HOME CINEMA TOUR 2023 - 4K, 35mm Super 8 & THX Sound 

Couldn't agree more! John.

Evening Erik. A lot of people do seem to like how it's turned out which may inspire some to give it a go someday. How is your 70mm projecting going at the moment? Still packing them in? John.

@@moviecollector5920 Yes, thank you. Oppenheimer is playing in 70mm at least until August 31. Erik.

You're welcome and thank you. John.

Thank you Icarius. I seem to be in there an awful lot lately... but I am still getting things fully sorted which is why (or the excuse!). John.

Thank you Caleb. It's always a special occasion to watch a movie on a big screen. We tend to be in there three times a week these days. John.

You're welcome Gurdip. John.

Thank you Jmig. It's movie night tonight actually - John Wick 3 is next on the list I think. Quite enjoying them which is a nice surprise having watched the fourth film first and finding it a bit too silly. John.

Thank you Crow. John.

I'm delighted you've found it Darren. Good to have you here. John.

Every home should come with a home cinema Tony. John.

It is very nice to finally sit in it as a finished home cinema Ron. Currently I have an FP20 35mm projector just inside the left hand swing door but now that I've learned how to use it, it will only be put there for the occasions when I make up a 35mm print onto a pair of big reels. That's the plan anyway. Although I do have to get the Dolby Digital side of it all established yet but some of the parts for that are arriving in about four or five weeks so it's got to wait. All jolly good fun though. John.

@@moviecollector5920 I think it's great to have various options on how to watch movies. I have many fond memories of being a kid and hearing the sound of the protector--or being in a movie when the projector would break and the audience would cry out in worry. Watching movies and that shared experience (no matter if it's at a theater or in one's home cinema with friends and family) is a wonderful way to bond through laughter, surprises or even tears. Thanks again for all the great videos!

Thank you Stephen. Glad you like it. John.

Glad you like it Sisco. John.

Thank you Sherin. Glad you like it. John.

Morning Sin Gin. Sadly we're not the biggest popcorn lovers so it rarely gets seen in there and when it does it's not the overly sweet, totally unhealthy popcorn either. My think is chocolate raisins but there doesn't seem to be a machine we can get to manufacture those in a similar way machines for popcorn are available so I'll just have to stick to Aldi's finest choccie raisins at 85p for a large bag! John.

choccie raisins sounds good followed by a sprite. Have a good one John and enjoy the movies.@@moviecollector5920

Glad you like it... and the long throw which can never be long enough! John.

Something like it is achievable in any room Adam so it can be done. Doesn't have to be quite so complicated because once the lights are out they're all pretty much doing the same job. John.

Thank you for watching Paul. John.

Thank you John. John.

Thank you Bob. Glad you like it. John.

It's a house built around a cinema. How every house should be done! John.

Glad you like it Jon. Thank you. John.

Thank you Robert. I say the same thing when I look in the mirror!!! John.

@@moviecollector5920 HA HA VERY FUNNY.

Thank you Finlay. It was worth waiting until the chaps could come in and knock it all about. Anyone else might have messed it up. John.

It's turning out alright I think. I was still decorating yesterday but just about done now I think. Just got to address that bottom mask but it can wait. Interesting that you rather liked The Flash because I fancy seeing that only because Micheal Keaton is playing Batman - the best Batman we've ever had in my opinion. John.

@moviecollector5920 every scene he's in is pure gold and feels like a genuine continuation of his character from his other 2 movies.

@@MyFireVideos It's not released here until the 19th of the month. I might get the steelbook which is only a fiver more than the standard release. I bet it will come down in price pretty quickly though given the way the movie has gone down. The trailer did run at the BFI IMAX prior to one of the Nolan films recently. I wasn't taking any notice of it and then Michael Keaton turned up in the Batman suit and that piqued my interest. I might think the rest of it is complete tosh but I'll always watch a film with Keaton playing Batman. John

It's good fun Tom and nice to sit in there and put something on. Amazing what you can achieve with a bit of string and sticky tape! John.

The curtains are just on a corded curtain track. Very easy to do but given the size now I've got a motor on each one so a six foot corded curtain track each. John.

Thank you Mark. Glad you like it. John.

@moviecollector5920 truly inspiring and love your passion for fillm!

Thank you Mark. We'll try to enjoy it as often as possible. John.

Thank you Ellis. Glad you like it. John.

Thank you. It does seem to have turned out rather well. I think I finished all the painting and decorating yesterday so just that troublesome bottom mask to concentrate on now but it can wait. John.

Thank you David. Glad you like it. John.

