Ben-Hur starts here next weekend. It’s a new digital restoration. I wonder if they’ll be using the curved 90-foot screen or the flat 70-foot one? I saw it in New York City a few weeks ago and it was quite spectacular.
Wow Greg – too bad that had to happen. The next time the Cinerama shows some generic 2011 release, the sound will probably be perfect. But when they show West Side Story and The Sound of Music, there are problems. What can you do?
I will post pictures from the festival tonight. I even snuck a couple of shots off the screen during the West Side Story credits. To my surprise, they actually came out!
Enjoy it, Greg. The soundtrack uses the original 1961 stereo music mix that was just recently rediscovered, and you really can hear the difference. Everything sounds clearer, you’ll notice instruments you never heard before – it really was a great show!
I attended six movies at the 70mm festival, from Thursday 10/6 through Saturday 10/8. “The Sound of Music” was a good print, but there were terrible problems with the soundtrack. The entire opening of the film played silent, up until near the end of Julie Andrews' title song. From then on, the sound would intermittently cut out, most unfortunately during “My Favorite Things” all the way into the middle of “Do Re Mi”. It happened about 6 or 7 times. The theater was clearly embarrassed by all this and offered refunds. Later that night, “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” played perfectly. Looked like a new print too.
The next three I saw, “West Side Story”, “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Cleopatra”, were also excellent prints, and the shows went off without a hitch. “Lawrence” was a Friday night sell-out. My final show was “2001” on Saturday, a near sell-out. This print was a little more beat up than the others, but I’m sure it’s gotten the most use over the last few years.
If I had to pick one show that stood out above all the others, I’d go with “West Side Story”. It’s been a favorite of mine since I was 8 years old, but I’d never seen it on that scale before, the way it was designed to be seen. I waited 50 years to see it in 70mm, and thanks to the Seattle Cinerama that dream was realized. Well worth the trip from New Jersey.
Seattle is a really cool city, too. The Space Needle and the Monorail are 49 years old, but they still look like the future to me. The theater itself has the same effect: built in the ‘60s, but looks like a vision of the future.
I second the motion. Please do it, David. I’m seeing the 8K digital presentation of Ben-Hur at the New York Film Festival this Saturday in Alice Tully Hall, but I’m going to pretend it’s 1959 and I’m at the Loew’s State.
I just found out West Side Story will be playing Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in September. The New York Philharmonic will perform the score live, in sync with the movie. It’ll be a digital presentation. I’ll post a link later, with more information.
I think the last classics shows were in February 2010 – the last ones I went to anyway. I remember going to “Funny Girl” and “West Side Story”. If there were any more since then, I’m sure Gary will let us know.
Adding photos can become addictive, can’t it? I spent one night doing it last month, and didn’t stop until the sun was coming up, around 5:30 AM. Good thing I was off work the next day.
My actor cousin Bob Greene, born in Hoboken, played a cop in the 1995 movie “Copycat”, starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. A lot of our family members got together to see his movie at the Hoboken Twin on its first night. It was the closest I ever got to attending an opening night premiere.
This theater is open to the public usually once a month, on a Monday. Tickets for non-Academy members are only $5.00. I will post programs from some of the shows I’ve attended in Photos. Projection and sound quality are always the very best (it is THE ACADEMY, after all). Robert Osborne from TCM has hosted many of the shows here.
I’m 56 years old, but nothing in the world makes me feel more like a 10-year-old kid than seeing “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” on a big theater screen. Thanks, Loew’s Jersey. And thanks for paying such a great tribute to the Master, Bernard Herrmann.
BobbyS: It was the most incredible movie theater experience I’ve ever had, before or since. The size and shape of the Capitol screen, combined with the greatest science-fiction movie ever made – nothing else will ever come close!
Ben-Hur starts here next weekend. It’s a new digital restoration. I wonder if they’ll be using the curved 90-foot screen or the flat 70-foot one? I saw it in New York City a few weeks ago and it was quite spectacular.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” was the first Cinerama show at this theater, starting on June 26, 1968:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Hx6RvaqUy9IC&dat=19680617&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
go to page 12.
That’s what I said after seeing The Sound of Music: I finally got to see it on a huge curved screen, under real Todd-AO conditions.
I posted some pictures this morning. What a surprise to see original costumes from Planet of the Apes on display in the lobby.
Wow Greg – too bad that had to happen. The next time the Cinerama shows some generic 2011 release, the sound will probably be perfect. But when they show West Side Story and The Sound of Music, there are problems. What can you do?
