Joe, I envy you seeing Ryan’s Daughter at the Ziegfeld. Of all the great movies that played there, that’s the biggest one that got away from me. I finally got to see it in 70mm at the Walter Reade Theater in 2012, but there’s only one Ziegfeld.
I think the show I attended was in the same Universal series, so it was 1997. Later that week I saw Jaws and The Blues Brothers at Radio City, but Psycho had the biggest audience. A year earlier there was a WB series with Bonnie and Clyde, The Exorcist (another sellout), My Fair Lady, etc. No reason why Radio City can’t do something like this again, now that we’ve lost the Ziegfeld.
I always thought an arrangement similar to the classics-only program that saved the Egyptian Theatre in LA (American Cinematheque) could have saved the Ziegfeld. I attended three TCM Road to Hollywood shows at the Ziegfeld in three different years – All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird and Cabaret – and all seats were filled for all three shows. Admission was free, but I’ll bet 99.9% of the people there would’ve gladly payed full price.
Also remembering a weeknight showing of Psycho (I forget the year – early 2000s?) that literally filled Radio City Music Hall. That audience is still out there.
Finally got the dates for the 12-film Kirk Douglas/Burt Lancaster double features in 1986:
9/26/1986 Paths of Glory/From Here to Eternity 9/27/1986 Birdman of Alcatraz/I Walk Alone 9/28/1986 Elmer Gantry/Along the Great Divide 9/29/1986 Ace in the Hole/Sweet Smell of Success 9/30/1986 Lust for Life/The Professionals 10/1/1986 Detective Story/The Crimson Pirate
Kirk and Burt’s last film together, Tough Guys, opened at the Ziegfeld in 70mm on 10/3/1986.
Now that the Ziegfeld is gone – still can’t believe it – I’d like to repost some comments from 2014 about the most unusual show I ever attended there. It says a lot about how special the Ziegfeld and the people that worked there were.
RobertEndres on April 8, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Hate to be the dissenter, but having spent a lot of years in that booth at the Ziegfeld lifting double reels of 70mm onto projector spindles (and in one instance dropping a double reel of “Gandhi” on my foot as I was putting it on the rewind – I figure it was the first 20 years of Gandhi’s life) I can’t say that I’d miss that these days. While I’m still a working projectionist at 75, I really don’t think I could lift those anymore (although we can still do 70mm in my booth, and I did try to get a screening of “The Master” 70mm print in here last year.)
Bill Huelbig on April 9, 2014 at 9:28 am (remove)
Rob: Sorry to hear about your accident with the “Gandhi” reel, but I’ve got to say that movie was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at the Ziegfeld. I saw it there 7 times, including the night of one of the worst blizzards in NYC history, a Friday night in February 1983. Maybe you were working that night? It was a packed house, too.
RobertEndres on April 9, 2014 at 11:11 am
Bill: I remember that storm well. I alternated doing relief work at two theatres close to Radio City, The New York Experience and the Ziegfeld. The operator at the Experience asked if I could open for him the day after the storm, but then decided to stay in the city. I was expecting to stay inside when I got a call from the operator at the Ziegfeld saying his car was stuck in a drift. I kept a set of Ziegfeld keys in my apartment and took off for the theatre just a few blocks away. I remember thinking there would be no one there after such a big storm, but was surprised when I got to the theatre and found the line for the opening show extending around the block. They had plowed the sidewalk, but the snow was piled so high you could just see the tops of people’s heads above the pile. I stayed there until closing that night, and every show was sold out. Nothing gets between a New Yorker and their movies!
Bill Huelbig on April 9, 2014 at 11:26 am (remove)
The storm was at its height just about when the movie was over – visibility zero – and I was seriously considering asking the manager if I could spend the night on the wide rug floor between the front row and the screen. Now I regret not asking. What if they’d said yes? That would really be a Ziegfeld night to remember!
Rob, on behalf of all those people waiting in the snow, I want to thank you for running the shows that day.
cinscope on April 27, 2014 at 3:06 am
Oh, yeah, we sold out all three shows during that storm. People used skis to get to the theatre. Hi, Bob, this is Jean S. from the Ziegfeld box office.
Grease sticks out for me because I’d already seen it some weeks earlier on its opening weekend, but it was a whole new experience in 70mm at the Ziegfeld.
Additions to the list: Grease played here in 1978, between Revenge of the Pink Panther and The Boys From Brazil. It played during a newspaper strike so I can’t prove it, but I’m positive I saw it here.
