Looks like the Dolby Cinema auditorium will open up today 10/25/18! A Star Is Born opens it up with its first ever showtime at 7:00pm today. According to AMC’s ticketing website at least. Hope to help open up this new auditorium sometime this weekend, bummer I can’t make it for the first day’s showtimes… Enjoy and make sure to share your experiences!
The Dolby Cinema will open tomorrow here, balcony seems to have been preserved according to Fandango.
http://www.rereleasenews.com/2018/10/24/amc-lincoln-square-dolby-cinema-to-open-tomorrow-10-25/