Film Forum

The film forum is a triplex with three small screening room type theatres. The lobby is the best thing about it, and the popcorn is always fresh and you can buy coffee and cookies. One screen is always revival and often features brand new prints. The Film Forum has revivied The Tingler a few times during its summer schlock festival and actually wired the seats. They also ran The House on Haunted Hill in Percepto. The only complaint here is the screens are small, but this is one of the last places to see revival films in a town that once had more then a dozen theatres doing it.

The original gimmick of "The Tingler" was "spine-tingling percepto", (seats wired for mild shocks),that of "House On Haunted Hill" was "bone-chilling 'emergo'"(skeleton comes out of screen and passes over audience's heads). Both were done at the old Film Forum on Watts St. west of 6th Avenue, late Sept. 1988 "Gimmick-O-Rama", which was somehow more fun than the new one on W. Houston just east of Varick. Glad to read they're still doing "Tingler" and "House" in the summer sci fi fantasy and horror festival in the new location.

I quite agree, it's one of NYC's BEST theaters !

I was trying to remember information on the old Film Forum, was it a twin and didnt Walter Reade program one side?

Yes, the old Film Forum was a twin. I am not sure if Walter Reade programmed one side. I remember one screen (Film Forum 2)was revivals and the other (Film Forum 1) was avant-garde, foreign, anything else non-revival and unusual, like the Beats Festival in February 1988 where Allen Ginsberg and Herbert Huncke showed up in person !

We should do an entry then for that theatre, whats in it's place now?

I think an at least ten story office building. I would have to go take a look to be sure. It's not hard for me, as it's close to my place of work. Perhaps Film Forum itself can give you more information.

I also have one of the old programs in my desk drawer at work, from the 1989 summer sci fi horror and fantasy festival.

This theatre has some of the best programming in American, much of it under the tutelage of Bruce Goldstein. I should add some accolades to the ones above by mentioning the enormously popular and virtually complete Fellini festival they put on, the retrospective of the films of Frank Capra...which included an exceedinly rare 1929 film called THE DONOVAN AFFAIR, for which the soundtrack was lost. It was shown here anyway. I believe that the dialogue was read aloud from a script! The Film Forum is not a trend follower but rather a trend setter.

The Film Forum has always been an independent operation, from its beginning at 80 Wooster Street to 15 Vandam Street (which was later the home of the Thalia Soho; co-founder of the former Bleecker Street Cinema Jackie Raynal's short-lived Le Cinematheque; and is now the Vandam Playhouse) until the late 1980s at 57 Watts Street (the since-demolished structure having once served as, I believe, either a garage of some sort or a fire station) and now at 209 W. Houston, which I'm pretty sure WAS a garage in a previous life.

When they screened the Donavan Affair they had a full cast reading of the script with sound effects. I was there and it was really something. They just had a 3D festival and it was great to see films in that format.

The Film Forum is the best revival house in the city and has showcased some of the best films of the past century. With their retro showcase of Film Noir, 70's films and Sci-Fi Horror Festivals, the Film Forum beats out any other Reveival house in New York (and dare I say...The World?). Film Forum got me through my Film classess at Brooklyn College with their Annual (not anymore-but why not bring it back?) Sci-Fi/Horror Summer Festival where they have shown everything from the William Castle Gimmick classics to the recent Anime explosion of the 90's. Film Forum is where I took my wife on one of our first dates to see "Dr. Strangelove". It is also where I saw the classic Pacino film "Cruising" for the first time. It is also where my friend Frank and I got to see Brooklyn Classic "The Warriors" over and over again. There should be a Film Forum all over the world.

CoolGuyCarl, I couldn't agree with you more. I will merely add that, in 1988, the William Castle material was a "Gimmickorama" in the fall, after, and separate from, the summer sci fi / horror festival that year. I attended that festival in 1987, 88 and 89, to be a kid again, and to enjoy, and be in awe of, all that great '50's sci-fi and horror I grew up with, know by heart, and love so much.

Seeing Allen Ginsberg and Herbert Hunke at the February 1988 Beat Festival was great also.

I don't think there was a sci fi / horror festival in the summer of 1990. When I returned to Film Forum in late August 1991 for the Hammer "Curse of Frankenstein" and "Horror Of Dracula" it was at its new location at 209 W. Houston and wasn't the same anymore. Perhaps because I had changed, and was now about to be married. Ditto mid-September 1992 when I returned for "The Blob" and "World Without End" and had been married a year. The ambience wasn't the same as it had been at 57 Watts Street, no more excited and talkative lines of fans waiting outside one show in advance, up against original color lobby cards mounted on the wall.

My last time to Film Forum was November 1 or 2 1998 to see "Lenny Bruce : Swear To Tell The Truth". Some of the old ambience seemed to have returned then.

My only beef with Film Forum was a cut in 1987 from Forbidden Planet : when the monkey steals fruit from the Morbius table and Robby gently zaps him away.

Bruce Goldstein is the best. He is second to none. I only wish he had a real movie theater in which to show his programs. If I had my wish there would be a American Cinemateque in the old Mayfair in Times Square along with a smaller theater where he would curate to his and our hearts content.

Reads good, Vincent. How is Film Forum at 209 W Houston not a "real" movie theater ? How close is Bruce Goldstein to fulfilling your wish ?

Peter, If you have to ask me how is Film Forum not a "real" movie theater well then I guess you've never been to one. I guess you're pretty young and grew up going to the plexes. Let's just say that Film Forum is nothing but a collection of small screening rooms and they in no way do justice to Bruce's programs and the quality prints he often shows.
This wish has as much chance of fufillment as my wish of seeing the Music Hall present a summer festival of film classics along with a complete stage show with the Rockettes, ballet company, symphony orchestra.

Vincent, do not insult me by condescension, lazy or careless assumption, or pedantry. There is no need to GUESS at my age. I am 48 years of age, and saw my first films at age 5 in 1960 or 1961 in what you would call the "real" Ridgewood and RKO Madison Theaters (q.v. on this site) in Ridgewood, Queens, NY, NY, which had separate ticket prices for orchestra, loge and balcony. Among my first few films in those "real" theaters were "Morgan The Pirate" starring Steeve Reeves and "Swiss Family Robinson" in the summer of 1961 when I was 5 going on 6. Two or three years later I saw shows at Radio City Music Hall of "The Singing Nun", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and "The Chalk Garden". I saw "True Grit" and "Winning" at Radio City in the summer of 1969. I KNOW what a real movie palace is as opposed to what Jay Leno has referred to as "a concrete bunker at the end of the shopping mall".

