Lafayette Theatre
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
35 people
favorited this theater
Showing 876 - 900 of 902 comments
Rhett, I recently had two bad experiences with film presentations at the Film Forum. The first time, it took 4(!) trips to the lobby to get the operator to fix the problem. It was a framing registration issue with a 3-D film, and they were causing severe eyestrain on the unsuspecting audience. The manager finally brought me up to the booth to show the union operator how to fix the problem. It turned out that he didn’t know the big knob labelled “Frame” sticking out of the projector head is what you used to adjust a framing problem.
The second recent visit was also ruined by a poor presentation, so I won’t be going back. I won’t miss it, I’ve seen better film presentations in private homes!
It’s good to see that new people are attending the lafayette. I became one of the converted with the first Bigscreenclassic series and have been going ever since. I beat the drum whenever i talk to people about the Lafayette and have even dragged a friend or 2 to the screenings. This theater and series will keep getting bigger and it should. It is THE best venue to watch a great movie in.
Re: Film Forum. Yes, the screen is smaller, the theaters narrow and small but I do have to say, they take their screenings seriously and always make sure there’s no glitches. and they get great prints. I saw some Godzilla films there recently as well as The Leopard, Serpico and they were restored great prints. They show alot of other films that some theaters probably won’t show. While it’s NOT up to the Lafayette’s standard, it is a good alternative.
Peteâ€"
Fantastic news! Lookit, I’m dancin'!
You guys have showmanship in your blood… I practically heard the drumroll underneath your announcement! I am most definitely keeping the weekend of April 8-10 open… and I’m spreading the word starting NOW.
Keep up the great work!
I cant wait to go to see films in this theatre. I wanted to attend this past weekends festival, but had a wedding and tickets to the US Open. The owners of the Lafayette are true theatre saviors.
I want to personally thank Nelson, Peter, all the staff of the Lafayette, and the guest stars for putting on the most enjoyable film experience I have had in many many years. As the previous commentors have mentioned, you won’t find a better setting for these types of films. The original movie palace experience is here. It’s not a replica of what it used to be, this is it, for real. Not only will I be attending future performances, but I’ll make sure to consider the Lafayette for any first run films I want to see before heading off to the multiplex. If I’m going to pay the same amount, I might as well get some atmosphere and extra entertainment for the price of admission.
Great job guys, THANK YOU.
m_acevedo:
Keep the weekend of April 8-9-10, 2005, open. “The Sounds of Silents” three-day event has been in the planning stages for several months now and we hope to reveal the entire program soon. Symphony orchestra, organ, piano, and guest accompanists will bring the glory days of the silent film back to life that weekend. The upcoming Phantom showing will give you a taste of what to expect…
Thanks also to you, as well as Jeff and Bob, for the comments about last weekend’s event.
Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre
You may just get your wish. Although I don’t have definite details, I understand a Silent Film weekend is in the works for early next year!
Bob, I agree completely, only I do think the Forum’s repertoire programs are good… only not as ambitious as they used to be, and wasted in those claustrophobic “rooms”. The only real excuse for the Film Forum is it’s socially convenient to the Manhattanites it caters to. See the hot-topic indie film with some friends, go to the coffee bar to discuss. But now anyone with a home theaters can put on a comparable show for their friends, with the added convenience of trips to the fridge!
What’s a crime is that in the biggest city in the country, the world capital of media, the former home of the Roxy and hundreds of smaller local palaces, where Loews closes the Astor Plaza IN THEIR CENTENNIAL YEAR and lets their former gems The Kings and the Paradise rot empty with neglect, we have lost the experience of the movie palace. To rediscover it in Suffern is a great joy. My challenge is to convince my friends in this “on demand” impulse-buy world to cough up the extra money and time for the NJT train ride. But I should think the bonus Wurlitzer “concert” alone is worth it!!!
I saw that the Lafayette is screening the Lon Chaney version of “Phantom of the Opera” on October 28. Now that should be an experience that just can’t be duplicated anywhere else in the tristate area (except mebbe the UCAC… I have to check that place out). With the Wurlitzer, The Laffayette is in a position to revive the 1920s moviegoing experience which all the great old palaces were actually designed for… the sumptuous presentation of silents. How about a weekend program of the greatest “forgotten” silents, such as the Douglas Fairbanks swashbucklers? Kino has just issued a remastered edition of “The Black Pirate” on DVD, which I think was the first full-length Technicolor feature. It would be cool if Nelson Page could get a “premiere” screening deal with a company like Kino to showcase their repertoire before they put them out on the retail market (hint hint)…
The Lafayette is a reel gem: a genuine movie theater with an owner looking to preserve and replicate its rich cinematic heritage. This theater, and New Jersey’s Union County Arts Center in Rahway, are the only venues in the New York area properly replicating the classic Movie Palace Experience. Fans of films and theaters should support and treasure these unique showplaces. If you’ve been to either theater, you understand perfectly what I’m saying. If you haven’t, then you don’t know what you’re missing!
Seeing a film in New York’s Film Forum is like watching a badly projected presentation in a concrete bunker. They rarely present a show properly, and they are the most over-rated venue for classic film in the country. It’s a shame that fans of classic cinema in New York City have that poorly designed screening room as their only local venue.
Thank goodness the UCAC and Lafayette Theater are just a short distance away!
