Cinemas/Theatres in Taipei, Fall 2021

Arts & Sciences Arts & Entertainment
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How can one best experience cinema and support local Taipei business now that theatres are open and there’s less Covid concern? Particularly seek input on two aspects:

  1. Best theatres that are still open (and if possible 3D and 70mm etc)
  2. Best way for English-only person to search for/view showtimes and details (3D? Dubbed vs. English dialog?).

I see some previously recommended venues are closed now (temporarily and/or permanently), including Miranew Cinemas (Miramar) and I guess IMAX too. :frowning: Particularly interested in top-notch experience (great screen, perhaps ultra-resolution and/or 3D; great sound and decent or better seating, etc.) to make it stand out vs. easy-viewing experience on sofa at home that requires no travel and planning and little cost.

I’m also English-only and struggle to find listings of current showings, in English, that for example indicate if movie is in 3D (don’t such options exist in Taipei?), or warn if movie is not English language (I’m fine with non-English so long as English subtitles – but expect I’ll never see English subtitles in Taiwan, with good reason…)

Thanks for any input!

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I know the IMAX theater is still open. I saw Dune there just recently. Unless they closed it in the last two weeks. :thinking:

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Oh yeah, I did see there is one IMAX open – and I meant to see Dune but they show only one title and it is no longer Dune… :frowning: How was it on big screen? And is IMAX 3D also or just ultra-big screen?

Wasn’t there previously more than one IMAX in Taipei? Or am I imagining…

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Oof, good luck. I think this may actually be harder than it was ten years ago.

I believe this is a list of all the movies currently playing: you can see a long list with the movie poster, the English name, and a bunch of details in Chinese: 開眼電影網首頁--v.1905--

Caveat: this being Taiwan, these bookmarks are quite likely to change by, oh, Tuesday.

This is a list of upcoming movies, but posters only, no English; you can scroll through the dates: 開眼電影網首頁--v.1905--

Here’s Vieshow’s list of current movies. You can see the icons for IMAX, IMAX3D, etc.: 威秀影城 - 熱售中

As for actually figuring out which theater and when, that’s tougher. Isn’t there a Google search for this, when it shows you what’s playing nearby? I half-remember seeing that with a search before, including movie listings and times, but I can’t bring it up now.

Specifically for Dune, I think you’re too late. Here’s what I can find for a list of Taipei cinemas (navigating to this required very basic Chinese). Very limited showings now, and I believe none on Imax. One of them actually has 英文, for English - I suspect that’s just telling the audience the spoken language is English, but maybe there are actually English subtitles. (I’d be surprised.) 全台戲院 @movies【開眼電影網】http://www.atmovies.com.tw/showtime/

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I want to see Dune at IMAX and also eat a mushroom :mushroom: omelette before hand for the full visual effect.

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For that approach I think Lynch’s version would actually be superior. Or at least a bigger experience, for better or worse.

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Which version has Sting in it?

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Thanks! Helpful input. (I have had limited success with Google search for movies but perhaps there’s a specific optimized way to do it that I’ve yet to figure out.)

What Chinese character(s) should I use for “3D” when I search movies?

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With the right mushrooms, all of them have Sting!

Lynch’s. But that character doesn’t yet appear in the current Villeneuve version, so perhaps Sting will once again play the role in Part 2.

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I don’t know, but my Chinese is quite low. I’m just used to seeing “3D”.

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It wasn’t 3D and it was fantastic. The thing about the IMAX theater is that since the screen is so big, you want to be seated in the back half of the auditorium to see everything. I always ask for second to last row.

Wasn’t there previously more than one IMAX in Taipei?

The Miramar in Dazhi is the only IMAX in Taipei AFAIK.

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Good to know. I guess the Mirimar IMAX is not 3D in general?

FYI one reason I was leaning toward 3D for Dune is reading this:
To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Dune Ticket | Cinemablend

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Oh, I found this reference to another IMAX in Taipei, but permanently closed:

“Vieshow Ximen is now permanently closed”(The Biggest Digital Cinema in Taiwan Will be Closed in September - Tell The Truth)**

The only IMAX screen within the heart of Taipei city (the other two are a few stops outside), the Vie Show in Ximen has seats imported from Europe to offer maximum comfort."

Source:

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That article is over 2 years old and it needs an update. The new Muvie Cinemas in Xinyi (in Far Eastern department store) has a big auditorium called the Titan that’s pretty spectacular. While it’s not an IMAX, it’s got all the bells and whistles (dolby surround sound) a state of the art movie theater should have.

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I’ll have to keep eye on what’s playing at Titan/Muvie Cinema. Thanks for mentioning that.

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Food and drink allowed yet? I might go see Eternals if it is. If not, I’ll wait and watch it at home.

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I still like the Ambassador in Ximen. Big old school screen.

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Food and drinks are allowed now, I watched Eternals in the Titan studio of Muvie Cinema, really good, would recommend paying extra for this one. If one wants Dolby Cinema, which is great in my opinion, you can go to Shin Kong Cinema in Taoyuan, it’s in the building with XPark beside Gloria Outlets.

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