Having seen “Lawrence” in 70MM at the Egyptian since the Cinematheque took over, I wholeheartedly agree with Roadshow. 70MM in THAT theatre is PATHETIC. May as well watch a 70MM presentation in one of these mall multiplexes or something.
Maybe I’m not as technically savvy as the rest of y'all and too dumb to realize that I’m watching a distorted presentation of a 70MM film, but I’d gladly forgive all the distortion and what not just to say that I saw ANYTHING at the Dome in 70MM in the 21st century!
I have a better question: Why not borrow a page from the Ziegfield and run classics in the Dome instead of crap like “The Heartbreak Kid” during off-season? January – April & September – October are the times when Hollywood puts out crap. Why indulge their lust for greed by showing their crap during these down months?!
Howard: They announced the cancellation of “The Shawshank Redemption” long before the event. Those who bought tickets either got refunds or got tickets to one of the other movies.
Alright folks! Here’s the report from AFI’s 40th Anniversay on 10/3/07:
The entrance to Arclight was covered in Red Carpet (neato).
Folks were dressed in everything from suit to jeans and everything in between. I shoulda dressed sharper.
All the movies got started REAL LATE. The events were supposed to kick off at 7:00 PM – most didn’t start till close to 8:00 PM.
They broke the cardinal rule of cinematic presentation: NO SLIDE SHOWS! The Dome screen was 50% open so AFI could run a myriad of “Spartacus” triva stuff over…and over…and over…and over…and over again! Ugh!
Far Left/Right seats & the whole stadium seated section of The Dome was full. The middle floor seats, though, had some serious gaps. A bunch of folks didn’t claim their seats at all.
1st intro to the night happened round 7:15 or so when one of the directors of AFI’s Silver Springs Maryland branch did a mini intro.
7:45 – 8:00 or so gave the REAL intro. Curtaiss close, lights dim, and a 1-2 minute clip of AFI’s history kicks off. Clip shows President LBJ announcing the forming of the American Film Institute and finishes with a plethora of clips with a voiceover underneath. The Chairman of AFI’s Board of Directors makes his spiel and introduces LA Mayor Antonio Villarigosa. We gave him a nice applause – no boos. He talked about how “Spartacus” influenced him to get out there and change the world, blah blah blah. AFI Chairman comes back and introduces Kirk Douglas.
Weird seeing Kirk Douglas at 90 years old. Not used to seeing him in his twilight. Speech was slurred (of course) but absolutely passionate. The highlight of his remarks were about how he fought to get Dalton Trumbo’s screenplay on screen and, of course, how he fought to ensure that Trumbo got his proper screenplay credit. We gave Mr. Douglas 2 standing ovations.
Mr. Douglas leaves, the Oveture kicks in, lights dim, curtains open (and open and open and open), Universal International logo pops up on screen and we’re off and running.
The version of “Spartacus” that we saw was the 1991 restored version. No one told us (and nothing was advertised on site) if we were seeing the 35MM or 70MM version. Heck…doesn’t matter. That film looked AWESOME on the Dome screen! As much as many folks balyhoo about images on edges of the Dome screen being distorted & out of focus, I have to say that I didn’t notice any of those issues at all. Everything looked crisp, sharp and, most of all, BIG!
Film ran without an “official” intermission. The “Intermission” title appeared onscreen but, 2 seconds later, the Entra'cte (sp?) for Act 2 rolled in and we were off and running.
Film ended after the 11:00 hour and was greeted with mucho applause.
Darn near everything’s sold out. All that’s left (as of 7:45 AM) is a few seats for “The Birds”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Spartacus” – which is playing in the Cinerama Dome.
As of 7:55 AM PST, EVERYTHING except a few seats for “The Birds”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Spartacus” is SOLD OUT. I suspect everything will be gone by 8:30 – 9:00 AM…if not sooner.
Arclight’s selling ‘em now (Tuesday 9/17). I just got my tix! SWEEEEET!
I will post a report of the festivities. Stay tuned.
Justin: The Dome uses Dolby Digital EX or SDDS 8 Channel for 35MM films (depending on the film)and DTS for 70MM films (that have been encoded for DTS).
If ANYTHING is shown in 70MM, those will be the first to sell out. As for Kram’s “Lawrence” in a fishbowl experience, it couldn’t have been worse than the time I saw it in 70MM on a puny 45 FOOT SCREEN(!!!) at the Egyptian almost 7 years ago. I’d suffer through edge distortion just to see BIG MOVIES projected on BIG SCREENS as they were intended.
Anyone know if the tickets go on sale at Midnight or later in the morning? I hope to have my ticket purchased by 8:00 AM PST.
Not to be cynical but to be truthful, the studios have one goal in mind for summer movies: $$$. The 3 movies you cite in your piece were all summer popcorn event flicks – the same kind that studios have been throwing at us every summer for the past 25-30 years. Then, like clockwork, the studios switch up to more “cerebral” and “meaningful” flicks for the fall. But, once again, reaching, teaching, hope and inspration isn’t their goal. Oscar nominations are.
