The Federal Theater - Malacca, Malaysia (Guest Photos)

With a large percentage of Thailand's movie theaters already documented, my mind wanders to future expeditions in neighboring countries. Last summer a glimpse of Malaysia's cinema treasures was kindly shared by a fellow architectural photographer, sparking my interest in exploring movie theater relics in that country. At this point, however, the likelihood of that happening remains distant.

In the meantime, please enjoy this series of the Federal Theatre in Malacca, submitted by Malaysian-based photographer Raz Talhar.

Raz says that the Federal was built in 1965 by the Shaw organization and could accommodate up to 1130 poeple.

It was last used as a furniture store, though now sits abandoned. The immediate area around the theater, however, is undergoing a massive redevelopment. As of Raz's last visit in late 2014, the theater plot was sitting behind large metal hoardings.

It would be nice to see the developers incorporate a revived Federal Theatre into their upcoming project, but I would't hold my breath on that.

Remains of Federal Theater, Malacca

Federal screen

Balcony seating

Circle seating entrance

Projection room

Remains

"The Architecture of Dreams"

When French illustrator Philippe Doro completed his around-the-world journey in 1990, he returned to his Parisian abode with a vast photographic record of stand-alone movie theaters. Of particular interest to this archive, two of his stopovers happened to be in Southeast Asian countries - namely Malaysia and Thailand. 

A few weeks ago, Mr. Doro reached out to the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project with an offer to share his Southeast Asian cinema photos. What he forwarded along is nothing short of an ocular gold mine. A few dozen vivid shots of elegant mid and early 20th century movie theaters just before their fall from grace. 

To be sure, a good number of the Thai theaters in his collection are no longer in existence. There's little reason to doubt that the same isn't true for the Malaysian ones. Future expeditions by the SEAMTP will, hopefully, be able to answer that question.

In the mean time, feast your eyes on good Philippe's collection of Malaysian movie theaters c. 1990. And check out his blog on the architecture of Brussels when you're finished. 

The Cinemas of Malaysia

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

The Rex

The Majestic

Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

The Lido

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Capitol

The Cathay

The Coliseum

The Federal

The Odeon

The Pavilion

Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

The Rex

Malacca, Malaysia

The Capitol

The Federal

Penang, Malaysia

The Star

The Wembley

Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia

The Rex

The Cinemas of Thailand, coming soon............

The Odeon Theater - Georgetown, Malaysia

A small mountain of guest material has been accruing in my inbox for several months. Posting them has been delayed due to mountains of work on the home front. Regrettably, none of that work involves documenting stand-alones myself. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the work of others. Here's one of them while I have a minute. 

These images of Georgetown, Malaysia's Odeon Theater were gifted by one the SEAMTP 's most devoted fans - Regis Madec - who writes that the Odeon is the only operating stand-alone theater left in the entire province of Penang. According to Mr. Madec, the boxy International Style picture house was erected in 1947, went out of business for a while years later, but was recently purchased and reopened by a group of Indian entrepreneurs who have since turned it into a Bollywood theater.

The Odeon's moniker is a classic name for a movie theater . Inspired by the ancient Greek word for amphitheater and meaning "singing place," the term has been applied over the years to some of the most luxurious movie theaters across Europe and the US. 

In Southeast Asia the name Odeon was no less common. The Odeon Cinema in Singapore was the flagship theater of the prolific Cathay theater chain. Other Odeons existed in Bangkok, Thailand and Vientiane, Laos. But those ones have all since closed down.

This Odeon, fortunately, is still in operation.