AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

8633 Colesville Road,
Silver Spring, MD 20910

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Showing 376 - 378 of 378 comments

teecee
teecee on March 18, 2005 at 5:41 am

Excellent exterior/interior photos & history here:
View link

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on September 16, 2004 at 9:21 pm

I saw two movies this week at the AFI: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and the digitally restored THX1138.

I caught a sneak preview screening of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, in Auditorium 1, the Historic Theater, on Tues., 9-14 and enjoyed the presentation of the movie but still don’t understand why they don’t play the THX trailer before the movie starts! It is THX certified, according to the THX website. My only minor quibble was that the projection of the film went a bit off the upper left edge of the screen. Since this film has digital composites, I’m surprised that there isn’t a digital presentation anywhere.

Now, THX1138 I saw in Auditorium 2, which was my first experience in this newer theater. The presentation was DLP, which showcased the restoration efforts of this 32 year old film quite well. And, surprise, they did show the THX and DLP trailers! The THX trailer was the older Terminator one, which did show off the auditorium’s sound system.

If only the programming included more 70mm films other than 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia. sigh

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on February 26, 2004 at 6:20 pm

The AFI has done a terrific job with the Silver Theatre. There are now three auditoriums now as opposed to the single one that was there. I have to admit that I’ve never been to the old Silver theater even though I’ve lived in the area for all of my life. This is probably because this theater didn’t have 70mm projection capabilities and I always made the effort to see films in the best format, in any part, in and around the area.

What is nice about the largest auditorium is how wide the seating areas are where I caught a screening of a 70mm print of “Lawrence of Arabia.” You don’t feel claustrophobic as you might feel in other theaters. There is an organ, in this theater, that I’m sure is used to accompany the silent films when they are shown there. All three of the auditoriums are THX certified, but they don’t play the THX trailer before each show.