Ziegfeld Theatre
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
131 people
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I was at the AMMI screening of “2001” that Peter T. wrote about. The print did have some flaws and there was some noticeable flickering, especially in the lower corners of the screen. But it was still a 70mm screening of my all-time favorite movie, and you can really see the difference between 70mm and 35mm. Some of the menu items posted on the wall of the space shuttle kitchen were actually readable from the front row (Apricot Nectar, Apple Cider, etc.) And the sound was fantastic: HAL’s voice seemed to emanate from all corners of the ship … I mean, the theater.
It was one of the prints that Pete A. described: it had a Warner Bros. logo at the very end of the credits.
Warner struck a couple of new 70mm prints of 2001 in 2001, but those have circulated a lot over 5 years, and not always to facilities that handle film properly. Sounds like the AMMI ran one of those.
There was no flickering present on the new 70mm prints (I saw them several times in 2001 & 2002), nor was there any on the new 35mm print I ran in 2004 at the Lafayette Theatre. Any flickering is likely a mechanical/electrical issue at the AMMI.
That sounds like it was an old 70mm print, I am not sure if Warner has struck any new prints of 2001.
Did anyone here see the 70MM print of Kubrick’s “2001†at the American Museum of the Moving Image (AMMI) in Queens this past weekend? (I know this is a bit off-topic, being the Ziegfeld page, but since so many of you are experts on 70MM presentation I thought I could get a knowledgeable opinion.)
I have only seen two true 70MM presentations, both at the Ziegfeld â€" “Spartacus†and “Lawrence of Arabiaâ€, in the early 90s. “Lawrenceâ€, especially, was truly the most spectacular film presentation I have ever seen.
I went to “2001†with very high expectations but was quite disappointed, not with the film itself, but the quality of the “restored†print, which I thought was quite a mess. Scratches galore, sprocket marks, very “flickery†image (especially on scenes with lots of white), and much grainier than I expected.
Can anyone here enlighten me?
P.S. This is my first post here. I’ve been reading your posts here and on the RCMH page. You guys are great! I can’t get any work done anymore.
November 1986 “The Nutcracker” in 70mm
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How long will Clearview own the Ziegfeld? I heard that it’s showing Cars when it opens this weekend; it will draw crowds; saw a funny trailer featuring one of the characters in cars talking to a cell-phone; that ad was a promo for the movie by Clearview. BTW, do they show the Clearview pre-show at the ziegfeld? If so, do people who go there complain about it because the movie’s not on time?
Rhett:
Here’s something to cheer you up- MOMA, this month, is running their fourth Preservation festival. Yesterday, saw a beautiful pristine print of “True Grit,” which was introduced by the head of preservation at Paramount and John Wayne’s daughter in law. All spoke about MOMA’s commitment to the preservation of classics and the IMPORTANCE of seeing these films in a theatre, not just on home video. So keep the faith, despite the fact that Loew’s E-walk is showing “The Break Up” on five screens. “True Grit” was great after 37 years, who will remember “The Break Up”
Gary
I agree with previous posts. Considering myself a movie fanatic (as are many of you)…this is the first time that I can remember that I am not psyched to see any movie this Summer at all. DaVinci-when I get to it….MI3- saw it..ok…XMen- could care less, but I guess I’ll see it….is it me or do movies really suck now? Breakup- does anyone really want to see that?? it’s no wonder DVD sales are growing and many are buying big screen TV’s..there could be a day when more than one theater is playing a big screen classic…
It seems that vanity-driven big budget Hollywood remakes were a part of the scene even 26 years ago:
The Jazz Singer – Daily News 12/14/80
Took my mother (a huge Diamond fan) to see this one sometime later at the Five Towns Theater in Woodmere, LI, for all of 81 cents per ticket when it finally made the discount theater rounds.
Below is an ad from the NY Post on March 6, 1982 – a time when 70mm and Dolby Stereo seemed to be a pretty big angle to play up in advertising:
Quest for Fire
I love that distinctive font type for the Ziegfeld in that ad. I remember all of the Walter Reade Theaters at the time used that type face in print ads – you can see it for Reade’s New Yorker in the adjacent ad for “On Golden Pond”. Also note how all the Manhattan showcases used a distinctive type face to set them apart from each other. This was pretty common for the day.
