Reed Travel Features
LAS VEGAS -- Luxor opened the Luxor IMAX Theatre, the first
venue in Nevada to offer IMAX 3D films and one of only 20 theaters
worldwide equip-ped to project the format.
Luxor IMAX replaces the property's Theatre of Time
attraction.
The theater, which cost nearly $10 million to reconfigure, can
accommodate 312 guests for regular IMAX films and 286 for IMAX 3D
films.
The films are projected onto a screen that spans 84 feet in
width and rises 68 feet.
The screen extends beyond the moviegoers' field of vision,
creating the impression that they are in the picture.
Heightening the experience is IMAX's surround-sound audio
system.
Six clusters of speakers are situated throughout the theater,
and during IMAX 3D presentations guests wear headsets with built-in
speakers and special lenses.
Guests can watch two films in the new Luxor IMAX Theatre:
"Special Effects" in regular IMAX format and "L5: First City in
Space" in 3D.
"Special Effects" is a documentary that opened in IMAX theaters
worldwide last July.
The 40-minute documentary enables moviegoers to explore the
world of movie illusions with visual effects from films.
Included are backstage looks at the making of movies such as
"Independence Day," "Kazaam," "Jumanji" and the "Star Wars Trilogy
Special Edition."
Audiences also will see King Kong's final battle as well as
starship chase scenes choreographed with original "Star Wars"
models in newly reshot IMAX format.
"L5: First City in Space" depicts a space city orbiting the
earth.
A highlight of the film is a sequence during which viewers skim
the surface of Mars at high speeds.
The sequence was constructed from real images and data gathered
from the Viking space probe.
The two films will be shown hourly on a rotating schedule from
10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Prices are $7 per person for "Special Effects," $8.50 for "L5:
First City in Space" and $13.50 for a double feature.
Luxor said it expects more than 600,000 visitors annually to
Luxor IMAX, which is a joint-venture development between Luxor and
Toronto-based IMAX Corp.
The new theater is one facet of an agreement reached by Circus
Circus Enterprises, owner of Luxor, and IMAX Corp. last year.
The deal includes the joint operation of the Luxor IMAX Theatre
as well as the installation of three IMAX Ridefilm
motion-simulation theaters at Circus Circus Hotel and Casino's
Grand Slam Canyon theme park.
The IMAX Ridefilm venues are set to open at Grand Slam Canyon
this summer.
Under the agreement, IMAX also began a nationwide distribution
of "In Search of the Obelisk," the movie ride that premiered at
Luxor in 1993.
In its first 28 months of operation, "In Search of the Obelisk"
lured more than 3.4 million people, making it the most attended
entertainment attraction in Las Vegas, according to Circus
Circus.