Affordable hotel rooms being at a premium let’s not begrudge the overhaul of Trocadero…for the 40s 50s 60s 70s the London Pavilion Cinema…for the 90’s and 00’s a multiplex rebranded 5 times…a cool new arthouse and budget hotel for the next generation…onwards and upwards
From Friday’s Evening Standard…this is good news
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/trocadero-to-be-turned-into-sevenscreen-arthouse-cinema-9742912.html?origin=internalSearch
But probably a death knell for the Odeon Panton St (no great loss) and possibly the Odeon Covent Garden…the now Warner Picadilly is sadly a waste
Lived in Brussels in 1979 minutes from the Vendome…Next to the more mass market Capitole, Avenue and Leroy this was more geared towards upscale French speaking audiences with several long runs including Philippe de Broca’s Le Cavaleur…But did see Norma Rae and Neil Simon’s California Suite here in English
The current Vendome is the ex Leroy which programmed Paramount, Universal and UA in its heyday
In the 60’s and 70’s this was known as the Cinema d'Hiver in contrast with the hugely popular Cinema d'Ete outdoor movies shown under the stars
The Cinema d'Ete showed mostly American productions from all the major studios usually for one night only (occasionally big hits would get a second screening over the summer) – when I was a kid it was a huge treat to see things like MASH, West Side Story, Stalking Moon, Daddy’s Gone a Hunting, Grand Slam, Penelope, Kes, TickTickTick, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and plenty more outside…with the great French care towards projection
The Red Carpet / Flagship / Blue Ribbon marketing was fascinating if like myself as a kid you followed that sort of thing. It just seemed to bring consistency to which theatres got pictures from what studio. The allocation was more or less UA/MGM / Fox & Warner Bros / Universal and Fox respectively. The print ads were cool and occasionally the theatres (at least in Manhattan) would show the designation on their marquees or poster frames. The Paramount ‘Diamond’ and American International ‘Rainbow’ tracks never had the same traction as the first three. As distribution got wider in the mid 70’s, these limited showcase runs lost these designations.
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
Now known as the Vue Picadilly…a bit off the beaten track of the West End screens…currently programming day date mass market pictures along the rest of the West End…One would think that it would have a better chance if it programmed art house fare in line with the Odeon Covent Garden or Panton Street.
Interesting to see if this survives or not…the only thing that might work in the space is a restaurant
This was the Cine Malibu, then the D.W. Griffith, then the 59th St. East under Cineplex Odeon, then the Big Manhattan…interesting evolution from soft porn to art house to second run showcase to first run to Bollywood…
Flew the flags of Rugoff/Cinema 5/City Cinemas/Walter Reade/Cineplex Odeon before Big…Not to sniff at first run engagements of pictures like Steve McQueen’s Le Mans, Jaws 2, Connery/Hoffman & Broderick in Family Business
A shame if City couldn’t find value as a second run spillover house between the Cinema ½/3 and Beekman in the now woefully underscreened UES
This was one of my primary local cinemas in London over the first 10 years of my residence here…easy to book and use with decent restaurants in the complex and in the immediate neighbourhood…a not exhaustive list of pictures I’ve seen here would include Batman Returns, Husbands and Wives, The Player, Clear and Present Danger, Speed, Addams Family, True Lies, Hoffa, Sleepless in Seattle, Gosford Park, Air Force One, The Lion King, Hannibal, Insomnia, Twelve Days, The Royal Tenenbaums,Unforgiven, Mrs.Doubtfire,The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
The Whiteley’s complex has undergone a number of changes over the years and is now a bit more upscale in terms of dining with the addition of Rowley Leigh’s Cafe Anglais. The chef has designed the menus for the Lounge screens.
