Page 6 - RD_2015_12

Will a grand front rag become a thing of the past?
Bill Murdoch hopes not, although they seem to be an endangered species.

heatre and cinema architecture
T have been passions of mine since
I was a child. But, oh boy – how
concepts in cinema design have
changed!
There has been a total loss of going
to the theatre as a magical exciting
occasion. I feel sorry for the kids of
today who will never know the elegance
and wonder I found as a child in our
wonderful old Melbourne theatres.
I was sitting in a cinema recently
and took my camera out to see if it
there was a possible shot to be taken. I
could do this easily as there were no
staff members around. You could die in
this cinema and the management
wouldn’t know until the night cleaners
arrived a week later.)
“Why do you want a photo of
this?” the voice near me said. “It’s just
plain brick walls with a bare screen.
No curtain. No pre-projection slides or
anything. Holes in the roof for down
lighting and 20 watt globes. It’s so Three sets of curtains at the Metro Collins St. The unusual curtain described by Bill
dark you can’t see, and even if you Murdoch - knife edge pleats which created an ‘inward billow’ - came into prominence
could, there’s nothing worth when wide screen was installed.
photographing!”

6 2003 CINEMARECORD