Thank you Rey. Glad you like it. John.

It's a lot of fun Jose. John.

Take a look at Andy's which I've linked to in the description. It's almost life size to the one at the Empire! John.

It does look perfectly fitting in the entrance there Dennis. Very kind of you to send it. John.

Thank you Kevin. John.

There are 18 images in that Highlander front of house set Chris. I think I paid £10 for them about 30 years ago. The missing 8 are in a cupboard somewhere so I'll find those and interchange them occasionally - apart from the two portrait images because they are the only portrait ones in the set. John.

Thank you Jeremy. Funnily enough I've been thinking about Jaws lately probably owing to the recent Jaws 2 release on 4K disc. I would have got a copy but the packaging is a little boring to look at and so I thought I'd leave it a while until it's hopefully a little cheaper. John.

You're welcome Eddie. John.

I knew it!

@@moviecollector5920 - You’ve done an incredible job, John. Any interest in an extra centre channel for your Kef THX system for use as a rear centre surround channel?

@@cheekster777 Have you got any of these Kef THX tripoles then Cheekster? They do appear on eBay quite often... or at least they did. I haven't looked in a while. John.

@@moviecollector5920 - I just so happen to have a full 7.1 set of those including the floor stands. They’ve been boxed up and unused for a while. Need to get them moved on.

Thank you John. And the cinema ain't a bad looker either! John.

Thank you Matthew. John.

We were trying to find a house with a bigger possibility than this for a cinema but this compromise has ended up turning out very well. Fitting the 35mm in there is problematic though so I'll have to make the best of that somehow. John.

@@moviecollector5920 It looks great, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun watching movies in there. Great job to you all!

It is rather pleasant Niels. Thank you. John.

Thank you Steve. Every home should have one! John.

It does seem to have come together rather well. Just need to find an excuse to put Blade Runner on in it now. John.

Thank you Jim. Apart from the 1.43:1 huge IMAX screens I think all cinemas should still use curtains/tabs. Some don't even have moving masking these days which is confirmation of the lack of understanding of film presentation within the cinema industry. John.

What's happening to your classic car though? Seriously, good luck with it all. Don't let anyone talk you into spending a fortune on a screen when all you have to do is paint the wall and then mask it. That can be done by a choice of methods but there's no need to go down the motorized route like me unless you fancy a challenge. Manually pulled corded curtain tracks are easy to do but so are hooks on the wall to hang black velvet over, particularly if it's mounted on boards. John.

@@moviecollector5920 Classic car, i wish haha. Thanks John, i have plenty of time to think about how to go about my home cinema. Something to look forward to.

Thank you. John.

You're welcome Sky. It has all come together rather well and yesterday afternoon I found a bit of time to paint the remainder of the little lobby area red so it's getting there now. Just got to have a think about what to do about the bottom mask... but I do have an idea. John.

The Entire Thing you and your Wife Have created is amazing. I thinkanyone would be more than happy to have a Setup like that.. Was really good of you to show us around Sir@@moviecollector5920

Thank you Blueflame. Glad you like it. John.

There are quite a few real (reel) film home cinemas around the UK Yusii and I have featured a couple of others on here over the past 18 months or so. Noel Pratt was the first and Simon Nicholls the second which was uploaded in April of this year I think. John.

​@@moviecollector5920Cheers mate I'll check them out.

This is how I knew cinemas growing up. In the West End of London there were still very nice cinemas through the 1990's and possibly beyond but by that time the projection quality had deteriorated so badly that I gave up about 2005/6. I now only go to the cinema when I know a genuine film print is being screened so that isn't very often at all any longer. John.

Thank you Malcolm. It has gone rather well so far apart from the bottom mask but I'm thinking of ways to tackle that. John.

Film is how my love of home cinema started about 55 years ago Don. Wouldn't be without film. It really is the magic of the movies but we're losing it today. John.

@@moviecollector5920 Great to hear! I'm also a fan of film, having learned how to edit on 8mm and Super 8 gauges from my Dad's home movies. Digital editing is no doubt faster and cheaper, but there is an art and tactile satisfaction to using a physical media like film.

@@donfisherjr.2404 Cinema needs to get back to screening films on occasion to complement the current full time diet of video. To get people away from their little tellies and tiny mobile phones cinemas need to offer something different and better and shooting and finishing on film is the way to provide that. Not all the time these days but enough to remind people how good cinema can be to encourage them to get along to a cinema more often even if much of the time what they'll see is more or less the same as they'd be able to see at home or on their phone a few months later. John.

