Evolution of seating capacity and screen numbering at the Palace which opened in 1911 as a music hall and cinema with 1500 seats:
In 1974, an additional small theatre is added behind the stalls of the big one. It is called the Studio Palace and the big one is therefore referred to as the Grand Palace. Access to the stalls was through the main entrance in the Pont d'Avroy street and access to the balconies was by the rear of the building on the Place St-Paul. Each entrance had its cash desks. The rear entrance now also serves the Studio Palace.
In 1977, the Grand Palace is split in 5. With the Studio Palace, it is now a 6-screen multiplex where screens 1-4 are accessible by the Pont d'Avroy street (main entrance) while screens 5-6 are accessible by the rear of the building on Place St-Paul.
Screen #1, on the ground floor, with approximately 250 seats.
Screen #2, on the ground floor, with approximately 150 seats.
Screen #3, on the ground floor, with approximately 150 seats.
Screen #4, located above screen #1, with 255 seats and stadium seating.
Screen #5, on the ground floor, is the former Studio Palace with approximately 180 seats.
Screen #6 is an extension from the upper balcony of the Grand Palace and has 628 seats. Rear half has stadium seating, front half is on a sloped floor.
In 1986, three screens are added and the entrance is now exclusively by the Pont d'Avroy street for all 9 screens:
Screen #1 is renumbered #4.
Screen #4 is renumbered #5.
Screen #5 is renumbered #7.
Screen #6 is renumbered #9.
New screen #1 with 113 seats, stadium seating and a 1.85 screen was built in former apartments on an upper floor of the house containing the Palace main entrance.
New screen #6 with about 72 seats is built in the basement in old rest room space.
New screen #8 with about 85 seats and stadium seating, is built in unused space on a former balcony level.
In 1989, screens #5 and #9 are refurbished with bigger screens, a 70mm projector and a THX sound system. The seating capacity of #9 is reduced from 628 to 589 to make room for a new projection booth at the rear of the auditorium.
In the first decade of the new millenium, screens #2, #3, #6 and #8 are closed. Screens 2-3, which were alongside each other, are torn down to make room for new and bigger toilets (with wheelchair access) and concession stands. In all auditoria, seating capacity is reduced after the installation of new wider seats on deeper rows.
Screen #4 is renumbered #2. Screen #5 is renumbered #3. Screen #7 is renumbered #4. Screen #9 is renumbered #5.
Today, the complex only uses digital projection. According to the Kinepolis website, seating capacity and digital options are as follows:
In my opinion, screens offering the best sightline are #1 for 1.85 and #3 for scope. The most disappointing screen is #5 because of its small size versus auditorium volume.
In the photos section, I posted pictures done in November 2019 when I went to the concert of film scores composed by John Williams and Hans Zimmer.
In its last few years of operation as a cinema, it was an example of premium theatre in the hands of people who know nothing about cinema and have no idea on how to conduct such a venue. I remember seeing Superman 2 and The Empire strikes back in a crowded auditorium when I was a kid. Then on the other hand they showed a bunch of Chinese karate comedies with Jackie Chan, which I went to see on Saturday afternoons with a school mate and there were about 100 spectators, on a Saturday matinee!
In both THX auditoria, the baffle is visible because of the absence of screen masking and curtains. You just need to pass your head between the baffle and the screen to see the speakers.
I doubt they replaced the cross-over cards. Since the mid-eighties, the Palace belongs to the Kinepolis Group which was also the parent company of Decatron, a theatre installation contractor licensed to install, certify and re-certify THX cinemas in Belgium. So they did what they wanted with it. They however ceased advertising THX in this cinema just a few years after it was launched.
Recently I spoke over the phone with one of the former projectionists. He told me that, already several years ago, they threw away everything that was in the booths when the complex went all digital. Film projectors and JBL amplifiers (and BGW amplifiers for some of the screens) are gone. However, at least in the main auditorium, the JBL speaker installation from 1989 remains, still bi-amplified of course but with new hardware in the booth.
