This column hosts portraits of cinemas in Europe and the rest of the world which are quite different from one another but have in common the fact that they have all adopted digital projection.
 

Egyptian Theatre - Hollywood Boulevard
by Elisabetta Galeffi

It is all too evident that Hollywood means cinema: no tourist with Los Angeles on the itinerary can resist the appeal of the Walk of Fame, a photo in front of the Dolby Theatre - the one where the Oscars are presented - or the eclectic and eastern-style Chinese Theatre, which offers 3D screenings of the latest films with special effects. But the essential stamp of an authentic Hollywood cinephile is membership of the Egyptian Theatre. Curious tourists can at the very least go and see a film as soon they have set foot in Hollywood. Watching a screening here means retracing the steps of the cinema and of cinemas, perhaps sitting next to famous directors who have come to seek inspiration from their predecessors and rekindle their imagination.
Nonetheless - apart from the habitués - not many people know where it is, even though the Egyptian is the oldest movie-house in the Walk of Fame and opened in 1922.
It rises, ornate and a little nostalgic, on Hollywood Boulevard at the back of a long, rectangular courtyard, which has lost much of its charm as a sober and mysterious ante-chamber. The entrance to the theatre is majestic, standing between two mighty pillars. Yet below the fake, gold hieroglyphics are the inevitable fast-food tables and ads for tourist excursions.
The auditorium, too, has undergone transformation over time. Not until the lights dim is the opulence of the American, nineteen-twenties-style, Egyptian pharaoh statues to be seen, behind the modern decorations. It was an age when America, fascinated by the magnificent discoveries of the archaeological expeditions to Egypt in the early nineteen-hundreds, wanted to relive the splendour of the pharaohs. Charles Toberman, a Los Angeles real-estate agent, and Sid Grauman, a theatre producer, were particularly charmed by the pyramids, the immense statues, precious objects and mysterious language of hieroglyphics and had the idea of building the theatre.

The national première of an all-time success, the colossal "The Ten Commandments", inaugurated The Egyptian and it remained the only movie-house in the Walk of Fame until 1927. When the huge Chinese Theatre - another of Grauman's projects - opened, the Egyptian hosted the first and most important live shows in Hollywood at the time.
As to films, the Egyptian specialized in long runs of the biggest movie hits. For months on end audiences were entertained by "My Fair Lady" and held their breath watching "Ben Hur".
The Egyptian Theatre has now taken on a new lease of life as a cineclub and a group of volunteers ensures its survival with the passion of authentic cinephiles, ready to tell tales about every film on the program or about the building's history. It has become the headquarters of the American Cinemathèque, whose repertory ranges from the great classics of the past to "B series" screenings, such as "Naked Alibi", a film made in 1954 and directed by Jerry Hopper, or film festivals: in October it hosted the 10th "German Currents Film Festival" and in November the 12th "Cinema Italian Style", a festival of Italian cinema.
The theatre has also made the digital shift: as well as the classic 16mm, 35mm and 70mm projectors, the two auditoriums of the Egyptian Theatre are also equipped with a "Full Digital Cinema 2K" (NEC 2500) projector 3D enabled.
In the morning, before screenings begin, our curious tourist will also be able to take part in a guided tour and make a donation to the association for restoring the splendour of this important piece of cinematographic history and not only that of Hollywood.

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