Small auditoria but one of them was equipped with CDS (Cinema Digital Sound, the first digital sound technology for movies) and played Flatliners, The Doors and Final Approach in that format. All auditoria had the CHF Cabasse speaker system designed by French engineer Georges Cabasse. CHF meant Cinéma en Haute Fidélité (High Fidelity Cinema). The Cabasse product line for cinemas was using bi-amplified screen speakers with Amix amplifiers. Theatres willing to install CHF were subject to an acoustics study to taylor the system on a case-by-case basis. After installation, the equipped auditorium received a quality certificate. Somehow, Cabasse was a French answer to the Lucas' THX program. CHF was installed mostly in France.
Here are pictures of Le Grand Pavois on Film-Tech.
And here is its profile page in French, with comments from previous customers and projectionists, on Salles Cinémas.
I only saw 2 films there (both in 70mm) and it was still a single-screen theater: Rocky III in 1982 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. I remember that the sound was crystal clear, probably an aging sound system but still in good condition to correctly reproduce the sophisticated sound mix of “Jedi”. And with “Jedi”, an impressive panel had been install on the building front showing not only the film poster bill, but with additional red neon lines that blinked to simulate the spaceships (TIE fighters) laser shots. Good pictures of the single-screen cinema on Flickr here.
Lionel
commented about
Arlequinon
Aug 18, 2022 at 12:10 pm
@Xavier Delamarre
You wrote that the Arlequin is now the only remaining cinema in Paris to be equipped for 70mm. What about the Grand Action? Do you know when they got rid of their 70mm equipment? My latest inof about it is the Silverscreens.com article from the late 90’s. Thanks
I was lucky to be in London when it happened, and went to see again The Temple of Doom. It was impressive to see it in 70mm and six-track Dolby Stereo in that theatre. It was also the first time I went to the Odeon Marble Arch.
Hello. I would like to know the seats distribution across all auditoria at the opening. The big one had 876, how many did the others have? I don’t think it is mentioned in the comments but there are already 68 pages and I’ve only read the few latest and the few earliest. Thanks.
I too recognized the architecture of the Carlton/Haymarket around the Thunderball marquee when I watched the trailer but I have no other information. Howard, was the film good? I’m always eager to see a film set in London.
@CF100 - Glad to hear that your ankle is alright. COVID safety rules indeed complicate everything. A pity especially for those who got the jab twice. I hoped that, this year, the pandemic would be over and we would be able to travel normally again, and I could have seen Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile in 70mm or 4K at the OLS (or the new James Bond episode).
Not taken in 2008. Taken by me in February 1993, but CP200 aka Andy Summers picks pictures and posts them wherever he wants, even copyrighted ones, without thinking.
“Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois” (The ghost of Henri Langlois) is a 2004 French documentary film about Langlois, founder of the Cinémathèque française, here on YouTube.
It was the “Special Edition” from 1997 with effects added or improved, except for some shots lacking contrast and sharpness probably due to originally using higher-sensitivity film stock for lower light environments, which could have been better restored by taking the most out of the negative. I noticed scenes in the other two episodes back then in 1997 which deserved restoration but, for some reasons, they were left in their original condition of 1977/80/83.
I prefer the Cinema City Kazimierz because it’s more central and more convenient for me, and located in more pleasant surroundings.
My interest in cinema architecture and equipment faded a bit too. I had started 2020 by retyping on a computer my dissertation written in 1993 about the Empire when I completed my studies, rescanned pictures from books, retouched the colours of the slides I had taken back then. First in my native language, then with an English translation in mind. Then gave up out of exhaustion after Easter (yes, in 2020). I should get at it again and finish the damn thing. I’ll share it on Cinema Treasures when it’s done. I still anticipate our gathering at the Montagu Pyke. Do they have Old Speckled Hen? I love it but can’t find it here on the continent.
Despite the situation with COVID and its gloomy consequences (and I personally suffered from it professionally, although I can’t complain when I see other people’s situation), I would like to wish the best in 2021 for all my fellow cinema treasurers, hoping that you all managed to remain safe so far.
I’m not British but I believe in this great quote: “Keep calm and carry on”. The perspective of meeting at the Montagu Pyke pub one day is one of the little things that keeps us rooted in normality. What would the world be if we started to believe that proper screen masking is less important than a pandemic?
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
Small auditoria but one of them was equipped with CDS (Cinema Digital Sound, the first digital sound technology for movies) and played Flatliners, The Doors and Final Approach in that format. All auditoria had the CHF Cabasse speaker system designed by French engineer Georges Cabasse. CHF meant Cinéma en Haute Fidélité (High Fidelity Cinema). The Cabasse product line for cinemas was using bi-amplified screen speakers with Amix amplifiers. Theatres willing to install CHF were subject to an acoustics study to taylor the system on a case-by-case basis. After installation, the equipped auditorium received a quality certificate. Somehow, Cabasse was a French answer to the Lucas' THX program. CHF was installed mostly in France.
Here are pictures of Le Grand Pavois on Film-Tech.