It has a good slight curve indeed. They installed this screen in 1989 for their new 70mm / THX installation. They were limited by the auditorium height so they filled the auditorium width as much as possible by putting a screen wider than the 1 x 2.39 proportions it should have had, and they filled it with both anamorphic 35mm and 70mm. This causes a portion of the image height to be cut off. While the loss is still acceptable in Cinemascope, it is excessive in 70mm where I estimate the loss to be about 15% of the image height. Furthermore, the projector was not perfectly aligned and the image spilled a bit to the left of the screen. To avoid seeing this, you had to seat in the center of a row, or on the right.
The “Liège Palace” (that is its original full name) was the main cinema of my childhood.
It was a single-screen cinema equipped with the original genuine Cinemascope (2.55 aspect ratio) and 4-track magnetic sound in the fifties. Back then, it was a major theatre in the country, though not located in the capital, and had stage shows preceding the projection of the feature film. It belonged to a joint venture of independent exhibitors, and was home to many 20th Century Fox super-productions.
Much later it became the property of the Defawe family who split it into a 6-screen multiplex in the mid-seventies. The result was poor. Small screens and mono sound only. The largest auditorium had 628 seats and got equipped with the Rank optical stereo sound system. In the mid-eighties it was sold to the Claeys family who added 3 screens in unused premises, enlarged all existing screens by removing the screen masking and curtains. Dolby Stereo was installed in all theatres. In 1989, the largest auditorium and one of the 2 mid-size ones (255 seats) were equipped with 70mm and THX Sound System. In order to create a new projection booth at the back of the bigger auditorium (instead of keystone) for their new 70mm screen, the seating capacity was reduced to 589.
Because of the lack of masking and curtains, the THX baffle wall of the main auditorium was visible, and the 4 JBL subwoofers appeared under the screen. Along with them were 3 JBL 4675 systems with double bass cabinets (that makes 4 woofers and 1 tweeter per channel) for the left, center and right channels. There were no intermediate central left and central right speakers, as they were no longer needed for Dolby Stereo mixes, even in 70mm. The surround speakers were JBL 8330 (6 on each side wall and 4 on the rear wall). In the booth was a new Philips-Kinoton DP75 projector with platters. When showing a film in 70mm, the ads and trailers were shown on a separate projector, an old Cinemeccanica. The sound rack contained a Dolby CP200 processor with magnetic preamplifier, accessory unit to handle split surround effects on some 70mm films and SRA5 decoder for optical Dolby SR. The B-chain consisted of the THX 3417 crossover-monitor and 8 JBL 6290 amplifiers.
In the smaller THX auditorium, announcing 70mm in Dolby Stereo was a bit of a rip-off, as the booth was only equipped with a Dolby CP55 processor which cannot handle 6-channel Dolby Stereo mixes from 70mm films. It can only playback non-Dolby 4-channel sound in the old 35mm Cinemascope configuration. So, here, the sound would be driven from the magnetic preamplifier to the 4-channel input of the CP55, therefore losing the sub-bass effects (and optional split surround effects) from tracks #2 and #4, then played without Dolby expansion which resulted in audible hiss. There were 3 JBL 4675 speakers and 1 subwoofer behind the screen. The surrounds consisted of JBL 8330, 4 on each side wall and 2 on the rear wall. They were powered by 5 JBL 6290 amplifiers. The projector was a Cinemeccanica V8 with Kinoton platters. This second THX auditorium was also equipped in Dolby SR.
The first film shown in 70mm was a special screening of Francis Coppola’s Tucker in spring 1989. As of September 1989, regular first runs started with Batman, followed by The Abyss then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In 1990, Die Hard 2 played in 70mm as well. Other 70mm engagements were brief re-runs of Cobra (with Stallone) and The Bear (from Jean-Jacques Annaud). Special screenings of the restored Lawrence of Arabia and Spartacus also took place. And that was it with 70mm.
