The Odeon Leicester Square is a cinema which occupies the centre of the eastern side of Leicester Square, London, dominating the square with its huge black polished granite facade and 120 feet (37 m) high tower displaying its name. Blue neon outlines the exterior of the building at night. It was built to be the flagship[citation needed] of Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Cinema Circuit and still holds that position today. It hosts numerous European and World film premieres[1] including the annual Royal Film Performance.[citation needed]
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Technical specifications
The Odeon is the largest single screen cinema in the United Kingdom and one of the few with its circle and stalls remaining intact. The cinema is fully equipped to show films in 35mm, 70mm and digital on a large screen, as well as extensive stage facilities for the occasional live show.
The cinema still has an operating Compton organ, its console lit from within by coloured lighting, and a safety curtain detailed in 1930s art-deco motifs.
Two sets of tabs (curtains) are also installed and used for most performances. The cinema houses all major digital sound systems: SDDS, Dolby Digital and DTS. It had the UK's first wide-screen installed in 1953, and more recently, was the first to have a digital projector installed in 1999.
There are 1683 seats – reduced from nearly 2000 to make way for greater leg-room – with a large circle bar and even 'Royal Retiring Room' for visiting monarchs. Seating is divided between the Royal Circle, Rear Circle and Stalls.
History
The Odeon was built in 1937 on the site of the Alhambra Theatre, a large music hall dating from the 1850s.
Until 1967, the interior was a magnificent art-deco auditorium, with a ribbed ceiling, concealing stripped lighting. Two bas relief sculpture of naked nymphs were positioned on the side walls, as if leaping towards the screen. All the seats were covered in a faux-leopard skin material. A rather misguided modernisation in 1967 destroyed much of this grandeur, although since the 1980s, restoration programmes have restored much of this detail, including the figures, seating pattern and much of the ribbed effect on the ceiling.
The first wide-screen ever installed in Great Britain was fitted in 1953, with the British debut of Cinemascope following soon after with the quasi-biblical epic, The Robe.
The theatre's Chief Engineer, Nigel Wolland, was awarded an MBE for services to the film industry in 2007.[2]
Odeon Mezzanine
Tucked next door is the Odeon mezzanine, containing five much smaller screens, each seating between 50-60 patrons. The site of this 'mini-plex' was once an alleyway running alongside the main house, until development in 1988 turned into one of London's first 'mini-plex' cinemas.
References
- ^ "Cinema Treasures - Odeon Leicester Square". Cinema Treasures. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/841/. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
- ^ "New Year Honours: full list". The Times, London, December 29, 2007.
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 128 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
Coordinates: 51°30′38″N 0°7′45″W / 51.51056°N 0.12917°W
See also
- Odeon Marble Arch for a former large cinema also located in London's West End
- Odeon West End, a second cinema on the south side of Leicester Square
External links
- Alhambra Theatre History Archive material, information, and images on the Alhambra Theatre, Leicester Square
- Leicester Square webcam - Close up of the Odeon Cinema for film premieres
- The Cinema Organ Society Odeon Leicester Square Gallery
- Venue for hire: Odeon Leicester Square Auditorium Pictures
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