Also Lust for Life/The Professionals double feature in September or October 1986, but I don’t have the actual dates.
There were several hundred people at the 12:45 this afternoon, and a big line waiting to buy tickets, just like the good old days. The closing curtains got a round of applause. People were photographing everything after the movie ended. No one wanted to leave, least of all me. I met someone who saw Ryan’s Daughter here in 1970. Now that’s a show I’d really like to have seen at the Ziegfeld.
One show I attended was not posted in the list: Lust for Life (sadly faded to pink) and The Professionals, in September 1986 when they were showing Kirk Douglas/Burt Lancaster double features.
The Ziegfeld in the 90’s…
02/23/90 MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
04/27/90 CHATTAHOOCHEE
05/18/90 BIRD ON A WIRE
06/29/90 DAYS OF THUNDER
08/10/90 FLATLINERS
09/14/90 POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE
10/19/90 WHITE PALACE
11/23/90 HOME ALONE
12/07/90 EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
02/08/91 SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY
03/01/91 THE DOORS
04/26/91 SPARTACUS
05/31/91 BACKDRAFT
06/21/91 DYING YOUNG
07/12/91 CITY SLICKERS
08/09/91 PURE LUCK
08/30/91 THE COMMITMENTS
11/22/91 FOR THE BOYS
12/27/91 THE PRINCE OF TIDES
01/31/92 SHINING THROUGH
02/21/92 RADIO FLYER
03/06/92 THE LAWNMOWER MAN
04/03/92 THUNDERHEART
04/17/92 CITY OF JOY
05/22/92 FAR AND AWAY
07/03/92 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
07/31/92 DEATH BECOMES HER
09/25/92 MR. SATURDAY NIGHT
12/25/92 HOFFA
02/05/93 A FEW GOOD MEN
02/12/93 GROUNDHOG DAY
03/19/93 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
04/30/93 BENNY & JOON
05/14/93 LOST IN YONKERS
06/11/93 JURRASIC PARK
09/17/93 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
11/12/93 CARLITO’S WAY
12/31/93 HEAVEN & EARTH
02/04/94 I’LL DO ANYTHING
03/25/94 THE PAPER
05/06/94 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT III
06/17/94 WOLF
07/15/94 TRUE LIES
09/23/94 MY FAIR LADY
09/30/94 THE RIVER WILD
11/11/94 INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
01/13/95 LEGENDS OF THE FALL
03/24/95 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
04/07/95 ROB ROY
05/19/95 BRAVEHEART
06/30/95 APOLLO 13
10/06/95 STRANGE DAYS
11/10/95 TO DIE FOR
11/17/95 CASINO
01/05/96 12 MONKEYS
02/16/96 CITY HALL
03/22/96 DIABOLIQUE
04/12/96 FEAR
05/17/96 JANE EYRE
05/31/96 DRAGONHEART
06/14/96 MOLL FLANDERS
07/05/96 INDEPENDENCE DAY
09/13/96 closed for remodelling
10/04/96 VERTIGO
11/15/96 THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES
12/20/96 GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI
01/24/97 STAR WARS
02/21/97 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
03/14/97 RETURN OF THE JEDI
04/25/97 VOLCANO
05/23/97 THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
08/15/97 COP LAND
09/26/97 THE PEACEMAKER
10/31/97 RED CORNER
11/14/97 ANASTASIA
12/26/97 THE POSTMAN
01/16/98 HARD RAIN
01/30/98 GREAT EXPECTATIONS
03/20/98 PRIMARY COLORS
05/15/98 BULWORTH
06/19/98 THE X FILES
07/24/98 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
09/18/98 ONE TRUE THING
10/02/98 WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
10/23/98 PLEASANTVILLE
11/13/98 MEET JOE BLACK
12/25/98 THE THIN RED LINE
03/19/99 RAVENOUS
03/26/99 SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
04/23/99 PUSHING TIN
05/21/99 THE PHANTOM MENACE
09/24/99 JAKOB THE LIAR
10/15/99 THE STORY OF US
11/26/99 END OF DAYS
12/17/99 ANNA AND THE KING
Ziegfeld Filmography. Dates are within a week.
