Large Format/"Premium" Theaters (IMAX 15/70, Digital IMAX, XD, ETX, RPX, etc.)

[pL86]

Went to see Justice League at the AMC Neshaminy last night in Dolby Cinema and discovered the manager has decided to show the movie zoomed in and cropped so that the movie project onto the full width of the screen, which has scope dimensions. He said people had complained that the left and right sides of the screen were not covered when they showed the movie in its 1.85 aspect ratio. Unbelievable that a manager would deliberately project the movie wrong to avoid getting complaints, especially in a Dolby Cinema.

[Riddhi2011]

Sorry for your bad experience. This has happened with me before, with other movies - MIB3, Jurassic World and Inferno. It's annoying when they crop movies like that.
I saw Justice League in a large flat screen. So, the image filled the screen and nothing was cropped.

[pL86]

It looked like crap. The zooming made the image look that a bit more fuzzy and waxy, the logos and credits at the beginning were cut off and most importantly, the balance of the composition was thrown off. Everyone's head was loped off, you never saw hair, only foreheads, and every shot was turned into a closeup that were just too tight. I couldn't sit through it so I left at 5 minutes but what a frustration. In a "premium" Dolby Cinema no less with a ticket surcharge.

[Riddhi2011]

You should write a complaint to the Dolby Cinema company and report this. Name the manager as well, if possible. Ignorant cinema-goers, demanding their screen be always be filled! Projection is truly a lost art nowadays.

[xbs2034]

Originally Posted by pL86

Went to see Justice League at the AMC Neshaminy last night in Dolby Cinema and discovered the manager has decided to show the movie zoomed in and cropped so that the movie project onto the full width of the screen, which has scope dimensions. He said people had complained that the left and right sides of the screen were not covered when they showed the movie in its 1.85 aspect ratio. Unbelievable that a manager would deliberately project the movie wrong to avoid getting complaints, especially in a Dolby Cinema.

The Dolby Cinema I've seen uses pillarboxing for its flat films (which is better than cropping, but does look ugly), but yes there are premium theaters which do this. For instance, the AMC Kips Bay IMAX has only shown Riddick in pillarbox 1.9 that I've seen, and not sure who decided to change things or why, but now seems to always fill the screen and will crop titles if necessary (Alice Through the Looking Glass looked the worst this way, as heads and the bottom part of the few subtitled lines were cut off).

It actually works out well for the majority of movies which play in IMAX, and did for The Last Knight given all the aspect ratio complaints, but have to be careful with seeing films with special IMAX formatting there. And that's the one AMC I've been to that has seemingly entirely given up on masking, so some regular presentations are either pillarbox or letterbox there (one hallway uses scope screens and the other flat screens).

[pL86]

Originally Posted by Riddhi2011

You should write a complaint to the Dolby Cinema company and report this. Name the manager as well, if possible. Ignorant cinema-goers, demanding their screen be always be filled! Projection is truly a lost art nowadays.

To be fair, no one would be complaining about exposed screens if the chains hadn't abandoned masking. I agree with the complaints insofar that I also hate seeing exposed screen - one reason I never see "IMAX Experience" movies - but it's the practices of the chains that are really at fault. The fact that a movie with pillarboxing is the "right" way to project it is a sad reality brought on by the chains.

I'm trying to make as much stink as possible. I sent messages to twitter handles of Dolby Cinema, Justice League movie and AMC customer care, filed complaints with AMC online and through their telephone line, and wrote emails to some contacts I have in AMC regional operations and Dolby itself. The trouble is it's the Thanksgiving holiday weekend so no one's going to respond until next week at the earliest and Justice League will be gone from the Dolby Cinema by next weekend, replaced by Titanic. It's already down to only two daily shows since it's sharing the screen with Coco, which, btw, looks fantastic in Dolby Cinema. I'm just frustrated as heck this manager would be so casual about altering the presentation of a movie. He is a nice guy but he shouldn't be allowed to do this, especially for a Dolby Cinema show with a significant surcharge that's based in part in getting the best picture and sound out there. It's not the best when 20% of the image is missing.

Originally Posted by xbs2034

And that's the one AMC I've been to that has seemingly entirely given up on masking, so some regular presentations are either pillarbox or letterbox there (one hallway uses scope screens and the other flat screens).

