CF100, Your mention of the YouTube items prompted me to watch them again, not having seen them for some time, and they’re fascinating – especially the creation of the double-height foyer spaces and additional glazing. Rather like watching a beloved friend undergoing a major operation!

In 1998 the Odeon closed from 13th April to 4th August for the works – nearly four months.

I could describe the foyer prior to 1998 in detail if you would be interested – could even cure insomnia for some on this site as well!!

Lionel, I’m flattered that my site name should be so bold and striking in your response! Perhaps ought to have been blue though!

I too miss the Odeon Marble Arch in its first configuration. I was at the premiere of “Hello Dolly!” in the late ‘60s and a sustained round of applause erupted at the end of the spectacular and colourful musical as the cast list rolled and the enormous curtains billowed to a close. Also saw the '89 restoration screening of “Lawrence” there after Rank had surprisingly replaced the D150 screen with one which was less deeply curved. As you may well know, David Lean watched the restored film first in 70mm at Odeon Leicester Square and soon saw it again at Marble Arch before it opened to the public. He thought it looked brilliant at OLS but, seeing it again so soon afterwards at M/Arch, felt the desert horizons to be unacceptedly distorted and wanted the theatres switched. OLS’s commitments precluded this so Rank’s investment, so late in the day for regular 70mm., was something of a very expensive compromise. I believe other, reissued 70mm. films (including the blown up “Gone With The Wind”) followed “Lawrence” in something of a big screen season which was, regrettably, not very widely advertised.

Minutiae – As the only “stage” lighting at the 1960s Odeon Marble Arch was a three colour circuit trough with red, green and amber reflector lamps immediately above the curtain line, only the upper folds were effectively lit with the bulk of the plain fawn curtains being left dark. Rank Leisure Services Chairman, John Davis, noticed the relative gloom and requested something be done to brighten things up. The result was six Rank Strand pattern 324 2k Fresnel spot lanterns being obtained from a “recently closed Odeon” with three being mounted on each of two ledges built onto the sides of the balcony front. These lanterns were filtered with colour gels matching the lamps around the edge of the ceiling and their operation coordinated with the result that the curtains glowed beautifully thereafter.

My own best 70mm. presentation ever was “Ryan’s Daughter” at the 1962 Empire Leicester Square.

Lionel: I’ve noticed some “undocumented” features of the comment system before. The lack of any feature to edit existing posts is quite frustrating too! :–(

Still, this site is a fantastic resource.

I saw the IMDb “Dolby Atmos” listing. dts 70mm makes sense, and I see it was used for the “Dunkirk” 70mm prints, but I have no idea what equipment is still available (and working!) for 70mm engagements, and of course, 70mm prints carrying dts timecode don’t have 6-track analogue tracks. I assume the OLS is equipped for DTS 70mm, but considering the stories of old projectors being overhauled for various 70mm screenings…

In the long term, I imagine the digital sound formats on film will suffer from being obsolete proprietary systems—if film is still being projected in, say, 20 years!

Lionel: Oh! :–) I thought it was an obscure reference to Dolby Tone or similar (albeit Dolby Tone isn’t at 3756.5Hz!)

Talking of which, I assume the 70mm presentation uses a dts 70mm soundtrack?

Thanks FanaticalAboutOdeon, I hadn’t realised the entrances had been changed for the rear stalls with the wall added.

(Albeit my memory of the foyer before the 1998 refurbishment is non-existent.)

The 1998 refurbishment is the subject of a 3-part series (by Fred Fullerton) on YouTube:

Part 1

The “bare” (i.e. mostly steel structure!) upper foyer can be seen in in Part 3, the following link goes directly to that section of the video:

Part 3 – time starts at foyer

FanaticalAboutOdeon: Thank you for the update. 9 months?! How many months of work were required for the late 90s refurbishment?

Wonder if the “Studios” will remain open during this period (albeit they may well have to be closed at some point to allow the foyers to be “joined together.”)

Last time I looked, the replacement building for the OWE had yet to make it above ground level and the hotel is not due to open until 2019.

Odeon Leicester Square will close after Christmas for nine months to enable major works.

I was planning to come to London in November to see Branagh’s Murder in 70mm at the OLS but am eventually not able to travel now. Any feedback of the experience is welcome here. Was the picture steady? Well lit? Screen masking correctly set up? Sound frequency of 3756 Hz and a half reproduced at perfect level?

Happy Belated 80th Birthday to the Odeon Leicester Square yesterday.

Permission granted for 17/07604/FULL; it took a few days for the Westminster Council planning database to be updated. Wonder when the work will commence…

Sub-committee report from the 24th October is available in the main planning application documents, no objections, Draft Decision Notice is for permission to be granted. Expect approval to be issued tomorrow.

OLS is unique in having both white and silver screens to provide the best possible screen surface for both 2D and 3D product. The screen speakers are mounted on wheeled trolleys and are thus common to both screens; the 2D screen frame can be wheeled to the rear stage area when the 3D screen and frame are in use as these are both stored in the theatre’s fly tower above the stage and are simply lowered into position when required. Any movement of the screen forward of the proscenium arch would, of course, preclude the facility.

According to Vue’s website, Vue Westfield London and Vue Westfield Stratford City are the 1st and 3rd highest grossing cinemas in the UK. I wonder what’s the 2nd—is there a list somewhere?

They are both a few miles from the edge of Central London and can easily be accessed by tube from there. Vue Westfield London is probably about as close to the West End as a 20 screen “megaplex” will ever be built!

They are both listed as flagship sites by Vue but IMO Vue Westfield London is very much a run of the mill multiplex.

Is this theater the busiest in Europe as the AMC Empire 25 is the busiest in North America?