Very kind of you to say so. Glad you like the new home cinema. It took quite a while to get it to this position but it was worth waiting until the chaps had the time to come in and do the finishing touches we wanted. Anyone else would probably have messed it up. John.

Thank you JB. Nothing beats running a 35mm print of a favourite film... unless you have 70mm I suppose - or IMAX! John.

@@moviecollector5920 Indeed Unless You Have 70mm

Thank you Paul. John.

Thank you JK. Now I just need a life size Alien mannequin in a corner somewhere! John.

Thank you Carlos. John.

You're welcome. It's been quite a while since the process started because we moved in 20 months ago now and we had it planned probably two or three months after arriving. Had to find builders who could do it and that was the big hold up because Andy and Dave are so constantly in demand. John.

Anyone can do something similar Christopher even if there isn't a spare room available. Start with the screen and a projector and then work it out from there. I've done just that when living in small flats in the past. The screen in this latest home cinema is a wall with brilliant white emulsion on it so probably cost about £5. I always prefer to use a wall where possible but I'm going to move our ten foot roll down screen into the living room at some stage and possibly have 35mm projection onto that. John.

@@moviecollector5920 Thanks for the reply I hope to have a projector when we move... I dont know too much about projectors only that like tvs prices can vary massively...I currently am in the midst of renovating my den in the garden but when I'm not working (building trade) as had rot on the floors etc did it about 13 yrs ago as got fed up of kids and friends hogging the tv rooms in the house.. best thing I did... but have gone max size I can go and couple yrs ago got a 65inch Panasonic hz2000 oled (after a kuro) ub9000 region free bluray player..(love physical media) and in wall ceiling monitor audios which I'll leave in there with a pioneer av receiver as part parcel when house goes on the market.. all of which is in my back sitting room with loads of original horror posters. So mrs getting fedup... but seeing a setup like yours with all that space big screen etc makes a huge difference and you get that proper cinema feel... gives me an idea to strive towards for my next project in the future 🙏🏽

I've still got to get the bottom mask working again but I have an idea of how to do it. It can wait for a while though as I've spent far too much time sorting things out lately. Good fun to have it working pretty well now though. John.

From the days when cinemas had a bit of style rather than just a black box with a while screen at the end. We were in one studio recently and they didn't even have adjustable masking so just the 'Scope screen meaning white bars down the side for flat films. Ridiculous! No wonder they're all going out of business. John.

exactamondo, this is a true theatre.@@moviecollector5920

It's easier than you may think to make a start Andy. My start was simply a white wall with a Super 8 projector but following that things have got increasingly ambitious. However, the screen in our latest home cinema is still a painted white wall as there's nothing better to act as a screen. All the moving masking and everything else are simply extras or enhancements but a white wall with some black card you hang on it to envelop the projected image is all that's really required. And a video projector which can cost as little as a few hundred pounds these days. John.

Thank you Mike. John.

Thank you Prettorian. John.

Thank you BigAl. John.

Thank you Steffy. John.

Glad you like it Paul. Hope all is going well over there and you're still seeing plenty of classic cars out and about. John.

@@moviecollector5920 Yes John all is going well Thanks.

Thank you Roy. John.

Glad you like it Stephan. Thank you. John.

Thank you Jesus. We've just come out after another cinema night and it is a very nice place to enjoy a movie. Every home should come with a home cinema! John.

Now there's a good old Cornish expression! John.

Thank you Luis. John.

Thank you Graham. Hope all is well with you down there. John.

Thank you Craig. John.

The lightboxes are usually to be had on eBay but they're might be available a little cheaper from elsewhere. John.

Thank you John. Glad you like it. John.

Thank you K-box. This is how I remember cinemas from my childhood and then well into my 30's in the West End of London. All other cinemas went down the poverty route of a black box with a white screen only but with moving side masking. It's got even worse lately with a lot of cinemas no longer having movable side masking. John.

Thank you Michael. I hope all is well with you over in South Africa. John.

@@moviecollector5920 As well as can be expected, John . For the past 5 months our government-owned electricity supplier has been unable to keep our lights on, so between 2 and 4 times a day we have load shedding, which means for 2 (or more) hours at a time we don't have electricity. Before this, I had one evening a week set aside for a few close friends for a film evening,. I have not been able to have one for 5 months. its nightmare .Michael - South Africa

Morning Ray. When they designed the house they clearly didn't think about where the projection booth would be. We've been able to work around their lack of foresight though! John.

Thank you Treguard. John.

I've just finished putting a new video together featuring both our 35mm projectors so after I've checked how that looks on-line I'll make that one live. Might have to wait for a couple of days as I'm a little busy right now. Should be interesting though as 35mm is great fun to play with in the home. John.

