We Upgraded Our Audio
By the time Cinemagic opens its doors on Friday, July 14, we will have completed a major overhaul of the audio system. Highlights include a new subwoofer, completely re-done surrounds, and an awful lot of fiddly detail work. If you want more details, we’ll post them on the main site soon. For now, just know that it sounds really good.
We want to see just what our new toys are capable of, so from July 14-18 we’re going to play four of the best sounding movies we could think of.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Fury Road is the epitome of maximalist filmmaking. A two-hour rush of striking imagery and wildly creative set pieces. It could have been a chaotic blur, but the impeccable film-craft of George Miller and company rendered its world with vivid detail. This technical prowess extends to the audio. There are plenty of roaring engines and booming explosions, but that’s not the hard part. What sets the Fury Road apart is the clarity and fidelity that exist within the chaos.
Mad Max: Fury Road plays Saturday (7/15) at 9:30, and Monday (7/17) at 7:00. The late show on Saturday will play extra loud. Tickets
Drive
The audio of Drive is all about contrasts. It’s a world of neon lit calm, punctuated by deafening outburst of violence. All of this is supported by one of the best synth soundtracks ever put to film. It’s remarkable both for quality and restraint, vanishing entirely for the titular driving sequences to leave nothing but engine noise.
Drive plays Friday (7/14) at 10:00, and Saturday (7/15) at 7:00. The late show Friday will play extra loud. Tickets
There Will Be Blood (On 35mm film)
Good audio is about more than big noises and surround sound, and no film demonstrates this like Cinemagic favorite There Will Be Blood. From Johnny Greenwood’s incredible score to the impeccable sense of place created by the film’s soundscape, it’s a masterclass in sound design.
There Will Be Blood plays on 35mm film on Sunday (7/16) at 7:00, and Tuesday (7/18) at 7:00. Tickets
Tenet
Much has been said Tenet’s ill-chosen 2020 release date, or its complex puzzle box of a plot, but far too little attention has been given to the exceptional technical execution of Tenet. It’s a movie that was crafted for the expansive audio of a proper cinema. On top of that, it’s sort of a test. Christopher Nolan’s films have been criticized for muddled dialogue, but that’s not quite right. Where most films boost the vocals and tweak the EQ so it sounds OK on a range of equipment (but never amazing), Nolan assume you’ve done the job right. On bad kit it’s a mess. On good kit? It sounds incredible.
Cinema City: Riki-Oh (aka The Story of Ricky)
It’s time for Cinema City to venture back into the wilds of Hong Kong Category III filmmaking.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is a jailhouse kung-fu splatter film from Lam Ngai Kai (director of The Seventh Curse). It’s on the short list of films that earned Hong Kongs strongest content rating for violence alone, but it’s all so goopy, gory, and unrealistic it’s hard to imagine taking offence. Like usual, we’ll be playing the Hong Kong cut with English subtitles.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky plays tonight (Weds 7/12) at 7:00, as part of Cinema City.
Tickets
