Comments about Criterion Theatre in New York, NY

bigjoe59 on October 7, 2019 at 12:47 pm

Hello-

to Mike(saps)– as they say beauty is in the eye of the

           beholder isn't it?

to vindanpar- a year or so before the Katz/Harris

           restoration of MFL i bought an A+ cd
                           that was imported from Holland. it contains
                           the same tracks as on the soundtrack 
                           released by Columbia Records when the 
                           film first opened. it doesn't contain
                           any of the extraneous noise etc... that's
                           on the expanded cd issued with the Katz/
                           Harris restoration.

to Al A.– if I am not mistaken Marni Nixon did not

           do all of Eliza's singing in MFL. i can
                           swear i read a few years ago the Just You
                           Wait number is Hepburn as is the reprise
                           of the song after Eliza and Higgins have 
                           their big fight after they get home from 
                           the ball.

vindanpar on October 6, 2019 at 5:52 pm

O'Toole was dubbed in Chips? It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen it. He certainly deserved the Oscar over Wayne though I suppose if you see Wayne’s name on a list of nominees you think well yes and you put a check next to it.

Mike (saps) on October 6, 2019 at 4:45 pm

Joe, I’m sure you’re a nice guy but you do seem to love a lot of movies many others consider mediocre at best…

Al Alvarez on October 6, 2019 at 4:43 pm

Don’t forget that the “MY FAIR LADY” soundtrack was dubbed by others. So was “GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS”. “DOLITTLE” and others were not, and the reviews said that was not such a good idea.

vindanpar on October 6, 2019 at 4:31 pm

While not a fan of the film I’ve been a fan of the score(buying a cutout of the lp,there were a lot of those) since I was very young. The Bobby Darin album is also worth getting. And the 2 cd set is indeed excellent. Remarkable that all these isolated musical tracks were kept for an unsuccessful film when My Fair Lady’s extended cd had to use the musical tracks from the film soundtrack thereby having to include the extraneous noises. Were all those musical tracks tossed?

I wish the stage show had worked to give those songs a new lease on life. And I wish I could have seen it in Todd AO at Loew’s State as there are some wonderful visual sequences. Hell I wish I could have seen anything there before it was twinned.

bigjoe59 on October 6, 2019 at 11:50 am

Hello-

I happen to like Dr. Dolittle and saw it twice during its roadshow run at the Loews State. the still available Twilight Time Blu-ray disc in terms of richness of colors and the crispness, sharpness and clarity of both the picture image the multi-channel is everything a Blu-ray disc should be.

talk about a film being edited just before its premiere. aside form the image of Harrison riding on the giraffe on the cover of the soundtrack album the booklet enclosed has a description of a Prologue sequence that doesn’t appear on the Blu-ray. also the souvenir program sold in the lobby of the State has a description of Harrison singing a song about Emma(Samantha Eggar)at the end of the film that doesn’t appear on the Blu-ray disc either.

fortunately an A+ 2 disc cd set was released last year of
ALL the music recorded for the film.

vindanpar on October 5, 2019 at 5:18 am

Well Harrison on a giraffe was certainly a very famous image from Dolittle dominating the cover of the soundtrack album and block long billboard in front of Loew’s state and not simply a staged photo for publicity but a scene from the film cut before the opening due to disappointing previews.

vindanpar on October 3, 2019 at 2:23 pm

Just when exactly was it pointed out to them they got the title wrong? Like just after all the print advertising was made and they said the heck with it? It sounded good to me.

bigjoe59 on October 3, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Hello-

to Mikeoaklandpark- I saw The Rose three times during its 70MM exclusive engagement at the Ziegfeld. so I can imagine your horror when you took your friend to see it in one of the lower level auditoriums here. its kind of like who in God’s name would want to watch Lawrence of Arabia on an iPad or tablet?

wally 75 on October 3, 2019 at 12:44 pm

We all knew 50 YEARS AGO it was West of Java…didn’t care then.

vindanpar on October 3, 2019 at 12:24 pm

Krakatoa, East of Java was I believe also false advertising. I mean it was an outright lie.

