It’s disheartening to read/hear about a movie theatre closing. I remember when the Circle barely escaped being converted into condominiums afew years ago, but was barely saved (correct me if I’m wrong here, anybody). I still remember seeing some cool movies there, however; A Day at the Races, The Great Race, Superman I and II, Harry Potter and the Phoenix, and Munich.
It would be nice if it would be converted into another type of theatre, along the lines of the Coolidge and/or the Brattle. Wishful thinking, as that’s probably not going to happen.
I could be wrong, but I have a hunch that the days of movies being shown in libraries have all but disappeared. I can remember reading about movies being shown in libraries around our area as recently as the 1970’s and 1980’s, but, since the 1990’s, seems virtually, if not totally unheard of.
Ahhhh…..there’s no question that nothing beats seeing movies on the great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre with the lights down low, as they were really MEANT to be seen. This is especially true of those great old movie classics, including LOA, WSS, SOM, and many others. I read the article about films that’re ideal for the great big, wide screen, and agreed with it, especially the films mentioned in the article, including “Lawrence of Arabia” with much interest and agreed, but I find myself wondering why West Side Story and Dr. Zhivago and a bunch of others weren’t included.
Sounds exciting, even though I don’t live in Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC. It’s heartening to hear about old movie theatres making a comeback. Perhaps there’s hope for the moviegoing public after all!?
It seems that, with few exceptions, that many, if not most of the Drive-In movie theatres are located in warmer climates here in the USA. I guess that’s for a reason.
Suffern, NY’s Lafayette Theatre sounds like a wonderful and beautiful theatre that would be perfect for playing such classics as Sound of Music, West Side Story, Dr. Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many others. Just out of curiosity, what’s the possibility of getting any of these particular films in as part of your repertory classic films program(s)?
Oh, absolutely, J. D. Paska! I still remember the times back in the late 1950’s, when my sister and I were preteens (my brother hadn’t come along yet), our parents would pile everybody in the family lime-green Rambler station wagon, take us out to dinner, and then, since we had to take blankets and pillows, to a drive-in movie, where we could either watch the movie or fall asleep in the (flattened) backseats of the station wagon. The Fresh Pond Drive-In, in Cambridge, MA was where we’d go, and there’d be a small speaker for each car, and hamburgers and french fries were had, if we went early enough. However, the Fresh Pond Drive-In hasn’t existed since the early to mid 1960’s, and it’s highly doubtful that it’s ever coming back. I don’t remember whether it was just seasonally open, but I do remember the Natick Drive-In being open even in the wintertime.
Off the record, I wonder what a film such as West Side Story would be like on a huge 100-foot wide drive-in movie theatre. I bet it would be pretty spectacular.
btw, Jay, thank for the info about seasonal openings and closures of the drive-ins that you mentioned.
Hi, movies534! I wholeheartedly agree with your phrase “Movies have been on film forever! Leave it (them) on film! Frankly, there are times when I absolutely curse the day that VCRs, video, DVD players, and ultimately DVD’s and all these elaborate home-entertainment systems that many Americans own were ushered in.
Sounds cool! Sorry to hear that it got delayed by April’s excessive heavy rains, but I guess that’s how Mother Nature works sometimes—doing this from time to time just to show who really and truly runs the Universe. Drive-In movie theatres do have an advantage over indoor theatres, in that, yes, people can talk, laugh, poke fun, and jab, because they’re in the confines of their own car(s), and therefore don’t have to worry about disturbing other moviegoers. Also, there’s something inherently special about seeing a movie outdoors, under the stars, especially in an urban area, where the sounds of the city can and sometimes do add a whole other dimension to the movie.
The disadvantage to Drive-In movies is if it rains, it’s more difficult to see a movie, no? What about in the winter? Do drive-ins generally close down for the season in winter? Just curious.
Thanks for submitting the photos, Lost Memory. The Coolidge Corner Theatre marquee is handsome even in the daytime, but it’s especially fantastic-looking at night, when it’s all lit up.
If digital cinema really is the future, longislandmovies, then it would be great to see this applied to many of the great older classic movies as well. I think it would be fabulous if those great old classics, including West Side Story, Dr. Zhivago, and Lawrence of Arabia, not to mention tons of others would be fantastic if they were cleaned up, remastered, restored to their former glory, and re-issued in 70mm large disc prints for digital projectors. If this new technology is presently being applied to newer films, then why not to the golden oldie-but-goody movie classics?
the Kenmore Theatre was right in Kenmore Square, near B. U., as I remember. It was modern-looking, and I saw a number of films there, including the Charley Chaplin films, West Side Story, and many others. Too bad it’s not there anymore.