My hobby of urban archaelology is, in part, about finding and collecting images of these old, now mostly gone, movie palaces, in part, by "cross-pollinating" and cross-referencing this site with nycsubway.org, which is often the only place I can find images of these older theaters, such as Loew's Valencia, RKO Bushwick, Loew's Gates, the Colonial, the Dekalb / New Casino, the Decatur, the Empire, the Monroe, to name a few in Queens and Brooklyn.

I asked you what you meant by a "real" theater" so as to know EXACTLY and UNAMBIGUOUSLY what you meant, as I cannot read your mind.

I found Film Forum at 57 Watts Street to be adequate to the material I saw presented there. I consider 209 W Houston to be adequate also, even though I preferred the larger screens of 57 Watts. I did not experience, and therefore know nothing about, the screen sizes at the earlier 80 Wooster Street location. I was a frequent patron of Thalia Soho in the late '80's and early 1990 and therefore remember the screen size at 15 Vandam (tiny !)

Have you expressed your wish to the management at Radio City ? If not, its probability of being fulfilled will most certainly remain ZERO. If you do, it will have some chance of being fulfilled, however small. Your results, as you know, will most probably be in proportion to your efforts. I wish you success, but, in the meantime, will take what I can get.

Tell Him Petey!
Take that Vinny!
The Film Forum Rules!
Nuff Said!

Peter I honestly was not trying to insult you, however my swipes at Film Forum are genuine.
I consider a real theater to be one that is architecurally mean't to be more than a modest sized screening room. One that is meant to enhance the presentation of a film. A theater that gives a film size and scope and at the same time is a pleasure to sit in as one waits for the lights to dim and for the curtains to part. A real theater lends the occasion excitement.
For documentaries and contemporary art films the Forum is fine as these films would be as well presented on a DVD. However for many of the films Bruce likes to show(not all but most) the size of the auditoriums and the screens often diminish a film.
Screen two of the old Watts St had a really good head-on scope screen that I miss. Now the scope screen puts the letter into letterboxing.
In a way I'm glad you were insulted as you revealed to me some of your youthful movie experiences.We are about the same age and being that I grew up in the suburbs I can only say that I envy you your
trips to the Music Hall during the 60's. I started going to the Music Hall in '70 and by that time the films were pretty much dreck. (Has anybody else alive seen Henessy or the Girl from Petrovka?)
With Cablevision in charge the Music Hall is a lost cause. The rock concerts in no way utilize the potential of the place and now they're using the greatest theater in the world for basketball games!!
I wouldn't call the Forum a bunker but I would say they are shoeboxes with a screen attached at the end. And I would still say Bruce G and Steve Stern deserve better. Long may they be part of New York's cultural life!

I loved the old Film Forum on Watts St. - the Gimmick-O-Rama festival was a real dream come true - and when they announced the move to a new theater, my hopes were high. I was disappointed to see the new theaters' screen size, and the narrow shape of the auditoriums themselves as opposed to the wider ones in the old building. Film Forum 1 has an actual wide screen, but I don't think they ever show the repertory titles in there. On the other hand, the fact that Film Forum exists at all is one of the best things about New York City. I only hope they bring Gimmick-O-Rama back someday.

Bill the wide screen in 1 is not so bad because of the placement of the screen but to tell you the truth they might be the same size. But unfortunately the only widescreen revivals there that I know have been Contempt and Rochefort. They should do all scope in that theater. But the Watt screen in 2 was much larger. Bye Bye Birdie in that old theater was sensational. Haven't seen it that good since and it is one of my favorites. To have seen it at the Music Hall...

Come to think of it, I saw McCabe and Mrs. Miller and La Dolce Vita in Film Forum 1 a few years ago. But Vincent is right: they should show all the scope films in that theater.

I saw McCabe and Mrs. Miller there as well so we were in the same audience probably same nght too.

Maybe it has to do with the number of seats in the theater? I always thought Film Forum 1 had the most seats, but that might be an optical illusion because the theater is wider than the other two. If a repertory film is really popular, maybe it gets moved over to theater #1 so they can sell more tickets.

Vincent, I am glad you were not trying to insult me. It reads like we have a disagreement we can live with, between what constitutes a screening room and a theater. I understand what you mean about how what you consider a theater enhances the presentation of a film. What did you think of the Biograph revival cinema on West 57th St. in NYC ? That's where I first saw "Psycho" on a movie screen Sunday July 10 1988. It was one of many blastedly hot days in that blastedly hot summer, so I stayed for a second screening of "Psycho" after the end of the second feature, titled (oddly enough), "Seconds". I mention the Biograph, becaue it came closest to your hope of a full-sized revival movie house, complete with interior splendor, of any theater I know or have been in.

What suburb did you grow up in ? The last film I saw at Radio City was "Fantasia" in late May 1978. No, I have never seen Henessy or the Girl from Petrovka, but now that you have mentioned them, I will check them out on the Internet Movie Data Base.

Bill Huelbig, what I liked about Gimmick-O-Rama, besides the Castle films themselves, was the faithful and at times painstaking reproduction of the original Castle gimmicks. "The Tingler" went one better by having a staff member run around the darkened cinema with a
two-foot long rubber Tingler !

Speaking of William Castle, I saw his "I Saw What You Did" in its original run at the RKO Madison in Ridgewood, Queens, NY NY, summer 1965. I also read about it about that time in "Famous Monsters Of Filmland" magazine, edited by Forrest J. Ackerman.

"I Saw What You Did" will always live in my memory as the movie where my dad drove out of a drive-in theater with the speaker still attached to the window. It was the summer of '65 like Peter K. said, in Rutherford, NJ. I don't think he liked the movie, and I guess he wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible.

Peter,
I liked the Biograph very much but again the scope screen wasn't large enough in relation to the theater.
The excellent programmer there Frank Crowley was the one who also made the Regency such a success.
By the way don't waste any portion of your life watching Hennesy or Petrovka. I just saw them because they were playing at the Music Hall. At that point the Hall should have just played classic films because what they were showing was so bad they should have been ashamed.

Vincent, glad you liked the Biograph. So did I. What is your preferred scope screen to theater ratio for optimum viewing ? You read like the "El Exigente" of the cinema. Thanks for the bit about Frank Crowley and the Regency. I saw "Fantastic Voyage" and "Planet Of The Apes" on the same bill at the Regency in August 1985.

There was also a shabby little theater, called the Hollywood, on the west side of 8th Avenue between, I think, 49th and 50th Sts. where, pre-renovation, I saw a double bill of "Vertigo" and "The Birds" summer 1985.

OK I won't watch Hennessy or Petrovka.

Bill Huelbig, thanks for the anecdote. Did your dad end up paying for the damaged drive in speaker ?

I think the drive-in speaker survived intact, but the car window sure didn't! Another memory of that movie: Joan Crawford got star billing, but I think she was in it for about 10 minutes total.

