Jackson Heights Cinema
40-31 82nd Street,
Jackson Heights,
NY
11373
40-31 82nd Street,
Jackson Heights,
NY
11373
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 160 comments found
Photos of the Jackson Theater can be seen here.
The original auditorium photo posted above on 1/26/08 has a new direct link:
View link
The Jackson is visible in this 2004 photo. The Passion of the Christ, Scooby Doo 2, Kill Bill, and The Alamo are playing. Judging from the order of the words on the marquee, it appears that not everything is subtitled in Spanish.
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Can someone please post a photo with a workable link?
thanks for the picture, i always imagine that it could look like that…
The Jackson never had a balcony. The original auditorium had a stadium section of seats at the rear, which has been walled off and divided into two “screens.”
Wow,that photo shows how beautiful this theater was. It may be a diamond in the rough, but hopefully one day it can be restored. At least it is still operating as a theater, and not gutted like so many other theaters.
How is it triplexed? One theater downstairs, and the balcony divided in two?
Fascinated by some of your comments. This is a photo showing the original auditorium. Glad to hear that at least some of it is still there: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/124-2495_IMG.jpg
hello, I just became a member because I wanted to find out about this theater that’s been haunting my curiosity for quite some time now, not because the movies they show, but because of the architectural details that you could appreciated around the stage or screen whatever you want to call it, and around the columns and at the top of the dome, but cannot at the same time because of the poor managment in taking care of the theater,they recently change the seats by I hope the will never destroy the main theater, just by walking in, it is like going back in time, and all I find it’s a disscution about subtitles and language, in a way I’m pleased because I found the information that I was looking for, but I feel sad, because the discussion about the ethnicity of the theater, I’m hispanic, and when I go to the theater don’t pay attention to the subtitles, but I do take my time staring at the sorroundings.
My daughter whos 13 would like to add a comment…
hello i believe that the theater is an amazing structure. I as well believe that you are all arguing for the wrong reason, about subtitles and language choice in the theater. The top of the dome in the main center theater is astonishing. The architectual detail inside the theater in general is beautiful and i just hate to see the condition it is presently in. The Jackson Heights community is not aware of this beautiful Queens monument that we have today. They just treat it like a low quality theater.
To combat competition from the 1939 New York World’s Fair, the Jackson Theatre closed for several weeks in June for modernization and redecoration, including installation of a new cooling plant, new seats, and new projection and sound equipment. It re-opened in July with this double bill that was first run for Jackson Heights but had already played at the more important RKO and Skouras theatres in Queens: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/jackson39.jpg
I just don’t get people who don’t go to foreign films because they “can’t handle ” the subtitles. If you would just try it you would see that after the first few minutes, you don’t even realize you’re reading anymore. My favorite film this year is La Vie En Rose, which is in French with English subtitles. I guess I’m completely floored because I’ve been going to see so many great films for more than 30 years which are in foreign languages. Bergman, Fellini, Kurasawa; God, I can’t imagine missing these great films because I stubbornly refuse to make a slight effort and read subtitles(which by the way are far preferable to dubbing). I also happen to live in Jackson Heights, just a few blocks from The Jackson. Just as reading subtitles doesn’t bother me, NOT reading them doesn’t bother me either!
Wow, that’s a nice photo, the theater looks so out of place there!
This early postcard view of the Jackson shows the opposite side of 82nd Street with its original residences. I suspect that the short-lived Jackson Heights Airdome, which no longer existed by this time, was on the same side of the street as the Jackson Theatre, and situated in the vicinity of the telephone pole nearest to the elevated subway line:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/jaxpost.jpg
If the Diaz brothers really wanted to stay in the business they could take back the Plaza, multi-plex the balcony like the Coliseum in Manhattan and even take over the Polk.
or a bank!!!
The truth is, a theater has to do whatever it can to survive. It’s certainly better being alive as a Spanish movie Theater, than gutted up and turned into another CVS store.
