Best Buy Theater
1515 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1515 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
21 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 528 comments found
Thanks, Al. Before I saw your lists, I’d forgotten just how many movies I’d seen at the Astor Plaza. Everyone remembers the Star Wars movies, but I’m talking about things like “Serial” and “Psycho III”. Thanks again!
You will notice all of 1977 was Wednesdays. Where I have exact dates I have used them but I did not compile these with exact dates and many are off by two to three days.
02/08/80 HERO AT LARGE
02/29/80 AMERICAN GIGOLO
03/07/80 THE BLACK MARBLE
03/28/80 SERIAL
05/09/80 FRIDAY THE 13TH
05/23/80 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
10/10/80 ORDINARY PEOPLE
12/12/80 THE SHINING
12/25/80 ALTERED STATES
04/03/81 HOLY TERROR
04/17/81 THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE
04/24/81 HEAVEN’S GATE
05/08/81 SQUEEZE PLAY
05/15/81 LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT/HOUSE ON THE LAKE
05/22/81 THE FOUR SEASONS
06/12/81 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
11/20/81 TIME BANDITS
12/04/81 REDS
03/12/82 RICHARD PRYOR ON SUNSET STRIP
04/30/82 WRONG IS RIGHT
05/21/82 ANNIE
07/30/82 AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
12/17/82 THE DARK CRYSTAL
02/11/83 LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER
03/25/83 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
04/15/83 FLASHDANCE
05/27/83 RETURN OF THE JEDI
10/21/83 UNDER FIRE
11/25/83 TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
03/09/84 THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE
04/06/84 MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON
05/18/84 closed?
05/23/84 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
10/05/84 TEACHERS
10/19/84 CRIMES OF PASSION
11/16/84 JUST THE WAY YOU ARE
11/23/84 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
12/07/84 2010
02/08/85 WITNESS
05/24/85 A VIEW TO A KILL
07/12/85 EXPLORERS
08/02/85 WEIRD SCIENCE
08/16/85 YEAR OF THE DRAGON
09/27/85 THE STUFF
10/18/85 CEASE FIRE
11/01/85 TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.
12/04/85 YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES
01/31/86 YOUNGBLOOD
02/14/86 OUT OF AFRICA
02/28/86 PRETTY IN PINK
03/26/86 THE MONEY PIT
04/18/86 LEGEND
05/16/86 TOP GUN
07/02/86 PSYCHO III
08/01/86 HOWARD THE DUCK
08/22/86 NIGHT OF THE CREEPS
09/26/86 CROCODILE DUNDEE
11/21/86 AN AMERICAN TAIL
12/19/86 PLATOON
04/24/87 EXTREME PREJUDICE
05/20/87 BEVERY HILLS COP II
07/31/87 THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
08/28/87 HAMBURGER HILL
09/25/87 BEST SELLER
10/30/87 FATAL BEAUTY
11/25/87 PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
01/15/88 THE COUCH TRIP
02/05/88 COP
02/26/88 APPRENTICE TO MURDER
03/11/88 VICE VERSA
04/01/88 BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
04/15/88 COLORS
05/13/88 FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD
05/25/88 CROCODILE DUNDEE II
06/29/88 COMING TO AMERICA
08/19/88 A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER
09/16/88 TOUGHER THAN LEATHER
09/30/88 ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK
11/04/88 US RATTLE AND HUM
11/23/88 SCROOGED
01/13/89 I’M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA
02/17/89 THE MIGHTY QUINN
03/03/89 FAREWELL TO THE KING
03/17/89 LEVIATHON
04/07/89 MAJOR LEAGUE
04/21/89 PET SEMATARY
05/24/89 INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
07/14/89 LICENCE TO KILL
08/11/89 THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD
08/30/89 RELENTLESS
09/22/89 BLACK RAIN
11/03/89 STEPFATHER II
11/17/89 HARLEM NIGHTS
Then why did you list “Star Wars” with a Wednesday date? (The 25th of May in ‘77 was a Wednesday.)
They are Friday to Thursday weeks as is traditional in the industry.
Then what is the point of citing a specific date if they are merely approximate? Maybe a disclaimer at the head of the list would’ve been appropriate?
Michael, these are all within a week.
LOGAN’S RUN opened 06/23/76
A couple of minor release date corrections:
SUPERMAN opened 12/15/78
STAR WARS re-issue opened 08/15/79
06/26/74 FOR PETE’S SAKE
07/26/74 DEATH WISH
11/22/74 THE KLANSMAN
12/20/74 MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
01/31/75 YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
03/14/75 ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
05/02/75 TEN LITTLE INDIANS
05/23/75 BREAKOUT
07/18/75 ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH
08/22/75 RUSSIAN ROULETTE
09/12/75 MITCHELL!
09/19/75 PAPILLON
09/26/75 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR
12/19/75 THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
02/20/76 I WILL, I WILL … FOR NOW
03/05/76 MAN FRIDAY
03/26/76 GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY!
04/02/76 ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE/ DELIVERANCE
04/09/76 ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
06/25/76 LOGAN’S RUN
08/13/76 THE SHOOTIST
09/17/76 closed?
10/22/76 MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH
10/29/76 THE OUTER SPACE CONNECTION
11/12/76 TWO-MINUTE WARNING
12/24/76 VOTAGE OF THE DAMNED
02/11/77 THE CASSANDRA CROSSING
03/04/77 TAXI DRIVER
03/18/77 JAWS OF DEATH
03/25/77 THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
04/15/77 ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
04/29/77 PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN/RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER
05/06/77 closed?