Talking about the Biograph and the Hollywood reminds me of the Elgin Cinema, which was down around 19th St. It wasn't the cleanest theater and it always had a funny smell, but they sure showed some great classic movies. The first time I saw "The Birds" in a theater was there - same with "Nights of Cabiria".

I remember Joan Crawford in "I Saw What You Did", now that you mention it. She played the mistress of the man who had just murdered his wife before the girls made their "fun" phone call. I think she deserved star billing. Anthony Hopkins was on screen only 27 minutes in "The Silence Of The Lambs".

I heard about the Elgin from a friend but never went there. I thought it was near 23rd and 8th. My friend went there in 1973 or 1974 for a double bill of the Betty Boop festival and "Night Of The Living Dead".

Peter K.: I also saw "Fantasia" at Radio City Music Hall in May 1978. I remember the huge audience applauding at the end of each musical segment - what a wonderful sound that was.

Bill Huelbig, I recall part of the live music then was "The Power Of Brass', in particular, the theme from "Rocky", which has just come out the previous year. I recall an audience reaction similar to your memory.

I saw Tony Bennett at Radio City, with my wife and aunt, Friday September 28 2001, and saw "Wheel Of Fortune" being taped there, with my wife and son, around Sept. 11 2003 (a Sunday). Hokey, but fun.

I love the Film Forum's programming. By the time I'd seen 99% of their Chaplin festival back in '97, I was dreaming that I was Chaplin. They ran out of film to show just in time to save my sanity. The remarks here really focused something I'd never really consciously paid that much attention to, which is that the theatres really are just small screening rooms, unfortunately. They should find a better theatre; with the backing of that foundation and the surfeit of closed theatres in New York City, that shouldn't be too difficult to do. I'd suggest trying the Commodore Theatre in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Two huge screens with an impressive ceiling downstairs, it's a truly magnificent theatre recently closed, and I imagine they could buy it for a song. It's right at the JMZ subway line at Marcy Avenue, the very first stop going out of Manhattan, so it's quite convenient to the usual clientele. It is a shame for the Film Forum's superb screenings to be limited to such tiny screens and theatres when the situation could be fairly easily remedied, I think.

Camden

The former Elgin is listed on this site by its current name, the Joyce Theatre.

Interesting thought, Camden, to move Film Forum to the RKO Commodore in Williamsburg, Bklyn. So the revival / avant garde movie buffs will follow the yuppies from SoHo and the East Village into the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to Manhattan.

There are many more closed theaters on Broadway, Brooklyn, southeast of the RKO Commodore ! I would love to discuss them with you !

Thanks, byranb, for the update on the Elgin !

Just want to let you know that FF will be have one of its not to be missed festivals in Sept. thanks to Bruce G and Steve Sterner.

This will be the Murnau(is he the greatest of them all? It's open to debate but definately he is one of the most worthy contenders. And Sunrise not number one on the AFI list! If there is a greater american film please let me know I which one it is.)

This will rate along with the Lubitsch and Stiller/Sjorstrom festivals as one of their best which says a lot.(I think I was the only one who went to the latter but the films were so haunting and beautiful they will remain with me for the rest of my life.)

Bruce and Steve, I hate to be greedy but do we see a DW Griffith festival in your future?(And just think that until recently the Liberty still stood on 42nd St.)

That Murnau show is going to be really something. I noticed that "The Last Laugh" was photographed by Karl Freund, later director of "The Mummy" and the camera man for "I Love Lucy." I think his work on that TV series played as large a part in its success as anything else, including the writers and cast; that show shimmers and sparkles and glows. It's so beautiful to look at, which immediately stops you from channel surfing when you happen across it. I saw a crossover "Make Room For Daddy" at the Museum of Televsion with Lucy and Ricky Ricardo visiting, not lit and photographed by Freund, and all the luminescent magic was missing from the look of the film.

Camden

I guess there should be a seperate listing for the old Film Forum?

According to their history page, the Film Forum has 462 seats.
http://www.filmforum.com/mission.html

The programming at Film Forum can't be beat. It's the best in the country, rivaled perhaps only by Los Angeles's American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater. The concurrence of new films with retrospective films is absolutely brilliant, keeping this as a first-run venue while declaring the immortal relevance of past cinema.

It's not the greatest place in the world to watch a movie, though. Far from it. It's great seeing stuff on 35mm, and Film Forum almost always gets great prints. But the theaters are so small, it's hardly a cinematic experience, nor is it very intimate. Spaces are narrow and screenings usually sell out, so there's no leg room -- you have to sit with both legs together, feet on the ground -- and it's easy to knock elbows or shoulders with the patron seated next to you. Furthermore, during the winter, the only option for stashing your winter coats is under the seat.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to see pristine prints of "Days of Heaven" and "Bound For Glory" while I lived in NYC, but the cramped atmosphere of Film Forum also cramped the epic grandeur of these films.

Also, the projected image has a foamy-looking texture, for some reason. Perhaps it's the screens themselves.

Also, films are occasionally out-of-focus and the floor staff and/or management will argue the point and refuse to fix the problem. This happened on a few occasions, notably with 'The Hidden Fortress,' which, to date, I have not seen but would have had Film Forum sharply focused it.

Now, the good stuff. Film Forum is one of the only venues to regularly program silent films (at least one retrospective per year will include silent films), and live piano accompaniment is usually provided. Sound is usually good, the best available prints are nearly always obtained, and the lobby is attractive, with some nice food behind the concession counter and some even nicer people.

It's also quite a bargain, if you're a member. If I recall correctly, as a member, I'd get two-films on a double-bill for only $5. That means, brilliant prints of 'Imitation of Life' and 'Written on the Wind' for only five dollars. You'll pay about the same price at the New Beverly in Los Angeles for ratty old prints, creaky seats and even creakier sound, for the micro-luxury you get at Film Forum.

In summary, this is a New York City staple.

I am a regular attendee of the Film Forum and do remember occasionally attending screenings at the Watts Street site in the eighties. Out of curiousity I asked Bruce Goldstein how the long the FF was closed between the time the Watts Street facility closed and the new W. Houston Street site opened. He said they were closed for a about a year. Watts Street closed in '89 and W. Houston opened in '90.

I remember those annual "silly" summer fests and remember that the FF took a lot of flak for stopping them. I guess FF felt they had exhausted that fest, but the public didn't.

Hardbop, I also wish FF would bring back the annual summer sci-fi and fantasy films, even if it's just for one summer. They used to draw huge crowds to the old Film Forum - I remember a line going around the block for "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.".

Lets not forget "The Tingler". With the electrafied seats!