Mikeoaklandpark on October 3, 2019 at 11:56 am

They were beyond horrible. It was like sitting in your living room. After seeing The Rose at the Ziegfeld in 70MM than after it transferred here and taking a friend to see it, horrible isn’t even the word.

ridethectrain on October 2, 2019 at 3:01 pm

I would love to see photos of inside the theatre when it converted to seven screens. The basement theatres were lousy and BS Moss had mono system installed in the basement in 1981.

Al Alvarez on October 2, 2019 at 1:47 pm

If there were awards for false advertising, the motion picture industry would win the award every year.

bigjoe59 on October 2, 2019 at 1:40 pm

Hello-

to Al A. thanks as always for your info filled replies. be that as it may I’m sure they had a number of other lobby cards they could have used. I don’t know how much before Nicholas and Alexandra opened that the staff at this theater did up the display cases to either side as you entered. but to include a photo of a scene they most have known wasn’t in the film while it may not meet the legal definition of false advertising was certainly a really odd thing to do.

Al Alvarez on October 2, 2019 at 1:01 pm

bigjoe, some of those Roadshow lobby cards were on display a year before the film opened. The movies were not yet fully edited and in most cases, still filming.

bigjoe59 on October 2, 2019 at 11:07 am

Hello-

to Al A.–

I thank you for your reply. its just I would say roadshow engagements where a film played at only 1 theater in all of NYC for weeks, months or in many cases well over a year is a somewhat different case. the only thing I can think of is this- I think the film is just about perfect as is but the big wigs at Columbia may have said “hey at 3hrs. 9mins. it s long enough” so at the last minute they cut out any scenes not pertaining to the title characters. so I’m assuming the posters, lobby cards etc…. were shipped out even before the final cut was arrived at.

vindanpar on October 2, 2019 at 9:48 am

My favorite example of this is Considerate Men from 1776. It was featured in the preview of the film at the Music Hall and then of course was cut before the film opened. The ad for How to Succeed on opening day featured Coffee Break which was cut before opening never to be seen again. Like it’s stereo soundtrack which no longer exists. UA treated this film very badly. I understand the bluray isn’t very good. And Bosley in his Times review talks about the wonderful color.

Al Alvarez on October 2, 2019 at 9:08 am

Lobby cards with scenes not in the film were very common in the 70’s. Also, trailers with scenes that did not make the final cut and there was some controversy over newspaper ads that featured scenes not in the film. This was not limited to Roadshows.

bigjoe59 on October 2, 2019 at 9:01 am

Hello-

Nicholas and Alexandra opened at this theater Dec. 0f 1971. its one of my favorite large scale historical dramas. its also this theater’s last roadshow engagement. to which I remember something always I thought was strange. in the display cases to either side as you entered the theater were lobby cards capturing scenes from the film. one had Rasputin talking to Alexi a scene which does not appear in the film. can anyone remember any other roadshow engagements at any of the other six theaters Times Square houses where the lobby cards depicted scenes there weren’t in the film.

Al Alvarez on October 1, 2019 at 6:01 pm

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53316491@N08/36383742373

vindanpar on October 1, 2019 at 5:47 pm

The last two I remember were Last of the Red Hot Lovers in ‘73 and The Great Gatsby in '74. Then for years it was an advertisement for Budweiser I believe. Well it was some beer. Not sure if there was a film after Gatsby. At least I don’t remember one. My favorites were the ones I saw as a boy: The Bible (the second one with the pictures from the movie,) Dr. Dolittle, Star! and Krakatoa. That one was amazing.

bigjoe59 on October 1, 2019 at 11:08 am

Hello-

what was the last film advertised on the huge sign above
the Astor and the Victoria theaters?

DavidZornig on September 30, 2019 at 5:08 pm

Various photos of the Bow Tie Building featuring the Criterion Theatre, lower down in the the link below.

http://bowtiepartners.com/historic_pics.htm

vindanpar on September 13, 2019 at 12:14 pm

I kind of doubt they ran out. Somebody probably didn’t put them out at that performance and I was foolish not to ask. It was strange because they would usually hawk them like peanuts or hot dogs at the Garden.

Criterion Theatre

1514 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

1514 Broadway,
New York, NY 10036