12/18/69 MAROONED
02/25/70 GONE WITH THE WIND
03/04/70 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
03/11/70 THE BIBLE…IN THE BEGINNING
03/18/70 THE SOUND OF MUSIC
03/25/70 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
05/06/70 WAR AND PEACE (USSR)
06/03/70 THE GREAT ZIEGFELD/ZIEGFELD GIRL/ ZIEGFELD FOLLIES
06/17/70 THE SAND PEBBLES
07/01/70 GONE WITH THE WIND
07/08/70 THE BOATNIKS
08/05/70 AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS/WEST SIDE STORY
08/19/70 SOLDIER BLUE
10/14/70 A HARD DAY’S NIGHT/ HELP!/ YELLOW SUBMARINE/ LET IT BE
10/28/70 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA/ AT THE CIRCUS/ A DAY AT THE RACES/ THE BIG STORE
11/11/70 closed
11/18/70 RYAN’S DAUGHTER
07/07/71 PETER RABBIT AND THE TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER
08/04/71 CLEOPATRA
08/18/71 KLUTE
08/25/71 THE ANDERSON TAPES
09/01/71 BANANAS
09/08/71 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY/ YELLOW SUBMARINE
09/15/71 closed
12/22/71 STAR SPANGLED GIRL
02/02/72 closed
02/16/72 CABARET
08/16/72 WOODSTOCK
08/23/72 WAR AND PEACE (USSR)
08/30/72 closed
09/20/72 BLACKBOARD JUNGLE/ ROCK ROCK ROCK/ THE THING/ THE WILD ONE/ JAILHOUSE ROCK
09/27/72 closed
10/18/72 FELLINI’S ROMA
12/13/72 SLEUTH
03/28/73 I AM A DANCER
05/16/73 THIS IS CINERAMA
08/22/73 ROMEO AND JULIET (1968)
10/24/73 FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER
11/07/73 closed
12/19/73 THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN
04/17/74 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ROLLING STONES
05/01/74 closed
05/29/74 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
10/02/74 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
11/20/74 EARTHQUAKE
03/26/75 TOMMY
07/02/75 ROLLERBALL
08/27/75 THE JOLSON STORY
09/10/75 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
10/01/75 GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY!
10/15/75 LISZTOMANIA
11/12/75 CONDUCT UNBECOMING
11/26/75 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
12/10/75 closed
12/24/75 BARRY LYNDON
03/31/76 MOSES
05/19/76 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT PART 2
07/28/76 THE RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE
09/22/76 closed
10/13/76 SOLARIS
11/10/76 closed
12/29/76 A STAR IS BORN
02/23/77 closed
06/01/77 THE GRATEFUL DEAD
06/22/77 NEW YORK, NEW YORK
08/31/77 closed
10/12/77 TOMMY
11/16/77 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
05/03/78 THE LAST WALTZ
07/26/78 REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER
10/11/78 THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
11/15/78 THE LORD OF THE RINGS
02/14/79 MURDER BY DECREE
03/21/79 HAIR
05/23/79 THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
06/27/79 THE MUPPET MOVIE
07/18/79 DRACULA
08/15/79 APOCALYPSE NOW
11/14/79 THE ROSE
02/20/80 SATURN 3
03/26/80 APOCALYPSE NOW
04/23/80 THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS
05/07/80 FANTASIA
05/21/80 FAME
06/25/80 CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC
08/06/80 RAISE THE TITANIC
10/22/80 TIMES SQUARE
11/26/80 PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS ROCKSHOW
12/24/80 THE JAZZ SINGER
02/18/81 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Special Edition)
03/18/81 FANTASIA
04/22/81 LION OF THE DESERT
06/10/81 closed
07/01/81 THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER
08/12/81 BEATLEMANIA
08/26/81 HONKY TONK FREEWAY
10/14/81 closed
12/16/81 PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
02/17/82 QUEST FOR FIRE
03/24/82 VICTOR/ VICTORIA
05/26/82 AC/DC LET THERE BE ROCK
06/16/82 GREASE 2
07/21/82 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
08/11/82 PINK FLOYD THE WALL
09/29/82 YES, GIORGIO
11/03/82 TESS
11/10/82 FANTASIA
12/08/82 GANDHI
07/20/83 STAYING ALIVE
10/05/83 BRAINSTORM
11/23/83 YENTL
02/22/84 FANTASIA
03/21/84 A STAR IS BORN
04/04/84 ANTARCTICA
05/02/84 closed
06/27/84 THE KARATE KID
09/19/84 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
10/03/84 closed
10/24/84 THE RAZOR’S EDGE
12/19/84 A PASSAGE TO INDIA
04/03/85 KING DAVID
05/01/85 closed
07/03/85 ST. ELMO’S FIRE
07/17/85 SILVERADO
08/28/85 GHOSTBUSTERS
10/16/85 FANTASIA
11/27/85 WHITE NIGHTS
02/05/86 DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS
03/26/86 JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS
04/23/86 ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS
06/04/86 closed
07/02/86 AMERICAN ANTHEM
07/23/86 PIRATES
08/06/86 FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR
09/10/86 closed
09/24/86 PATHS OF GLORY/ FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
09/27/86 BIRMAN OF ALCATRAZ/ I WALK ALONE
10/01/86 ELMER GANTRY/ ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE
10/08/86 TOUGH GUYS
11/19/86 closed
12/03/86 NUTCRACKER
12/31/86 WISDOM
01/28/87 closed
02/04/87 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE
03/18/87 HEAT
04/08/87 closed
04/15/87 THREE FOR THE ROAD
04/22/87 closed
05/20/87 ISHTAR
06/24/87 ROXANNE
08/12/87 WHO’S THAT GIRL
09/02/87 THE FOURTH PROTOCOL
10/14/87 HAIL! HAIL! ROCK N’ ROLL
11/04/87 closed
11/11/87 CRY FREEDOM
01/20/88 GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
03/23/88 D.O.A.
04/20/88 APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH
05/04/88 POWAQQATSI
06/29/88 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?
08/17/88 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
11/30/88 COCOON: THE RETURN
01/11/89 TALK RADIO
02/15/89 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
07/05/89 THE KARATE KID PART III
08/09/89 THE ABYSS
09/20/89 SEA OF LOVE
11/01/89 THE BEAR
12/20/89 BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
My first time there, a 5 ½ hour double feature of West Side Story and Around the World in 80 Days, in 1970.
First time seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey there, in 1974. It wouldn’t be the last.
The roof-raising Quintaphonic Sound presentation of Tommy in March 1975.
Seeing a 1 AM showing of Close Encounters after waiting on line outside for several hours in bitter cold on Thanksgiving night, 1977.
Getting yelled at by the guy in front of me for unconsciously kicking his seat in time to the music from Fame, May 1980.
Seeing Gandhi on the night of a terrible blizzard in February 1983. The house was sold out!
Angry Christian groups marching on the theater with banners flying to protest The Last Temptation of Christ, August 1988.
People frantically searching for seats at a sold-out showing of Lawrence of Arabia, 1989.
My mom meeting Shirley MacLaine in the ladies' room during the intermission of Spartacus, 1991.
Seeing Independence Day at 6 AM on the 4th of July 1996.
Seeing Kim Novak and Pat Hitchcock outside the theater at the premiere of the restored Vertigo in 1996, then seeing the film itself two days later.
Being on the concession line with Isabella Rossellini and her kids at the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back, 1997.
Seeing the following classics there in 2006: The Godfather Part II, Ben-Hur, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, North by Northwest, Doctor Zhivago, Citizen Kane, Jaws, E.T., The Birds. How I wish they’d do something like this now, so the Ziegfeld could go out with a bang.
The free-admission TCM Road to Hollywood shows, all with every seat taken: All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird, Cabaret.
The Paris showed “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm in the ‘90’s. Don’t know if they still have that equipment, though. Small screen too, compared to the Ziegfeld.
And of course “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) with a CinemaScope print from the 20th Century-Fox vault, a packed house, and the volume turned way up. There were many fantastic shows like that, come to think of it.
When I think back to the good old days, I think my favorite unusual choice at the Lafayette was “Becket” (1964). I don’t think that had been shown anywhere in 35mm for decades.
Joe, I envy you seeing Ryan’s Daughter at the Ziegfeld. Of all the great movies that played there, that’s the biggest one that got away from me. I finally got to see it in 70mm at the Walter Reade Theater in 2012, but there’s only one Ziegfeld.
bigjoe59:
I posted the NYC TV listings for that date in 1950 in the Photos section of the Ziegfeld page, but I couldn’t find the name of the movie.
I think the show I attended was in the same Universal series, so it was 1997. Later that week I saw Jaws and The Blues Brothers at Radio City, but Psycho had the biggest audience. A year earlier there was a WB series with Bonnie and Clyde, The Exorcist (another sellout), My Fair Lady, etc. No reason why Radio City can’t do something like this again, now that we’ve lost the Ziegfeld.