I will post pictures from the festival tonight. I even snuck a couple of shots off the screen during the West Side Story credits. To my surprise, they actually came out!
Enjoy it, Greg. The soundtrack uses the original 1961 stereo music mix that was just recently rediscovered, and you really can hear the difference. Everything sounds clearer, you’ll notice instruments you never heard before – it really was a great show!
I attended six movies at the 70mm festival, from Thursday 10/6 through Saturday 10/8. “The Sound of Music” was a good print, but there were terrible problems with the soundtrack. The entire opening of the film played silent, up until near the end of Julie Andrews' title song. From then on, the sound would intermittently cut out, most unfortunately during “My Favorite Things” all the way into the middle of “Do Re Mi”. It happened about 6 or 7 times. The theater was clearly embarrassed by all this and offered refunds. Later that night, “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” played perfectly. Looked like a new print too.
The next three I saw, “West Side Story”, “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Cleopatra”, were also excellent prints, and the shows went off without a hitch. “Lawrence” was a Friday night sell-out. My final show was “2001” on Saturday, a near sell-out. This print was a little more beat up than the others, but I’m sure it’s gotten the most use over the last few years.
If I had to pick one show that stood out above all the others, I’d go with “West Side Story”. It’s been a favorite of mine since I was 8 years old, but I’d never seen it on that scale before, the way it was designed to be seen. I waited 50 years to see it in 70mm, and thanks to the Seattle Cinerama that dream was realized. Well worth the trip from New Jersey.
Seattle is a really cool city, too. The Space Needle and the Monorail are 49 years old, but they still look like the future to me. The theater itself has the same effect: built in the ‘60s, but looks like a vision of the future.
I second the motion. Please do it, David. I’m seeing the 8K digital presentation of Ben-Hur at the New York Film Festival this Saturday in Alice Tully Hall, but I’m going to pretend it’s 1959 and I’m at the Loew’s State.
Gary: the Hollywood Bowl showing is this weekend.
Here’s the link:
http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tickets/program-detail.cfm?id=2293
… just in case there are any Ziegfeld followers out in LA.
Here is the link:
http://nyphil.org/attend/season/index.cfm?page=eventDetail&eventNum=2330&seasonNum=10&mI=0&sI=0?effortcode=en7511
Dates are September 7th and 8th. Prices start at $35.
I just found out West Side Story will be playing Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in September. The New York Philharmonic will perform the score live, in sync with the movie. It’ll be a digital presentation. I’ll post a link later, with more information.
I think the last classics shows were in February 2010 – the last ones I went to anyway. I remember going to “Funny Girl” and “West Side Story”. If there were any more since then, I’m sure Gary will let us know.
Adding photos can become addictive, can’t it? I spent one night doing it last month, and didn’t stop until the sun was coming up, around 5:30 AM. Good thing I was off work the next day.
To Ed Solero: You’ve covered the great Ziegfeld from every conceivable angle! Thanks so much for posting those photos.
This movie opened in the first year of the Ziegfeld’s existence, and it’s still got the longest running engagement there (33 weeks).
Gary: I just sent an e-mail to Craig like you suggested. Hope this works!
If it’s 1973, could the first one be “Jesus Christ Superstar”?
The June weekend was the last classic movie event until the fall, probably September. There’s no air conditioning at the Loew’s.
My actor cousin Bob Greene, born in Hoboken, played a cop in the 1995 movie “Copycat”, starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. A lot of our family members got together to see his movie at the Hoboken Twin on its first night. It was the closest I ever got to attending an opening night premiere.
Joseph: Thanks so much for sharing this treasure trove of Roxy photo materials with us.
Joseph: Thanks so much for sharing this treasure trove of Roxy materials with us.
This theater is open to the public usually once a month, on a Monday. Tickets for non-Academy members are only $5.00. I will post programs from some of the shows I’ve attended in Photos. Projection and sound quality are always the very best (it is THE ACADEMY, after all). Robert Osborne from TCM has hosted many of the shows here.
Photo by Scott Frances.
I’m 56 years old, but nothing in the world makes me feel more like a 10-year-old kid than seeing “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” on a big theater screen. Thanks, Loew’s Jersey. And thanks for paying such a great tribute to the Master, Bernard Herrmann.
From November 2006.
BobbyS: It was the most incredible movie theater experience I’ve ever had, before or since. The size and shape of the Capitol screen, combined with the greatest science-fiction movie ever made – nothing else will ever come close!