Comments from br91975

The Biograph closed sometime in September or October of ‘91, hardbop. (I have, somewhere in a box in my closet, an article which ran in the Village Voice at the time, discussing the end of the Biograph’s run and the unpopular reputation Cineplex Odeon was either gaining or cementing at the time amongst NYC moviegoers.)

For several months after Cineplex pulled the plug on the Biograph, Frank Rowley tried to gain traction on a plan to operate a non-profit rep house somewhere in Manhattan; whether or not the manisfestation of that was his operation of the Gramercy I can’t, however, speak to.

In the weekly Angelika Film Center newsletter, the Village East is referred to as the Angelika’s ‘sister theater’.

Any word on how this hearing went today?

Thanks for the recollections, Theaterat – they paint as vivid a picture as any snapshots would.

I’ve only passed by the Center Cinemas on foot once – and God knows how many times on the 7, heading out to Shea for Mets games – but seem to remember seeing quite a bit of gray, trimmed with some rather familiar runs of purple and pink neon within its interior; was this once a Cineplex house?

This strikes me as incredibly lazy – the LED-display marquee makes mention of only two of what I’d guess to be the 10-12 films currently playing at the Union Square Stadium 14. Granted, they’re both Oscar winners – ‘The Aviator’ and ‘Sideways’ – and both films, irrelevant of snagging those awards last month are worth seeing, but wouldn’t you think a theatre would want to exert as much energy touting ALL the films they’re showing at once as they do an online and telephone ticket ordering service?

Walked past the Variety within the hour and the building gives that distinct chill of being doomed. Of course, one of the posted working permits notes that the construction work won’t involve interior alterations, but that seems like only a matter of time. (Interesting sidenote: the two permits note the building is not a landmark, which an alert contradictory sort contradicted by writing in black marker by each permit, ‘YES, THIS IS A LANDMARK!’ Right on, brother – or sister… )

…and today’s award for the msot unusual use of a movie theatre image in a media format goes to… DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.

In their new TV commercial touting advancements in knee replacement surgery, a reverse image of the Presidio’s marquee can be briefly glimpsed. (Guess you see the darndest things in the darndest places… )

The DVD release of ‘Being Julia’ might not necessarily be the reason Clearview is dropping it from the 62nd & Broadway, Mike; its box office might have finally petered out enough where it didn’t make sense to hold onto it any longer.

In regards to films being dropped due to their availability on DVD, that no longer seems to be the issue it once was (or was as well when VHS still ruled the home entertainment roost). A solid number of first-run theatres are holding onto ‘Finding Neverland’ beyond tonight, even though it was released onto DVD and VHS this past Tuesday, and ‘Ray’ had a run at the Loews State in Times Square several weeks after it became available in the retail and rental marketplace. Chains (and theatres in general) are more likely to hold onto films in such circumstances than they used to, due to the glut of screens across the country and the box office numbers being just sufficient enough.

Most likely yet another example of a property owner fending off attempts at landmarking.

The long run of ‘Being Julia’ at the 62nd and Broadway (and it’s time to change the name back on this theatre’s posting; the Cinema Latino name was dropped last November) is coming to an end tomorrow night, being replaced by a move-over of ‘William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice’.

The Ziegfeld, when held in comparison to some of NYC’s past movie palaces, doesn’t hold up in the same league, but for what it is and for how much the filmgoing scene in the city (and in general) has changed in the last 30-40 years, it’s the closest thing to a ‘classic’ cinema treasure we have.