I always thought an arrangement similar to the classics-only program that saved the Egyptian Theatre in LA (American Cinematheque) could have saved the Ziegfeld. I attended three TCM Road to Hollywood shows at the Ziegfeld in three different years – All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird and Cabaret – and all seats were filled for all three shows. Admission was free, but I’ll bet 99.9% of the people there would’ve gladly payed full price.
Also remembering a weeknight showing of Psycho (I forget the year – early 2000s?) that literally filled Radio City Music Hall. That audience is still out there.
Finally got the dates for the 12-film Kirk Douglas/Burt Lancaster double features in 1986:
9/26/1986 Paths of Glory/From Here to Eternity
9/27/1986 Birdman of Alcatraz/I Walk Alone
9/28/1986 Elmer Gantry/Along the Great Divide
9/29/1986 Ace in the Hole/Sweet Smell of Success
9/30/1986 Lust for Life/The Professionals
10/1/1986 Detective Story/The Crimson Pirate
Kirk and Burt’s last film together, Tough Guys, opened at the Ziegfeld in 70mm on 10/3/1986.
The title blocked by the word Sample is “The Crimson Pirate”.
Wow. I never knew they even had a Green Room. Thanks, Howard!
Now that the Ziegfeld is gone – still can’t believe it – I’d like to repost some comments from 2014 about the most unusual show I ever attended there. It says a lot about how special the Ziegfeld and the people that worked there were.
RobertEndres on April 8, 2014 at 2:02 pm Hate to be the dissenter, but having spent a lot of years in that booth at the Ziegfeld lifting double reels of 70mm onto projector spindles (and in one instance dropping a double reel of “Gandhi” on my foot as I was putting it on the rewind – I figure it was the first 20 years of Gandhi’s life) I can’t say that I’d miss that these days. While I’m still a working projectionist at 75, I really don’t think I could lift those anymore (although we can still do 70mm in my booth, and I did try to get a screening of “The Master” 70mm print in here last year.)
Bill Huelbig on April 9, 2014 at 9:28 am (remove) Rob: Sorry to hear about your accident with the “Gandhi” reel, but I’ve got to say that movie was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at the Ziegfeld. I saw it there 7 times, including the night of one of the worst blizzards in NYC history, a Friday night in February 1983. Maybe you were working that night? It was a packed house, too.
RobertEndres on April 9, 2014 at 11:11 am Bill: I remember that storm well. I alternated doing relief work at two theatres close to Radio City, The New York Experience and the Ziegfeld. The operator at the Experience asked if I could open for him the day after the storm, but then decided to stay in the city. I was expecting to stay inside when I got a call from the operator at the Ziegfeld saying his car was stuck in a drift. I kept a set of Ziegfeld keys in my apartment and took off for the theatre just a few blocks away. I remember thinking there would be no one there after such a big storm, but was surprised when I got to the theatre and found the line for the opening show extending around the block. They had plowed the sidewalk, but the snow was piled so high you could just see the tops of people’s heads above the pile. I stayed there until closing that night, and every show was sold out. Nothing gets between a New Yorker and their movies!
Bill Huelbig on April 9, 2014 at 11:26 am (remove) The storm was at its height just about when the movie was over – visibility zero – and I was seriously considering asking the manager if I could spend the night on the wide rug floor between the front row and the screen. Now I regret not asking. What if they’d said yes? That would really be a Ziegfeld night to remember!
Rob, on behalf of all those people waiting in the snow, I want to thank you for running the shows that day.
cinscope on April 27, 2014 at 3:06 am Oh, yeah, we sold out all three shows during that storm. People used skis to get to the theatre. Hi, Bob, this is Jean S. from the Ziegfeld box office.
Grease sticks out for me because I’d already seen it some weeks earlier on its opening weekend, but it was a whole new experience in 70mm at the Ziegfeld.
I did, and thank YOU for all your great photos and posts on this page. I’m dreading seeing the status change from Open (Showing Movies) to Closed.
Additions to the list: Grease played here in 1978, between Revenge of the Pink Panther and The Boys From Brazil. It played during a newspaper strike so I can’t prove it, but I’m positive I saw it here.
Also Lust for Life/The Professionals double feature in September or October 1986, but I don’t have the actual dates.
