Watch like an Egyptian
By Teddy Phuong
Feb. 26, 2007 9:04 p.m.
Nestled amid the souvenir vendors and tourists traps of Hollywood Boulevard is a historic relic of the town’s golden age of cinema.
The Egyptian Theatre, located at 6172 Hollywood Boulevard, offers moviegoers a unique opportunity to experience Hollywood’s past in the present.
Built in 1922 by legendary Hollywood showman and developer Sid Grauman, the Egyptian was home to the first Hollywood premiere, the Douglas Fairbanks film “Robin Hood.” The opening of the theater catalyzed the movement of the film industry westward to Hollywood.
“Most of the big premieres were taking place on the East Coast,” said Margot Gerber, marketing director of the American Cinematheque, an independent, non-profit cultural organization dedicated to the public presentation and preservation of film, and the organization that currently owns the Egyptian. “The theater was considered the A-list place for premieres at that time after it opened.”
Even within Los Angeles, many of the theaters had been located in the downtown area, including Grauman’s Million Dollar Theatre. After the Egyptian opened, stars began to move to Hollywood to live, work and relax.
In 1927, Grauman left and moved down the street to build the Chinese Theatre. At the Chinese, Grauman introduced ideas that have become iconic Hollywood images.
“(Grauman) was one of the great pioneers of exhibition in Los Angeles,” said Jonathan Kuntz, associate film professor at UCLA. “His innovative ideas about theaters, most notably the handprints at the Chinese Theatre, are still a vital part of Hollywood.”
The Egyptian, on the other hand, fell on hard times. By the mid-1950s, the theater housed extended road-show engagements of films such as “Ben Hur” and “Oklahoma!” for which the whole theater was modified to accommodate the performances.
In the years that followed, the theater saw occasional use, including hosting the world premiere of “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, but was in a state of disrepair until purchased by the city of Los Angeles.
In 1996, the American Cinematheque bought the theater for $1 with the promise that it would be restored to its original opulence.
The newly renovated theater reopened in December 1998 following a $15 million face-lift.
The theater’s exterior was restored to its original state. Facing the street lays a sprawling 45-by-150-foot courtyard, the walls of which are lined with paintings of Egyptian deities such as Osiris and Ra. Four towering stone pillars dot the entry facade.
Inside, the interior space is a stark contrast from the cement and limestone exterior. The styling is decidedly modern and industrial, replete with metal and glass structures that are interspersed with Egyptian decor, a mixture of the old and the new.
The lobby, which once was filled with some of the original theater’s 900 seats, now has a concession stand that also sells posters and other memorabilia.
Spacious, stadium-style chairs fill the 616-seat main auditorium. The ceiling’s art deco evocation of a sunburst is a holdover from the original structure, while the corrugated metal slats on the sides are reminders of the recent renovation. Limestone walls covered in Egyptian-style painting flank the giant screen.
“There is something very grand about the Egyptian,” Gerber said. “You really can’t beat the feeling of being fully immersed in a movie by watching it that big on the screen.”
Of course, the history of the theater is not the only draw. The American Cinematheque, which also screens films at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, offers programming that ranges from cartoon retrospectives to film noir to Swedish erotic films.
“We’re often showing the last print of a film that exists anywhere in the world,” Gerber said. “We’re shipping things in from all over.”
Gerber’s organization also programs events boasting some of Hollywood’s stars, past and present, who often take part in Q&A sessions after a screening of their films.
“It’s one of the few places in Los Angeles that offers program that lets ordinary people interact with filmmakers,” said Louis Nguyen, a former life sciences graduate student at UClA. “There aren’t too many places that have Q&As.”
Nguyen has attended Q&As with horror director John Carpenter (“Halloween”), actor Tony Curtis (“Some Like It Hot”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”). Recent guests have included directors Clint Eastwood, Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren.
Filmmakers often come to the Egyptian, not just as representatives of the film industry, but as lovers of cinema.
“A lot of directors and actors will come and just sit in the audience and watch movies that they never had a chance to see or they just want to see again,” Gerber said. “It’s on their radar that there are some interesting things here that you can’t see anywhere else.”
The Egyptian Theatre is a testament to Hollywood’s fervent passion for cinema.
“The American Cinematheque puts some fabulous shows there,” Kuntz said. “It keeps us reminded of the glories of Hollywood’s past, and for that matter, its present. It keeps the great films in front of us.”
