Looks like a beautiful theatre, both inside and out. Hope to be able to drive north sometime (in good weather, of course). Would you show older classic films such as West Side Story, and other great classics in this theatre? Just curious.
Thanks, movie534. All the postings on here and on other threads on this site are part of the reason why I hold yearly memberships to both the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Brattle Theatre.
Ouch!! I’d hate to see that happen. It would be a real shame if the retro cinemas and retro movies were to just disappear altogether. Making quick money hand over fist has become the American way, and DVD is the way to do it. If that comes true, there’ll be only two rather unpalatable choices: either going to a multiplex cinema that shows really junky, schlocky movies, seeing today’s art movies that may or may not be particularly interesting, or “biting the bullet” and getting DVD players and older films for DVD watching. This is something that I don’t want to do, and hope doesn’t happen, which is why I now hold yearly memberships to both the Brattle and the Coolidge Corner Theatres.
outafocus, while I agree with a number of your points, I think that having commercials/previews of coming attractions on prior to the feature movie presentation is beneficial for the following reason(s):
I think that they’re probably put there for late stragglers, who, for whatever reason, arrive late, and there are a number of reasons for being late, at times:
A) Public transportation is often unpredictable
B) Parking can often be quite difficult to find.
C) Sometimes, a person just has a slow start.
D) Sometimes, traffic can be really slow and nasty, for whatever reason.
First of all, even though I don’t live in California, much less Oakland, that theatre’s another fantastic-looking theatre, inside and out.
Secondly, now that Bush and his Republican Administration will be out of office come late January 2009, I wonder if they’ll start playing more of the great, old classics in addition to the crappy stuff that gets played reglarly at these antiseptic-looking multiplex cinemas across the country. The old movie palaces that’re left should concentrate more on great older classic films.
This kind of thing is worrisome, imho. It makes me wonder what’s going to eventually happen with other single-screened movie palaces that have converted into multi-screen cinemas.
El Train, I wholeheartedly agree with you and East Coast Rocker about the average duration of in-theatre movies that’re released today. They don’t stay in the theatres, at least not for very long, and they get transferred to DVD in no time. It’s quite sad. When I was a kid growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, blockbuster films would run for months, or even years in many places. Yep…those days are gone forever.
Netflix sounds like the latest convenience and advancement in technology for home entertainment, as does blue-ray, etc, but they’re helping kill the cinema business. Very, very sad indeed. Warren, your post says it all…in a nutshell.
Wow!! Some of those cinema palaces in England would dwarf many, if not most of the remaining movie palaces here in the United States. Fantastic-looking cinema palaces they are, as is the Futurist Cinema.
I remember the Fresh Pond Drive-In quite well. When my sister and I were pre-teens (my brother hadn’t come along yet), our parents would pile everybody into the family Rambler Station wagon, take us out to dinner, and then to the Fresh Pond Drive-In, where my sister and I would lie in the back seat with pillows and blankets. We saw movies such as “The Mouse that Roared”, “Time Machine”, and a bunch of others.
Good question, Ron.
This is so sad.
Oh, wow. Have a great time. Lawrence of Arabia periodically comes to our area, also.
Looks like a beautiful theatre, both inside and out. Hope to be able to drive north sometime (in good weather, of course). Would you show older classic films such as West Side Story, and other great classics in this theatre? Just curious.
Thanks, larry. I with the view that outside ads and commercials are unacceptable…and unattractive, to boot.
Thanks for the correction, PeterApruzzese. That’s good to know.
btw, longislandmovies, where is Lawrence of Arabia opening for you? Just curious.
I recently saw “Jaws” at Brooklline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre. Wonderful print, and the film was good, too.
Thanks, movie534. All the postings on here and on other threads on this site are part of the reason why I hold yearly memberships to both the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Brattle Theatre.
Ouch!! I’d hate to see that happen. It would be a real shame if the retro cinemas and retro movies were to just disappear altogether. Making quick money hand over fist has become the American way, and DVD is the way to do it. If that comes true, there’ll be only two rather unpalatable choices: either going to a multiplex cinema that shows really junky, schlocky movies, seeing today’s art movies that may or may not be particularly interesting, or “biting the bullet” and getting DVD players and older films for DVD watching. This is something that I don’t want to do, and hope doesn’t happen, which is why I now hold yearly memberships to both the Brattle and the Coolidge Corner Theatres.
outafocus, while I agree with a number of your points, I think that having commercials/previews of coming attractions on prior to the feature movie presentation is beneficial for the following reason(s):
I think that they’re probably put there for late stragglers, who, for whatever reason, arrive late, and there are a number of reasons for being late, at times:
A) Public transportation is often unpredictable
B) Parking can often be quite difficult to find.
C) Sometimes, a person just has a slow start.
D) Sometimes, traffic can be really slow and nasty, for whatever reason.
The AMC Chestnut Hill Cinema doesn’t really stand a chance of becoming an arthouse, although it would be nice.
First of all, even though I don’t live in California, much less Oakland, that theatre’s another fantastic-looking theatre, inside and out.
Secondly, now that Bush and his Republican Administration will be out of office come late January 2009, I wonder if they’ll start playing more of the great, old classics in addition to the crappy stuff that gets played reglarly at these antiseptic-looking multiplex cinemas across the country. The old movie palaces that’re left should concentrate more on great older classic films.
What a beautiful-looking theatre!! Love that design!
LOL!! That’s a good question, Life’s too short.
Whether people liked the porn films or not, it was foolish and dangerous to burn them, nonetheless.
First Amendment Rights are at stake, first of all.
Secondly, those who decided to burn those porn films are polluting the air and endangering the public, if one gets the drift.
This kind of thing is worrisome, imho. It makes me wonder what’s going to eventually happen with other single-screened movie palaces that have converted into multi-screen cinemas.
El Train, I wholeheartedly agree with you and East Coast Rocker about the average duration of in-theatre movies that’re released today. They don’t stay in the theatres, at least not for very long, and they get transferred to DVD in no time. It’s quite sad. When I was a kid growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, blockbuster films would run for months, or even years in many places. Yep…those days are gone forever.
That’s unfortunate. Here’s hoping that they rectify this situation…sometime soon.
What a beautiful-looking old theatre that was!! Thanks for sharing.
I love all those photographs, hstein and Lost Memory. Thanks for sharing.
Well, movie534, it sounds as if your father has been proven partly right…it’s slowly but surely happening.
Hmmm…The Capitol looks like a nice, old-fashioned theatre, with the ticket booth in the center of the entrance and all.
It’s really a shame that this was all allowed to happen.
Netflix sounds like the latest convenience and advancement in technology for home entertainment, as does blue-ray, etc, but they’re helping kill the cinema business. Very, very sad indeed. Warren, your post says it all…in a nutshell.
Wow!! Some of those cinema palaces in England would dwarf many, if not most of the remaining movie palaces here in the United States. Fantastic-looking cinema palaces they are, as is the Futurist Cinema.
I remember the Fresh Pond Drive-In quite well. When my sister and I were pre-teens (my brother hadn’t come along yet), our parents would pile everybody into the family Rambler Station wagon, take us out to dinner, and then to the Fresh Pond Drive-In, where my sister and I would lie in the back seat with pillows and blankets. We saw movies such as “The Mouse that Roared”, “Time Machine”, and a bunch of others.