New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Big screen at Aquarium gets 7-week reprieve
People have fond memories of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s IMAX Theater, closed since March 13 by the pandemic and slated for demolition. It’s hard to forget a well-shot 70mm film that is six-stories high and eight-stories wide.
But wait! The South Norwalk IMAX theater will reopen Thanksgiving weekend for a seven-week run of fabulous films — including the holiday classic “The Polar Express” — in a giant-screen finale before the theater is no more.
Dave Sigworth, the Aquarium spokesman, says the portion of the venue with the IMAX theater is in fact being removed as part of a federal railroad bridge replacement project.
The theater’s limited reopening will run through Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with fan-favorite flicks of about 45 minutes each from the past 30 years — albeit with COVID-19 protocols in place that reduce the theater’s capacity from 310 to 80.
Sigworth reminds us that IMAX (which stands for Image Maximum) is the largest film format in the world. Instead of a vertically mounted projector like a 16mm, “IMAX reels weigh about 200 pounds and the film is horizontal . ... It’s a horizontal projection system. They lay flat.”
The facility has “enormous reels of (previously shown) movies,” says Sigworth. “Like, there’s a whole room that these things are stored in. It’s not like pulling a DVD off a shelf.”
And Norwalk’s IMAX is among the biggest of the big screens.
“There are digital IMAX theaters in Connecticut, but their screens are not as large,” says Sigworth. “And even as good as the digital projection is, it’s not as sharp and bright and clear an image as we get with our film projection system.”
Some of the 20-plus films, with an audio track that is loaded separately, go back to the late 1980s; they were kept because the movie companies didn’t require they be returned.
The first theme — for movies Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 3-6 — is “land” with expected titles of “Pandas,” “Beavers,” Africa: The Serengeti,” “Backyard Wilderness” and “Born to Be Wild.”
In addition, the Aquarium plans to screen the feature-length favorite “The Polar Express” on Friday, Nov. 27, and then on four Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 20. All “Polar Express” show times are 4:30 p.m. and are specially priced at $11.50 for adults, $10.50 for seniors and $9.50 for children.
In the past, Sigworth notes, you would get an IMAX movie with your Aquarium admission, but the place was closed for three months this spring, straining finances. And capacity is reduced. So there’s a small charge to see the other IMAX films, just $5 (go online for a reservation). A $25 unlimited pass, meanwhile, requires an in-person reservation, however.
The happy ending in 2021? Two other projects, says Sigworth.
“At the other end of the building, we’re building a 4D movie theater, which will open in late January,” says Sigworth.
Maritime Aquarium, 10 N Water St, Norwalk, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. $24.95-$19.95. maritimeaquarium.org