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LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2022
Starring the Exhibitions!
It is tting that a museum that embraces the mythological
and practical landscape of moviemaking would arise in the
heart of Hollywood for tourists to enjoy and heartening
that it offers lm buffs and lmmakers—both established
and aspiring—so much to explore.
Immersive galleries on ve levels with multiple big
screens and related props and ephemera are devoted to
the history of lm or international moviemakers, such
as Pedro Almodóvar and Hayao Miyazaki. Spike Lee has
a comprehensive space that showcases everything that
inspires him and his work.
Other displays are more technical. The discovery in the
1820s of how the brain perceives the "illusion of movement"
led to early inventions and cinematic devices—and the
rst lm projector, the Cinematographe Lumiere, found
in The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer
Collection. A small screening room devoted to sound
repeatedly runs a clip of the Raiders of the Lost Ark rolling-
boulder scene—each time showing how a different kind of
sound effect is created. Finally, they are all mixed together
with music, enhancing the action sequence to great effect.
Bruce, the only remaining shark cast from the original
mold from Jaws, hangs menacingly from the ceiling that
soars above the escalators. Dorothy's ruby slippers from
The Wizard of Oz sparkle! The sight of Citizen Kane's
sled, ET and R2D2 all give goose bumps. The costume
exhibit showcases a breathtaking collection, including the
elaborate dress worn by the Wicked Witch of the West from
The Wiz, the Dude's bathrobe from The Big Lebowski and
the spacesuit from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