Great list 56-75…as a kid the only ones I saw here were the road shows Is Paris Burning and Patton…in the refitted multiplex Raging Bull, Sharky’s Machine on the small screens, Rambo 3, Garp, Die Hard 2, A Cry in the Dark on the bigger ones
This was a good mainstream cinema in Geneva in the 70s…Showed a lot of family fare in French e.g. Disney…Saw The Aristocats there and in another register Truffaut’s Day for Night (a solid 9 week first run)…Believe it was owned by Swiss producer distributor Georges-Alain Vuille
The Broadway was a US first run mainstay for years in Geneva…Most of Woody Allen’s movies premiered here in Original Version…Saw Heaven Can Wait, Norma Rae here among others
Not one of Geneva’s best in my time in the early – mid 70s…Played mostly french versions of action pictures…Saw Death on the Nile and some Bronsons here
A great cinema going experience profiled earlier this year in Monocle…White gloved ushers…double aisled big screen experience…In my Bangkok years (mid 80s) saw JP Belmondo film here Ace of Aces and Emerald Forest (maybe in sister screen Siam)…This was the very best in Bangkok at the time even if the programming was a bit odd at times
Musicals in particular are great for road shows and slower roll-outs. In London, Weinstein gave Nine a ten day West End exclusive in a twin theatre before going national. Wish that studios would catch their breath and let anticipation build for big pictures and let the Ziegfelds, Chineses, Odeon Leicester Squares hold their rightful place in film going
The oddest tiniest theatre I have ever been in…sat about 90…the screen used to be angled in…
Saw revivals of Dr Strangelove and The Graduate here in the 70s
This was a fun place for a teenager to go on Friday evenings…Screenings of rock concert films e.g. Hendrix at Berkeley, Focus, Pink Floyd
A survivor in Geneva’s vanishing single screen theatres
This part of town had 8 screens within a 6 block 10 minute walk stretch in the 70s…the tired but functional Studio 10, the slightly better Hollywood (got the Disneys and major French releases), the oversized Alhambra, the Molard (mostly French language pictures), the ABC inside a shopping arcade (great for audience pictures saw Tommy and Fame there) and the Cine 17 an art house around the back (still running) and the Rex on the main shopping street
The Rex played mostly mass market pictures in French – saw Dirty Harry in French there, some bad kungfu, Shaft in Africa
Saw Woody Allen Match Point here in 2006…a compact little art house convenient for commuters from St. Lazare
Affordable hotel rooms being at a premium let’s not begrudge the overhaul of Trocadero…for the 40s 50s 60s 70s the London Pavilion Cinema…for the 90’s and 00’s a multiplex rebranded 5 times…a cool new arthouse and budget hotel for the next generation…onwards and upwards
From Friday’s Evening Standard…this is good news http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/trocadero-to-be-turned-into-sevenscreen-arthouse-cinema-9742912.html?origin=internalSearch But probably a death knell for the Odeon Panton St (no great loss) and possibly the Odeon Covent Garden…the now Warner Picadilly is sadly a waste
Lived in Brussels in 1979 minutes from the Vendome…Next to the more mass market Capitole, Avenue and Leroy this was more geared towards upscale French speaking audiences with several long runs including Philippe de Broca’s Le Cavaleur…But did see Norma Rae and Neil Simon’s California Suite here in English
The current Vendome is the ex Leroy which programmed Paramount, Universal and UA in its heyday
In the 60’s and 70’s this was known as the Cinema d'Hiver in contrast with the hugely popular Cinema d'Ete outdoor movies shown under the stars
The Cinema d'Ete showed mostly American productions from all the major studios usually for one night only (occasionally big hits would get a second screening over the summer) – when I was a kid it was a huge treat to see things like MASH, West Side Story, Stalking Moon, Daddy’s Gone a Hunting, Grand Slam, Penelope, Kes, TickTickTick, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and plenty more outside…with the great French care towards projection
The Red Carpet / Flagship / Blue Ribbon marketing was fascinating if like myself as a kid you followed that sort of thing. It just seemed to bring consistency to which theatres got pictures from what studio. The allocation was more or less UA/MGM / Fox & Warner Bros / Universal and Fox respectively. The print ads were cool and occasionally the theatres (at least in Manhattan) would show the designation on their marquees or poster frames. The Paramount ‘Diamond’ and American International ‘Rainbow’ tracks never had the same traction as the first three. As distribution got wider in the mid 70’s, these limited showcase runs lost these designations.
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
So many great pictures opened at the Ziegfeld in the 70s and 80s as Manhattan exclusives – Close Encounters, Earthquake, Tommy, The Last Waltz…It wasn’t until the 80s that they started day dating it with an Eastside house…the Baronet, Coronet or Cinema 2, or even the Tower East which is a shame…make people go out of their way for a quality experience
Now known as the Vue Picadilly…a bit off the beaten track of the West End screens…currently programming day date mass market pictures along the rest of the West End…One would think that it would have a better chance if it programmed art house fare in line with the Odeon Covent Garden or Panton Street.