Warren… I know you’re interested in getting theater names exactly right… Would you say that these two ads evidence that at least during this period of time the Ziegfeld Theater was actually properly known as “The Ziegfeld”? I wonder if that was a naming convention that Walter Reade applied to its entire chain at the time, as supported by “The New Yorker 2” reference in the “On Golden Pond” ad.
Boy, do we need it now.
Hi Bill, Rhett, and all:
Yes, I sorely miss the Classic series and plan on checking in with Craig as summer proceeds to Labor Day. I don’t think that there is one film this summer (Is MI:3 history already?) that I’m thrilled about seeing. For the first time that I can remember, Premiere magazine, in their Summer issue, did not list a “top ten” prediction. I think that I’m up for seeing Ben-Hur again- right now!!!
Happy Memorial Day to all,
Gary, the Ziegfeld Man
Rhett: Clearview exec Craig O'Connor said the Classics will be back in the fall. A manager also announced this to the audience right before the showing of “Ben-Hur”, which was fairly early in the Classics series. I guess it was a success right away. So when the dud summer “blockbusters” have run their course in a couple of weeks, we’ll have REALLY good movies up on the Ziegfeld screen again. I saw “The Da Vinci Code” last night and, believe me, word of mouth on that one is not going to be good.
Does anyone know the status of success of the Hollywood Classic Series? Will Ziegfeld go for it again??
Does anyone know the status of success of the Hollywood Classic Series? Will Ziegfeld go for it again??
Does anyone know the status of success of the Hollywood Classic Series? Will Ziegfeld go for it again??
Thanks JSA – I really appreciate your report on “80 Days”, and I’m glad you and your son had a good time in spite of the fading. Just yesterday I was searching around for any comments or reviews in the usual places, and didn’t find any.
I believe the first time it was shown on CBS (1972?), the Ed Murrow sequence was cut completely. The movie started with David Niven as Fogg entering the Reform Club.
To Peter Apruzzese and Bill Huelbig:
Last Friday night I attended the Todd-AO 30 fps presentation of “Around the World in 80 Days” at the Egyptian in LA. According to the gentleman that introduced the picture, this print was struck in 1968. It was a bit more faded than I expected, but still enjoyable. The real minus for me was that the introduction by Ed Murrow was cut short: the “Trip to the Moon” and the rocket firing sequences were missing. I could be wrong, but it seemed that the introduction edit was similar to the one made for network TV. I can only imagine how this picture would look and sound if fully restored. Overall, we had a good time, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this print for the general public. It all depends on how much fading you can tolerate. Certainly fans and enthusiasts of the film will enjoy it. My 7-year old son got a kick out of it! As an extra before the picture, a recently restored “The Miracle of Todd-AO” was shown. The roller coaster and motorcycle ride scenes were fantastic! The other noteworthy 70 mm presentations during the weekend were “Patton†and “South Pacificâ€. Unfortunately, I missed those. Next time perhaps!
Regards,
JSA
It is by far and away the nicest and best maintained theatre they have.
How does the Ziegfield compare to other clearview cinemas in the tri-state area?
The excellent photos of the Ziegfeld auditorium, mentioned above and taken by PH can be seen here:
View link
The sign taped to the door said you could buy advance tickets to the big film that opens 5/19. The signs for that VH1 show were still there.
I wonder if the Clearview folks have the marketing clout to even get the big films when they are competing against Regal/UA & AMC/Loew’s for product.
In any event, it is an awful sad sight to see this place dark on a Saturday night.
LOL, Bill, I’m sure I’ll be doing the same thing at MI:3 (PSH was excellent in Capote). It would be great to see Superman Returns at the Ziegfeld (would be cool to see Superman I and II there as well!).
A game show set to air on VH1, “The World Series of Pop Culture” taped at the Ziegfeld last weekend That’s why the theater was closed.
I’d better not go see MI:3. I’d be rooting for the bad guy, Philip Seymour Hoffman. If Superman Returns gets booked into the Ziegfeld, I’ll be there for that.