There were several hundred people at the 12:45 this afternoon, and a big line waiting to buy tickets, just like the good old days. The closing curtains got a round of applause. People were photographing everything after the movie ended. No one wanted to leave, least of all me. I met someone who saw Ryan’s Daughter here in 1970. Now that’s a show I’d really like to have seen at the Ziegfeld.
Mike: They were originally posted by Al in list form, but when I copied and posted them, this was how they came out.
Thanks to you for doing all the hard work, Al!
One show I attended was not posted in the list: Lust for Life (sadly faded to pink) and The Professionals, in September 1986 when they were showing Kirk Douglas/Burt Lancaster double features.
Part 2:
The Ziegfeld in the 90’s… 02/23/90 MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON 04/27/90 CHATTAHOOCHEE 05/18/90 BIRD ON A WIRE 06/29/90 DAYS OF THUNDER 08/10/90 FLATLINERS 09/14/90 POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE 10/19/90 WHITE PALACE 11/23/90 HOME ALONE 12/07/90 EDWARD SCISSORHANDS 02/08/91 SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY 03/01/91 THE DOORS 04/26/91 SPARTACUS 05/31/91 BACKDRAFT 06/21/91 DYING YOUNG 07/12/91 CITY SLICKERS 08/09/91 PURE LUCK 08/30/91 THE COMMITMENTS 11/22/91 FOR THE BOYS 12/27/91 THE PRINCE OF TIDES 01/31/92 SHINING THROUGH 02/21/92 RADIO FLYER 03/06/92 THE LAWNMOWER MAN 04/03/92 THUNDERHEART 04/17/92 CITY OF JOY 05/22/92 FAR AND AWAY 07/03/92 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN 07/31/92 DEATH BECOMES HER 09/25/92 MR. SATURDAY NIGHT 12/25/92 HOFFA 02/05/93 A FEW GOOD MEN 02/12/93 GROUNDHOG DAY 03/19/93 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 04/30/93 BENNY & JOON 05/14/93 LOST IN YONKERS 06/11/93 JURRASIC PARK 09/17/93 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE 11/12/93 CARLITO’S WAY 12/31/93 HEAVEN & EARTH 02/04/94 I’LL DO ANYTHING 03/25/94 THE PAPER 05/06/94 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT III 06/17/94 WOLF 07/15/94 TRUE LIES 09/23/94 MY FAIR LADY 09/30/94 THE RIVER WILD 11/11/94 INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 01/13/95 LEGENDS OF THE FALL 03/24/95 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 04/07/95 ROB ROY 05/19/95 BRAVEHEART 06/30/95 APOLLO 13 10/06/95 STRANGE DAYS 11/10/95 TO DIE FOR 11/17/95 CASINO 01/05/96 12 MONKEYS 02/16/96 CITY HALL 03/22/96 DIABOLIQUE 04/12/96 FEAR 05/17/96 JANE EYRE 05/31/96 DRAGONHEART 06/14/96 MOLL FLANDERS 07/05/96 INDEPENDENCE DAY 09/13/96 closed for remodelling 10/04/96 VERTIGO 11/15/96 THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES 12/20/96 GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI 01/24/97 STAR WARS 02/21/97 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 03/14/97 RETURN OF THE JEDI 04/25/97 VOLCANO 05/23/97 THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK 08/15/97 COP LAND 09/26/97 THE PEACEMAKER 10/31/97 RED CORNER 11/14/97 ANASTASIA 12/26/97 THE POSTMAN 01/16/98 HARD RAIN 01/30/98 GREAT EXPECTATIONS 03/20/98 PRIMARY COLORS 05/15/98 BULWORTH 06/19/98 THE X FILES 07/24/98 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 09/18/98 ONE TRUE THING 10/02/98 WHAT DREAMS MAY COME 10/23/98 PLEASANTVILLE 11/13/98 MEET JOE BLACK 12/25/98 THE THIN RED LINE 03/19/99 RAVENOUS 03/26/99 SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE 04/23/99 PUSHING TIN 05/21/99 THE PHANTOM MENACE 09/24/99 JAKOB THE LIAR 10/15/99 THE STORY OF US 11/26/99 END OF DAYS 12/17/99 ANNA AND THE KING
Al Alvarez’s list, posted in 2006 (Part 1):
