Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Odeon Edinburgh to close?

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Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 01-29-2003, 10:54 AM:

I heard a rumour that one of my favourite haunts from my student days, the Odeon, Clerk Street, Edinburgh is to close [Eek!]

Anyone on this side of the wet bit know any more about this?

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-30-2003, 07:23 AM:

No, but it doesn't surprise me. Odeon seem to be closing down their city centre 1930s sites and opening up out-of-town multiplexes in their place. Newcastle and Wimbledon both closed in November last year, and York is now such a run-down fleapit that it can't have very long to go.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 01-30-2003, 10:02 AM:

It's a real loss to the city, the Edinburgh Odeon is far from a run down flea pit. I blame the greed of distributors personally. Without a huge sweet shop foyer, it must be all but impossible for an old palace like this to turn a profit.

The Edinburgh Odeon is conveniently located for a lot of students at Edinburgh Uni, a nice, clean, well cared for building. If I remember rightly it was a Gaumont originally, many people will remember seeing their favourites bands of yesteryear in there. A google search on 'Edinburgh Odeon' reels page after page of big names who have played on its stage.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 01-30-2003, 02:34 PM:

Pete,

Here's your big chance to become and independent exhibitor.

Posted by Ben Wales (Member # 92) on 01-30-2003, 03:14 PM:

I am not sure about the Odeon Edinburgh, will ahve to find out, but I do know the the ABC Aldershot (now owned by Odeon) is to close soon, already we lost the ABC Cosham nr Portsmouth (now re-opened as The Carlton)no doubt other Odeon High street sites are to close and ABC cinemas not re-branded will aslo close with the next few years.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 01-30-2003, 04:02 PM:

Sad to have to report it looks like it's true, There was a report in todays Edinburgh Evening News. Protest and comment from various Scottish actors and film producers (no, not Sean Connery!) Read the article here http://www.edinburghnews.com/index.cfm?id=120302003

Actually some of what is in that article is a bit clouded.

"Ginnie Aitkinson, Edinburgh International Film Festival managing director, said: "The city is embedded in cinema culture, so this is very sad news. The biggest issue for the city now is that it will no longer have a large auditorium to hold gala events . The building for us has potential for other uses in the film field."

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has, in recent years, run less and less of the gala premieres at the Odeon, Filmhouse or Cameo. They seem to favour the UGC, Fountainbridge, for the big shows. Personally this is something I can live without, the UGC has little character or atmosphere to it, no masking and no curtains. All of which the Odeon has in abundance. I guess the deal that the festival gets from UGC is better than what Odeon offers.

Ian, if I ever was in the position to start out on my own I already have two sites strongly in mind! Neither are ex-Odeon or ABC. In fact it is nearly impossible to re-open a closed Odeon/ABC if what happened at the nearest one to me is anything to go by. Basically they will only sell or lease the building with a proviso that it will not be used for cinema exhibition.

Here ends the life of a grand old lady of cinema, served the public of Edinburgh throughout the worst down times of the industry. I doubt greatly that we'll be saying the same of the multiplexes in 90 odd years.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 02-01-2003, 11:52 AM:

The Odeon in Edinburgh is due to close -- and so will the Odeon at Renfield Street, Glasgow. Yes, the megaplex has come to Scotland.

Today's history lesson: The Beatles played their only Glasgow show at Renfield Street in 1964.

Posted by Bernard Tonks (Member # 809) on 03-09-2003, 08:27 AM:

Update.

According to Cinemas UK Listing, Edinburgh Clerk Street Odeon, and Glasgow Renfield Street Odeon, both close on the 24th April. [Frown]

Edinburgh Lothian Road, new 4 screen Odeon, opens end of April, on the site of the old ABC cinema.

Sunday Times 9th March. Odeon UK has been sold by Cinven for £430 million to WestLB, the German investment bank group.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 03-09-2003, 04:08 PM:

Given the property value of all their town centre venues, £430 million doesn't sound very much to me. Recent speculation in the local press about the possible imminent closure of their York site suggests that it is worth £10m alone. Makes me wonder if Odeon could have significant liabilites...