The Jackson seems to be catering more and more to Hispanic audiences only. Yesterday, one of the two mainstream movies being shown was advertised on the marquee as “El Guardian.” Like its other mainstream movie, the latest installment of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the Jackson was showing them in English with Spanish subtitles. But the Jackson’t third screen is currently occupied by “Viajeros,” filmed in the Dominican Republic, which is being shown in Spanish only, without English subtitles.
I have to admit, though I said above that subtitling is no big deal, I now remember that it was an acquired taste. Way back when, I didn’t see subtitled movies because I found them annoying, but over the years I realized that I was missing out on incredible films and so I began to watch and got accustomed to it. Now, I don’t have any problem at all with them.
I think what also helped was that I had subscriptions for many years at NYC Opera and The Metropolitan Opera. The only reason I got the tickets was because I could read the subtitles. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea what was going on. I know that the purists still complain about the intrusion, but if it weren’t for the titles I would never have gone at all. I think that is the lesson here at the Jackson. It probably is the reason that this theater is still open. Without subtitles, many of the local population who now go wouldn’t.
That’s always been a debated issue amongst movie entusiasts – subtitles vs. dubbing. Do we want the distraction of having to read the translation and keep the integrity of each actor’s performance whole, or will we suffer through even a hack dub-job so that are eyes need not be distracted from the images on screen? We might all agree that in certain cases (most Godzilla films and kung-fu epics) the hilarious dubbing might actually enhance the experience, but I personally find that subtitles work best in more seriously dramatic films, but it often depends on the film or director. I can’t imagine watching, say, an Ingmar Bergman film like “Wild Strawberries” dubbed over with American actors and missing half of Victor Sjostrom’s wonderful performance; he conveys so much with the tone of his voice in that film that one almost need not read the dialog. On the other hand, Fellini always shot silent and post-synched all of the dialog in his films – often having the actors recite the alphabet on set because the dialog was not yet written! Even then, at least the original Fellini dubs were performed by the same actors who appear on screen. It is rare that a film gets as expert and well directed a dubbing job as, say, “Das Boot.”
Luis, no I don’t watch foreign films, just because I can’t handle the subtitles, or the dubbing either for that matter. I could probably take the dubbing easier than subtitles, I just can’t come to the movies to read instead of listen.
LuisV makes an excellent point, Bway, that the Spanish subtitles are primarily what keeps this theater afloat. I’m sure without benefit of those subtitles, the Plaza Theater in Corona wouldn’t even have lasted as long as it did. In the end, even that wasn’t enough. I have no problem with a business attempting to cater to the overwhelming population in its marketplace.
The market in Jackson heights is there for Spanish subtitling or they wouldn’t do it….If there were a movie theater in Chinatown, I would feel the same about Chinese subtitling.
For me (and I am just speaking just for me) subtitles are no big deal. If a theater goer finds it so annoying then yes, they should go to another theater. It’s not like they are dubbing the dialogue; they are just subtitling.
Note to Bway: Please don’t misunderstand. I am not trying to be mean, but do you see any foreign films? Do you see them only if they’re dubbed? If you do see them and they are subtitled, what’s the difference?
One more thing….Let’s say the theater stopped subtitling and a big part of their audience stopped going to the theater. The theater stands a real chance of closing. Then, everyone has to go to another theater or the DVD. I’m just saying that the management has determined that this helps their business and it is, after all, their business.
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The same situation applies to all of the Spanish speaking immigrants in Jackson Heights.
And what about all the non-Spanish speaking immigrants or residents in Jackson Heights having to have that annoyance flashing under the screen?
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* If it bothers you, then you should go to another theater.*
When another theater is not close or convenient?
[i]The same situation applies to all of the Spanish speaking immigrants in Jackson Heights.[\i]
And what about all the non-Spanish speaking immigrants or residents in Jackson Heights having to have that annoyance flashing under the screen?
[i] If it bothers you, then you should go to another theater.
[/i]
When another theater is not close or convenient?