AMC Empire 25

234 W. 42nd Street,
New York, NY 10036

Unfavorite 79 people favorited this theater

Showing 526 - 550 of 782 comments

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on March 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm

Isn’t it a little obnoxious to call an actor dead 50 years by his nickname?

MarkieS
MarkieS on March 30, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Isn’t it getting a little obnoxious to continually refer to forty second street as “the deuce”? I mean, I like noir as much as the next guy, but Bogie’s been dead for 50 years.

Bway
Bway on March 29, 2008 at 7:07 pm

The New Amsterdam wasn’t originally meant to show movies, nor was the Gallo Opera House (Studio 54) when they were built. I am not sure about the Beacon Theater, which originally was a Vaudville house, but may have been meant to also show movies, I dont know.

It’s true, NY has lost many theaters, but it also retains many. It had SO many, so obviously the amount lost with that vast number would be higher than other areas, as it had more to begin with.

Edward Havens
Edward Havens on March 29, 2008 at 4:02 pm

Remind me again which movie I can see today at Radio City or the New Amsterdam or the Beacon or Studio 54.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez on March 29, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Forgot to mention the Apollo and The Victoria in Harlem, though it appears we will be losing the Victoria in its conversion to a hotel/office complex, we are gaining a fully restored and renovated Apollo thanks to Time Warner.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on March 28, 2008 at 6:07 pm

Plus we have about 36 landmarked Broadway playhouses, so we’re not exactly lacking theaters. Just operating movie palaces.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez on March 28, 2008 at 10:55 am

While it is true that New York has lost so many of its grand palaces of the past, there are still many that are still with us. The same is true in Los Angeles. While Philadelphia is on the verge of losing its one remaining palace, The Boyd and many other cities have only one or two palaces remaining, New York still has a virtual embarassment of riches remaining: Radio City, The Hollywood, The New Amsterdam, The Beacon, The Ziegfeld, The Paris, The Palace, The St. George, RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, Studio 54, Loew’s Kings, Loew’s Paradise, Loew’s 175th St, Loew’s Valenica, The Brooklyn Paramount (mostly intact), etc. Not to mention the two other greats, Loew’s Jersey and The Stanley just across the river. In addition, there are many others out of the public eye that operate as churches, especially in Brooklyn.

I don’t mean to minize our losses; they have been great and tragic, but all is not lost! We still have a lot left and we need to focus on keeping what we have.

BradE41
BradE41 on March 27, 2008 at 3:40 pm

I went to this theatre a couple weeks ago, it was like climbing Mt. Everest to get to the theatre. Cannot say I liked the theatre very much, it pretty much has not character. It has been about 20 years since my last NYC visit; and I was disappointed that so many great theatres are now gone, it is worse than L.A.

AdoraKiaOra
AdoraKiaOra on January 27, 2008 at 5:19 pm

View from the orchestra level looking up to the two balcony’s showing a well preserved auditorium.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtians/2223417322/

AdoraKiaOra
AdoraKiaOra on January 27, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Great shot showing escalators rising from orchestra level into the old prosenium arch taking you up to the cinemas.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtians/2223415300/

owenspierre81
owenspierre81 on January 26, 2008 at 5:18 pm

Movies that were shown in Digital Projection (DLP) at the EMPIRE 25 from November 2003 to today

11/14/03- Looney Tunes: Back In Action
11/14/03- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
12/5/03- The Last Samurai
1/16/04- Disney’s Teacher’s Pet
2/6/04- Miracle
3/26/04- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
5/14/04- Troy
5/28/04- The Day After Tomorrow
7/7/04- King Arthur
7/16/04- I, Robot
8/6/04- Collateral
11/10/04- The Polar Express
11/19/04- National Treasure
12/22/04- The Phantom of the Opera
1/14/05- Elektra
3/11/05- Robots
4/1/05- Sin City
5/19/05- Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith
3/2/07- Wild Hogs
3/2/07- Zodiac
4/13/07- Disturbia
4/13/07- Perfect Stranger
5/4/07- Spider-Man 3
5/18/07- Shrek the Third
6/8/07- Ocean’s Thirteen
6/29/07- Ratatouille
7/20/07- Hairspray
7/27/07- The Simpsons Movie
11/16/07- Beowulf
12/14/07- I Am Legend
12/21/07- National Treasure: Book of Secrets
1/11/08- The Bucket List
1/18/08- 27 Dresses
1/18/08- Mad Money