But that’s what happens when you give MBA’s the keys to your studio. Art is sacrificed for “the bottom line”. It’s all corrupt. So what do we do? Stop supporting the film industry, or simply brush our shoulders off and escape for a couple of hours every weekend. I choose the latter. I have plenty of other sources to find hope, meaning and inspiration than the movies alone.
When I first walked into the Seattle Cinerama auditorium, I embarrassed the folks I was with due to an endless, Tourette Syndrome-esque supply of profanites of the “HOLY **ING IT” variety. That joint is Beau-Ti-Ful.
If you ever end up in St. Louis, MO, you’ve got to go to the Esquire Theatre – the last of the great St. Louis movie palaces that still actually show movies. It’s been balconi-fied and added on with 4 auds built in the late 80’s early 90’s. But the glorious main auditorium is still alive and kicking. That’s the screening room that introduced me to “Superman II”, “Return of the Jedi” and “Die Hard” (in 70MM to boot!).
I would LOVE to see pictures of this joint from the 70’s when it was limping away on a steady diet of Blaxploitation flicks! All of my family members have stories of going to The Fox during those days but I was a bit too young to go with them. Although I may have gone there as a baby.
A series of homes have now been built on the site of this drive-in. If I ever move back to St. Louis, I’ll buy one of ‘em as a tribute to the North Twin.
It is so weird to drive down Lewis & Clark and to not see that marquee anymore. Heartbreaking!
I was home in St. Louis on 6/21/07 and tried to catch Fantastic Four here assuming it would be in the main auditorium but Shrek The Third was there instead WTF?!) Oh well…I’ll catch my beloved some other time.
I’ve been to the Seattle Cinerama and saw the standard screen. It ain’t that bad. And…it’s curved, too.
Having seen “Lawrence” in 70MM at the Egyptian since the Cinematheque took over, I wholeheartedly agree with Roadshow. 70MM in THAT theatre is PATHETIC. May as well watch a 70MM presentation in one of these mall multiplexes or something.
Maybe I’m not as technically savvy as the rest of y'all and too dumb to realize that I’m watching a distorted presentation of a 70MM film, but I’d gladly forgive all the distortion and what not just to say that I saw ANYTHING at the Dome in 70MM in the 21st century!
I have a better question: Why not borrow a page from the Ziegfield and run classics in the Dome instead of crap like “The Heartbreak Kid” during off-season? January – April & September – October are the times when Hollywood puts out crap. Why indulge their lust for greed by showing their crap during these down months?!
Howard: They announced the cancellation of “The Shawshank Redemption” long before the event. Those who bought tickets either got refunds or got tickets to one of the other movies.
Roadshow: They DID close the curtain when the Intermission card came on.
Bill: Kirk just gave Kubrick the normal “great director” accolades. Dalton Trumbo was truly & literally the focus of Kirk’s remarks.
BTW: Said remarks are now available at the LA Times Calendar section (www.latimes.com)
Alright folks! Here’s the report from AFI’s 40th Anniversay on 10/3/07:
The entrance to Arclight was covered in Red Carpet (neato).
Folks were dressed in everything from suit to jeans and everything in between. I shoulda dressed sharper.
All the movies got started REAL LATE. The events were supposed to kick off at 7:00 PM – most didn’t start till close to 8:00 PM.
They broke the cardinal rule of cinematic presentation: NO SLIDE SHOWS! The Dome screen was 50% open so AFI could run a myriad of “Spartacus” triva stuff over…and over…and over…and over…and over again! Ugh!
Far Left/Right seats & the whole stadium seated section of The Dome was full. The middle floor seats, though, had some serious gaps. A bunch of folks didn’t claim their seats at all.
1st intro to the night happened round 7:15 or so when one of the directors of AFI’s Silver Springs Maryland branch did a mini intro.
7:45 – 8:00 or so gave the REAL intro. Curtaiss close, lights dim, and a 1-2 minute clip of AFI’s history kicks off. Clip shows President LBJ announcing the forming of the American Film Institute and finishes with a plethora of clips with a voiceover underneath. The Chairman of AFI’s Board of Directors makes his spiel and introduces LA Mayor Antonio Villarigosa. We gave him a nice applause – no boos. He talked about how “Spartacus” influenced him to get out there and change the world, blah blah blah. AFI Chairman comes back and introduces Kirk Douglas.
Weird seeing Kirk Douglas at 90 years old. Not used to seeing him in his twilight. Speech was slurred (of course) but absolutely passionate. The highlight of his remarks were about how he fought to get Dalton Trumbo’s screenplay on screen and, of course, how he fought to ensure that Trumbo got his proper screenplay credit. We gave Mr. Douglas 2 standing ovations.
Mr. Douglas leaves, the Oveture kicks in, lights dim, curtains open (and open and open and open), Universal International logo pops up on screen and we’re off and running.