Yeah - I noticed a while back that Kips Bay doesn't mask anymore. It surprised me because I almost never go there and the ones I do, mainly AMC Empire and Lincoln Square, fortunately still do mask. The AMC Neshaminy also still masks in their other theatres but the Dolby Cinema has no masking. It's almost never an issue because most of the Dolby Cinema releases are scope movies. The last one I saw there that wasn't was Transformers The Last Knight and they actually showed that letterboxed AND pillarboxed.

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

With the Roman Esq issue I'm wondering if the server is set to 3D mode or they have some 3D content in the playlist. Depending which server they have if they are playing 2D content using 3D settings the picture can appear to be zoomed in too far.

[UFAlien]

The new Cinemark XD in the larger multiplex near me has opened already. Won't get a chance to go until The Last Jedi, since right now they're splitting showtimes between Coco and Justice League and only showing the 2D versions of both.

[xbs2034]

I saw Justice League in 70mm today. It did play in pillarboxed 1.85 despite the screen having masking, but maybe that's intentional by WB as the 70mm trailers for Tomb Raider and Ready Player One were widescreen and filled the screen.

Was some interesting visual differences to the digital 3D version. I found the change in look between the mostly film shot principal photography and the mostly digital reshoots much easier to spot here. I didn't notice the CGI moustache removal in this version and the Steppenwolf CGI looked better here (I noticed CGI in Murder on the Orient Express 70mm looked better than the trailers as well), though if anything green screen shots looked worse.

At its best it didn't look as nice as 70mm Murder (at the same theater and still playing as well), but the colors and detail of new film prints are hard to beat when projected properly. However, this also had some issues due to the difficulty of projecting film. In particular the bottom middle of the screen had focus issues, looked really bad for the subtitled dialogue (cause they were right there), though it also hurt the overall appearance in some regular shots as well.

[ManBeast]

Dunkirk returns to IMAX in the UK next week for those that missed it.

[Laserdisk]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

Dunkirk returns to IMAX in the UK next week for those that missed it.

Always when I have no cash or time off

[Laserdisk]

Originally Posted by xbs2034

I saw Justice League in 70mm today. It did play in pillarboxed 1.85 despite the screen having masking, but maybe that's intentional by WB as the 70mm trailers for Tomb Raider and Ready Player One were widescreen and filled the screen.

Was some interesting visual differences to the digital 3D version. I found the change in look between the mostly film shot principal photography and the mostly digital reshoots much easier to spot here. I didn't notice the CGI moustache removal in this version and the Steppenwolf CGI looked better here (I noticed CGI in Murder on the Orient Express 70mm looked better than the trailers as well), though if anything green screen shots looked worse.

At its best it didn't look as nice as 70mm Murder (at the same theater and still playing as well), but the colors and detail of new film prints are hard to beat when projected properly. However, this also had some issues due to the difficulty of projecting film. In particular the bottom middle of the screen had focus issues, looked really bad for the subtitled dialogue (cause they were right there), though it also hurt the overall appearance in some regular shots as well.

I had no idea they made film prints for either

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

Dunkirk returns to IMAX in the UK next week for those that missed it.

Is there a list of the theaters its coming back to?

[ManBeast]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Is there a list of the theaters its coming back to?

Just seen Cineworld showing it so far. Looks like mostly one show a day in the afternoon or early evening from Monday onwards...

So Justice League will still be in IMAX but it looks like Paddington 2 will be going into 4DX for the first time.

[KcMsterpce]

I saw BLADE RUNNER 2049 at the CGV IMAX in Yongsan Ipark here in Seoul. It is the largest IMAX screen in the world (currently in use).
The sound was awesome, with booming base, high volume and pristine clarity.

Then, I saw THOR: RAGNAROK in that same theater. It felt like the LFE/subs were turned off, and I was almost straining to hear a lot of the movie.

I have a question:
Is there a responsibility for the projectionist to initiate "MOVIE MODE" in theaters, to disengage the audio intended for commercials and previews, which will kick in the full surround sound and subwoofer options intended for the movie itself?

If that's the case, I want to be able to request that be activated next time I notice such a huge difference in audio quality.

I have always had this problem about audio being really crappy for many theater screens, but now - since I got to compare two movies within a month from the same screen - I wonder if this could have been fixed in past showings as well.

