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Memories
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July 31, 2007
Projectionist remembers
I came across this story in the NY Times about the memories of a NYC Projectionist. Its a good read.
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July 26, 2007
Eldert & Knickerbocker
I was so excited to see my family’s grocery store’s name on this site! My father (Giuseppe Costa) Joe, owned the grocery store on Knickerbocker and Eldert St. In fact, my grandfather owned the building. I hated to see the building torn down – it was so beautiful. We sold the store and moved to Massapequa in 1961.
I have such great memories of playing handball against the wall and eating the best fruit and pastries ever! I visited a few years ago and couldn’t get into the chuch (St. Martin’s) I would love to go inside – it was the center of my whole childhood -parents married there and I attended school thru 8th grade. If anyone remembers the “Costa” girls – please write!
[Ed. note- I assume this was brought up because of the sight’s relation to the Alhambra Theatre.]
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July 20, 2007
My Love for the Tower Theater
FRESNO, CA — Back in the early 1980’s I was the operator/manager of the Tower Theater. It was a fantastic experience. We called it “McHatton’s Tower Theater” at that time. We were a “calendar house” because we published a calendar/newspaper every six to eight weeks with listings and articles and cool graphics about our upcoming films.
We changed films two, three, sometimes four times a week. We did midnight shows on Friday and Saturday nights. We did Three Stooges Marathons and lots of Rock n' Roll movies. I especially remember the “Curly look and sound a like” contests. We showed old classic movies like the re-release of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and “Vertigo.” We showed lots of foreign films and art films. We showed Armenian films, Japanese films, and even racy films sometimes.
Our goal was to bring people back into the movie theater and help them enjoy the experience of watching a film like it was meant to be seen — on the BIG screen. We used real butter on our popcorn and we went out of our way to make sure your feet did not stick to the floors. We showed many old classics like Ben Hur.
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July 10, 2007
A night at the Parkway
CHICAGO, IL — Scott Marks shares some memories of his days working at the Parkway Theatre.
The Parkway was a grind house in the purest sense of the term. Located at Clark & Diversey in Chicago, the theatre never took an intermission break going from Feature 1 to trailers to Feature 2 to trailers, etc.
For years, the Parkway wallowed in Grade Z material, but late in 1979, the Landmark chain purchased the joint and turned it into a revival house. I managed the place for a couple years in the early 80s, just before home video made its debut.
Read the full post along with an image of a schedule from the theatre on Empulsion Compulsion.
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July 9, 2007
TRON…Happy 25th!
“It all happens inside a computer.”
On July 9, 1982, twenty-five years ago today, Walt Disney’s TRON was released on 1,091 theatre screens in the United States and Canada. The groundbreaking film, starring Jeff Bridges and directed by Steven Lisberger, cost nearly $20 million to produce (a huge sum in its day) and grossed, according to most accounts, a mere $30 million domestically.
A visual and aural delight, TRON was nominated for two Academy Awards: Sound and Costume Design. But, more amazing than the film’s amazing visual effects is trying to figure out why the film was not nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar!
Of note to the film’s history is that it was photographed in Super Panavision 70, reviving the process that had been popular with the 1960s roadshows but had been dormant for a decade. But despite the large-format origination, Disney struck only about 40 high-quality 70-millimeter prints for domestic distribution. A list of the venues in which the 70mm version was booked is provided below, and what some may find a surprise is the number of theatres in major markets denied an opportunity to showcase TRON in the best presentation manner available at the time. (Some theatres in cities absent from the list of initial 70mm bookings did, however, screen a 70mm print in the fall of 1982 or spring of 1983 when Disney re-issued the film with the hope it might find an audience during a less-crowded moviegoing season.)
So…is TRON a good movie? After 25 years I still can’t decide! But one thing is certain: the film was ahead of its time due to the innovative use of computer graphics, and its influence can be observed in countless movies, television programs and video games. I think anyone working in the film, computer and video-game industries owes a debt of gratitude to TRON and its talented production crew.
Anyone have any TRON memories they care to share?
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July 2, 2007
Concession History
A nice article from Slate tells the story of the rise in popularity of theater concessions. Contrary to popular, they weren’t always the backbone of a theater’s revenue like today.
