Page 12 - untitled

90. THE GROSVENOR- MOONEE PONDS by John Holloway

The original Moonee Ponds Grosvenor started life, in rented accommodation, as a 3-sided picture frame placed in front
of a television connected to a Beta VCR in 1987. This radical transformation was brought about by a visit to a new
multiplex, which offered floating screen, disruptive audience members, no staff to monitor sou11d and vision, (much less
the patrons!) and a general feeling of despair for the days gone by, when a visit to the Cinema was a real event.

Hand-drawn curtains were a feature of this mini-theatrette, however cues were difficult to predict, thus, the curtains were
often drawn either too early , or too late, (and sometimes, too slowly) resulting in end credits of movies being alarmingly
chopped, or, worse still, curtains closing on a blank screen!

In 1991, having purchased my own home, first priority was to turn the living room into another Home Cinema. Having
by now discovered the world of Laser Disc, a whole new world opened up to me. A magnificent back-log of classic and
vintage titles, as well as all new releases, often concurrent with theatrical release in Australia, plus the added advantage
of original aspect ratios (Scope, Widescreen, Vista Vision, Nom1al etc.) and full theatrical presentation (Overtures, !mer-
mission, Ent'racte's and Exit Music) demanded a grander style Grosvenor to be established.

Grosvenor Photo: Courtesy of Mr. Julian Walker

- l2 -