Has anyone been to the "upscale" theaters at the Bridge in LA? (1 Viewer)

[JoelH]

I read an article today in the LA Times about the new luxury theaters at the Bridge in LA. They sounded nice, with plush seating, reserved seats, ushers who escort you to your seat, and other amenities. The picture showed great seats and, mixed with a good movie, this could be the way to experience the big screen.
Any experiences? And what movie did you see?
----
Joel

 

[Jack Briggs]

What's "The Bridge"? This is news to me.

There is, however, a vast new entertainment complex that has opened at Hollywood and Highland, which includes, among other things, the new home of the Academy Awards: The Kodak Theater.

 

[RobertR]

It's news to me to. Where is it exactly?

I couldn't care less about amenities such as escorts. I define a first class movie going experience as having:

Well-executed technical presentation, ie, proper focus, projection lighting intensity, proper lack of ambient light, and sound levels. To achieve this requires both the necessary technical expertise AND the desire to WANT to achieve it.

comfortable seats.

A well behaved, attentive audience.

I had the pleasure and the privilege of just such a presentation at the Academy Theater on Wilshire. They were showing Patton in 70mm, and it was spectacular. The razoer sharp clarity and detail put ANY home theater to SHAME (I've said it before and I'll say it again--anyone who thinks that any current video technology is as good as the best film is fooling himself). A nice bonus was the presence of Karl Malden, who shared his memories of making the film with us.

Edit:

I checked it out. It does sound nice. The "director's hall" has extra wide leather seats, and a DD EX sound system with JBL speakers. The picture of the auditorium looks nice.

It's off the 405 by Howard Hughes Parkway.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

I actually read this article before coming here, here's the link for anyone curious:
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,14...Times-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-47565,00.html
Personally, I'm not very interested. For one thing, I absolutely eat nothing when I'm watching a movie, so the various kinds of "better than normal theater" food is not only not a lure, it also means potentially more smells in the theater, which I would hate to see.
But then again, I haven't been there. Speak up! (For those who have been there.)

 

[Jason Merrick]

I've also been wanting to check out this theater... I would tend to think the higher price alone would improve the experience by eliminating the teen factor. I may be mistaken, but I thought I had heard they even serve alcohol at the concession stand... ?

 

[Jonathan Burk]

The Bridge is at the new mall by the airport. You can see it right by the 405. I think it's the same area where they set up the temporary Imax theater for Fantasia 2000 last year. I haven't been (the Village and Chinese do very well for me, and they're closer), but if I can get more info from this thread, I might be talked into it.

 

[Brett G]

Has anyone been to this? I'm thinking about going to see LOTR there. I wonder if the projection is top notch like everything else?

Anybody?

-Brett

 

[James Zubb]

I saw LotR at the Bridge last night. Normal theater, not the director hall. My understanding is that all the theaters are the same, the directors hall adds leather seats and assigned seating.
This is a very good theater, though I still prefer the Mann Village, but since that is only one screen I usually have to suffer with some other theater.
The seats are very comfy, they rock, you have plenty of room to shift around, tons of legroom. Stadium seating. Definately beats the village out here.
The screen is wall to wall. Very good size screen, I would say it is 2/3 the size of the Mann Village. Though note that I am HORRIBLE at judging distance and size so I could be way off.
The sound is great, lots of bass, though I still think the Village beats it out, not by much. Very clear, surrounds were well tuned.
No THX, at least they didn't play a THX trailer. Not really a big deal IMO.
The film looked great, framed perfectly and no scratches (though first day so expected).
Didn't have any food, though it did look pretty tasty.
Bathroom attendant which I think is excessive, don't like having to tip someone to pee.
Parking is $1 after 6 or $1 for first 4 hours then $1 for each 30 minutes after. (at least on Wednesday, might be different on weekend)
No complaints from me except for the idiot who brought a baby with them.

 

[Brett G]

Well I ordered my tickets online (big mistake) the other night. You don't get to choose where you sit when you purchase online, so the computer gave us what it thought were the best seats - front row center. Sure if it was a concert I'd be stoked, but I'm not really looking forward to sitting front row at this place. We'll see.

Thanks for the info, James.

-Brett

 

[Derek Williams]

I saw Ocean 11 at the bridge. The theater is nice and the attendant will show you to your seat if needed. The leather on the seats are amazing. Once the movie starts that does not matter. I say pay the $13 a seat once just for the experiance.

 

[Brett G]

Well I saw it last night. I must say that I was quite impressed by The Bridge, although I'm not quite sure if the Director's Hall is worth the extra $$ as the only advantage seems to be assigned seating and leather seats (which are very comfortable, though).

Unfortunately, since I had purchased tickets online, our seats were in the front row. WAY, WAY, WAY TOO CLOSE!!! I don't think I can subjectively review the image, as I was pretty much looking straight up most of the time (even so, I still like LOTR). The sound, however, absolutely rocked. I wouldn't say it was the loudest movie I've ever seen, but I would say I FELT it more than any other movie. The low end was simply tight and powerful, and not boomy.

I don't recommend buying tickets for Director's Hall showings online. Call them so you can specify your seating preference. If you don't like standing in line, the Director's Hall is worth it. Otherwise, I'm sure the other theaters will suffice.

-Brett

 

[Geoff Sharp]

Just got back from seeing vanilla sky at the bridge. It was in the directors hall. Presentation was first rate. Leather seats were definately nice! They also have a very cool lounge where you can get dinner and a martini before the movie. They even said that we could bring our food and drinks into the theater with us. All in all really a first class experience.