What movie snack you choose to indulge in is not a decision to treat lightly. When else is it socially acceptable to consume 8 ounces of Reese’s Pieces by yourself? And yet few among us spend much time dithering at the concession stand. Maybe you’re a Raisinets guy. Or perhaps you prefer the salty magic of popcorn. Elaine Benes is a Jujyfruits kind of gal. Me, I’m a Red Vines person trapped in a Twizzlers world.
Whatever our concession allegiances, they tend to be deeply ingrained. And for most, a trip to Live Free or Die Hard won’t be complete without some goodies, even if it’s the kind of goody we might otherwise avoid—particularly at such egregious prices. How exactly did we form this cultural habit? Today, concessions are the lifeblood of the theater business: According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, they account for approximately 40 percent of theaters' net revenue. But it wasn’t always this way.
For the full story, go to Slate.
Story submitted by Bryan Krefft
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June 29, 2007
Remembering the Forty-One Drive-In
CHATTANOOGA, TN — An article goes into detail about the history of the Forty-One Drive-In.
One ‘ozoner,’ the Forty-one Drive-in Theater, had a different sort of last picture show. If you stand on Fincher Avenue off Ringgold Road, and look towards the East Ridge interchange of Interstate 75, you will be looking at the old theater property. The Forty-one Drive-in’s rise and fall were both due to the automobile.
The parking lot of the Forty-one could hold up to 600 cars. That’s a lot of potential popcorn profits, but it was a smaller venue than the nearby Skyway, which could park at least 1,040 automobiles. The Forty-one Drive-in’s location was conveniently located to the growing suburbs of East Ridge and Brainerd. All of the traffic between Nashville and Atlanta traveled along Ringgold Road, so tourists might also be numbered among the customers.
For more, read the Chattanoogan.
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June 25, 2007
Happy 25th, ‘Blade Runner’!
On June 25, 1982, twenty-five years ago today, Blade Runner was released. The film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, opened in 1,295 theatres in the United States and Canada, ten of which showed the film in 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo*. It opened to mixed reviews and would gross a paltry $27 million. The film did, however, receive numerous movie-industry award nominations, including Academy Award nods for Art Direction and Visual Effects.
Anyone see it in its (brief) theatrical run? Any memories you care to share? Me? Believe it or not, I did not see Blade Runner in its original theatrical run. I had wanted to see it, but a couple of things got in the way: (1) the film’s R rating (I was 13 at the time), and (2) E.T.
As a sci-fi/fantasy buff and a big fan of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Indiana Jones performances, I had every intention of seeing Blade Runner. I recall pre-release coverage in magazines like Starlog, but was disappointed upon learning of its R rating. And since my folks had no intention of taking me to see it, the only way I was to see Blade Runner was if I snuck in. (I suspect my parents regretted taking me to see R-rated fare like Saturday Night Fever, Slap Shot and The Deer Hunter, films I probably had no business seeing at a young age.)
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June 20, 2007
$$ CASH REWARD $$ Seeking trade magazines with these theater profiles
Seeking Boxoffice, Motion Pitcure Herald, Motion Picture Exhibitor, etc., or will pay just for quality page scans of these theater profiles please:
NY: Central Plaza Cinema, Yonkers
UA Cinema, White Plains
Century Mall, New Rochelle
Colony, White PlainsCT: Ridgeway, Stamford
General Cinema, MilfordNJ: General Cinemas Menlo Park and Totowa theaters.
Thank You So Much.
Cinema Treasures Rules
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Atlanta Movie Palaces
Jim Auchmutey, a features writer for the Atlanta Journal and former usher at the Atlanta Theatre, has written an article on downtown movie theatres in Atlanta, and the summer film festival at the last remaining movie palace, the Fox Theatre.
This Link will allow free access through Thursday, June 21, 2007, after which it will move to the paid archives. The article contains a link to a slide show of some of these theatres.
One of the most popular pages on this site is that of the new Ziegfeld, in New York. Anyone interested in the Ziegfeld should go to the last two pictures which show Martin’s Rialto. Although much more ornate, with a slightly larger auditorium and smaller lobby, the Ziegfeld is almost identical in floor plan to the Atlanta Rialto.