The foyer was elegantly appointed, with red carpet and walls, and an attractive bar for refreshments – including alcohol – and popcorn. Despite the imperfections (that only a professional or an enlightened amateur would usually notice), the new technology stroke the right chord with the public and boosted attendances. The Palace became the main cinema in town and attracted crowds from outside. The new front however, covered with white walls and tacky fake gold, contrasted with the elegance of the rest of the street, one of the main posh streets of the city, with shops for Godiva chocolate, good restaurants, Cartier jeweller, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent retail (since then however, the street dramatically declined in the 21st century).
In the nineties, the Palace was an early adopter of digital sound and Cliffhanger (with Stallone) was the first film shown in Dolby Digital using a DA10 decoder connected to the main auditorium’s CP200 processor. DTS was installed as well.
At the beginning of the new millenium, it was entirely refurbished and 4 theatres out of 9 were closed. In the 5 remaining ones, seating capacity was reduced by replacing the old seats with new larger ones, and increasing the row depth. The front of the building received a new decoration, very common but at least no longer tacky. Attendances had dropped dramatically after the opening of the 16-screen Kinepolis on the outskirts of the city, and I myself hadn’t come to the Palace for years until I came back in 2002 for a second viewing of Attack of the Clones in the main auditorium, after having seen it at Kinepolis. I noticed a sound quality issue typically indicating worn-out tweeters on the screen channels.
Later, the 70mm projector of the bigger auditorium was replaced with a 2K digital projector and XDC Digital Cinema server. I saw The Day after Tomorrow in 2004, the image was impeccable. This was my last visit to the Palace until 2019.
I paid a visit to the main auditorium in November 2019 out of curiosity, and found it totally unattractive. The sound was good though, the tweeter issue having been fixed although they still use the original THX installation (no longer certified) from 1989. The largest auditorium of the complex now has 450 seats (see my pictures added to the Photos section). All auditoria were refurbished with black color (or dark grey) as the only colour for floor, seats, walls and ceiling.
Opened in 1997. Largest theatre has 700 seats and a 24x10m screen. All theatres were certified THX and had a Dolby CP500 processor with Dolby Digital built-in. Cinemeccanica V5 projectors everywhere except in the two 70mm theatres which had V8: the largest one and one of the smaller for move-overs. The 70mm theatres also had DTS digital sound. Was 70mm ever projected here? I don’t remember. Possibly a special screening of the restored Vertigo. Occasionally, they would lend an auditorium to external organizers for special events. I remember having attended a Microsoft event for software developers about twenty years ago. Today, it’s all digital and they occasionally do screenings of MET opera.
I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade here in 1989 when the complex was still called Carollywood, the name it had when it opened in 1986 (or 1987). The largest auditorium of the complex had THX sound system, the first THX installation in Belgium.
I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in 70mm here in 1981. The foyer and auditorium were covered with a dark blue carpet (both floor and walls). Seats were in white leather which I found horrible.
I’ve seen the following films in this cinema: The Jewel of the Nile, The Goonies, Fatal Attraction, Far and Away (in 70mm) and 1492. Now to clarify a few points:
The black and white picture posted by CSWalczak shows the original auditorium before it was multiplexed in the seventies. It had two balconies. When they made a multiplex, they split the original auditorium in two levels, by extending the first balcony forward. The former first balcony is now used as stalls for what is left of the original auditorium, while the former stalls “downstairs” were used for the additional new screens. In the modified auditorium, at the beginning, the new screen (in cinemascope format) was smaller than the current floating screen seen on the most recent pictures but it had screen masking and curtains.