The version of “Spartacus” that we saw was the 1991 restored version. No one told us (and nothing was advertised on site) if we were seeing the 35MM or 70MM version. Heck…doesn’t matter. That film looked AWESOME on the Dome screen! As much as many folks balyhoo about images on edges of the Dome screen being distorted & out of focus, I have to say that I didn’t notice any of those issues at all. Everything looked crisp, sharp and, most of all, BIG!
Film ran without an “official” intermission. The “Intermission” title appeared onscreen but, 2 seconds later, the Entra'cte (sp?) for Act 2 rolled in and we were off and running.
Film ended after the 11:00 hour and was greeted with mucho applause.
All in all, it was a night to remember.
I’m jealous! The LA area is clinging onto 5 remaining drive-ins and and only one of the 5 have done a Classics Night like these are doing. Boo!!!
Chances are they were shooting something.
IFA: Just Say No.
As of 11:35 AM today, all tickets have been sold out. So glad I got mine!
Crossing my fingers, Terry.
Darn near everything’s sold out. All that’s left (as of 7:45 AM) is a few seats for “The Birds”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Spartacus” – which is playing in the Cinerama Dome.
UPDATE:
As of 7:55 AM PST, EVERYTHING except a few seats for “The Birds”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Spartacus” is SOLD OUT. I suspect everything will be gone by 8:30 – 9:00 AM…if not sooner.
Arclight’s selling ‘em now (Tuesday 9/17). I just got my tix! SWEEEEET!
I will post a report of the festivities. Stay tuned.
Justin: The Dome uses Dolby Digital EX or SDDS 8 Channel for 35MM films (depending on the film)and DTS for 70MM films (that have been encoded for DTS).
Spartacus it is, then! I had a feeling.
If ANYTHING is shown in 70MM, those will be the first to sell out. As for Kram’s “Lawrence” in a fishbowl experience, it couldn’t have been worse than the time I saw it in 70MM on a puny 45 FOOT SCREEN(!!!) at the Egyptian almost 7 years ago. I’d suffer through edge distortion just to see BIG MOVIES projected on BIG SCREENS as they were intended.
Anyone know if the tickets go on sale at Midnight or later in the morning? I hope to have my ticket purchased by 8:00 AM PST.
My money’s on either “Spartacus” or “Star Wars” to play The Dome. Crossing my fingers that “Spartacus” gets it – cause that’s what I wanna see!
Either way, if I missed this event, I’d never forgive myself. It don’t matter what plays where – just as long as I’m there!
Breaking News:
American Film Institute is hosting their 40th Anniversary celebration on October 3rd at the Arclight.
http://www.afi.com/tvevents/40th/default.aspx
Not only are the films they’re showing monumental, but wait till you see who’s presenting them!
I AM SO THERE!!!
Correction: The Baldwin Theatre was long closed when the Magic Johnson plex opened in 1995.
Not to be cynical but to be truthful, the studios have one goal in mind for summer movies: $$$. The 3 movies you cite in your piece were all summer popcorn event flicks – the same kind that studios have been throwing at us every summer for the past 25-30 years. Then, like clockwork, the studios switch up to more “cerebral” and “meaningful” flicks for the fall. But, once again, reaching, teaching, hope and inspration isn’t their goal. Oscar nominations are.
But that’s what happens when you give MBA’s the keys to your studio. Art is sacrificed for “the bottom line”. It’s all corrupt. So what do we do? Stop supporting the film industry, or simply brush our shoulders off and escape for a couple of hours every weekend. I choose the latter. I have plenty of other sources to find hope, meaning and inspiration than the movies alone.
When I first walked into the Seattle Cinerama auditorium, I embarrassed the folks I was with due to an endless, Tourette Syndrome-esque supply of profanites of the “HOLY **ING IT” variety. That joint is Beau-Ti-Ful.
If you ever end up in St. Louis, MO, you’ve got to go to the Esquire Theatre – the last of the great St. Louis movie palaces that still actually show movies. It’s been balconi-fied and added on with 4 auds built in the late 80’s early 90’s. But the glorious main auditorium is still alive and kicking. That’s the screening room that introduced me to “Superman II”, “Return of the Jedi” and “Die Hard” (in 70MM to boot!).
I would LOVE to see pictures of this joint from the 70’s when it was limping away on a steady diet of Blaxploitation flicks! All of my family members have stories of going to The Fox during those days but I was a bit too young to go with them. Although I may have gone there as a baby.
If you’ve got ‘em, post 'em!
A series of homes have now been built on the site of this drive-in. If I ever move back to St. Louis, I’ll buy one of ‘em as a tribute to the North Twin.
It is so weird to drive down Lewis & Clark and to not see that marquee anymore. Heartbreaking!
Heh…and so goes the impending destruction of the last remaining drive-in theatre in the St. Louis area!
I was home in St. Louis on 6/21/07 and tried to catch Fantastic Four here assuming it would be in the main auditorium but Shrek The Third was there instead WTF?!) Oh well…I’ll catch my beloved some other time.