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ArcLight Cinemas - Hollywood, CA - July 2003 - page 2 After years of struggle, the American Cinematheque finally took over the grand old Hollywood theater, the Egyptian, and now shows all manner of old and new films to fiercely faithful movie buffs. It's one of the great success stories for those who long to see not just new, but also older films on the big screen. (The Egyptian has two theaters, a partly auditorium larger theater, and a standard smaller one.) ArcLight followed -- and topped all the other multiplexes in Los Angeles. It was designed specifically to appeal to movie patrons who want the best; it gives every indication of joining the Cinematheque in fulfilling the dreams of many a movie buff of Los Angeles. 
Just as the sound and projection systems at the Dome and at the 14 ArcLight theaters represent major advancements, so does the ArcLight itself. You walk in through doors mounted in high glass walls, which look out on the back of the Dome. It's an immense, plush-feeling place, with many areas accessible even to those who haven’t bought a ticket to a screening.For example, to the left is a large gift shop specializing in Hollywood memorabilia -- but it's largely upscale memorabilia. There are hundreds of books with movie or movie-related themes for sale, many of them the more expensive "coffee-table" books. The gift shop also features more traditional Hollywood souvenirs, such as reproductions of movie posters, postcards, greeting cards, refrigerator magnets, trinkets, T-shirts, sweat shirts, lunch pails, and a great deal of other interesting items. To the right of the entrance are the more distinctive features of ArcLight -- a full-service cafe, and two bars, one that is part of the cafe, the other up a flight of steps to the "balcony" overlooking the expansive lobby. The cafe serves cafe-style food – a few pastas, several salads, and a large array of sandwiches, appetizers and desserts. The prices are (perhaps unexpectedly) reasonable; it's a good place to grab a bite to eat before or after a movie. The standard parking validation gives you four free hours, which makes squeezing in a meal and (most) movies easy. One wall of the cafe is covered with framed and unframed images from classic movies and their advertising art. ArcLight has recently added Sunday brunches at $20 a person, which allows you to also buy $10 tickets for a screening the same day. 
The cafe overlooks another ArcLight innovation. All multiplexes, of course, have displays that list the films playing, which theater they're in and when the screening starts. ArcLight has added an immense wall clock just above their computer-controlled, illuminated listing of movies. Furthermore, each theater's listing also lets you know when the next screening is -- "'Bend It Like Beckham' starts in 10 minutes" -- and when it's too late to go to a particular film. "The 1:20 [for instance] show is NOT available for seating" shows up when the starting time has passed. The 14 theaters contained in ArcLight are mirrored pairs; each of them has auditorium style seating, with particularly comfortable seats, three inches wider than the industry standard. They feature moveable, padded armrests, each of which is equipped with a drink holder. The aisles between the seats are wide enough so that seated patrons don't have to stand up when someone passes by. There are also elevators to the upper tiers, a boon to handicapped patrons. The theaters range in size (by pairs): 120, 199, 236 and 414 seats in size, with the Dome holding 856 seats.
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