Me and Ann Smenge are going to see the 70mm print of 2001 at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood tonight. The thing is, 2001 is a very rectilinear movie, but it is being projected on a curved Cinerama screen.
So my question is, where ro sit? The only other time I saw a movie there, it was all organic shapes. I think it was Shrek 2 or something and I remember thinking, this would suck for something like 2001.
I was in the balcony part for that. But down on the orchastra level there must be a seat that minimizes the distortion from the curved screen. Ann prefers to sit farther back, but my idea is to sit somewhat to the rear of the “orchestra” section.
Any thoughts? Especially for dopers who have attended this screening! And for LA area dopers who haven’t seen it, today is the last day so come on down. You won’t likely get this chance again. The house is way undesold on the pre-orders (25 tickets sold) so you will have your choice of seats IMHO so hope to see you there! We are going to the 7:30 show. If you see a red headed guy with a woman way out of his league, be sure to say hi!
When I saw it in Cinerama, it really didn’t matter. It’s probably best to sit in the center about halfway back, though.
That is what I was thinking…
Did you see it at Cinerama?
Sorry, your post says yes !
I asked this question of the manager of a Cinerama theater once, and he said, “Way in the back, so you can see the whole screen.” That misses the point of Cinerama, which is to envelop you in the image so you don’t see the whole screen and aren’t conscious of the edges.
The designers of these theaters intended the best seat to be about in the middle, where all parts of the screen are equidistant, the center of the curve. Unfortunately this is not possible from a vertical perspective, since you can’t get a seat suspended from the ceiling halfway, but you can do it horizontally. Exactly what seat numbers these are, I don’t know.
No. I saw it IN Cinerama. During the original run, in the Cinerama Theater in NYC. But I’d figure the principle remains the same.
You want to be as close to the projector as possible. In some theaters, the projector protrudes out of the seating area, so you can be right next to it (or below it or above it). If it’s overhead, then the best seats will be underneath it and a little behind, depending on the tilt of the seating area.
Ooooh 2001 at the Dome…gonna have to tell my dad, he’d love to see that…
It’s funny that you “need answer fast” about viewing a movie released in 1968 
I’m glad I stumbled on this thread. I’m buying my tickets for this weekend right now!
Regarding the original question, I saw the Close Encounters rerelease in the Dome last year. I felt like anywhere in the middle of the seating map was best. I was a little closer than that and while I agree part of the experience is the immersiveness of the giant screen, you can go a little farther back and still have a good experience. Too close though and you are constantly looking from side to side to keep track of the action.
There is a very limited release of the restored 70mm print.
The dome should have the correct lenses to project the movie–SuperPanavision70 was well known in their hayday.
The modern rule of thumb is seats on the centerline, for image, at or slightly behind the first pair of surround speakers for sound.
Count your blessings, the number of houses that HAVE 70mm equipment, is low. Having and being able to run less. Employing anyone who can run a working projector, even rarer.