... and "House on Haunted Hill" with the flying plastic skeleton, "Homicidal" with the Fright Break and the Coward's Corner, etc. They even had to turn people away from a screening of "Queen of Outer Space" starring Zsa Zsa Gabor.

They're missing a good bet if they don't program these movies again someday. It's been quite a few years since they were last shown.

Why not have a William Castle film festival. That would cover all these films and one more, "Mr. Sardonicus".

They did have one, in the old Film Forum. I think it was 1987 or 1988. They called it "Gimmick-O-Rama" and they showed all the Castle gimmick movies with the gimmicks re-created (including "Mr. Sardonicus" and the Punishment Poll). There were other gimmick movies included too, like "Wicked, Wicked" in Duo-Vision. This festival went on for several weeks!

At the first night's screening of "13 Ghosts" (in Illusion-O), William Castle's wife and daughter were sitting in the row behind me.

The Gimmick-O-Rama that I remember attending was September 1988, at the 57 Watts Street Film Forum.

So everyone go see the Haunting tomorrow night at the Loews Jersey and/or go see the great Jean Arthur tonight at the Film Forum. Not everyone's got to have a gimmick.

No, but they are fun, sometimes.

File under 'Huh?' - today's ad in the Arts & Leisure section of the NY Times makes mention of this week's upcoming engagement of 'East of Eden'... at the Film Forum AT 57 WATTS STREET... never mind that Film Forum moved out of that address in 1989/90 and that the building was torn down shortly thereafter...

I've been sampling the Paramount Pre-code series and it is drawing real well. The screenings I've attended haven't sold out, but I would estimate the theatre is 85/90% full. Even the rare "June Moon" didn't sell out. If you are a member the Film Forum's $5 price tag for a double-feature is one of the best bargains, if not the best bargain, is NYC.

I remember back in '93 the Film Forum did a similar series, but focused on the Warner Brothers Studio output. I remember those screenings being packed and possibly selling out. I also think they were screening many triple features, for one admission, at that series. Of course movies from that era fun between 65 and 80 minutes or so.

I was at the 8 PM screening of "June Moon" and the show was sold out. I bought my ticket 3 hours in advance and the stand-bye line went half way up the block. By the way in attendance at this show was former actress and "Game Show" legend Kitty Carlisle. She was sitting right behind me and she really looked great for her age.

What was obnoxious about the Film Forum was that they roped off that whole aisle where Ms. Carlisle sat for all the screenings. So, no one could sit in those seats for the afternoon/early evening screenings -- premium seats -- even though the cinema was packed and no one would use those seats until 8 p.m.

I beleve she came for the 6:30 showing of "Follow Thru" so the seats would have been roped off for that film also.

I noticed that Ingmar Bergman's SARABAND, which opened today, is booked at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and at the Film Forum. I can't remember another film that opened at the Film Forum and at a commercial cinema simultaneously. Sometimes films open at FF and then slide into a commercial cinema.

I was under the impression that Film Forum was only supposed to screen films that wouldn't get a commercial screening elsewhere. I can't believe that IFC, the Angelika or the Landmark wouldn't have liked to have that Bergman film considering the junk they have been booking lately.

The Film Forum might have outbid those other theaters (or chains) for 'Saraband', may have made an initial deal with Sony Pictures Classics to run an exclusive engagement, only for that portion of the arrangement to have later been dropped, or there might have been some other sort of 'gentleperson's agreement' or original arrangement made for it to have been booked there concurrently with the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

The Film Forum on a Taiwan site
http://movie.cca.gov.tw/CINEMA/applivation_01_01.asp?rowid=43

Well, after practically living down on East Houston Street to see all those obscure Paramount Pre-Code films (many not even listed in the "Maltin Guide") the Summer/Fall schedule doesn't really float my boat. The big retro is a Samurai series, heavy on Kurosawa films. Not my cup of tea.

I agree. I might be there once in the next few months. For the Carman Miranda/Alice Faye film. Hope there are better films on tap on the Fall/Winter schedule.

A number of people seem to be disappointed with this summer film program. Especially after the Paramount.

If you look at the calendar there are only 2 weeks of classic Hollywood films for the entire Summer/Fall. The Seven Year Itch playing now and "The Gang's All Here" & "Cobra Woman" next month. (Both 1 week shows). I have no problem with a Samurai series because I know there are a lot of fans of those films. But I think more of the rest of the calendar could have been devoted to another classic Hollywood theme. 3 Hollywood films in 3 months is just not enough considering how many people buy memberships to the Film Forum. (Like myself.)

Yankee Mike-

I agree with you. While their repertory schedule is decent it's a bit on the inconsistent side. They need to bring back some of the programming they used to have. For some reason I remember more classic Holywood films and more sort of 'off the beaten path' Hollywood and foriegn stuff in the past at FF. I was at the 7pm "Gang's All Here"/"Cobra Woman" screening last night (Sunday) and it was completely sold out. I know "Gang's" is a hard one to come by and that's probably why there was such a good turn out, but since the early 90s New York has lacked good repertory film programing. It used to happen all the time, now it just comes in waves and it's dry until you get a Michael Powell festival at Walter Reade or a 'Before the Code' or a rare one like "Gang's All Here" at Film Forum. Back in the day you had Thalia Soho & Uptown, The Regency, The Biograph, Cinema Village, Theater 80 St. Mark's, The Public Theater, Bleecker Street Cinema, etc. all showing repertory. What happened?? Yeah..I know...home video, but does home video and DVD really replace the experience of seeing a film on the big screen? No way.
New York's film schedule should be more active than it is these days. If the screening at Film Forum last night is any indication, there is still an audience who would go out and pay for good revival film here in the city.

Right on, Irv. I haunted them all except for The Public Theater and the Bleecker Street Cinema. No, nothing will replace the ambience of a movie theater, the big screen, audience reaction. The Watts St. Film Forum seemed especially good that way, waiting outside on line, chatting with other fans, like kids queued up for a Saturday matinee, especially during the summer sci fi, fantasy and horror festivals.

Yeah, the old Watts St. Film Forum was great. the theaters and the screens were much bigger. Not to take anything away from the Houston St. Film Forum mind you. I remember seeing Godard's 'Two or Three Things I Know About Her' at the old Film Forum. It was in Cinemascope (or a comparable format) and the image was huge. Same for all the other 'Scope stuff they showed there. The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Festivals were great as well. Speaking of not being able to get the same experience on home video, how about all these great films I saw at the FF Sci-Fi and Fantasy's LSD Week. "The Big Cube" Lana Turner on acid! "Skidoo" Jackie Gleason on acid!!!!! "Taking Off" Buck Henry high on dope (ok that's not too surprising). What do these films have in common? You cannot go out and rent them. MAYBE 'Skidoo' is available in a bootleg or foreign release, but in general these films are hard to come by.

