My memories go back to 1973 when it was a twin…upstairs downstairs 2 decent sized screens and a similar sized lobby to today
It was still pretty hospitable when it was a 5 plex one large upstairs and one large downstairs and 3 smaller screens
After that it went downhill in terms of marquee, public spaces and quality – haven’t seen a film here in 10 years…The more they try to do with public areas the worse it looks…
My local Vue’s at Shepherd’s Bush and Westfield are equally cluttered but functional
Agreed even in smaller towns e.g. Papenburg more interesting buildings, interesting promotions and partnerships, would argue a few more shows OmU – original language + subtitles would be great
2 sold out previews of Uncut Gems at the Prince Charles last night (was at the 21:00)…London and the West End need more of this than another ‘Luxe’ multiplex playing the same as everyone else…Retwin it and run more repertory programming!
Never hard to find…a mature booking policy of mostly independent or smaller studio films (a mix of UA and Fox)…Saw Viva Maria, Flim Flam Man, Alfredo Alfredo, Finzi Contini, Bird, Round Midnight among others here
When They See Us…The Crown are some Netflix pieces that might fit neatly into retrospective theatre showings particularly if they could build in some Q&A’s with content creators
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/movies/meyer-ackerman-dead.html
Obituary for Meyer Ackerman who owned the 68th St Playhouse from the late 70’s to the mid-80’s and programmed pictures like La Cage aux Folles and The Gods Must be Crazy
The man was serious about programming good movies there!
A banner year of programming for the Prince Charles including To Live and Die in LA with a live Q&A with William Friedkin (I ended up sitting next to Sherry Lansing), Robert Altman’s The Last Goodbye…am there again soon for Springsteen Western Stars
In the 60s 70s pictures would be booked on Broadway and showing at the deuce…With smaller screens, loyalty cards it now makes sense to be booked on both sides of the road…but it is a shame because this might once have been an exclusive for the Plaza or dare I say the Paris
I saw a couple of movies in the early 80s in the basement screens – badly raked and tight seating even for the times. I do remember the downstairs lounge going back to Is Paris Burning and Patton days. The upstairs screen out of the old balcony might have been the best value for money experience in the Criterion Center days – saw Garp and Cry in the Dark there
£26 million…someone is being greedy
Agree there is a long term decision to be made here – an up to date West End legitimate theatre would be great…it would give operators space to renew some of the older ones
As for a cinema it’s a shame that there may not even be a low-end ROI…clean up the seats…don’t go LUXE not everyone needs it…and look for gaps that PictureHouse Central and Curzon don’t fill…a BFI West End for longer runs of revivals at convenient times?
Old and imperfect still can be fun!
Well said Howard…The Paris like the Gate Notting Hill in London (now over 100 years old) is one of those theatres that appeals to people who don’t go to other cinemas but enjoy the diversity of programming. Distributors will miss it for the exposure that there movies had and film lovers will miss it. The other article in today’s NYT is that speciality box office is down 45% this year and filmmakers will want someplace to show their films beyond streaming
We live in hope!
The Beekman under its current guise had some important openings as the Loews NY Twin – Norma Rae as opening attraction, ET day dating with Movieland and Bay Cinema, Rainman daydating with Astor Plaza, Bertolucci’s La Luna day dating with 57thSt Playhouse…it would be a shame for the UES to be further underscreened
Is this going through a refurb at the end of the week or God forbid closing…Can imagine hard to stadium but possible to rake a bit better and add recliners
Given the choice we tend to go Shepherd’s Bush rather than Westfield…old school with gentler crowds…It’s a shame that Vue wasn’t more imaginative with programming and that we couldn’t see more oldies and second runs like at the Prince Charles
My memories go back to 1973 when it was a twin…upstairs downstairs 2 decent sized screens and a similar sized lobby to today It was still pretty hospitable when it was a 5 plex one large upstairs and one large downstairs and 3 smaller screens After that it went downhill in terms of marquee, public spaces and quality – haven’t seen a film here in 10 years…The more they try to do with public areas the worse it looks… My local Vue’s at Shepherd’s Bush and Westfield are equally cluttered but functional
Agreed even in smaller towns e.g. Papenburg more interesting buildings, interesting promotions and partnerships, would argue a few more shows OmU – original language + subtitles would be great
Played a lot of Fox and CIC (Paramount/Universal) product in the 60s/70s Saw Hombre here
2 sold out previews of Uncut Gems at the Prince Charles last night (was at the 21:00)…London and the West End need more of this than another ‘Luxe’ multiplex playing the same as everyone else…Retwin it and run more repertory programming!