[Whatman245]

I’m traveling to NYC in mid December and I want to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the biggest screen possible and NOT in 3-D. Does anyone know which theatre in NYC has the biggest screen? I know AMC Lincoln Square has the biggest IMAX theatre screen but again, I really don’t want to see it in 3D. I know AMC Empire 25 has a IMAX screen but again, I think it’s in 3-D. I heard somewhat good things about Regal E-Walk RPX but I don’t think the screens that big. So for anyone who lives in NYC, any suggestions? Please help, thanks.

[pL86]

Originally Posted by Whatman245

I’m traveling to NYC in mid December and I want to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the biggest screen possible and NOT in 3-D. Does anyone know which theatre in NYC has the biggest screen? I know AMC Lincoln Square has the biggest IMAX theatre screen but again, I really don’t want to see it in 3D. I know AMC Empire 25 has a IMAX screen but again, I think it’s in 3-D. I heard somewhat good things about Regal E-Walk RPX but I don’t think the screens that big. So for anyone who lives in NYC, any suggestions? Please help, thanks.

The biggest 2D, non-IMAX screen in NYC is the Loews auditorium at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square on 68th and Broadway, the same theatre with the IMAX screen. The Loews screen is 65 feet wide, 26 feet tall, seats about 900 with balcony level seating and is Dolby Atmos equipped. The theatre runs a Christie digital projector but maintains 35/70mm film projectors; they recently played the 70mm versions of Justice League and Murder on the Orient Express there. The seats in the balcony are stadium seating while the ones on the ground level are not but the rake is pretty decent. The seats were replaced a year or two ago so they're in good condition. I've seen hundreds of movies in that theatre and it remains one of my favorites in the city. When you buy tickets, look for the showtimes in screen 1 - that's the Loews auditorium.

Be careful - I just looked up times for Star Wars and during the opening weekend (December 14-17), they are playing both 2D and 3D shows on that screen, in fact, the only 2D show that weekend on screen 1 will be the first one at 9:30AM. All the other showtimes are 3D. Starting on Tuesday, December 19, screen 1 will be exclusively 2D so you'll have more options if you're in the city then. There are no shows in that auditorium on Monday, December 18 of any kind, likely because it's been reserved for press screenings or a movie premiere. That screen is frequently rented out by distributors, more than ever since the closing of the Ziegfeld.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by pL86

The biggest 2D, non-IMAX screen in NYC is the Loews auditorium at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square on 68th and Broadway, the same theatre with the IMAX screen. The Loews screen is 65 feet wide, 26 feet tall, seats about 900 with balcony level seating and is Dolby Atmos equipped. The theatre runs a Christie digital projector but maintains 35/70mm film projectors; they recently played the 70mm versions of Justice League and Murder on the Orient Express there. The seats in the balcony are stadium seating while the ones on the ground level are not but the rake is pretty decent. The seats were replaced a year or two ago so they're in good condition. I've seen hundreds of movies in that theatre and it remains one of my favorites in the city. When you buy tickets, look for the showtimes in screen 1 - that's the Loews auditorium.

Be careful - I just looked up times for Star Wars and during the opening weekend (December 14-17), they are playing both 2D and 3D shows on that screen, in fact, the only 2D show that weekend on screen 1 will be the first one at 9:30AM. All the other showtimes are 3D. Starting on Tuesday, December 19, screen 1 will be exclusively 2D so you'll have more options if you're in the city then. There are no shows in that auditorium on Monday, December 18 of any kind, likely because it's been reserved for press screenings or a movie premiere. That screen is frequently rented out by distributors, more than ever since the closing of the Ziegfeld.

[Visionist]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

Dunkirk returns to IMAX in the UK next week for those that missed it.

For how long? I'd google it but...

Edit: Hmmm had a look at the BFI website and if I do some funky rejigging of my chemotherapy schedules, I could go to Britain early and catch Dunkirk and BR2049 (only seen it scoped and dubbed in Italian) and the 15/70 double bill of Force Awakens/Last Jedi on
the 13th.

This choice just keeps getting easier and easier!

[xbs2034]

There are four different IMAX releases this weekend in the U.S. Showings and screens will be split between Coco, Justice League, Dunkirk, and then select showings of The Polar Express.