I wouldn't know WHERE to BEGIN looking for some of the films I've seen at Film Forum (anyone can find the Maysles' "Gimme Shelter", but what about "Islands" ?). Fortunately, the last film I saw at Film Forum, "Lenny Bruce : Swear To Tell The Truth", on 2 November 1998, I got from an e-friend last Sept. 9th because her brother had taped it off HBO digital cable.

I have a pretty good film collection on video but I always perfer to see a film on a screen with an audiance even if I could watch it at home. I have "The Gang's All Here" on a laser disc but I will still go see it at the Film Forum. Unfortunatly it will be the last film I see there untill October. (If the next program has some classic Hollywood films on it)

The right side theater of the old watts house had a wonderful cinemascope screen where the screen doubled in size. Now the screen is reduced by half when scope is done.
I know I keep whining about this but when is New York going to have a true widescreen theater to show classic films?

Vincent----my sentiments exactly. The Film Forum is a totally unacctable venue for scope/stereo films.

Hey Vincent-

I think the last time I saw a classic film in a great wide-screen room os when 'The Wild Bunch' had a revival screening a few years back at the Lincoln Square Loews Cineplex. I also recently saw 'North By Northwest' at The Paris. Shown in Vista Vision not 'Scope. Would love to see a film there in 'Scope.

Irv,
I saw it as well at the Lincoln Square and though I saw it a little later in the run and saw it at one of the smaller theaters it was still pretty good. Vistavision is probably great at the Paris. I wish they would get the major revivals like the Rialto films that have extended runs at FF. For instance revivals like Cherbourg, Rochefort,Contempt and Cabiria would have been great at the Paris.
The Gang's All Here as well!

Preach it Brother Vincent!

I missed 'Rebel Without A Cause' and '2001: A Space Odyssey' (in 70mm!!) at The Paris. There was a great screening of 'The Band Wagon' there also a few years ago.

Screen size can be a problem at FF. In the theater where they were showing "Gang's All Here" it was so packed that we had to sit in the back 6 rows or so. Seemed like the screen was a mile away. But regardless of the minor problems with Film Forum it is still a great place. I'll be there for 'Once Upon A Time In the West'. Hopefully The Paris wil continue it Saturday Midnight series with some wide-screen stuff.

Amen!
Despite my moaning and groaning about screen size it still is a great place(but not for widescreen.) Bruce and Steve are as I have mentioned above two reasons to live in New York at this moment in time if you love film.

I just checked the latest 'Film Forum" calender for Fall-Winter and there will not be a Hollywood film untill Dec.2. (Paths Of Glory) They are in the midst of a Samuri festival so in late Oct. the Forum is having another 4 week Japanese Film Festival! 5 months without classic Hollywood films is just not fair to people like myself who buy yearly memberships to the Film Forum. I think Mr. Goldstein is a great programer but he really should vary the programs more so nobody has to wait almost half a year to see a genre of film. 6 months of foriegn films is just not right.

Samurai festival on all three Film Forum screens ? Have you complained to Bruce Goldstein yet ?

If you look at the block ad here for New York Cinemas they were booking one screen of the old Film Forum. I thought at one time it may even have been booked by Walter Reade. The old FF deserves it's own listing since it was a totally seperate house.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Ads/makinglove.jpg

Looking at both the upcoming schedules for Film Forum and Loew's Jersey they are showing fewer and fewer classic Hollywood films and more and more cult movies which is especially unfortunate for the Loew's. The Monty Python film recently had a run in Manhattan and Strangelove is shown fairly regularly. Is there no more audience for the great old studio product? (The upcoming Godzilla and Red Death should be good but they showed the Abbott and Costello film a year or two ago.)

Vincent
I agree to me the Loew's is the perfect venue for classic Hollywood films.

Vincent, Robert:

You should make it up to my shows at the Lafayette in Suffern. A Hollywood classic every Saturday and the big HorrorThon this weekend.

Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre

I can vouch for the Lafayette. I took myself up there Saturday morning to see a sparkling b & w print of "The Road To Morocco." My only complaint was not seeing Dottie's name on the marquee ! Fond memories of technicolor musicals at the Biograph (with sheet music on the walls !) and Mae West at the Elgin. I wonder if anybody ever found that gorgeous white scarf I lost there that was given to me by my father's girlfriend Rita ? (The things we remember !) Radio City Music Hall ? I took my 4th grade class there in the '70's to see "1776", and they kept getting up for refreshments ! But they loved hearing the cast album in class. Film Forum had a jam-packed showing of the deathless "Cobra Woman." ("What have you got against Maria ? She was a GOOD WOMAN !!!") frankie from Brooklyn

A high school chum of mine saw "Night Of The Living Dead" and the Betty Boop Restrospective at the Elgin in Manhattan at 23rd and 8th in 1973 or 74.

Glad there are revivals, but the screens are smaller than TV monitors!

Not only are the screens small, but the sight lines are lousy. I guess stadium seating has spoiled me.

Meanwhile is anyone excited as I am about the Film Forum's next program? They are doing a 70-film retrospective called "B Noir" for six weeks starting May 5. I'll be making frequent treks down there. Some real obscurities that not only haven't I seen, but haven't even heard of.

Noir retros seem to do well and FF has done at least three for four of them since '92.

I also can't remember a retrospective being bigger than 70 films. I know rep houses in the city have done Hitchcock, Fassbinder, Bergman retros, but I don't think they've topped 70 films.

I wonder if the Film Forum is having money troubles. As a member I received a fundraising letter this week where the FF folks were lamenting the fact that many of the films they screen are not well attended.

I was down there the other night to see the only film in the Don Siegel retro I wanted to see and they are running a promotion where if you renew your membership in April or buy a membership you get a free soda and popcorn.

And one way I judge crowds at the FF is the number of "Village Voice" copies that remain. When the FF is well attended, you can't find a "Voice." But late Tuesday afternoon, the day the "Voice" comes out, it looked like no one took a Voice from the previous week so many remained.

I wonder how the Seigel retro drew? I caught all the films in a MoMA Siegel retro back in the 1990s' so I skipped it.

Film Forum needs to show some of the Paramount, Columbia, and United Artists product that TMC never seems to show. I think we'd all pay money for goodies not on TV or video. Too much repeating, TMC !!! And how about Dottie Lamour for star-of-the-month ??? Any Dottie fans out there ???

When FF screens older American films the attendance is always high. All the shows on the current Film Noir program have been well attended. Last year FF screened about 3 classic Hollywood films between July and December and I really think that was the reason for the drop in attendance last year.

