Rivoli Theatre
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
44 people
favorited this theater
Showing 476 - 500 of 921 comments
I moved to NYC in 1979…saw several movies at the Rivoli over the years while it was still open. The first was Coal Miner’s Daughter…I was blown away by the size of the screen…the biggest I had ever seen.
I met Mr. Wise also, when the Biograph showed “Star!” sometime in the ‘90’s (may have been the same festival Vincent attended). During intermission, I got to thank him personally for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “The Haunting”.
In addition he was a supreme gentleman. Had the privilege of meeting him and Portia Nelson at the Biograph when they held a Wise festival in the early 90’s. Do those kinds of classy people in anybody under 70 exist anymore?
I found it odd that IMDB didn’t have much of a blurb either but I might’ve missed something. I read about Wise’s death on another website but was surprised to see little or nothing about it on IMDB.
Good movie or not (sorry, but it’s debatable…) “The Sound of Music” is loved by millions. For that Wise deserved more. BUT you have to remember that Wise is considered by many (including PAULINE KAEL) to be one of the major talents behind “Citizen Kane”.
He also made a lot of other great films as well.
No, you’re right, Vincent. He deserved one of those front page below-the-fold articles with a picture. He got the same treatment as Bob Denver. He should’ve gotten the same treatment as Marlon Brando.
Thanks Bill for pointing that out however a late edition blip seems hardly the distinction the man deserves. Am I alone in feeling that way? I guess my world has passed by.
To be fair to the New York Times, they did mention Wise on the front page of yesterday’s late edition, which we get here at work. It was a listing in the “Inside” index at the bottom of the page: “Robert Wise, Director, Dies” … page A29.
I agree with Vincent here. The obituary in Variety was more in keeping with Wise’s great talent. The headline read “A Master of Cinema”.
The Rivoli page is a good place to talk about Robert Wise. His films kept the theater packed with thrilled, satisfied customers for several years.
Now that he’s gone (and Guy Green, director of “A Patch of Blue”, died yesterday at age 91, same age as Wise), who’s left? I can only think of Stanley Donen and Sidney Lumet.
So Robert Wise dies who is one of the very last of the top tier talents from the golden age of Hollywood who was still alive and he does not even rate a one line mention on the front page of the New York Times. What a culturally disastrous world we live in and the “paper of record” certainly leads the way.
How well I remember those wonderful theatres, during the 50s I worked for 20th Century Fox on 50th, or was it 52nd, and 10th. When weather permitted I would get off the subway at 42nd st and walk to work from there. Sometimes I walked along 42nd down to 8th ave and looked at all those great times square theatre marquees. Other times I would take B'way or 7th, passing theatre after theatre. I can’t stand looking at it now.
Another Rivoli roadshow
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king of the khyber rifles-1953
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Currently there are three Digital sound formats available. All releases today carry Quad sound tracks, which means all four sound tracks (3 digital and 1 analog) are on the print. Of the three the most popular is Dolby, it’s a good sound when it works properly, however it must be maintaned. The original installations included a penthouse reader similar to the old magnetic penthouses which sat above the projector head, but most installations now have a “basement reader” which has both the analog and digital pickup heads mounted in the optical sound head below the projector head.
The basement reader does not seem to work as well as the penthouse reader, there are LEDs that begin to dimish and must be kept at a recommended power to operate properly. When this is not monitored you will experience the kind of sound Vincent described. In addition the quality of the sound can be determined by the condition of the print and how the sound image was printed on the print. You might notice a change in the quality of the sound from reel to reel. Clearly there is work to be done but when it works properly and the amplifiers and equalization is set to spec, the sound can be rather good. Unfortunatly some theatres just let the equipment run and run without proper maintenance and the result can be rather awful. The six tracks: left,center,right,left surround, right surround and sub woofers must also be balanced, I have heard theatres were the surround levels are set too high and that can be distracting.
Hi Vincent. Actually I had missed Superman II during its first release in the summer of 81, but for some reason it returned to the theater that fall, probably to make a few more dollars during Thanksgiving weekend. That’s when they moved it to Theater 2. I don’t remember any decor, I think it was just curtains and surround speakers, though I could be wrong as it was so long ago. I actually saw The Right Stuff there at a sneak preview, the sound design was rich enough to begin with, and the Cinerama’s awesome sound system did it justice. Personally I’m not too big a fan of all these new digital sound systems, they seem mainly to make the explosion sounds louder and are starting to sound so cliched as to be “canned” and not very realistic anyway.
to frankcan,
I rememhber seeing Superman 2 at the Cinerama 1. Definately not the 2. Perhaps they moved it at some point. You’re right the 2 was huge I always felt that it was the entire Strand Balconey with modern decor. It you see original pictures of the balcony it is exactly the same but with ornate moldings. Stadium seating before the term was coined. You are right about the sound in 1. It was great. there isn’t a theater I’ve been in since the destruction in the late 80’s of the great Times Square houses where the sound is as good. Or maybe its just a different type of sound that I do not like. Too glassy, not enough warmth and richness. And geez is it loud.