I also attended movie screenings such as “How the West Was Won', "Pink Panther”, “A Shot in the Dark”, “The Man with the Golden Gun”, “Cat Ballou”, “Murder She Said”, and a number of other cool movies at the West Newton Cinema back in the mid-1960’s, when I was a teenager. It was then a very nice movie palace of a theatre. However, when i came to see a movie at the West Newton Cinema several years ago, and then a movie called “The Golden Door” a couple of years ago, I noticed that the West Newton Cinema had sort of gone to seed. It was no longer the handsome movie palace that it had once been.
I remember the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA. as being another theatre that I went to a number of times back in the 1960’s, as a high school kid. It was a popular theatre, not only with Maynard residents, but with kids from Lincoln, Sudbury and some other reasonably nearby towns as well. I remember seeing a number of films there, including “Georgie Girl”, “Oliver”, “Endless Summer” and “Lion in Winter”, as well as “Easy Rider”. Again, often enough, one ran the risk of not being able to get into the movies, especially on a Friday or Saturday night if they didn’t get theire early enough to get a ticket…it was a first-come, first-served basis. Since this movie theatre was popular enough so that it drew a lot of people from Lincoln and Sudbury, MA, my friends and I would invariably meet up with other kids that we knew. What a coincidence!
btw, I recognized the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA right off of the bat. It hasn’t changed. Too bad that the proprietors of the theatre felt compelled to do up to date first-run schlock in order to stay afloat.
I remember the Janus very well. I saw some good films there, and at one time, West Side Story was scheduled to be shown there. On the day that WSS was to be shown, I very excited got ready and ran down to the Janus, which was then only a ten minute walk from my house, because I was living in Cambridge back then, back in the 1980’s. When I got to the Janus, I saw a sign at the box office saying “West Side Story has been cancelled”. Disappointed at the film’s cancellation, and determined to find out what had caused the cancellation, I stayed and talked to the projectionists for awhile. It turned out that they’d gotten a copy of the film from a distributor that was located down in Dorchester, where the people who worked there were always stoned. It turned out that this distributor had sent the people who ran the Janus a copy of the wrong size print of WSS—and they showed me why—the print that they’d sent over from Dorchester was too big for the track in the projector’s reels, and the film would’ve been shredded if they’d tried to put a film of the wrong size in there and show it. While it certainly didn’t change the fact that I was disappointed in the cancellation of the West Side Story screening, finding out what went wrong made it easier for me to accept..and take it in stride.
I’m sorry to hear about the Janus’s closing. what a bummer.
Oh, what a bummer! Sorry to hear that. Would it have been possible to have made a phone call to make sure before flying across country? Just curious. What other movie did you get to see at the Arclight? Again, just curious.
Ya know……It’s gotten to the point where I feel a pang of sadness every time I read/hear about a movie theatre closing down, even though I don’t happen to live in that area.
The Dome sounds like a beautiful theatre. The film “How the West was Won” was another cool film, which I saw when it first came out, as was “2001: A Space Odyssey”, which I also saw when it was quit new. Have a great time. If I lived in that area, I’d make sure I was there for both of them, and for “West Side Story” at the Castro Theatre, too.
I grew up in a small town that abutted Waltham that didn’t have a movie theatre, so, as kids, we either attended a movie on a family outing, or my sister and I would be dropped off at the Embassy Theatre on Moody Street by our parents to see a movie. I remember the old Embassy Theatre as being very authentic and baroque-looking inside. It was cool—a real movie palace, with a balcony, yet. Among the movies we saw there were “The Disorderly Orderly”, the original “Casino Royale”, and many others. However, the last movie that I went to there was back in 1970, when they showed “From Montgomery to Memphis”. After that, I never went to the Embassy again, at least in part, because I had moved away from home.
Sorry to hear about the two theatre closings. Here’s hoping that other theatres don’t end up following the same fate.
Oh, yes! I forgot to mention “Chinatown”.
Ah, well. Another one bites the dust.