Interesting to see if this survives or not…the only thing that might work in the space is a restaurant
Amazing that these newsreel and cartoon cinemas lasted in the UK as last as the early 70’s in Picadilly
This was the Cine Malibu, then the D.W. Griffith, then the 59th St. East under Cineplex Odeon, then the Big Manhattan…interesting evolution from soft porn to art house to second run showcase to first run to Bollywood… Flew the flags of Rugoff/Cinema 5/City Cinemas/Walter Reade/Cineplex Odeon before Big…Not to sniff at first run engagements of pictures like Steve McQueen’s Le Mans, Jaws 2, Connery/Hoffman & Broderick in Family Business A shame if City couldn’t find value as a second run spillover house between the Cinema ½/3 and Beekman in the now woefully underscreened UES
This was one of my primary local cinemas in London over the first 10 years of my residence here…easy to book and use with decent restaurants in the complex and in the immediate neighbourhood…a not exhaustive list of pictures I’ve seen here would include Batman Returns, Husbands and Wives, The Player, Clear and Present Danger, Speed, Addams Family, True Lies, Hoffa, Sleepless in Seattle, Gosford Park, Air Force One, The Lion King, Hannibal, Insomnia, Twelve Days, The Royal Tenenbaums,Unforgiven, Mrs.Doubtfire,The Hand that Rocks the Cradle The Whiteley’s complex has undergone a number of changes over the years and is now a bit more upscale in terms of dining with the addition of Rowley Leigh’s Cafe Anglais. The chef has designed the menus for the Lounge screens.
Great list 56-75…as a kid the only ones I saw here were the road shows Is Paris Burning and Patton…in the refitted multiplex Raging Bull, Sharky’s Machine on the small screens, Rambo 3, Garp, Die Hard 2, A Cry in the Dark on the bigger ones
This was a good mainstream cinema in Geneva in the 70s…Showed a lot of family fare in French e.g. Disney…Saw The Aristocats there and in another register Truffaut’s Day for Night (a solid 9 week first run)…Believe it was owned by Swiss producer distributor Georges-Alain Vuille
The Broadway was a US first run mainstay for years in Geneva…Most of Woody Allen’s movies premiered here in Original Version…Saw Heaven Can Wait, Norma Rae here among others
This was always a quality art house at the bottom of Geneva’s old town
Not one of Geneva’s best in my time in the early – mid 70s…Played mostly french versions of action pictures…Saw Death on the Nile and some Bronsons here
A great cinema going experience profiled earlier this year in Monocle…White gloved ushers…double aisled big screen experience…In my Bangkok years (mid 80s) saw JP Belmondo film here Ace of Aces and Emerald Forest (maybe in sister screen Siam)…This was the very best in Bangkok at the time even if the programming was a bit odd at times
Musicals in particular are great for road shows and slower roll-outs. In London, Weinstein gave Nine a ten day West End exclusive in a twin theatre before going national. Wish that studios would catch their breath and let anticipation build for big pictures and let the Ziegfelds, Chineses, Odeon Leicester Squares hold their rightful place in film going
Thank you…the site is too precious to lovers of movies and movie theatres to be undone by a few
The oddest tiniest theatre I have ever been in…sat about 90…the screen used to be angled in… Saw revivals of Dr Strangelove and The Graduate here in the 70s
This was a fun place for a teenager to go on Friday evenings…Screenings of rock concert films e.g. Hendrix at Berkeley, Focus, Pink Floyd A survivor in Geneva’s vanishing single screen theatres
This part of town had 8 screens within a 6 block 10 minute walk stretch in the 70s…the tired but functional Studio 10, the slightly better Hollywood (got the Disneys and major French releases), the oversized Alhambra, the Molard (mostly French language pictures), the ABC inside a shopping arcade (great for audience pictures saw Tommy and Fame there) and the Cine 17 an art house around the back (still running) and the Rex on the main shopping street
The Rex played mostly mass market pictures in French – saw Dirty Harry in French there, some bad kungfu, Shaft in Africa
Now a decent branded triplex
Off the beaten track in a residential area…Geneva’s last true independent art house