Thank you William and KenRoe for the info on this theater, that’s another interesting page. I’m pretty sure both The Right Stuff and Superman II were 70mm prints, which seemed to be a specialty of this theater. Even though I hardly see current movies anymore (I prefer revivals at the Film Forum), and I am aware that with today’s economy it’s more practical to open mulitplexes with 200 seat auditoria, I still really miss these huge movie palaces.
By the way, I recently read The Best Remaining Seats by Ben M. Hall, which got me interested enough in movie palaces to find this site. It was a very interesting read, and I like Mr. Hall’s sense of humor, which makes it more entertaining while still being respectful of the subject. I have the Da Capo trade paperback edition, which seems to have printed a “color” photo section in black and white. It’s currently out of print, but I just checked amazon.com and found they have a few copies available. I strongly recommend it to anyone not familiar with it.
francan;The theatre you mention above is listed here:– /theaters/2975 Normally theatres on Cinema Treasures are listed by their last name, in this case it is listed under its original and most well known name. The aka’s are not searchable at the moment.
It is listed under the original name of the theatre. Look under the Strand Theatre New York, NY.
Does anyone remember the RKO Cinerama, which sometime in the ‘80’s was renamed the RKO Warner? It was on Broadway in the upper 40’s, either 47 or 48 Street. I was only there twice, once in 81 to see Superman II, and then in 83 to see The Right Stuff. I actually saw Superman II in a brief re-release around Thanksgiving, it was a twin theater by then, and I saw it in the balcony theater, which I remember was HUGE. The Right Stuff played in the lower, orchestra theater. I recall it being large but a bit smaller than the balcony theater. The sound was a little better than the upstairs theater, and the screen seemed to be curved, like the old Cinerama screens were reported to be. I don’t remember when the theater was closed and demolished, I would assume it was late 80’s or early 90’s.
Anyway I didn’t see this theater listed on this site, so I was wondering if anyone remembers it or has any info on it. Thanks.
Attention Richard Dziadzio and Tim Elliot.
Could you contact me privately by e mail re some info from your previous posts?
Thanks.
In 1957 I was going on 14, and my Mom insisted that I see “Around The World In 80 Days” at the Rivoli, so she sent me into Manhattan from Brooklyn one Saturday morning with about $1.75 (!!!) to catch the first showing. I can still remember standing in front of the theater. 12 years later I remember being amazed that I could see “Hello, Dolly !” there while the show was still on Broadway. The last film I saw there was “Coal Miner’s Daughter” with my brother. A note on Bette Davis in “The Little Foxes”: In several books I’ve read,it seems that Wyler wanted the character played as more charming and womanly, whereas Bette seemed to go for a cold, steely interpretation. Incidentally, “Another Part of the Forest” is a phenomenal film. The original Broadway production starred Patricia Neal, who I kissed on the cheek on vacation this summer in a roadside gourmet grocery store in Oakland, Maine !!! frankie from Brooklyn
Here is one of American Internationals attempts at something other then drive-in flicks. The world premiere was at the Rivoli
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Hi Bill, I remember that screening at the MOMA, that was in ‘87 for the 25 Anniversary of the Bond series. I think it was also missing the scene in M’s office during the pre-title sequence. I wrote to the person at the museum in charge of the exhibit telling her how much I enjoyed the program~~they also featured many props, photos, artwork and posters from the movies as well as a tv monitor that showed pre-title sequences from many of the movies. I also mentioned the missing footage. She actually wrote back thanking me for writing and said she was aware of the missing scenes, and they were in the process of restoring them. I don’t know if they were ever shown at the museum again, so I can’t say if they restored the scenes. All the same, it was a wonderful exhibit, and I wish I could have been able to see all the movies (I only got to see OHMSS, Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).
Hi Bill, I remember that screening at the MOMA, that was in ‘87 for the 25 Anniversary of the Bond series. I think it was also missing the scene in M’s office during the pre-title sequence. I wrote to the person at the museum in charge of the exhibit telling her how much I enjoyed the program~~they also featured many props, photos, artwork and posters from the movies as well as a tv monitor that showed pre-title sequences from many of the movies. I also mentioned the missing footage. She actually wrote back thanking me for writing and said she was aware of the missing scenes, and they were in the process of restoring them. I don’t know if they were ever shown at the museum again, so I can’t say if they restored the scenes. All the same, it was a wonderful exhibit, and I wish I could have been able to see all the movies (I only got to see OHMSS, Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).
Hi Bill, I remember that screening at the MOMA, that was in ‘87 for the 25 Anniversary of the Bond series. I think it was also missing the scene in M’s office during the pre-title sequence. I wrote to the person at the museum in charge of the exhibit telling her how much I enjoyed the program~~they also featured many props, photos, artwork and posters from the movies as well as a tv monitor that showed pre-title sequences from many of the movies. I also mentioned the missing footage. She actually wrote back thanking me for writing and said she was aware of the missing scenes, and they were in the process of restoring them. I don’t know if they were ever shown at the museum again, so I can’t say if they restored the scenes. All the same, it was a wonderful exhibit, and I wish I could have been able to see all the movies (I only got to see OHMSS, Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).