“What’s the best cinema in the country?” It’s a question that is naturally, quite subjective, and for cinephiles definitely one worth arguing over in the pub. On technical merit at least, there’s no doubt that the new Odeon Luxe Dolby Cinema in Leeds is a strong contender.
Dolby Cinema is a new format in the U.K. designed to give punters a premium alternative to the all-conquering IMAX and in the U.K. the company has exclusively partnered with Odeon.
The Odeon Leeds Dolby Cinema itself can be found in Screen 2 (not 1 for some reason!) of the new complex in Thorpe Park in the Springs Retail Park on the outskirts of the city (there’s no connection with the theme park down south). This is off the beaten track even for locals, but it’s designed as a destination for shopping, food, fitness, and entertainment.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit to see if it was worth the hype and how it compares to the Dolby Cinema screen in Odeon Leicester Square–and the differences are significant.
In Leicester Square, Dolby was faced with the challenge of upgrading a huge, classic 1930s cinema, complete with stalls and a circle while keeping key architectural features such as a movable screen and the famous “flying ladies.” As a new built, the Dolby Cinema in Leeds was free of these sorts of restrictions, so I was keen to see what it was like.
The multiplex features 10 screens and the foyer offers Odeon staples such as the Oscars’ bar and a Costa Coffee. In the U.S., Dolby screens tend to feature a large curved video wall showing images and footage especially curated to set the mood for the movie you are about to see. It appears this isn’t going to a feature in the U.K. Odeon screens though, as there isn’t one in Leicester Square and there isn’t one in Leeds either.
Any disappointment about that though was put aside once I entered the screen itself. If there’s one criticism that could be leveled at Leicester Square it’s that the screen itself isn’t large enough for the size of the auditorium. Not so in Leeds, I’m pleased to report. One foot in and I was grinning from ear to ear at the 19-meter-tall screen, which outdoes the 15-meter wall in the iSense theatre in Screen 1. While picture quality and audio are of course critical, there’s a lot to be said for sheer scale, and even from the back of the 263-seat auditorium, the curved screen will fill your field of view.
While Leicester Square needs 400 speakers to ensure all 800 seats have a good audio experience far fewer are needed in Leeds, and they can be seen lining the walls and ceiling, with oblong speakers presumably with more bass effects and rounder modules optimized for the mids and highs. While the number wasn’t disclosed it was certainly an effective arrangement. Things are made easier by the fact that the room has a more conventional layout with tiered seating from the front to the back.
A key feature of the Odeon Luxe experience is the seats. While Leicester Square has large beige recliners–the seats in Leeds are all black. This looks cooler to my eyes and like the near-black walls helps to eliminate unwanted reflections from the screen. A word of warning on the seats though: they are full recliners so if you have a tendency to drift if a movie isn’t keeping your full attention, you’ll be in serious danger of nodding off–they are that comfortable.
So enough of the décor–did it deliver? The movie that was showing was the latest Disney “live-action” remake, The Lion King– a pleasing coincidence considering that Leeds was the place I saw the original Lion King animation in the cinema when it came out back in 1994 (yes, I’m old).
While reaction to the latest Disney remake has been mixed, there’s no doubt that it’s an absolutely incredible feast for the eyes–and it’s a perfect canvas for displaying the benefits of Dolby Cinema. First, there’s the picture–with a higher dynamic range and wider color gamut than any other format.
In the new Lion King movie, the pride lands and savannah are recreated in painstakingly photorealistic fashion–indeed once could easily believe one was watching a David Attenborough documentary, save for the fact that the creatures talk and have a tendency to burst into song.
But on-my-goodness–just look at the colors. The sheer brightness and wide color gamut delivered by the dual Christie 4K 6P laser projector allows the colors to really pop giving that “3D look” even though Dolby Cinema shows almost 2D movies exclusively (Alita: Battle Angel, the one exception so far). The system also shows the incredible detail of the fauna and would allow you to see every bit of emotion in the faces of the animals had the visual effects artists been allowed to have put any in there.
On the audio side, it was everything you would have hoped for–dialogue comes across effortlessly, while there’s a huge amount of bass on tap to convey the epic score and drama. The Wildebeest stampede could be felt and not just heard, and hearing Beyoncé unleash her vocal power for the first time in the movie made me literally sit up in my chair.
Even without gushing over the picture quality, what’s so enjoyable about the experience was how fatigue-free it was both visually and aurally. Even if you don’t realize it, watching a movie when the screen is a bit too dim, and the audio a touch too muffled is actually quite draining.
So, is the Leeds Dolby Cinema the best screen in the U.K.? For a large commercial chain, quite possibly, at least on a technical level. If you prefer a more intimate, boutique experience then this isn’t going to change that but for your big blockbuster fare, this is unquestionably the place to go if you’re in the catchment area. If you’ve been and were disappointed, you’re were probably facing the wrong way and left your headphones on too, so that’s on you.
It’s not even outrageously expensive either. At the time of writing, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw was showing for £15.25 for an adult ticket–cheaper than most IMAX showings.
Dolby has announced that seven screens will be opening in the U.K. in the first round–and following London and Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham are next in line. That leaves three more–and in an entirely not selfish way, I’m hoping that one of those will be in the Watford area…