Yesterday was one of those perfect days, speaking as a Cinema Treasures aficionado, because I’d purchased a day pass to the Sci-Fi Festival at the Lafayette. Perfect. From my short, pleasant train ride from NYC to an unfamiliar but pleasant small town against the backdrop of rocky but wooded hills, to the de-lish pancakes ala Rockland (w/fresh spiced apple and walnuts in the batter) at the suitably space-age-exteriored Rockland Diner down the road from the theater, to having enough time between shows to casually stroll around to soak up the authentic small town commercial district vibe (they coulda shot “The Blob” here!), to being able to watch the slightly worn but wonderfully preserved marquee (“SCI-FI WEEKEND”) come to life as the day dimmed, to the vintage lobby posters, to watching gorgeous prints of some of my all-time favorite flicks on a big screen (one thing the otherwise admirable Film Forum in Manhattan can’t provide) but most of all I will not forget that moment when I climbed the short carpeted stairwell from the lobby into the soft amber twillight of the great auditorium in its gold and teal and wine-red shades, its glittering rows of opera boxes, the Tiffany-style chandelier, serenaded by a sound I’d never heard before in my life: the mighty Lafayette Wurlitzer…. wow, wow, wow. I’m not ashamed to say it brought a lump to my throat; I thought I’d never have a real movie palace experience again anywhere in the greater metro area, what with all the losses NYC has suffered over the years, the Astor Plaza being the freshest in my mind. My thanks to the owners and managers and programmers and Wurlitzer-players of the Lafayette for a truly memorable day. I’ll be back for the Classics series with as many pals as I can muster!
Tonight was my first visit to the Lafayette, and the first night of the Sci-Fi Festival. Wow, what an outstanding theatre! The organ performance was wonderful, and the film was great. A co-worker of mine has been bugging me for several years to go to this theatre and see a film, and I always shrugged it off as a dumpy little local place. “In Suffern, are you kidding?” Boy, was I ever wrong! I’ll will be going back for the classics series, and other films. I was especially pleased with the quality of the print, the brightness of the image, and the perfect focus (something hard to find lately). I’m looking forward to the next two days!
Also, not to forget, the new Big Screen Classic series kicks off next week 9/18/04 with The Caine Mutiny. I’m definitely gonna try to make some of the Sci-Fi flicks.
If you’ve never been to the Lafayette you’ll love it when you walk in. It’s like potatoe chips, can’t have just one.
This is one of New York’s best kept secrets. If you live in the New York City area and haven’t been to the Lafayette yet, you’re really missing something.
The Science Fiction film festival begins tonight! Hope some of the denizens of Cinema Treaures can make a show or two!
Pete Apruzzese
No, we don’t currently have 70mm capability at the Lafayette, but we do have excellent 35mm with DTS Digital stereo and Dolby SR analog stereo sound. 70mm is something we’re considering, but the costs are rather high for the few prints we could get to run.
Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre.
I’m sure the sci-fi festival will be a success! I’m hoping we will also have one in the DC/Balto metro area soon. I didn’t see mention of this theater having 70mm projection capabilities. Does anyone know if it does? Their website doesn’t indicate that it can.
The Spectacular Science Fiction film festival is coming! Get a load of this lineup:
View link
How I love this theater – all my wonderful childhood memories are nestled in this building – hot pop-corn, ju-jubes and cokes! Scary movies, huddling with my little friends sure that the giant octopus would snatch us. Little flirtations, first dates, joys and tears of childhood – first “grown-up” movie – Three Coins in the Fountain" and I saw the original Lawrence of Arabia in this theater!
How happy I am that it is here to stay. I am going this weekend.
MY HUSBAND AND I ATTENDED LAURENCE OF ARABIA A FEW MONTHS AGO. I WAS ACTUALLY NOT TOO THRILLED ABOUT SEEING A MOVIE THAT LASTED 4+ HOURS, BUT SEEING THIS FILM ON A BIG SCREEN MADE ME FORGET ABOUT THE LENGTH OF TIME. I REMEMBER THEATRES LIKE THIS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP. I HAD TRIED NUMEROUS TIMES TO SEE L.O.A. ON TV AND WAS BORED OUT OF MY MIND.WHAT A TREAT TO SEE AND FEEL THE MOVIE(NOT A TYPO,THE SOUND SYSTEM WAS SO AWESOME, THE SEATS WERE RUMBLING DURING THE SCENES OF DUST STORMS AND HORSES STAMPEDING.) WE PLAN TO RETURN FOR CASABLANCA AND OTHERS. EILEEN HANSEN
Rhett and Bill:
Thank you for your comments – it’s gratifying to know that people are enjoying our work up there.
See you this Saturday for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD!
Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre
Rhett said it all. This theater is the pride of the New York metro area. They always put on the best possible presentation. Showmanship is not dead yet!
In my opinion, this is THE BEST theater in the north as of today. I’ve been attending the weekly Big Screen Classics on Saturday mornings. The owners are true movie lovers and showmen. They provide the best in entertainment. If you’ve never been there, make a special trip. It’s like eating potatoe chips. You can’t eat just one. You’ll go back again and again. I’ve seen Quiet Man, Producers, Wings (with organ), Ben-Hur (original silent), James Bond, Buck Privates. They’re showing Jaws in June. This theater is the best of old tradition movie theaters. You have to see it.
I grew up in Suffern, and the Lafayette Theatre is like a home to me.
My mother remembers the early days of the Lafayette, and talks of those days often.
I hope to return very soon.
The Lafayette Theatre is located at Route 59 and Washington Ave.
Thank you.
George Vreeland Hill.
The Lafayette Theatre is located at Route 59 and Washington Ave.
It’s the kind of theatre you dream of owning, not too big but large enough to be interesting. I’ve been to it twice in the last five years and hope to go again soon despite the 1200 mile round trip. Good luck to the new owner and if you ever tire of it let me know.