In the 1992 renovation, they got rid of the masking and curtains and benefitted from the free space on the sides to install a much bigger screen which is the current screen. There is still available space on the sides for masking and curtains but they can’t do this because passageway must remain to get to the exit doors behind the screens (and it was no longer in any circuit’s policy to have tabs anyway). When it reopened in 1992, I visited the booth with the chief projectionist. All booths had the new Dolby CP65 processor and used Altec Lansing amplifiers and speakers. Although it was not a THX installation, the main auditorium used the THX-certified Altec A10 speaker systems with active bi-amplification behind the screen. Also, the main auditorium plus one smaller one (for move-overs) had been equipped for 70mm. If I remember correctly, they used a DP70 projector in the big one and a DP75 in the small one.
The original name Eldorado was superseded by the new name UGC De Brouckère when taken over by the French circuit UGC which typically uses the company name plus location name as big circuits do, but aficionados usually refer to the main auditorium as the Grand Eldorado in order to distinct it from the rest.
I believe these surround speakers aren’t 8330 because their enclosure is rather rectangular. I lost interest in the Empire since they turned it into an Imax theatre but looked at your Superscreen pictures out of solidarity for your own obsessive-compulsiveness. :–) My case however is improving a little bit over time, as I no longer count the seats of the theatre I’m into. I remember having counted those of the Empire in 1993, because different sources mentioned different figures.
I used graphic software to strongly enhance the light of the picture and see the surround speakers but wasn’t able to identify the model. Well, never mind, I must get rid of these obsessive-compulsive habits ;–) .
Best wishes to all for 2020. May this new year be outrageously filled with festoon curtains, concealed lighting and adjustable screen masking!
I will propose again a gathering for some us who may be willing to know each other in real life around a drink or lunch in the West End. However I don’t know when I’ll be in London again. This site lacks a discussion board where we could discuss things that aren’t related to a specific theatre.
@CF100
I obviously agree with your comment about how wonderful it looks. Compared to today’s standards, it would make a premium experience when it comes to scenery. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see a film there.
In the above-mentioned film, we also see the projection booth sound rack. It contains a Dolby CP65 processor along with a Dolby DA20 converter, so I would assume that the Odeon Haymarket was equipped for Dolby Digital around 1994 and that the amps and speakers were replaced with new ones because of the stringent demand of the new sound format(s). Does anyone know which speakers (make, model, quantity – for both screen and surround) the Odeon Haymarket had during its last years of operation?
I’m sure the regulars of this site already saw this, but I’ll post the link anyway for archival purposes (short film made to introduce the theatre in 1998):
I never had the opportunity to see a film there, but my father went twice in the eighties, to see Altered States in 70mm and A Handful of Dust in 35mm. He said the sound was excellent. Though the quality was partially due to good Dolby Stereo recordings, he seemed to say that the auditorium sound system and acoustics were extremely good. Do some of you remember what equipment was in use, and in which of the two auditoria these films played?
As I’m not a regular follower of this OLS page, it is only now that I read about the passing of fellow contributor James Bettley. I greatly enjoyed some of his extremely detailed posts. Let me extend my condolences to those here who knew him personally.
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was part of the Odeon West End cinema sign.
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was the Odeon West End cinema sign.
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was the Odeon West End cinema sign.
Evolution of seating capacity and screen numbering at the Palace which opened in 1911 as a music hall and cinema with 1500 seats:
In 1974, an additional small theatre is added behind the stalls of the big one. It is called the Studio Palace and the big one is therefore referred to as the Grand Palace. Access to the stalls was through the main entrance in the Pont d'Avroy street and access to the balconies was by the rear of the building on the Place St-Paul. Each entrance had its cash desks. The rear entrance now also serves the Studio Palace.
In 1977, the Grand Palace is split in 5. With the Studio Palace, it is now a 6-screen multiplex where screens 1-4 are accessible by the Pont d'Avroy street (main entrance) while screens 5-6 are accessible by the rear of the building on Place St-Paul.