It’s disheartening to read/hear about a movie theatre closing. I remember when the Circle barely escaped being converted into condominiums afew years ago, but was barely saved (correct me if I’m wrong here, anybody). I still remember seeing some cool movies there, however; A Day at the Races, The Great Race, Superman I and II, Harry Potter and the Phoenix, and Munich.
It would be nice if it would be converted into another type of theatre, along the lines of the Coolidge and/or the Brattle. Wishful thinking, as that’s probably not going to happen.
I could be wrong, but I have a hunch that the days of movies being shown in libraries have all but disappeared. I can remember reading about movies being shown in libraries around our area as recently as the 1970’s and 1980’s, but, since the 1990’s, seems virtually, if not totally unheard of.
Ahhhh…..there’s no question that nothing beats seeing movies on the great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre with the lights down low, as they were really MEANT to be seen. This is especially true of those great old movie classics, including LOA, WSS, SOM, and many others. I read the article about films that’re ideal for the great big, wide screen, and agreed with it, especially the films mentioned in the article, including “Lawrence of Arabia” with much interest and agreed, but I find myself wondering why West Side Story and Dr. Zhivago and a bunch of others weren’t included.
Sounds exciting, even though I don’t live in Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC. It’s heartening to hear about old movie theatres making a comeback. Perhaps there’s hope for the moviegoing public after all!?
It seems that, with few exceptions, that many, if not most of the Drive-In movie theatres are located in warmer climates here in the USA. I guess that’s for a reason.
If I didn’t live on the opposite side of the country, I would!
Btw, I also like the round Marquee on the outside of the front of the theatre. That’s cool.
Suffern, NY’s Lafayette Theatre sounds like a wonderful and beautiful theatre that would be perfect for playing such classics as Sound of Music, West Side Story, Dr. Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many others. Just out of curiosity, what’s the possibility of getting any of these particular films in as part of your repertory classic films program(s)?
Oh, absolutely, J. D. Paska! I still remember the times back in the late 1950’s, when my sister and I were preteens (my brother hadn’t come along yet), our parents would pile everybody in the family lime-green Rambler station wagon, take us out to dinner, and then, since we had to take blankets and pillows, to a drive-in movie, where we could either watch the movie or fall asleep in the (flattened) backseats of the station wagon. The Fresh Pond Drive-In, in Cambridge, MA was where we’d go, and there’d be a small speaker for each car, and hamburgers and french fries were had, if we went early enough. However, the Fresh Pond Drive-In hasn’t existed since the early to mid 1960’s, and it’s highly doubtful that it’s ever coming back. I don’t remember whether it was just seasonally open, but I do remember the Natick Drive-In being open even in the wintertime.
Off the record, I wonder what a film such as West Side Story would be like on a huge 100-foot wide drive-in movie theatre. I bet it would be pretty spectacular.
btw, Jay, thank for the info about seasonal openings and closures of the drive-ins that you mentioned.
Hi, movies534! I wholeheartedly agree with your phrase “Movies have been on film forever! Leave it (them) on film! Frankly, there are times when I absolutely curse the day that VCRs, video, DVD players, and ultimately DVD’s and all these elaborate home-entertainment systems that many Americans own were ushered in.
Sounds cool! Sorry to hear that it got delayed by April’s excessive heavy rains, but I guess that’s how Mother Nature works sometimes—doing this from time to time just to show who really and truly runs the Universe. Drive-In movie theatres do have an advantage over indoor theatres, in that, yes, people can talk, laugh, poke fun, and jab, because they’re in the confines of their own car(s), and therefore don’t have to worry about disturbing other moviegoers. Also, there’s something inherently special about seeing a movie outdoors, under the stars, especially in an urban area, where the sounds of the city can and sometimes do add a whole other dimension to the movie.
The disadvantage to Drive-In movies is if it rains, it’s more difficult to see a movie, no? What about in the winter? Do drive-ins generally close down for the season in winter? Just curious.
Thanks for submitting the photos, Lost Memory. The Coolidge Corner Theatre marquee is handsome even in the daytime, but it’s especially fantastic-looking at night, when it’s all lit up.
