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70mm Cinema Profile
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This article first appeared in |
| Written by: Thomas Hauerslev | Issue 46 - September 1996 |
|
Royal in Malmö opened in 1961 as the most
modern cinema in Sweden. From the beginning, even long before it was built,
the idear was "To build a perfect cinema for all film formats".
That was the vision of the manager, Mr Sten Löfberg. The cinema would indeed
be built around the screen which became the star of Royal. On Wednesday the
15 March 1961 the doors opened to a sold out performance. The sneak-premiere
of "Windjammer" in 3-strip Cinemiracle. Most of who-is-who of Malmö
was there to witness the beginning of a new era of Swedish cinema. The Lord
Mayor, the fire chief and the Chief of police as well as actors and other
officials. Royal was a new way to see movies. "Larger, more intensive and much closer to the action" was the tag line. The best architects, sound technicians and image engineers did their best to make the managers wish come true. Originally there were 750 seats, but the number of seats was reduced in 1994 when new and comfortable chairs were brought in. Today there are 682 seats arranged amphitheatrically. The view is un-obstructed by people in front of you and perfect from all seats. The projection angle is 0' which means the projection is in complete level and the pictures are un-distorted. The screen goes from wall to wall and from the floor to the ceiling. There is a small proscenium and two curtains. The first is closing the whole screen area off, and the second follows the curvature of the screen. Royal ran most of the 3-strip repertoire "Windjammer" 15.03.1961 (298 performances), "Seven Wonders of The World" 29.11.1961, "Search For Paradise" 27.04.1962 (52 perf), "This Is Cinerama" 08.06.1962 (61 perf), "Cinerama Holiday" 10.08.1962 (37 perf), "South Seas Adventure" 12.09.1962 (43 perf), a russian 3-strip film called (translated from Swedish) "Russia - The Country We Do not Know" 13.05.1963 (only 14 perf), "How The west Was Won" 20.09.1963 (Cinerama print no 18) and "The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm" 02.03.1964 (Cinerama print No 60). Many 70mm films have been shown at Royal. "El Cid", "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" (which also was Royal's long runner no #1; 72 weeks!), as well as "ET" and "Brainstorm" to name a few. From the beginning the projection room was among the most well equipped in the world. Not only equipped to show 3-strip Cinemiracle and Cinerama, but also Todd-AO, CinemaScope, and Widescreen. 3 Century 35mm Cinemiracle projectors (model G1), 2 Philips DP70 Todd-AO projectors (with Mole Richardson Super Seventy carbon arc lamp houses) and a 35mm AGA sound dubber for 7-track Cinemiracle sound. The amplifiers were supplied by AGA and Philips in Sweden. It was the 10th cinema in Sweden with the DP70 projectors. The original lenses are still in use for 70mm projection. They are Philips 75mm T-Kiptagons with a 5% minifier. Today the Cinemiracle projectors are long gone, but safe in the hands of a collector. The cinema can be found in Södra Tullgatan no 4 in Downtown Malmö, Sweden. The facade, foyer and auditorium has not changed largely in 35 years. A sign with large letters in red neon spells R-O-Y-A-L. Despite an old and classic marquee, the technical installation are up to date. The cinema has recently been equipped with Dolby Stereo CP65, THX, QSC Amps (5 x EX1600 and 2 x EX1250), DTS, SDDS DFP-D2000 and new JBL speakers. It is a pleasure to see film in Royal. Despite a high quality cinema, the ROYAL is in fear of closing. The owners, Svensk Filmindustri, have plans for a multiplex in downtown Malmö. When that plex opens, there is no room for luxury anymore and ROYAL (probably) goes. A Stockholm spokesman recently remarked about the possible closure "The owners do not care for that cinema. All they care about, is selling popcorn!!!". Source of information: ROYAL Brochure, Biografägaren no 4-5, 1961, article by Lars Walldow (1996) and own research. |
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