Screen #1, on the ground floor, with approximately 250 seats. Screen #2, on the ground floor, with approximately 150 seats. Screen #3, on the ground floor, with approximately 150 seats. Screen #4, located above screen #1, with 255 seats and stadium seating. Screen #5, on the ground floor, is the former Studio Palace with approximately 180 seats. Screen #6 is an extension from the upper balcony of the Grand Palace and has 628 seats. Rear half has stadium seating, front half is on a sloped floor.
In 1986, three screens are added and the entrance is now exclusively by the Pont d'Avroy street for all 9 screens:
Screen #1 is renumbered #4. Screen #4 is renumbered #5. Screen #5 is renumbered #7. Screen #6 is renumbered #9. New screen #1 with 113 seats, stadium seating and a 1.85 screen was built in former apartments on an upper floor of the house containing the Palace main entrance. New screen #6 with about 72 seats is built in the basement in old rest room space. New screen #8 with about 85 seats and stadium seating, is built in unused space on a former balcony level.
In 1989, screens #5 and #9 are refurbished with bigger screens, a 70mm projector and a THX sound system. The seating capacity of #9 is reduced from 628 to 589 to make room for a new projection booth at the rear of the auditorium.
In the first decade of the new millenium, screens #2, #3, #6 and #8 are closed. Screens 2-3, which were alongside each other, are torn down to make room for new and bigger toilets (with wheelchair access) and concession stands. In all auditoria, seating capacity is reduced after the installation of new wider seats on deeper rows.
Screen #4 is renumbered #2.
Screen #5 is renumbered #3.
Screen #7 is renumbered #4.
Screen #9 is renumbered #5.
Today, the complex only uses digital projection. According to the Kinepolis website, seating capacity and digital options are as follows:
Screen #1: 110 seats, Dolby 5.1.
Screen #2: 150 seats, Dolby 5.1, 3D, HFR.
Screen #3: 179 seats, Dolby 5.1.
Screen #4: 125 seats, Dolby 5.1, 3D.
Screen #5: 450 seats, Dolby 5.1.
In my opinion, screens offering the best sightline are #1 for 1.85 and #3 for scope. The most disappointing screen is #5 because of its small size versus auditorium volume.
In the photos section, I posted pictures done in November 2019 when I went to the concert of film scores composed by John Williams and Hans Zimmer.
In its last few years of operation as a cinema, it was an example of premium theatre in the hands of people who know nothing about cinema and have no idea on how to conduct such a venue. I remember seeing Superman 2 and The Empire strikes back in a crowded auditorium when I was a kid. Then on the other hand they showed a bunch of Chinese karate comedies with Jackie Chan, which I went to see on Saturday afternoons with a school mate and there were about 100 spectators, on a Saturday matinee!
@ CF100
In both THX auditoria, the baffle is visible because of the absence of screen masking and curtains. You just need to pass your head between the baffle and the screen to see the speakers.
I doubt they replaced the cross-over cards. Since the mid-eighties, the Palace belongs to the Kinepolis Group which was also the parent company of Decatron, a theatre installation contractor licensed to install, certify and re-certify THX cinemas in Belgium. So they did what they wanted with it. They however ceased advertising THX in this cinema just a few years after it was launched.
Recently I spoke over the phone with one of the former projectionists. He told me that, already several years ago, they threw away everything that was in the booths when the complex went all digital. Film projectors and JBL amplifiers (and BGW amplifiers for some of the screens) are gone. However, at least in the main auditorium, the JBL speaker installation from 1989 remains, still bi-amplified of course but with new hardware in the booth.
I was just looking for plans of the Empire on Google and came across this architect project from 2017:
https://fathomarchitects.com/projects/the-empire-leicester-square/
It has a good slight curve indeed. They installed this screen in 1989 for their new 70mm / THX installation. They were limited by the auditorium height so they filled the auditorium width as much as possible by putting a screen wider than the 1 x 2.39 proportions it should have had, and they filled it with both anamorphic 35mm and 70mm. This causes a portion of the image height to be cut off. While the loss is still acceptable in Cinemascope, it is excessive in 70mm where I estimate the loss to be about 15% of the image height. Furthermore, the projector was not perfectly aligned and the image spilled a bit to the left of the screen. To avoid seeing this, you had to seat in the center of a row, or on the right.
