El Capitan Theatre

6838 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90028

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exit
exit on October 22, 2007 at 9:46 pm

It’s a kind of soap bubbles. Very very light, they burst on contact and they’re gone. Disney uses it in the Holiday Fireworks at Disneyland. Just like a rain effect, the stuff shoots upward, then breaks up and scatters as it falls. If you look carefully you can see where it shoots from. This is an easy way to create a goosebump inducing effect, like blasting confetti, sparklers, or streamers. Pretty much every stage show at the El Capitan uses some form of this, except the sparklers and snow don’t require any cleanup.

silver
silver on October 22, 2007 at 9:05 pm

When Chronicles of Narnia was playing, during the pre-show presentation, I remember the El Capitan had “snow” fall from the ceiling over the main floor. And with the theatrical lighting it looked very impressive.

Anyone know did they did the effect? The “snow” never reached the floor (at least nothing fell on me in my seat’s location), so I don’t think it was real man-made snow.
Maybe tiny particles of dry ice that completely evaporate while falling? (I’m assuming some standard theatrical showcraft technique)

terrywade
terrywade on August 26, 2007 at 10:42 am

Thanks for some history on the CineMiracle system. I am so glad I got to see all the 3 proj Cinerama films in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theatre and some at the Warner Hollywood. At least like the El Captian these theatres are still around. Now lets get someone with a lot of $$$ and buy the Warner Hollywood from the Formans at Pacific Theatres and put back in Cinerama/ Todd AO and show all the 70mm roadshows with new prints for the out of town tourists that go by the chained up Warner. What a place for Cinema history. The tourists have money to spend in Hollywood and are tired of what is out on the streets of Hollywood in 2007. Bring back the 50’s experience for a new generation that is getting bored staying at home watching DVD’S. Bring on the Cinerama Pink curtains and put in the largest curved screen in the world in Hollywood. The out of town tourist crowd walks past the Warner Hollywood most don’t even go down to the Cinerama Dome complex or even know about the Dome Theatre on Sunset Blvd.

veyoung52
veyoung52 on August 25, 2007 at 7:08 pm

sorry about that last snip of this posting…

Terry: “Cinerama Stanley Warner was so upset that someone came along ‘National General’ and made a better Cinerama type system.”

That began way back in history. In brief: originally, the patents for the CineMiracle camera optical system were offered to Cinerama, Inc. which didn’t have the $ to pay (this was before the C'rama Inc, C'rama Prod., & SW-Cinerama trio was formed). On the projection side, R. McCullough of Nat'Gen'l who held the patent for a CineMiracle mirror-type projection had borrowed Act 2 of “This Is Cinerama” to run his projector tests. All was happy and Cinerama wasn’t too concerned about a future rival when, at the LA preem of “Cinerama Holiday,” Louis deRochemont, who had produced “C..Holiday,” got into a shouting match between the C'rama folks and the Nat'l Gen'l people and decided to take his next project over to the CineMiracle camp, claiming that the latter process was superior to what Cinerama could offer. This project is what eventually became “Windjammer.” When Cinerama’s 4th outing “Search for Paradise” tanked at the boxoffice, and “South Seas Adventure” was not yet ready for release, everybody concerned kissed and made up, and petitioned the Dept. of Justice to allow leased Cinerama houses to run non-Cinerama films, namly the CineMiracle “Windjammer” now “presented in Cinerama;” and over the next few years Cinerama incorporated a lot of CineMiracle’s innovations, particuarly on the projection side.
As for your next item, “…people brought the new DVD and didnt know about the preshow music,” in the Ziegfeld Theatre pages there’s a post about one customer at the “Lawrence” showing last year who complained to the
manager during the overture that the sound was on but there was no picture.

veyoung52
veyoung52 on August 25, 2007 at 7:06 pm

to the
manager during the overture that the sound was on but there was no picture.