05/25/77 STAR WARS
07/28/78 NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE
11/03/78 THE WIZ
12/22/78 SUPERMAN
04/06/79 THE CHAMP
06/15/79 PROPHECY
07/13/79 THE WANDERERS
08/10/79 MEATBALLS
08/17/79 STAR WARS
09/14/79 CITY ON FIRE
09/21/79 A TOUCH OF CLASS/ I WILL, I WILL…FOR NOW
09/28/79 A MAN, A WOMAN AND A BANK
10/05/79 TOURIST TRAP
10/12/79 THE GRATEFUL DEAD
10/19/79 METEOR
11/09/79 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
12/07/79 AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
12/21/79 THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN
This was one of the largest movie screens in Manhattan! Truly a shame that they closed it down!
I think the only new release I ever saw there was the remake of KING KONG in 1976. I saw several revivals there, including THE GODFATHER, APOCOLYPSE NOW REDUX and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
I’ve been to the Nokia Theatre only once last summer, to see the four original members of the rock band ASIA. They were also the first concert I ever saw back in 1983.
A photo of the marquee as the THE READE can be found in a NY times article January 1, 1973 (Subway noise Threatens Read Theatre Opebing). THE READE never opened and Walter Reade theatres walked away when the subway noise problem proved impossible to solve.
Doesn’t matter, Ed – you made them available in the best possible place. I never would have found the French website, most likely.
I can’t lay claim to taking those interior shots, guys. I lifted them from the following French website that has something to do with a tour of US cinemas accompanying the THSA:
http://www.silverscreens.com/thsa.php
The only shot that’s truly mine is of the Nokia marquee from November of 2005.
Thanks Ed – thought I’d never see the old Astor Plaza again …
Great photos Ed.
I’m re-posting my photo from December 6th here as I had to reorganize my photobucket account and break the original link.
I saw the nokia theatre on tv last night during ESPN’s telecast of the heisman trophy award show and boy, it looks like a great place to see a concert or an awards show.
Here’s a nighttime shot of the enormous all-digital Nokia marquee taken just a few nights ago. It is much larger than the old Astor Plaza marquee – starting over the entrance at about the same spot but extending almost all the way to the corner of Broadway and 44th.
View link
The shot is taken from the opposite perspective from the photo that appears with the theater description above.
I think the last movie I saw at the Astor Plaza was “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992. There really was nothing all that special about this place from an architectural perspective (same can be said of the Ziegfeld Theater), but at least it was a big single-screen house where presentation seemed to matter. This should be a top notch venue for musical performances. I look forward to the opportunity to see a show here. It’s sad to say goodbye to the movie theater, but as some of the posts here have been saying, better a concert hall than a parking lot or retail space.
Yeah, I didn’t remember the chandeliers either. They looked “older”, but I guess they were added now then. They are in the main auditorium. I used the word “chandelier” as I don’t know what else to call them. They are HUGE, round light fixtures, surrounded in crystal. Again, they didn’t look “new”, but don’t know if they are from the Aster Plaza days or not.
The crystal chandeliers have to be new – there were never any chandeliers when it was Loews, other than a few suspended tin-can fixtures above the box office counter.
What a great post! I have wondered what the end result of the conversion was, it does not sound too bad. As you said, better than a retail space, at least it’s still an entertaimnment venue. Thanks again for keeping us posted.
Well, I visited the “Astor Plaza” Theater last night, although of course it is now the Nokia Theatre. (I know it may hurt, but I believe in keeping with the policy of this website, it may have to be changed above, and Unfortunately, “Astor Plaza” may now have to become the secondary name. Anyway, “closed/renovating” can also be changed to “open”.
Well, last night was the second night of the new theater. The new marquee was beautiful. My visit there was sort of bittersweet, as it’s a shame that it is no longer the Astor Plaza…but it is attractive. “Social Distortion” was the first band to open up the new Nokia Theatre, and that’s who I went to see. (they are also playing Tuesday and Wed of this week there).
The escalators look similar to the way it always was, but that’s where it ends. Everything is new, and nothing really remains of the old Astor Plaza. At the bottom of the escalators, is a bar area. Once inside the auditorium, it has been completely redone. The seats have been completely ripped out, and the front two tiers now has hardwood floors. This concert was general admission, so those two tiers are standing room, like most of this type of concerts are.
The rear back tier still has all the seats, but it was closed off from the first two tiers with thick blaock draperies.
The only thing I believe remains from the Astor Plaza are four huge round crystal chandeliers, and they were lit when we all came in, and during the breaks between the three bands that played there last night. They were out during the concert. There are also two VIP areas on either side of the stage, that are reached with two stairways on either side, from the second tier.
There is also another bar area down the hall, and a “concession area” selling stuff like chips and Snapple in another area. The hall is lined with attractive floral print carpet.
The place of course was fresh and brand new smelling, of course that was also muted a bit with the smell of alcohol. Strange seeing people walking around with alcohol and wave dancing in the middle of the Astor Plaza…
All told, again, it was sort of bittersweet being there last night, but must say the Nokia Theatre is attractive. At least it’s still some sort of theater, even if a concert venue. It’s better than being cut up into retail space. It’s in good hands, even if not the beloved Astor Plaza anymore.
Now that was a great marquee. Not grand and splashy like the magnificent El Capitan, but you could see this sucker all way from 8th Avenue to across Times Square. Or if you wanted to know what was at The Astor Plaza, you could tune into “Good Morning America” and see it across the street. I’ll always miss this theatre. I even worked for the company that would do the marquee panels and one sheet/lobby card displays in the alley shared with The Minskoff (that’s the 45th Street marquee for “Saturday Night Fever” peaking out on the left side of the picture). I used to love hanging those on Friday mornings on a new playdate.
This is a photo of the Astor Plaza from 1999.