The “Liège Palace” (that is its original full name) was the main cinema of my childhood.
It was a single-screen cinema equipped with the original genuine Cinemascope (2.55 aspect ratio) and 4-track magnetic sound in the fifties. Back then, it was a major theatre in the country, though not located in the capital, and had stage shows preceding the projection of the feature film. It belonged to a joint venture of independent exhibitors, and was home to many 20th Century Fox super-productions.
Much later it became the property of the Defawe family who split it into a 6-screen multiplex in the mid-seventies. The result was poor. Small screens and mono sound only. The largest auditorium had 628 seats and got equipped with the Rank optical stereo sound system. In the mid-eighties it was sold to the Claeys family who added 3 screens in unused premises, enlarged all existing screens by removing the screen masking and curtains. Dolby Stereo was installed in all theatres. In 1989, the largest auditorium and one of the 2 mid-size ones (255 seats) were equipped with 70mm and THX Sound System. In order to create a new projection booth at the back of the bigger auditorium (instead of keystone) for their new 70mm screen, the seating capacity was reduced to 589.
Because of the lack of masking and curtains, the THX baffle wall of the main auditorium was visible, and the 4 JBL subwoofers appeared under the screen. Along with them were 3 JBL 4675 systems with double bass cabinets (that makes 4 woofers and 1 tweeter per channel) for the left, center and right channels. There were no intermediate central left and central right speakers, as they were no longer needed for Dolby Stereo mixes, even in 70mm. The surround speakers were JBL 8330 (6 on each side wall and 4 on the rear wall). In the booth was a new Philips-Kinoton DP75 projector with platters. When showing a film in 70mm, the ads and trailers were shown on a separate projector, an old Cinemeccanica. The sound rack contained a Dolby CP200 processor with magnetic preamplifier, accessory unit to handle split surround effects on some 70mm films and SRA5 decoder for optical Dolby SR. The B-chain consisted of the THX 3417 crossover-monitor and 8 JBL 6290 amplifiers.
In the smaller THX auditorium, announcing 70mm in Dolby Stereo was a bit of a rip-off, as the booth was only equipped with a Dolby CP55 processor which cannot handle 6-channel Dolby Stereo mixes from 70mm films. It can only playback non-Dolby 4-channel sound in the old 35mm Cinemascope configuration. So, here, the sound would be driven from the magnetic preamplifier to the 4-channel input of the CP55, therefore losing the sub-bass effects (and optional split surround effects) from tracks #2 and #4, then played without Dolby expansion which resulted in audible hiss. There were 3 JBL 4675 speakers and 1 subwoofer behind the screen. The surrounds consisted of JBL 8330, 4 on each side wall and 2 on the rear wall. They were powered by 5 JBL 6290 amplifiers. The projector was a Cinemeccanica V8 with Kinoton platters. This second THX auditorium was also equipped in Dolby SR.
The first film shown in 70mm was a special screening of Francis Coppola’s Tucker in spring 1989. As of September 1989, regular first runs started with Batman, followed by The Abyss then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In 1990, Die Hard 2 played in 70mm as well. Other 70mm engagements were brief re-runs of Cobra (with Stallone) and The Bear (from Jean-Jacques Annaud). Special screenings of the restored Lawrence of Arabia and Spartacus also took place. And that was it with 70mm.
The foyer was elegantly appointed, with red carpet and walls, and an attractive bar for refreshments – including alcohol – and popcorn. Despite the imperfections (that only a professional or an enlightened amateur would usually notice), the new technology stroke the right chord with the public and boosted attendances. The Palace became the main cinema in town and attracted crowds from outside. The new front however, covered with white walls and tacky fake gold, contrasted with the elegance of the rest of the street, one of the main posh streets of the city, with shops for Godiva chocolate, good restaurants, Cartier jeweller, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent retail (since then however, the street dramatically declined in the 21st century).