terrywade
terrywade on August 25, 2007 at 6:21 pm

Veyoung. I heard the Cinerama people when they bought out the CineMiracle system destroyed most of the photos of the 3 or 4 USA installations. You never see any photos of the CineMiracle curtains or screen anywhere around. You can see some photos of the CM booth setup in old Boxoffice mags. Can you imagine the El Capitan/ Paramount Hollywood from it’s 70mm Roadshow days with a big wrap around curved screen. The El Cap doesn’t seem as wide or deep as the guys across the street at the Graumens Chinese Hollywood. The only way they can do it is start the big curve more on the stage then bring out a little to the sides. I hear from a friend Ted from THS he saw the CineMiracle set up at the Chinese in 1958 and it was so big and curved he said that it took along time just for the curtains to open. Must have looked nice. Someone has photos; one of these days they will turn up. Cinerama Stanley Warner was so upset that someone came along ‘National General’ and made a better Cinerama type system. To bad they ran out of money and had to sell out fast with only one film.‘Windjammer'ended up at most Cinerama Theatres after the CineMiracle limited run. In off Disney times the El Capitan needs to run a 70mm week of films and curve the screen a little. Bring back the Roadshow days for a new generation to see. Gone are the days of 6 Track Mag Sound, Intermissions, Programs, and Pre show music on the film track with Exit music. I can’t believe the people at Sony just released a DVD of Columbia’s 'Funny Girl’ taken from the Roadshow print I guess; and they go and put 3 or 4 minutes of BLACK screen over the new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix open Overture. Why didn’t they put in some curtains at the start of the video and open them like they did when the movie played at the theatres. I know a lot of people bought the new DVD and didn’t know about the pre show music open and tried to return the DVD saying it was bad. No picture but had sound at the top. Wake up Sony! Go out and film some Theatre curtains (If you can still find some) and re do the opening on some of your roadshow Columbia prints to video. At least the new younger crowd that buys a DVD can see what went on in the 50’s and 60’s In the Roadshow Theatres like the El Capitan. I will never forget the time I saw ‘Funny Girl’ on the new big curved D-150 screen down the street at the Egyptian. I think It was a 70mm scope blowup and looked and sounded great.

haineshisway
haineshisway on August 25, 2007 at 1:43 pm

Memory playing tricks then – thanks for the info. It still didn’t seem to come close to the excitement I felt at Cinerama, though.

veyoung52
veyoung52 on August 25, 2007 at 11:58 am

Three projectors…had to have 2 join lines. One join line means two projectors, and you could have seen that theatrically the same year in San Diego in “Thrillarama Adventure,” which, believe me, was singularly unimpressive.

haineshisway
haineshisway on August 25, 2007 at 11:47 am

I saw Windjammer at the Chinese – I’m sure my memory is playing tricks on me, but I could swear there was only ONE join line instead of two like Cinerama. I’m sure that’s must mis-memory, though. I don’t remember caring for Windjammer very much or thinking it that impressive. For me, impressive was Seven Wonders Of The World, which I saw down the street at the Warner Cinerama around the same time.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on August 25, 2007 at 10:59 am

I think Terry’s recent comment refers to the El Capitan in its pre-restoration years, as the Paramount. A photo of its exterior is depicted here:

View link

I’m not in Los Angeles, but there used to be a display of photos from when El Capitan was the Paramount (including the above photo) outside the theater. Those photos include the auditorium. Are those photos online anywhere?

veyoung52
veyoung52 on August 25, 2007 at 9:34 am

Terry, I’ve been looking for decades for photos of the Chinese during the CineMiracle period, especially since whatever they had there was easy enough to remove in two days' time after “Windjammer” to make way for “Auntie Mame.” FWIW, one film technician reported on rec.arts.movies.tech some years ago that the downstairs booth at that time still had the floor plates in which the CineMiracle mirrors were fastened.

terrywade
terrywade on August 25, 2007 at 8:29 am

William can you tell me why when I saw the Pirate movie at the El Capitan the surrounds didn’t have any volume to them. I sat downstairs in the mid section? But up in the Bay Area I saw the same movie in two mega multiplex theatres and the surround was up and clear with great split surround effects. I don’t think the projection people turned up the surrounds at these theatres but the balance was better then at the Hollywood El Capitan; they seem to have all the sound from the stage speakers and not from the effect surrounds. The balcony surrounds are even lower. The Chinese still can have some pre show entertainment even if it doesn’t have a stage. They can put something up on the right and left sides or put something in front of the screen that goes up and down. Iam sure Warner Bros or Paramount (The Mann People) can go to Las Vegas and see what they do with moving stages. I don’t think they want to spend any money to make money. They are only interested in the candy counter $ that’s why they wrecked the whole back of the downstairs to make the refreshment stand and lobby bigger. You can see the great lights that used to be in the back of the Chinese now above the popcorn machine. At least they have some color lights in them as the same lights in the main theatre when the movie is dark. Are they trying to save money by not having any color lights on low during the film showing? A few little blue/green or red lights on the ceiling or sides would look great. Does anyone have any photos of the Cinemiracle curved screen at the Chinese from 1958? I saw many 70mm prints shown at the El Capitan but the screen seemed flat or may have had a slight curve to it. The old projection booth at the El Capitan was way up above the balcony at that time of roadshow 70mm films with a long way down to the Cinemascope screen. They still run video at times from the original booth; but most films or video are projected downstairs with no keystone.

William
William on August 25, 2007 at 6:30 am

I’ve been back there, when I worked for Mann Theatres and also down under the stage areas.

KramSacul
KramSacul on August 24, 2007 at 8:59 pm

The sound at the El Capitan is indeed good even if it’s a little low (probably not to scare the kids). I’m curious how big the screen speakers are as they have to be hung behind the screen to accomadate the various stage shows.

I think the stage at the Chinese was taken out or reduced decades ago sometime in the 50s. Anyone been back there?