Bway
Bway on January 16, 2008 at 8:49 am

I still am amazed every time I walk past the Empire, most recently about a week ago, that it has been moved. I am just also equally amazed that they decided to do that instead of tearing the place down. GREAT photo! I still can’t understand how something like this is even possible. The building had to be lifted off it’s foundation, and it’s a brick building!

JoelWeide
JoelWeide on January 14, 2008 at 7:37 pm

That is a simply amazing feat, and what is even more amazing is that American Multi Cinema was even involved with the undertaking!

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 3, 2008 at 5:35 am

Warren, you might have missed the new language of the 4th & 5th paragraphs of the Intro. (I suggested it be inserted there) Given the 1st paragraph statement, the Intro makes the architectural contributions clear.

The individual listings of Architect and firm have been subject to debate in regard to other theaters, as you know. I too often find that’s confusing. Perhaps there should be categories for Original Architect, Renovations Architect, etc. but that’s up to the webmasters.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 2, 2008 at 11:29 am

The wonderfully relevant info provided by Al has been integrated into the Intro.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on January 2, 2008 at 8:24 am

According to the New York Times the multiplex was designed by the architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle.

Harriet Irgang, the director of Rustin Levenson Art Conservation, restored the mural originally painted by a French artist, Arthur Brounet.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 2, 2008 at 7:33 am

Here’s an article about the Empire moving:
View link

The Introduction states Lamb designed the 1912 theater. If anybody finds an article with name of the architect who designed the multiplex, post it! then, the info might get placed in the Intro, too.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 1, 2008 at 6:30 pm

I don’t them on speed dial, but I do make telephone calls, and check the Net websites for the theaters that spell it out. No shock to anybody that some of us on this website are zealots in this regard.

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on January 1, 2008 at 6:14 pm

This may sound strange/funny, but at some of my favorite frequented theaters, I have the box office or manager numbers on speed dial on all my phones. So, I end up calling to see if such and such a movie is playing in DP or in my favorite THX one.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 1, 2008 at 6:09 pm

JodarMovieFan, in Philadelphia the newspaper “movie clock” is an ad, for payment. I do wish movie theater operators would tell us, but too many don’t.

And, as you’ve noticed, there’s much less information even in the actual movie ads as to what kind of sound system, or projection, is used for the movie.

JodarMovieFan
JodarMovieFan on January 1, 2008 at 4:52 pm

Howard,

For years, I was complaining about this since you and I both know some auditoriums are nicer than others and have better offerings (Digital sound, projection, etc). What I’ve found out from places like Movietickets.com and Fandango is that it is up to theater management as to how they post the information. I suspect it is the same with newspapers, too. I doubt they (newspapers) advertise auditorium info at a plex as a public service.

So, if management wants to advertise that Movie A is in auditorium #1, with THX/DTS or Dolby Digital EX or Movie B is in DLP, then they need to inform the website of that fact.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 1, 2008 at 4:15 pm

though the screen size wasn’t tiny, I wasn’t thrilled to be in the 120 seaters at the Top of the Empire.

Theaters could Internet post where the movies are, and change the postings if the films change. In Europe, such is identified in print. If it really can’t be done in print in the US, it could be done on the Net.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on January 1, 2008 at 2:04 pm

Don’t go to theaters with dinky screens. Most newly built multiplexes like this one only have decent-sized screens.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on January 1, 2008 at 1:30 pm

Best bet is phoning the theatre directly on the day you’re thinking of going – that is IF you can get a live person on the phone. They should be able to confirm the screen on which any given film will be shown. Be sure to specify the particular screening you wish to attend in case your title is booked into multiple rooms.