And here is its profile page in French, with comments from previous customers and projectionists, on Salles Cinémas.
I only saw 2 films there (both in 70mm) and it was still a single-screen theater: Rocky III in 1982 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. I remember that the sound was crystal clear, probably an aging sound system but still in good condition to correctly reproduce the sophisticated sound mix of “Jedi”. And with “Jedi”, an impressive panel had been install on the building front showing not only the film poster bill, but with additional red neon lines that blinked to simulate the spaceships (TIE fighters) laser shots. Good pictures of the single-screen cinema on Flickr here.
Short video made in 1998 by the projectionist showing Titanic in 70mm at the Warner screen #7 :
on YouTube
An extensive illustrated article in French on the Ambassade can be found here :
Gaumont Champs Elysées Ambassade
@Xavier Delamarre You wrote that the Arlequin is now the only remaining cinema in Paris to be equipped for 70mm. What about the Grand Action? Do you know when they got rid of their 70mm equipment? My latest inof about it is the Silverscreens.com article from the late 90’s. Thanks
I was lucky to be in London when it happened, and went to see again The Temple of Doom. It was impressive to see it in 70mm and six-track Dolby Stereo in that theatre. It was also the first time I went to the Odeon Marble Arch.
Short YouTube video showing the ABC Panton Street in 1998 (street view then projection booth): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh6OI0Slxd8
Thank you Howard for posting the pictures of the London cinemas you visited last month. No curtain used at the OLS? What an amateurish performance…
Hello. I would like to know the seats distribution across all auditoria at the opening. The big one had 876, how many did the others have? I don’t think it is mentioned in the comments but there are already 68 pages and I’ve only read the few latest and the few earliest. Thanks.
Filmed in 1986 and posted today on YouTube:
Demonstrating screen masking for 35mm and 70mm aspect ratios at the Empire
This was the installation from 1962 on to when they slightly enlarged the screen in the early 2000’s.
I’m a latecomer for Christmas but I wish you all fellow Cinema Treasurers the best for the coming year. I hope all of you are safe, vaxxed or not.
A 45-minute-long report made in the late 90’s was just posted on YouTube on this cinema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RDkWuPUTQs
I too recognized the architecture of the Carlton/Haymarket around the Thunderball marquee when I watched the trailer but I have no other information. Howard, was the film good? I’m always eager to see a film set in London.
@CF100 - Glad to hear that your ankle is alright. COVID safety rules indeed complicate everything. A pity especially for those who got the jab twice. I hoped that, this year, the pandemic would be over and we would be able to travel normally again, and I could have seen Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile in 70mm or 4K at the OLS (or the new James Bond episode).
Not taken in 2008. Taken by me in February 1993, but CP200 aka Andy Summers picks pictures and posts them wherever he wants, even copyrighted ones, without thinking.
“Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois” (The ghost of Henri Langlois) is a 2004 French documentary film about Langlois, founder of the Cinémathèque française, here on YouTube.
18-minute-long footage from 1989 exploring the Odeon Marble Arch: street, foyer, projection booth, stalls and circle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCKDStXcP1U
The new building shape is similar to that of the former Regal…
Short film from 1997 showing the auditorium and projection booth of the then-called Richmond Filmhouse in a detailed manner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihEfNT9Ny40
@rivest266 Thanks for posting this ad. It’s interesting to see what was playing when a multiplex opened.
It was the “Special Edition” from 1997 with effects added or improved, except for some shots lacking contrast and sharpness probably due to originally using higher-sensitivity film stock for lower light environments, which could have been better restored by taking the most out of the negative. I noticed scenes in the other two episodes back then in 1997 which deserved restoration but, for some reasons, they were left in their original condition of 1977/80/83.
I prefer the Cinema City Kazimierz because it’s more central and more convenient for me, and located in more pleasant surroundings.
My interest in cinema architecture and equipment faded a bit too. I had started 2020 by retyping on a computer my dissertation written in 1993 about the Empire when I completed my studies, rescanned pictures from books, retouched the colours of the slides I had taken back then. First in my native language, then with an English translation in mind. Then gave up out of exhaustion after Easter (yes, in 2020). I should get at it again and finish the damn thing. I’ll share it on Cinema Treasures when it’s done. I still anticipate our gathering at the Montagu Pyke. Do they have Old Speckled Hen? I love it but can’t find it here on the continent.
Despite the situation with COVID and its gloomy consequences (and I personally suffered from it professionally, although I can’t complain when I see other people’s situation), I would like to wish the best in 2021 for all my fellow cinema treasurers, hoping that you all managed to remain safe so far.
I’m not British but I believe in this great quote: “Keep calm and carry on”. The perspective of meeting at the Montagu Pyke pub one day is one of the little things that keeps us rooted in normality. What would the world be if we started to believe that proper screen masking is less important than a pandemic?
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
Yet other pictures of the OMA when it opened. It’s the first time I see the auditorium photographed under that angle, and how the foyer was back then.
Side view of the stalls
Refreshment kiosk on the first floor