William
William on August 24, 2007 at 5:50 pm

Disney/Pacific knowns how to run a good show and the sound is good in that house. Disney has Dolby in for a sound call on all openings of films and their studio tech staff is outstanding, having worked with them on many film openings. The theatre projectionist does not change the levels of the surrounds as Terry thinks. Having worked the theatre in the booth, the only control the projectionist has is the main fader in the booth. The SPL on the main channels should be 85dB and like 82dB for the surrounds. Some people like to run their surrounds above the normal level and think its the right way.

Well the Chinese can’t have a stage show because they have no stage left there, it’s the THX speaker wall and storage.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 24, 2007 at 5:31 pm

This ad for Citizen Kane, playing at the El Capitan, was dated June 1, 1941. If you’re familiar with the film, you will recall that RKO was under a lot of pressure from the other studios to destroy the negative and in fact was offered a sizable amount of money to do so:
http://tinyurl.com/36blnm

terrywade
terrywade on August 15, 2007 at 4:34 pm

The stereo surrounds are never up. They are on so low you won’t hear them. Turn down the stage speakers and turn up the surrounds. As you know surround sound speakers are never to up to hi, they are just a effect channel. But on many Disney movies the whole surround experience is lost, is the theatre to wide for you to hear the surrounds if your in the middle? Please Pacific/Disney bring in some Dolby THX guys and do a sound balance. Don’t let the surrounds not be heard. I can’t believe at a a big opening some of the Disney sound guys must be in the house, they worked hard on the stereo soundtrack, don’t they notice things are off at this Disney showcase. Probably some old lady complained the surrounds were to loud and some projection guy turned them way down. This is a class showmanship Theatre. Look across the street and the poor Chinese can’t compare. No stage show at the Chinese, sometimes they don’t even close the Chinese main curtain, Mann theatres is to busy running boring adds up to feature time. Long live the El Capitain, turn up the surrounds!, and don’t forget the balcony surrounds!

exit
exit on August 4, 2007 at 4:10 am

William, if you find those pictures, I know where they can find a proper showcase…

Lost Memory, Nice picture… has anyone posted yet about where the Marquee is programmed? I’m told It’s run from the studio in Burbank. The theatre itself has no control over the sign except maybe turning it on and off.

William
William on July 24, 2007 at 10:37 am

I have some from the earlier eras of the Paramount before the Disney remodel. I just have to find time to scan them. There from before the 40’s and the 60’s timeline.

arclight
arclight on July 15, 2007 at 8:11 pm

Found this brief video that shows the interior of the theatre.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H7g2iyA-SYU

evidonr
evidonr on April 21, 2007 at 10:03 am

Does anyone know of photos of the Hollywood Paramount auditorium in the 50s and early 60s (I’ve asked this before), the era of Sayonara, Vertigo and Gigi, before the unfortunate gold-glitz job that was finally (fortunately) obliterated in the theatre’s El Capitanization? For those of us who spent many happy hours during those years in that elegantly draped venue, which complimented and enhanced any film (only the Chinese during the same period, before its “refurbishment” and the late, lamented Carthay Circle were comparable), the memories are indelible.

evidonr
evidonr on April 21, 2007 at 10:03 am

Does anyone know of photos of the Hollywood Paramount auditorium in the 50s and early 60s (I’ve asked this before), the era of Sayonara, Vertigo and Gigi, before the unfortunate gold-glitz job that was finally (fortunately) obliterated in the theatre’s El Capitanization? For those of us who spent many happy hours during those years in that elegantly draped venue, which complimented and enhanced any film (only the Chinese during the same period, before its “refurbishment” and the late, lamented Carthay Circle were comparable), the memories are indelible.

exit
exit on April 21, 2007 at 7:32 am

Pacific is not known for stellar maintenance. Has anyone got photos of the Paramount’s interior from the sixties (after the wide screen was installed)? I’d love to see what the lobby and auditorium looked like in the DOCTOR DOLITTLE era. MAybe post them on CinemaTour.com where there are already plenty of nice photos of the El Cap today, but only one from the Paramount days.

William
William on April 21, 2007 at 5:13 am

The Paramount’s old auditorium still looked good in the 80’s before the Disney make-over. Pacific/SRO put little money into the house before Disney transformed it. The only problem I did not like about the Paramount’s look was those large mirror balls under the marquee.

exit
exit on April 20, 2007 at 5:45 pm

I saw MEET THE ROBINSONS here. They have replaced the gold satin countour curtain with one that’s a bit redder and looks like it’s made of parachute fabric. The pre-show organ music was fun as always.

Though the silver screen is now behind the silver curtain, there wasn’t the usual nifty opening curtain/light show. Contour curtain rises on a blank screen, two trailers, contour comes down, and… this had to be the lamest pre-show I’ve ever seen here – two rubber head “characters” from the movie walk up the aisle, stand on the stage and gesture a song, then came the inevitable confetti blast, and they just walked offstage.

The picture was quite nice, but no, not bright enough to be run on two projectors. They should try doing that at the Dome, which needs all the light it can get.