Criterion Theatre

I know the summer of 1977 the Astor Plaza had “Star Wars”, and the State must have had 2 better pictures for “Orca” to have opened at the Criterion. Paramount films usually played Loew’s Theatres.
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Here is the Criterion day and dating with the Sutton.

Alien was the last movie I saw at the Criterion. I went because I had just seen Funny Girl at the Music Hall and was feeling very nostalgic. Superman was the last movie I saw at the Criterion that I liked. I had first seen it in the suburbs. Oh why couldn’t it have opened at the Criterion instead of the Astor Plaza? And two years before why couldn’t Star Wars open there instead of the Astor Plaza?
If only people had realized it was a far greater movie theater than the Ziegfeld.

With the Gordon’s Gin sign above it and the Bond store and the Woolworths it was one of New Yorks greatest blocks. In later years I actually heard while walking on the opposite side of the street on a few occasions strangers comment to each other how the block had really deteriorated and they couldn’t believe it. I guess they had seen it for many years before its descent into cheap camera and souvenir stores and the Criterion’s descent into black exploitation.
When the National(ugh)was playing the ‘73 revival of SOM the Criterion was playing Wattstoxx. A block above Loew’s State was playing Lost Horizon.
How did the Criterion which was New Yorks greatest house in the 60'so quickly lose all its luster and turn into a grind house? Even the Rivoli and the Loew’s State had far better bookings into the 70’s.

Robert, fun looking at those ads, thanks!
It also reminded me of how in the 60s, the ads no longer carried tags like Roadshow or 70mm stereophonic sound. Of course
“Funny Girl” should have read, “Presented in washed out 70mm blow up. I’m not bitter, I prefered the 70mm to 35mm, even the blow ups. I just wished there had been more movies shot in 70mm.
Still, the Criterion was a great place to see a roadshow. Would you happenen to have any "10 Commandments” ads or from any during the fabulous 50s?

May 25,1979 when Fox opened “Alien” it was only at 70mm houses. The Criterion played it around the clock 24 hours the first 2 days. It also opened at Loews Orpheum and Loews New York Twin. In Long Island it played UA Syosset and in New Jeresy RKO Paramus Quad and the General Cinema Menlo Park Cinema.

Look at the Criterion Center from the 1980's
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The Warner Cinerama kept the Cinerama orchestra just as it was after they separated the balcony without putting in a low ceiling. So the 70mm on Broadway festival at the end of the 70’s was wonderful.
The Criterion during its road show era was one of the greats. Too bad they didn’t maintain this instead of the Ziegfeld. The Criterion was champagne, the Ziegfeld coca cola.

William
To call the Egyptian run down at it’s sad UA end is actually a compliment. It was WORSE then the 42nd St houses in their waning days. I never got to see the Criterion again after they made it a sixplex. As a twin it was not horrible compared to the things we have now, at least the auditoriums were large. How small were the basement theatres? By the way I think the only theatre that survived twinning and was still a class house was the original Loews State. The upstairs theatre contained the whole original house except for under the balcony where they built the new auditorium.

Unlike most people, I was happy to see the Criterion go to make way for the new Loews E-Walk and AMC Empire. In the summer of ‘90 I entered the Criterion for the first and only time to see “Die Hard 2” in 70mm on “balcony” level auditorium, then sneaking onto the “orchestra” theatre before that was twinned. Not impressed with what I saw I checkout the restrooms in the basement which were in pityful condition. Also, to my surprise there was this long abandoned hallway that eventually lead to an emergency exit door to one of the cheap, poorly constructed auditoriums in the basement. This was truly one of the grossest filmgoing experiances of my life. The place was dark and ugly and thought “what the hell have I gotten myself into” and wondered if the NYPD should close this place down. I checked out all four theatres and all had THE worst projection and sound I ever seen. The place was just filthy and the patrons seedy. I didn’t want to sit next to any of those weirdos. Luckily I managed to get out of there alive and never went back. Good-bye Criterion!

That’s astounding as it seems to me one of the worst adaptations of a musical I have seen. Earlier that year in ‘71 I had seen the Broadway production only a few blocks north of the Rivoli at the Broadway theater and I was overwhelmed. Magnificently stage by Jerome Robbins and designed by the genius of Boris Aronson it was filled with joy and color. The grainy, washed out neutered bore I saw on the curved screen at the Rivoli to a huge sold out house was a huge dissapointment. I watched a little of it recently on TCM and it was just as dull and unimaginative as I remembered. It played on roadshow for over a year and I never went back. Too bad as it was the last successful musical roadshow. I’m glad though you liked it as in and of itself it is a great work. I haven’t seen the current production but you might want to take your daughter to it.

Vincent: I never saw “Nicholas & Alexandria” but I think that “Fiddler” is one of the finest musicals ever made. I’ve only seen it on TV but it’s an under rated masterpiece. I didn’t win Best Picture that year because I think by 1971, the country’s mood had drastically changed and were more than burnt out by the onslaught of musicals that were heaped upon them after “The Sound of Music” and “My Fair Lady”. But I’ve read more than one critical history that claims that “The French Connection’s” win over “Fiddler” that year was a mistake but the Academy was reflecting the changing times and tastes.

Anyway, that’s a major digression. Why was “Fiddler” lousy? Lousy film or presentation at The Rivoli? I understand that it was one of the last Roadshows.

You and I might pay that much for a film in a big theater with a big screen and great sound. But I’m sorry. I see these people buying stacks of DVDs at the Virgin Megastore (ironically the site of the old Loews State) and these people would never do that. There’s no market anymore for films to open in a spectacular way. The reason is not so much that the public wouldn’t go but because the studios have switched their priorities away from the theatrical releases to home entertainment. This is not publicized by the studios but it’s a known fact.

It’s sad for us who remember how special it could be to see an event film in a theater. You and a lot of the others on this site remember even bigger, better times. I only remember the tail end of it. But it’s enough for me to lament it’s passing.