In the nineties, the Palace was an early adopter of digital sound and Cliffhanger (with Stallone) was the first film shown in Dolby Digital using a DA10 decoder connected to the main auditorium’s CP200 processor. DTS was installed as well.
At the beginning of the new millenium, it was entirely refurbished and 4 theatres out of 9 were closed. In the 5 remaining ones, seating capacity was reduced by replacing the old seats with new larger ones, and increasing the row depth. The front of the building received a new decoration, very common but at least no longer tacky. Attendances had dropped dramatically after the opening of the 16-screen Kinepolis on the outskirts of the city, and I myself hadn’t come to the Palace for years until I came back in 2002 for a second viewing of Attack of the Clones in the main auditorium, after having seen it at Kinepolis. I noticed a sound quality issue typically indicating worn-out tweeters on the screen channels.
Later, the 70mm projector of the bigger auditorium was replaced with a 2K digital projector and XDC Digital Cinema server. I saw The Day after Tomorrow in 2004, the image was impeccable. This was my last visit to the Palace until 2019.
I paid a visit to the main auditorium in November 2019 out of curiosity, and found it totally unattractive. The sound was good though, the tweeter issue having been fixed although they still use the original THX installation (no longer certified) from 1989. The largest auditorium of the complex now has 450 seats (see my pictures added to the Photos section). All auditoria were refurbished with black color (or dark grey) as the only colour for floor, seats, walls and ceiling.
Opened in 1997. Largest theatre has 700 seats and a 24x10m screen. All theatres were certified THX and had a Dolby CP500 processor with Dolby Digital built-in. Cinemeccanica V5 projectors everywhere except in the two 70mm theatres which had V8: the largest one and one of the smaller for move-overs. The 70mm theatres also had DTS digital sound. Was 70mm ever projected here? I don’t remember. Possibly a special screening of the restored Vertigo. Occasionally, they would lend an auditorium to external organizers for special events. I remember having attended a Microsoft event for software developers about twenty years ago. Today, it’s all digital and they occasionally do screenings of MET opera.
I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade here in 1989 when the complex was still called Carollywood, the name it had when it opened in 1986 (or 1987). The largest auditorium of the complex had THX sound system, the first THX installation in Belgium.
I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade here in 1989. The screen didn’t have curtains, but it had THX sound system.
I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in 70mm here in 1981. The foyer and auditorium were covered with a dark blue carpet (both floor and walls). Seats were in white leather which I found horrible.
I’ve seen the following films in this cinema: The Jewel of the Nile, The Goonies, Fatal Attraction, Far and Away (in 70mm) and 1492. Now to clarify a few points:
The black and white picture posted by CSWalczak shows the original auditorium before it was multiplexed in the seventies. It had two balconies. When they made a multiplex, they split the original auditorium in two levels, by extending the first balcony forward. The former first balcony is now used as stalls for what is left of the original auditorium, while the former stalls “downstairs” were used for the additional new screens. In the modified auditorium, at the beginning, the new screen (in cinemascope format) was smaller than the current floating screen seen on the most recent pictures but it had screen masking and curtains.
In the 1992 renovation, they got rid of the masking and curtains and benefitted from the free space on the sides to install a much bigger screen which is the current screen. There is still available space on the sides for masking and curtains but they can’t do this because passageway must remain to get to the exit doors behind the screens (and it was no longer in any circuit’s policy to have tabs anyway). When it reopened in 1992, I visited the booth with the chief projectionist. All booths had the new Dolby CP65 processor and used Altec Lansing amplifiers and speakers. Although it was not a THX installation, the main auditorium used the THX-certified Altec A10 speaker systems with active bi-amplification behind the screen. Also, the main auditorium plus one smaller one (for move-overs) had been equipped for 70mm. If I remember correctly, they used a DP70 projector in the big one and a DP75 in the small one.