Thank you duduking. The home cinema's not looking too bad either! John.

All that's required to start with is a white wall or a drop down screen and a projector. That's how I started more than 40 years ago and actually 55 years ago if you include helping my father to set up his screen so he could project home movies for us. John.

Great way to watch movies!@@moviecollector5920

Thank you Cody. A new video coming soon showing me playing with a new 35mm projector. Still much to get to grips with as this projector comes with Dolby Digital but I don't have all the connectors - or the knowledge - to make that a reality yet. John.

A Dolby Digital decoder for prints? That’s really wild. I guess you’ll have to talk to Dolby about that one. Have you heard of the Revel M106 speakers? Audio Science Review convinced my to purchase a pair. Pretty much perfect frequency response down to about 60Hz. Would be great for a theater if you’re ever looking for something. I’m in the midst of setting them up. Thinking of getting a Rythmik sub to handle the bass.

@@CodyMarion01 It's not unusual for 35mm film collectors to have a Dolby Digital decoder/processor so the knowledge is out there. I think Simon Nicholls has the same unit so I should be in good hands. I haven't heard of Revel speakers at all. I do have a 1.43rd scale plastic model kit of a Triumph TR7 upstairs though and that's made by Revel. Looks like they've branched out since the 1970's! John.

Thank you Jeff. John.

Morning Roland. It seems like you're having a lot of fun with your system at the moment then. I have been doing some work in ours too but nothing much on the sound side of things other than re-configure the amp now that the rear speakers are in a different position. I'd been putting that off as the settings from our previous home cinema were close so there seemed little point. Not any more. We've also just picked up a Kinoton FP20 with Dolby Digital capabilities so that will be fun getting that set up to work as well as possible given that it's a floorstander so it will have to project from the arch when in use. We might decide to use it almost exclusively in the living room though because the ten foot roll down screen will be going in there sometime soon and it might be ideal for that. Just as well Davey the builder made a dolly for it so we'll be able to roll it around. John.

Thank you Joe. The Spider-Man 2 poster did match the decor and the lights well as soon as I put it in the lightbox. It won't stay there forever though as I like to swap the posters around occasionally. I do have some other orangey posters though such as DIe Hard With a Vengeance. John.

First home movie release of Escape From Alcatraz was Super 8 from Marketing Film International in 1979 I think. I never saw it but I think they put out a couple of cut down versions and the full feature. I hope you enjoy it Gary. John.

@@moviecollector5920 So…. Not one of your favorites?

Glad you enjoyed it. John.

Thank you Lee. Susanne (aka wifey) says "hello" too. John.

I now have the bottom mask automated and operating Marco so it's become an even nicer room to sit in and enjoy movies. I just sit there and press buttons! John.

Beautiful! I also have a cinema room at home where I can watch current films and even those on VHS@@moviecollector5920

Gracias Carlos. Es triste que los cines sean tan comparativamente pobres hoy en día en comparación con los palacios de imagen que solíamos disfrutar. Al menos tú y yo mantenemos viva la memoria del cine. John.

Glad you like it. Thank you Rick. John.

Thank you Private Hudson. John.

Good to hear from you all the way over there in Santiago, Chile Gaspar. We still have one cinema over here that can run three-strip Cinerama and I think they'll be running something there next month. It's in Bradford in the middle of England and called the Pictureville in case you can ever make it over. Once a year is all the chance we get to see Cinerama nowadays though at their 'Widescreen Weekend'. Most of the top cinemas here are long gone now as people prefer to stay at home and stream movies onto their flat screen, tiny televisions. Youngsters seem to be happy looking at their mobile phones all the time so it's all looking a bit hopeless... but not entirely because OPPENHEIMER has been on at the three IMAX cinemas here and if the BFI IMAX is anything to go by, it's been a sellout. The first 100 screenings of the 15/70 print were all sold out and it looks like it's still packing out the auditorium for most of the shows to this day. I think we can look forward to a few more IMAX films in the next few years as a result of this amazing success because it's told the film industry something important - namely that they need cinemas to offer something different to what people can see on their phones or tellies. Many cinemas have put film facilities back in after the big downgrade in 2011 and that might start to gain a pace now. John.

Hello @@moviecollector5920 Really glad to know that in the UK is possible to watch the old Cinerama. Here in Chile they are some efforts to bring back 35mm projection. Although they are limited to very few showings I think is interesting that new generations are discovering the wonders of enjoying movies the way they were intended by the filmmakers. Adiós, amigo.

Glad you like it. John.