I regularly attend the Film Forum and agree that the massive current series "B Noirs" (70 films) has been very well attended, but I don't think the tickets have been as tough to get as the Film Noir series they ran back in '92 that encompassed about 40 films.

I caught "Army of Shadows" when MoMA ran a Melville retro back in '96, but that is also doing real well at the Film Forum. I have seen the "sell out" sign for this film several times, including the 1 o'clock show yesterday when I was down there for a couple of the noir films.

What seems to really be a tough ticket is when FF runs films from the 1930s. All the cineastes come running. Last year's Paramount Pre-code series was even more packed than the current noir series.

About 10 years ago the FF screened a pre-code musical festival and almost every show was sold out. Silents do well also. I would guess the reason being these are films that are not available on home video or aired on cable.

The upcoming swashbuckling and Tashlin series look great. These are the kinds of films I always look for in the Loew's Jersey programming and always in vain. Gorgeous b and w classics and glossy 50's and 60's comedies and musicals.
To see Scarlet Pimpernel and Zenda in a movie palace!
If you were around in New York on their first release you got to see them at the Music Hall.

The forums have terrific programming, but I really don't like the theatres. Those columns, and terrible seats, sightlines etc. If someone tall sits in front of me I'm sunk.

I'm putting up nice movie material that relate to movie theatres including souvenir programs. check it out

http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/irajoel/

you can also visit my own website
www.cinemagebooks.com
to view more material.

Film Forum is presenting a 21 day Pre-Code Fox movie program this December. Expect big crowds to attend.

This is a photo of the Film Forum marquee.

Thanks, Lost Memory !

In a review yesterday of the 1949 movie "Shockproof," The New York Times claimed that its current engagement at the Film Forum is "its first New York run." What nonsense! In May and June, 1949, "Shockproof" was shown all over the Greater New York area, including the entire Loew's circuit, as the bottom half of a double-bill with another Columbia release, "The Return of October." In those days, very few people owned TV sets, so hundreds of thousands probably saw "Shockproof" during its engagements in the NYC area.

Here is a more recent photo.

Thanks, Lost Memory. What a good little theater to "trip" over, "shockproofed" or not !

The following is a must see event:
http://www.filmforum.org/films/warandpeace.html

http://www.mosfilm.ru/index.php?News=2007/0606_01&Lang=eng&SESS=8d28f55fbff7aea94df3582f2d2bc762
http://www.mosfilm.ru/index.php?News=2007/0606_01&Lang=rus&SESS=8d28f55fbff7aea94df3582f2d2bc762

In my ongoing communications with Alla Verlotsky, President of Seagull Films, distributor of the film, there are limited engagements throughout the US and I quote her: "...unfortunately print has to return to Russian at the end of January (2008)...".

Hope you all enjoy this epic at the Film Forum.

Wow - that will look really spectacular on their screen!

Bob, I don't know if you're trying to be funny about War and Peace looking spectacular at the Film Forum, but...while the image will be crisp and bright and the sound will be clear, the screens are so small, the seats a bit uncomfortable (one must suffer for art!)and the sightlines less than ideal, I would dread seeing a seven hour movie (in Russian!) at this house.

Will there be intermissions ?

I certainly hope so, then it will be just like seeing it when it was first released!

Do you know if they are selling advance tickets on a reserved seat basis? I want to be sure to get the "sweet spot" for this one.

IFA; please thank Ms. Verlotsky and Seagull Films for bringing this Roadshow Epic back to New York.

No, Bob Furmanek, I don't know if advance tickets are being sold. I usually bought my tickets one show in advance when I went there. Sometimes that wasn't soon enough, as for the 1931 "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" in spring 1988 or "Plan 9" in summer 1988.

I recall seeing Bernardo Bertolucci's Uncut 5 hour 11 minute, 2-Part Epic "1900" (Novecento) at the Film Forum in February 1991 and had no problem with screen size or seat comfort. Considering the magnitude of "War and Peace", having seen the 2-Part US edition several times during the 70mm-Stereo engagement at the former De Mille Theatre, 7th Ave and 47th St, NYC from April to October 1968, a hearty welcome for the original subtitled edition. In 1968, I was literally left emotionally exhausted by the powerful "Battle of Borodino" sequence from the section where Prince Bolkonsky faces death observing the swirling canon ball at his feet all the way through to the sweeping aerial photography of the battle leading the viewer being drawn further up into the tranquility of the clouds with the battle almost unnoticed below. The "Burning of Moscow" is another incredible sequence. The imagery and editing almost defies analysis as it has such a complex dynamic structure of editing, effects and that powerful music score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. I tried to break down the "Borodino" sequence into shots and camera angles and was moderately successful. Sergei Bondarchuk had to be a "beyond" genius artist to pull all of the elements together in a film that is almost impossible to forget. The last New York showing of the Russian language subtitled version of "War and Peace" was at the Museum of Modern Art in a tribute to the late Sergei Bondarchuk given from January 12-14, 1995. If the screen at the Film Forum is not the largest and the seats not the most plush and comfortable, I am willing to endure such shortcomings to see cinematic artistry at its finest. Each of the 2-Parts does have an intermission, making each segment 90 to 120 mins. Enjoy and be overwhelmned.

"Enjoy and be overwhelmned."

Amen to that!

Thank goodness they didn't book this Roadshow presentation into the Ziegfeld. They'd probably get the curtain cues all wrong!

The ad on the website says the tickets are going on sale 10/12. I don't think this theater has reserved (assigned) seats. The ad also says the two parts are being sold separately and that both have an intermission. You can see them both in one day, or on different days. Link posted above by IFA.

No curtains at Film Forum. What I call hi-tech/low tech.

No curtains at the Film Forum? That's too bad.

Well, at least it will be a visual treat to see the film in 70mm on the big screen. That format doesn't get revived often enough these days.

Bob, you sound so happy, but...although this War and Peace was filmed in 70mm, I don't think Film Forum has 70mm capabilities, at least not according to this list (and FF's promos don't mention it, either, AND, the screens ain't so big!) http://www.redballoon.net/current70mmus.html

You mean they're showing it in standard 35mm on a small screen?

Oh boy oh boy, that is a BIG disappointment.

Will this print be in color?

I guess we should just be glad it's being shown in New York at all. But, contrary to what Bob said, too bad it ISN'T playing the Ziegfeld. Like it or not, that's the only theater left in the city that can even come close to what the 1968 showings at the DeMille must have been like.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/DeMille.jpg

Other than for the "Higher" membership levels Film Forum does not sell reserved seats.

Surely, the introductory description of Film Forum as one of New York's "BEST theaters" refers to the film programming and not to the theatre itself. I'd rather stay home and watch a movie on DVD than subject myself to one of those cramped shoeboxes that pass for auditoriums. When they show a visual masterwork like "War and Peace" there, they're actually doing it a disservice!