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 03-09-2003, 04:34 PM:

As a former Edinburgh city resident, and former employee at the ABC Lothian Road (site on the new 4 screen Odeon), I erally don't see how the new Odeon is going to work. From what I heard is has fairly small seating capacity, and just 4 screens. There are two successful, established art house venues (both 3 screen) within 5 minutes walk, a UGC multiplex about 10 minutes walk away and a long established, family run independant nearby as well. Firstly it has to imprint itself on the punters, which knowing Edinburgh punters it will struggle to do. It will also have to offer something the others nearby don't, and again I can't see how it can. If my local Odeon multiplex is anything to go by one will have to pay a visit to your doctor after seeing a show there to have the blood supply to ones backside restored! To say the seats are uncomfortable is being charitable. We also have to put up with some fairly ropey presentation too, something the two art house venues and the independant near the new Edinburgh Odeon pride themselves on.

It seems to me that the once great Odeon chain is dead, the current chain has only the name in similarity.

Posted by Ben Wales (Member # 92) on 03-09-2003, 06:27 PM:

I wondered what the late Lord Rank founder of Odeon Theatres would think that his circuit is owned by the Germans!.

How sad that our Cinema Exhibition is now owned and funded by investment Banks (Bean counters) and not people like in the "The Good Old Days" that had showman vision.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 03-10-2003, 02:21 AM:

quote:
If my local Odeon multiplex is anything to go by one will have to pay a visit to your doctor after seeing a show there to have the blood supply to ones backside restored!

Yup, that's an Odeon hallmark alright. Exeter was especially bad. My worst experience there was going to see Shitanic (oops, Freudian slip) on the opening Friday. We (as in, the local arthouse where I worked) were getting it a fortnight later, but that didn't appease my girlfriend, who had to see it as soon as it came out. At 6'4", I pretty nearly got deep vein thrombosis from those seats. The combination of no legroom, atrocious presentation and a f---ing abysmal film was not a happy one.

But to give credit where credit is due, one of the few good points about the new Odeon in Wimbledon is that the legroom is a lot more generous. Furthermore, if you book in advance and explain that legroom is an issue, they'll reserve you a seat in the front row of a section.

quote:
I wondered what the late Lord Rank founder of Odeon Theatres would think that his circuit is owned by the Germans!

Sorry to be pedantic, but Odeon was actually founded by Oscar Deutsch, a Hungarian immigrant scrap metal dealer from Birmingham who opened the first site at Perry Barr (a suburb of Birmingham) in 1931. The chain had grown to around 400 sites when Deutsch died in 1941 and the business was then bought out by Rank.

I don't think Rank would have cared very much about Odeon being owned by the Germans. He was originally a flour milling magnate (Rank as in Rank-Hovis) whose first involvement with the film industry came in 1934, when one of his friends persuaded him to put up the money for a religous propaganda film for showing in sunday schools. His attitude to films was that they were like any other industry and that he existed to make it profitable. He employed lots of European refugees, Germans included. In the 50s and 60s, when the film industry went into decline, Rank did not hesitate to downsize his operations, selling off subsiduary companies wholesale. By the late-60s the Rank Organisation's core businesses had become bingo halls and Rank-Xerox photocopiers. Suggested reading: Geoffrey Macnab, J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry.

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 09-09-2003, 02:39 PM:

The Edinburgh {South Clerk St} Odeon has now closed with the 4 screen Lothean Road {ex ABC} Odeon now open. {I have not had a chance to visit since I mainly go to the Cameo [and occasionally the Warner Village where I shovel popcorn]}.

The future of the building is not yet known as it is unlikly to get permission for demolision or conversion to a nightclub.

[edit] Seemingly it ended with Lara Croft TRC showing in Sc1- not the most fitting end for the New Victoria Cinema {as was}

Posted by Dan Harris (Member # 1759) on 09-10-2003, 12:44 PM:

The new Odeon on Lothian Road is only there as the listing mandate for the building denoted that any future development must include a cinema. The cinema was due to open last December, but has been continually plagued with structual probelms. Now it's open I hear its very nice, but it's a bit far north for me to travel to take a look!

In an effort to at least try to get it to make some money, they've gone for a new minimalist design, with new style retail, selling organic popcorn and stuff like that. In addition, you can take alcholic drinks from the bar into the auditoria.

The cinema will play a mix of arthouse and first run mainstream product.

While we're on the subject of Odeon, I see in the latest Cinema Technology that Odeon and VUE are again both in talks to buy CineUK. The last time time this came up people speculated that the competition comission would insist that the sucessful purchaser "thin out" their estate. So if Odeon buy them, I guess we'll see many more Odeon traditional sites sadly closing.

Dan

Posted by Darren Briggs (Member # 1071) on 09-14-2003, 03:57 PM:

Keep going to the Cameo, more atmosphere, and now a kick ass Dolby Digital sound system in Screen 1.
(think we did good peter!)