The original name Eldorado was superseded by the new name UGC De Brouckère when taken over by the French circuit UGC which typically uses the company name plus location name as big circuits do, but aficionados usually refer to the main auditorium as the Grand Eldorado in order to distinct it from the rest.
I believe these surround speakers aren’t 8330 because their enclosure is rather rectangular. I lost interest in the Empire since they turned it into an Imax theatre but looked at your Superscreen pictures out of solidarity for your own obsessive-compulsiveness. :–) My case however is improving a little bit over time, as I no longer count the seats of the theatre I’m into. I remember having counted those of the Empire in 1993, because different sources mentioned different figures.
On his comprehensive site https://www.in70mm.com, Thomas Hauerslev published an article about the ABC Shaftesbury Avenue with informations and pictures dating from the nineties: https://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/1998/55/shaftsbury/index.htm
I asked Thomas about the speaker system in use back then, but he had no recollection.
This is the introductory page to his articles about his visit to West End cinemas in the early nineties: https://www.in70mm.com/news/2015/london/index.htm
And here is the link to his picture gallery with two more pictures of the ABC at the bottom: https://www.in70mm.com/news/2015/london/gallery/index.htm
I used graphic software to strongly enhance the light of the picture and see the surround speakers but wasn’t able to identify the model. Well, never mind, I must get rid of these obsessive-compulsive habits ;–) .
Best wishes to all for 2020. May this new year be outrageously filled with festoon curtains, concealed lighting and adjustable screen masking!
I will propose again a gathering for some us who may be willing to know each other in real life around a drink or lunch in the West End. However I don’t know when I’ll be in London again. This site lacks a discussion board where we could discuss things that aren’t related to a specific theatre.
@CF100 I obviously agree with your comment about how wonderful it looks. Compared to today’s standards, it would make a premium experience when it comes to scenery. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see a film there.
In the above-mentioned film, we also see the projection booth sound rack. It contains a Dolby CP65 processor along with a Dolby DA20 converter, so I would assume that the Odeon Haymarket was equipped for Dolby Digital around 1994 and that the amps and speakers were replaced with new ones because of the stringent demand of the new sound format(s). Does anyone know which speakers (make, model, quantity – for both screen and surround) the Odeon Haymarket had during its last years of operation?
I’m sure the regulars of this site already saw this, but I’ll post the link anyway for archival purposes (short film made to introduce the theatre in 1998):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Z6EiLBGpM
Thank you for posting this great picture, Howard.
I never had the opportunity to see a film there, but my father went twice in the eighties, to see Altered States in 70mm and A Handful of Dust in 35mm. He said the sound was excellent. Though the quality was partially due to good Dolby Stereo recordings, he seemed to say that the auditorium sound system and acoustics were extremely good. Do some of you remember what equipment was in use, and in which of the two auditoria these films played?
Photo album on Flicker when it was 2 screens :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcinemaphotos/albums/72157603446610536
As I’m not a regular follower of this OLS page, it is only now that I read about the passing of fellow contributor James Bettley. I greatly enjoyed some of his extremely detailed posts. Let me extend my condolences to those here who knew him personally.
More info and pictures of the auditoriums here:
http://occinema.com/2007/08/30/rancho-niguel/#more-108
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was part of the Odeon West End cinema sign.
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was the Odeon West End cinema sign.
I just posted my first film on YouTube. This is a Super 8mm film I shot in 1986 and 1988 showing fronts of West end cinemas (including this one) and theatres :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnXG39F6vM
My description on YouTube : Old silent 8mm film showing fronts of West End cinemas and theatres, made with two different cameras and film stocks in 1986 and 1988. Bad quality due to age. The close-up of 70mm advertisement for “a winning double bill” was at the Prince Charles cinema for a re-run of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The close-up of THX Sound System advertisement was at the Warner cinema. The close-up of the “West End” words was the Odeon West End cinema sign.