A few comments/answers. The print being exhibited is a new 35mm widescreen (scope)-Stereo made from existing archival elements. Unfortunately, not all the materials for the original 70mm could be located for a new print in that film gauge. A film containing overture, Act One, intermission/interval, entr'acte/intermezzo, Act Two, epilogue/exit music is commonly known as a "specialty" film and can be roadshowed (selected cities and theatres with reserved seating, above average admission fees and extended exhibition engagements) as most where in the US, Canada, UK and worldwide capital cities. This is, of course, a "specialty" film being exhibited without the hard ticket/reserved seat procedure. Yes, the selected cities nationwide that will have the limited engagements qualify the film as a basic roadshow. The basic leasing fee for exhibition of this new print is $1,200 per single performance. With that in mind, it is a wonder that Clearview did not engage this epic for the Ziegfeld Theatre on 54th Street as Walter Reade, Jr. exhibited his US version at his theatre in May 1970 and again, in conjuction with the American television premiere (4 nights) on ABC-TV in August 1972. To date, the original 70mm American cut has not been located following a two and a half decade search worldwide. The only available facsimile of this cut is from the video tapes releases of 1982 (TVS) and 1988-2000 (Kultur) mastered from the former Walter Reade 16 (16mm non-theatrical Division) print and is missing the overture, intermission, exit music sections and the character introductions to Part Two. The transfer of the print to tape edited the endings for the 2 parts (4 sections) without the proper cuts that should have ended each tape in the original 4-tape editions. I am not familiar with the Ziegfeld projection standards and there could be a mishap in exhibition if any of you have noticed such happening in past presentation of product. I have directed Alla Verlotsky, Seagull Films, to this website to view all relative comments and suggestions and dissatisfactions as to theatre and screen size, comfort during the theatre going experience and professional presentation (use of curtains). Regardless of the shortcomings, WAR AND PEACE is a wonder to behold. Perhaps, at some distant time, which at the moment seems unlikely, contracts can be written for the return of this masterwork and targeted for the Ziegfeld Theatre. For anyone still wishing to settle for RUSCICO DVD release, use a DLP projector and throw it on a 15-25 foot screen with appropriate sound system and get blown away by the power of this mega opus. Enjoy.

The Lafayette Theater in Suffern, New York does fantastic presentations of classic films, complete with curtains, footlights, overtures, and all the bells/whistles which make for the total Classic Movie Experience. Plus they have a great sound system and a truly big screen.

It's not in New York City - but Ms. Verlotsky would truly showcase this important film in a grand movie palace if she secured a booking at this showplace!

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2897/

Thank you for the suggestion to utilize the Lafayette in Suffern, NY for a screening of WAR AND PEACE. I have reviewed the Cinema Treasures page on the theatre and find great enthusiasm among the commentors and patrons of the establishment. It appears the indivdiual, Peter Apruzzese, takes great pride in his accomplishments, is a very dedicated cinema enthusiast and follows a high level of professional cinema presentation for the public, and no doubt himself, to enjoy. I will be checking booking dates and will forward, Mr. Apruzzese, available dates, should he be interested in a one time exhibition that will not conflict with the Film Forum presentation.

I appreciate you suggestion, Mr. Furmanek.

The Film Forum will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the original KING KONG for one day only on Sunday March 2, 2008, with two shows only. There will be a Fay Wray scream-alike contest following the first show.

1 pm and 4 pm.

Had a GREAT time watching "King Kong" on the big screen, and the post-film-scream-fest was lots of fun. A young girl won the Fay Wray scream-alike contest ,beating almost twenty women (and at least one guy!) for the top prize. The whole thing was a blast....except for a couple of small (literally) things:
One, it would be nice to have the lights in the theatre a little brighter than the Stygian darkness we got for the contest. I could barely make out who was who from my fourth row seat!
And , since i haven't been to the Forum after the new seats were installed, my body got quite a surprise squeezing into the seats between the hip-pinching cupholders on either side that were installed. I'm 6 foot tall ,180 lbs. and they felt very uncomfortable....I can imagine what my bigger-boned movie brethren might go through! Cupholders are great for a bigger auditorium , but for our little (and , one of the last ) sacred shrines to Yesteryear's classics, I think we could've done without them .

anyway, thanks to Mr. Goldstein and company,and to the wonderful talents that made this afternoon possible!

"Big screen" being a relative term, of course, especially seeing as how King Kong premiered at Radio City.

For those who missed King Kong at the Film Forum , the historic 1000-seat Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, New York will be showing it on Saturday, March 15 at 11:30am as part of its spring Big Screen Classics series.

Well, saps,anything compared to my good old (non hd) tv set would qualify as "big screen " for ME.....relatively speaking, that is.

And thanks for the heads up Mr. Apruzzese, I will definitely be there come the fifteenth!

They recently put new seats in, their worst then the old ones. Their very tight if your big. They must of got them from Clearview.

Having just completed a first reading of the entire Film Forum blog, I think we've reached a concensus or two:
1. We're all in agreement that the programming surpasses the modest, artless, somewhat uncomfortable auditoriums with their smallish screens.
2. Everyone is grateful that Film Forum 2 survives as a revival house 25 years after home video killed off nearly every rep house in the country.
3. It's interesting that Film Forum devotes two of its screens (the largest and smallest, I believe, if they're numbered in sequence of capacity), to obscure new releases from around the world, including a lot of movies that otherwise would have no arthouse/specialty house booking at the tonier theaters (Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza). And yet ...
4) Despite the fact Film Forum 1 plays exclusively new arthouse releases and FF 3 tends to pick up moveovers from FF 1 (though sometimes from FF 2), at least 90 percent of the comments on this blog are about reissues/classics and festivals of such.
5) It may not satisfy the nonprofit status of Film Forum to alter its programming balance, but couldn't there be even greater concentration on oldies than on new pictures? In other words, why not have the Sidney Lumet festival running in FF 2 while the United Artists Festival is in FF 3 and give many of the pictures an extra day or two? We'll all probably go to our graves wishing Frank Rowley still had a rep house to program.

Actually FF2 & FF3 are both used to screen revivals. Silent and academy ratio films are screened in FF2 and widescreen films in FF3. Sometimes FF2 also will screen a widescreen film. The recent UA Festival was screened in both FF2 & FF3. On rare occasions revivals have also been screened in FF1.