Never hard to find…a mature booking policy of mostly independent or smaller studio films (a mix of UA and Fox)…Saw Viva Maria, Flim Flam Man, Alfredo Alfredo, Finzi Contini, Bird, Round Midnight among others here
When They See Us…The Crown are some Netflix pieces that might fit neatly into retrospective theatre showings particularly if they could build in some Q&A’s with content creators
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/movies/meyer-ackerman-dead.html Obituary for Meyer Ackerman who owned the 68th St Playhouse from the late 70’s to the mid-80’s and programmed pictures like La Cage aux Folles and The Gods Must be Crazy The man was serious about programming good movies there!
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Paint Your Wagon a solid hit in Europe…Wondrin Star a number 1 hit in the UK for Lee Marvin believe it or not
A banner year of programming for the Prince Charles including To Live and Die in LA with a live Q&A with William Friedkin (I ended up sitting next to Sherry Lansing), Robert Altman’s The Last Goodbye…am there again soon for Springsteen Western Stars
https://tinyurl.com/y4q4yjkr TIme Out’s annual love letter to London cinemas including of course the Prince Charles
In the 60s 70s pictures would be booked on Broadway and showing at the deuce…With smaller screens, loyalty cards it now makes sense to be booked on both sides of the road…but it is a shame because this might once have been an exclusive for the Plaza or dare I say the Paris
One of my local theatres growing up…UA seemed to program a lot from Columbia, later Fox, Universal and Tri-Star
I saw a couple of movies in the early 80s in the basement screens – badly raked and tight seating even for the times. I do remember the downstairs lounge going back to Is Paris Burning and Patton days. The upstairs screen out of the old balcony might have been the best value for money experience in the Criterion Center days – saw Garp and Cry in the Dark there
£26 million…someone is being greedy Agree there is a long term decision to be made here – an up to date West End legitimate theatre would be great…it would give operators space to renew some of the older ones As for a cinema it’s a shame that there may not even be a low-end ROI…clean up the seats…don’t go LUXE not everyone needs it…and look for gaps that PictureHouse Central and Curzon don’t fill…a BFI West End for longer runs of revivals at convenient times? Old and imperfect still can be fun!
If this was the old Movieland I saw Going in Style here in 1979…Perfect serviceable multiplex but loved the Movieland brand
Well said Howard…The Paris like the Gate Notting Hill in London (now over 100 years old) is one of those theatres that appeals to people who don’t go to other cinemas but enjoy the diversity of programming. Distributors will miss it for the exposure that there movies had and film lovers will miss it. The other article in today’s NYT is that speciality box office is down 45% this year and filmmakers will want someplace to show their films beyond streaming We live in hope!
A great festival of Paris classics including Romeo & Juliet, Merchant Ivory would have been a way to send it off
The Beekman under its current guise had some important openings as the Loews NY Twin – Norma Rae as opening attraction, ET day dating with Movieland and Bay Cinema, Rainman daydating with Astor Plaza, Bertolucci’s La Luna day dating with 57thSt Playhouse…it would be a shame for the UES to be further underscreened
I grew up around the corner on E68th St and saw a couple of revivals here
Is this going through a refurb at the end of the week or God forbid closing…Can imagine hard to stadium but possible to rake a bit better and add recliners
Am pretty sure I saw one of the worst movies ever Bunny O'Hare with Bette Davis & Ernest Borgnine here in 1972
A necessary refurbishment for the Chelsea art house crowd but will miss the shabbiness of this for a mid-week mid-afternoon trip to the movies
Given the choice we tend to go Shepherd’s Bush rather than Westfield…old school with gentler crowds…It’s a shame that Vue wasn’t more imaginative with programming and that we couldn’t see more oldies and second runs like at the Prince Charles
The Paris is closing?