Ziegfeld Filmography. Dates are within a week. 12/18/69 MAROONED 02/25/70 GONE WITH THE WIND 03/04/70 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO 03/11/70 THE BIBLE…IN THE BEGINNING 03/18/70 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 03/25/70 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 05/06/70 WAR AND PEACE (USSR) 06/03/70 THE GREAT ZIEGFELD/ZIEGFELD GIRL/ ZIEGFELD FOLLIES 06/17/70 THE SAND PEBBLES 07/01/70 GONE WITH THE WIND 07/08/70 THE BOATNIKS 08/05/70 AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS/WEST SIDE STORY 08/19/70 SOLDIER BLUE 10/14/70 A HARD DAY’S NIGHT/ HELP!/ YELLOW SUBMARINE/ LET IT BE 10/28/70 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA/ AT THE CIRCUS/ A DAY AT THE RACES/ THE BIG STORE 11/11/70 closed 11/18/70 RYAN’S DAUGHTER 07/07/71 PETER RABBIT AND THE TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER 08/04/71 CLEOPATRA 08/18/71 KLUTE 08/25/71 THE ANDERSON TAPES 09/01/71 BANANAS 09/08/71 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY/ YELLOW SUBMARINE 09/15/71 closed 12/22/71 STAR SPANGLED GIRL 02/02/72 closed 02/16/72 CABARET 08/16/72 WOODSTOCK 08/23/72 WAR AND PEACE (USSR) 08/30/72 closed 09/20/72 BLACKBOARD JUNGLE/ ROCK ROCK ROCK/ THE THING/ THE WILD ONE/ JAILHOUSE ROCK 09/27/72 closed 10/18/72 FELLINI’S ROMA 12/13/72 SLEUTH 03/28/73 I AM A DANCER 05/16/73 THIS IS CINERAMA 08/22/73 ROMEO AND JULIET (1968) 10/24/73 FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER 11/07/73 closed 12/19/73 THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN 04/17/74 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ROLLING STONES 05/01/74 closed 05/29/74 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT 10/02/74 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 11/20/74 EARTHQUAKE 03/26/75 TOMMY 07/02/75 ROLLERBALL 08/27/75 THE JOLSON STORY 09/10/75 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 10/01/75 GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY! 10/15/75 LISZTOMANIA 11/12/75 CONDUCT UNBECOMING 11/26/75 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 12/10/75 closed 12/24/75 BARRY LYNDON 03/31/76 MOSES 05/19/76 THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT PART 2 07/28/76 THE RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE 09/22/76 closed 10/13/76 SOLARIS 11/10/76 closed 12/29/76 A STAR IS BORN 02/23/77 closed 06/01/77 THE GRATEFUL DEAD 06/22/77 NEW YORK, NEW YORK 08/31/77 closed 10/12/77 TOMMY 11/16/77 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 05/03/78 THE LAST WALTZ 07/26/78 REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER 10/11/78 THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL 11/15/78 THE LORD OF THE RINGS 02/14/79 MURDER BY DECREE 03/21/79 HAIR 05/23/79 THE PRISONER OF ZENDA 06/27/79 THE MUPPET MOVIE 07/18/79 DRACULA 08/15/79 APOCALYPSE NOW 11/14/79 THE ROSE 02/20/80 SATURN 3 03/26/80 APOCALYPSE NOW 04/23/80 THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS 05/07/80 FANTASIA 05/21/80 FAME 06/25/80 CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC 08/06/80 RAISE THE TITANIC 10/22/80 TIMES SQUARE 11/26/80 PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS ROCKSHOW 12/24/80 THE JAZZ SINGER 02/18/81 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Special Edition) 03/18/81 FANTASIA 04/22/81 LION OF THE DESERT 06/10/81 closed 07/01/81 THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER 08/12/81 BEATLEMANIA 08/26/81 HONKY TONK FREEWAY 10/14/81 closed 12/16/81 PENNIES FROM HEAVEN 02/17/82 QUEST FOR FIRE 03/24/82 VICTOR/ VICTORIA 05/26/82 AC/DC LET THERE BE ROCK 06/16/82 GREASE 2 07/21/82 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 08/11/82 PINK FLOYD THE WALL 09/29/82 YES, GIORGIO 11/03/82 TESS 11/10/82 FANTASIA 12/08/82 GANDHI 07/20/83 STAYING ALIVE 10/05/83 BRAINSTORM 11/23/83 YENTL 02/22/84 FANTASIA 03/21/84 A STAR IS BORN 04/04/84 ANTARCTICA 05/02/84 closed 06/27/84 THE KARATE KID 09/19/84 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 10/03/84 closed 10/24/84 THE RAZOR’S EDGE 12/19/84 A PASSAGE TO INDIA 04/03/85 KING DAVID 05/01/85 closed 07/03/85 ST. ELMO’S FIRE 07/17/85 SILVERADO 08/28/85 GHOSTBUSTERS 10/16/85 FANTASIA 11/27/85 WHITE NIGHTS 02/05/86 DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS 03/26/86 JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS 04/23/86 ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS 06/04/86 closed 07/02/86 AMERICAN ANTHEM 07/23/86 PIRATES 08/06/86 FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR 09/10/86 closed 09/24/86 PATHS OF GLORY/ FROM HERE TO ETERNITY 09/27/86 BIRMAN OF ALCATRAZ/ I WALK ALONE 10/01/86 ELMER GANTRY/ ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE 10/08/86 TOUGH GUYS 11/19/86 closed 12/03/86 NUTCRACKER 12/31/86 WISDOM 01/28/87 closed 02/04/87 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 03/18/87 HEAT 04/08/87 closed 04/15/87 THREE FOR THE ROAD 04/22/87 closed 05/20/87 ISHTAR 06/24/87 ROXANNE 08/12/87 WHO’S THAT GIRL 09/02/87 THE FOURTH PROTOCOL 10/14/87 HAIL! HAIL! ROCK N’ ROLL 11/04/87 closed 11/11/87 CRY FREEDOM 01/20/88 GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM 03/23/88 D.O.A. 04/20/88 APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH 05/04/88 POWAQQATSI 06/29/88 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? 08/17/88 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST 11/30/88 COCOON: THE RETURN 01/11/89 TALK RADIO 02/15/89 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 07/05/89 THE KARATE KID PART III 08/09/89 THE ABYSS 09/20/89 SEA OF LOVE 11/01/89 THE BEAR 12/20/89 BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
My biggest Ziegfeld regret:
NOT seeing Ryan’s Daughter there in 70mm, 1970-71.
Some of my favorite Ziegfeld memories:
My first time there, a 5 ½ hour double feature of West Side Story and Around the World in 80 Days, in 1970.
First time seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey there, in 1974. It wouldn’t be the last.
The roof-raising Quintaphonic Sound presentation of Tommy in March 1975.
Seeing a 1 AM showing of Close Encounters after waiting on line outside for several hours in bitter cold on Thanksgiving night, 1977.
Getting yelled at by the guy in front of me for unconsciously kicking his seat in time to the music from Fame, May 1980.
Seeing Gandhi on the night of a terrible blizzard in February 1983. The house was sold out!
Angry Christian groups marching on the theater with banners flying to protest The Last Temptation of Christ, August 1988.
People frantically searching for seats at a sold-out showing of Lawrence of Arabia, 1989.
My mom meeting Shirley MacLaine in the ladies' room during the intermission of Spartacus, 1991.
Seeing Independence Day at 6 AM on the 4th of July 1996.
Seeing Kim Novak and Pat Hitchcock outside the theater at the premiere of the restored Vertigo in 1996, then seeing the film itself two days later.
Being on the concession line with Isabella Rossellini and her kids at the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back, 1997.
Seeing the following classics there in 2006: The Godfather Part II, Ben-Hur, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, North by Northwest, Doctor Zhivago, Citizen Kane, Jaws, E.T., The Birds. How I wish they’d do something like this now, so the Ziegfeld could go out with a bang.
The free-admission TCM Road to Hollywood shows, all with every seat taken: All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird, Cabaret.
I’ve seen 147 movies at the Ziegfeld over the last 46 years. Hope I get to see one more before the end, to say goodbye.
The Paris showed “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm in the ‘90’s. Don’t know if they still have that equipment, though. Small screen too, compared to the Ziegfeld.
From a Portland, ME newspaper.
Happy “2001 at the Capitol” anniversary to me. 6/15/1968, 47 years. Heading toward the big 5-0.
And of course “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) with a CinemaScope print from the 20th Century-Fox vault, a packed house, and the volume turned way up. There were many fantastic shows like that, come to think of it.
When I think back to the good old days, I think my favorite unusual choice at the Lafayette was “Becket” (1964). I don’t think that had been shown anywhere in 35mm for decades.