Thanks for the clarification, YankeeMike. I'm an out-of-towner who subscribes ($25, I think, every so often) to the slick schedules for FF 1 and FF 2 and read every word on the FF 2 schedules, which I are more interesting to me because the movies are usually old favorites. I'm almost positive I've noticed that the more popular FF 1 movies sometimes move over to FF 3 for extended engagements, but I'll concede it happens regularly for FF 2 revivals to move over ("Last Year at Marienbad," "Contempt," etc.). Did the recent UA festival really play in full - concurrently - on FF 3 as well as FF 2, or are you referring to the fact that four or five of the more successful UAtitles moved over to FF 3 as single features afterward ("Annie Hall," "Last Tango in Paris," "Thieves Like Us," etc.)?
As far as I know, the main means of finding out what's at FF 3 is to check the log calendar on FF's web site. I can't remember ever seeing, or receiving in the postal mail, a printed version of the FF 3 schedule.

What's confusing you is that the slick schedules are for Premiere & Reporatory films. Not FF 1,2,3. While the screening times are listed there is no listing of which theatre the film will be screened in. I live in NY and am a FF member and usually you do not know which theatre a film is being screened in until you actually buy your ticket. Say a premiere film is being shown for 2 weeks. Since the 3 theatres have different capacities that film could be switched between FF 1,2 & 3 on different days depending on how popular another film being scheduled on the same day is. By the way my favorite theatre is FF 2.

So, it's like most multiplexes in that respect, Mike. I understand now. When multiplexes were new to Pittsburgh in the 1970s, movies would be advertised as to the specific auditorium they were in (Showcase East #3, etc.). Almost from opening day, though, they started renumbering the auditoriums from day to day so that if you were to see "Silent Movie," advertised as being in #4, it would be in an auditorium labeled #4 when you arrived, but #4 moved up and down the corridor from largest to smallest. Not too long after, they stopped specifying the numbers altogether. FF may not re-label its auditoriums from day to day - or ever, but management may move the movies around from day to day. I can honestly say that in maybe 20 visits to the current FF, the movies were always where I expected them to be (I knew the three auditoiums well), but that may have been a matter of chance. I always regretted I could not make time to see the revivals. I was in NYC to review theater and all the new film releases I could squeeze in. Just didn't have the time to catch the classics there.

Reel food for real foodies:http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2008/05/26/2008-05-26_with_movie_ticket_prices_rising_get_the_-2.html?page=2

Anyone go to see "The President's Analyst" at the Forum yet? If so, how was the print?

The Watts Street Film Forum closed its doors on September 4, 1989. It reopened at its current Houston Street location on September 5, 1990. I think it kicked off its news diggs with, among other offerings, a Preston Sturges retro.

Thanks for the info, hardbop. I last attended the Watts Street Film Forum on Wednesday August 30th 1989. You say it closed its doors on September 4, 1989, yet the summer 1989 program, which I have open in front of me as I type this, shows the summer fantasy, horror and sci fi festival continuing through Thursday September 21 1989.

I didn't attend Film Forum at all in 1990, and wasn't sure what had happened to it that year, mostly concerned about the summer f h and s f festival. I first attended the Houston Street location in late August 1991 for the tail end of the summer 1991 fantasy, horror and sci fi festival : a Hammer / Lee / Cushing double feature of "Horror Of Dracula" and "Curse Of Frankenstein".

Frank Rowley had slightly larger houses to deal with and was great with old Hollywood films. I loved his progamming.
Does anybody know what he is doing now?
And he had curtains! Does anybody today know what those are?
The only naked thing which is obscene is a movie screen.

Film Forum programming ain't chopped liver either but I if only they had movie theaters to show their films in. A screen in a black box is like kids in a basement with a sheet and projector. Professional it ain't. Why did Roxy even bother?

I love it when they trumpet scope films and they aren't much bigger than what you would see on TCM on a 36 inch TV. And they only use a portion of the screen. In actuality they are smaller than films in 1.33 or 1.85 ratios!
Talk about caveat emptor.
When do you think they'll have a 70mm fesival?
Personally I am waiting for a 3 screen Cinerama salute.
Of course they'll have to do one screen in each theater for that.

Leon is right, sad to say. I'll never forget how disappointed I was when the new Film Forum opened and I saw how small that screen really was, especially compared to the ones in the old Film Forum.

I know. It just isn't the same, or as much fun as, the Watts Street Film Forum. I was last there on 2 November 1998 to see "Lenny Bruce : Swear To Tell The Truth".

You say it closed its doors on September 4, 1989, yet the summer 1989 program, which I have open in front of me as I type this, shows the summer fantasy, horror and sci fi festival continuing through Thursday September 21 1989.

That's the info I have and I pulled it out of the Times. It is a good question. I wonder if they interrupted that series? I remember how those summer series were real popular at FF and they finally decided to stop screening them in the early 1990s. It caused a big to-do and as a FF member I remember receiving a letter from them explaining why they stopped the series.

Frank Rowley had slightly larger houses to deal with and was great with old Hollywood films. I loved his progamming.
Does anybody know what he is doing now?

A few years ago -- more than a few years ago now that I think about it -- I saw him working at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. I haven't seen him there for several years now so I don't know if he is still there or I've missed him when I've been there.

I don't know where Frank Rowley is or what he's doing now.

I DO know that there were summer fantasy, horror and sci fi festivals at the West Houston Street Film Forum in 1991 and 1992. I was there and saw some of them.

Ok, I'll be the spoiler.

In spite of all the good intentions, near the end, Frank's programming at the Biograph was delivering some of the worst grosses in the Cineplex Odeon chain. Say what you may about CO, they never walked away from a profitable venture and dwindling revival audiences were not even covering the costs of the new 35mm prints.

It is our good fortune in NY that the tiny Film Forum can meet current the demand without the melancholy burden of profit.

The Film Forum was forced to close during their SciFi festival. When the Forum reopened I believe they continued with the festival at the current location.

This is a January 2009 photo.

YankeeMike, when was Film Forum forced to close its 57 Watts St. location ? Summer 1990 ? The last summer Sci Fi festival I attended was 1989.

I believe it was 1991 or 1992.

Thanks, YM. Must have been 1991, because it was in business at its present location, 209 W. Houston, in August 1991.

Renewing link.

The Film Forum.

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=new+york&catpageindex=25&catpagesize=25&ProductID=30998

This picture is of the Film Forum at it's previoius location.

mhvbear, is it the Watts Street location?

Yes this is the Watts Street Location.

I agree with all the comments about screen size at FF. But with real estate prices the way they are in Manhattan, I'm sure the staff had a business plan for costs/size that would allow them to do what they do. They are a non-profit after all, and seem to be a well run one at that. And for all the sell-out shows, I've also been to many sparsely attended in those small theaters.

Some of the programming that always had me returning to the Film Forum were the early SciFi/Horror Festivals, Swashbucklers and Vintage 007......

Will these type of programs be returning at any time in the near future?

Here is a recent photo.