If digital cinema really is the future, longislandmovies, then it would be great to see this applied to many of the great older classic movies as well. I think it would be fabulous if those great old classics, including West Side Story, Dr. Zhivago, and Lawrence of Arabia, not to mention tons of others would be fantastic if they were cleaned up, remastered, restored to their former glory, and re-issued in 70mm large disc prints for digital projectors. If this new technology is presently being applied to newer films, then why not to the golden oldie-but-goody movie classics?
the Kenmore Theatre was right in Kenmore Square, near B. U., as I remember. It was modern-looking, and I saw a number of films there, including the Charley Chaplin films, West Side Story, and many others. Too bad it’s not there anymore.
I also attended movie screenings such as “How the West Was Won', "Pink Panther”, “A Shot in the Dark”, “The Man with the Golden Gun”, “Cat Ballou”, “Murder She Said”, and a number of other cool movies at the West Newton Cinema back in the mid-1960’s, when I was a teenager. It was then a very nice movie palace of a theatre. However, when i came to see a movie at the West Newton Cinema several years ago, and then a movie called “The Golden Door” a couple of years ago, I noticed that the West Newton Cinema had sort of gone to seed. It was no longer the handsome movie palace that it had once been.
I remember the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA. as being another theatre that I went to a number of times back in the 1960’s, as a high school kid. It was a popular theatre, not only with Maynard residents, but with kids from Lincoln, Sudbury and some other reasonably nearby towns as well. I remember seeing a number of films there, including “Georgie Girl”, “Oliver”, “Endless Summer” and “Lion in Winter”, as well as “Easy Rider”. Again, often enough, one ran the risk of not being able to get into the movies, especially on a Friday or Saturday night if they didn’t get theire early enough to get a ticket…it was a first-come, first-served basis. Since this movie theatre was popular enough so that it drew a lot of people from Lincoln and Sudbury, MA, my friends and I would invariably meet up with other kids that we knew. What a coincidence!
btw, I recognized the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA right off of the bat. It hasn’t changed. Too bad that the proprietors of the theatre felt compelled to do up to date first-run schlock in order to stay afloat.
I remember the Janus very well. I saw some good films there, and at one time, West Side Story was scheduled to be shown there. On the day that WSS was to be shown, I very excited got ready and ran down to the Janus, which was then only a ten minute walk from my house, because I was living in Cambridge back then, back in the 1980’s. When I got to the Janus, I saw a sign at the box office saying “West Side Story has been cancelled”. Disappointed at the film’s cancellation, and determined to find out what had caused the cancellation, I stayed and talked to the projectionists for awhile. It turned out that they’d gotten a copy of the film from a distributor that was located down in Dorchester, where the people who worked there were always stoned. It turned out that this distributor had sent the people who ran the Janus a copy of the wrong size print of WSS—and they showed me why—the print that they’d sent over from Dorchester was too big for the track in the projector’s reels, and the film would’ve been shredded if they’d tried to put a film of the wrong size in there and show it. While it certainly didn’t change the fact that I was disappointed in the cancellation of the West Side Story screening, finding out what went wrong made it easier for me to accept..and take it in stride.
I’m sorry to hear about the Janus’s closing. what a bummer.
Oh, what a bummer! Sorry to hear that. Would it have been possible to have made a phone call to make sure before flying across country? Just curious. What other movie did you get to see at the Arclight? Again, just curious.
Ya know……It’s gotten to the point where I feel a pang of sadness every time I read/hear about a movie theatre closing down, even though I don’t happen to live in that area.
I checked out the link—sounds like there are some cool films in the offing.
Sounds exciting!! Enjoy!!
The Dome sounds like a beautiful theatre. The film “How the West was Won” was another cool film, which I saw when it first came out, as was “2001: A Space Odyssey”, which I also saw when it was quit new. Have a great time. If I lived in that area, I’d make sure I was there for both of them, and for “West Side Story” at the Castro Theatre, too.
The OLD Embassy Theatre….Ahhhh, yes.
I grew up in a small town that abutted Waltham that didn’t have a movie theatre, so, as kids, we either attended a movie on a family outing, or my sister and I would be dropped off at the Embassy Theatre on Moody Street by our parents to see a movie. I remember the old Embassy Theatre as being very authentic and baroque-looking inside. It was cool—a real movie palace, with a balcony, yet. Among the movies we saw there were “The Disorderly Orderly”, the original “Casino Royale”, and many others. However, the last movie that I went to there was back in 1970, when they showed “From Montgomery to Memphis”. After that, I never went to the Embassy again, at least in part, because I had moved away from home.