Museum of the Moving Image
35th Avenue at 37th Street,
Astoria,
NY
11106
35th Avenue at 37th Street,
Astoria,
NY
11106
3 people
favorited this theater
Located in Queens, in part of the former Astoria Studios, which were founded in 1920 by Jesse Lasky and Adolf Zukor for their Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (known as Paramount from 1927). Films made at the Astoria Studios include: D.W. Griffith’s “Sally of the Sawdust” starring W.C. Fields, Rudolph Vanentino in "Monsieur Beaucaire" and "The Sainted Devil", "Glorifying the American Girl", the 4 Marx Brothers in "Cocoanuts" and "Animal Crackers", Paul Robson in "The Emperor Jones".
The studio’s were little used after World War II, and in 1976, were declared a National Historic Monument. In 1983, it was taken over and expanded by real estate developer George S. Kaufman. Known as the Kaufman-Astoria Studios, films such as "The Wiz", "All That Jazz", "Fort Apache, The Bronx", "Arthur", "Ishtar, "Radio Days", "The Money Pit", “The Secret of My Success" and "Radio Days” were all filmed here. The Kaufman-Astoria Studios has also hosted recordings of "The Cosby Show", "Sesame Street" & "Whoopie".
The American Museum of the Moving Image was opened in one of the studio buildings on the Astoria lot in 1988. The museum exhibits many artifats from the Astoria Studio, and had a 200-seat movie theatre and a 60-seat screening room.
In 2008, it was closed for a refurbishment, and re-opened January 5, 2011. The movie theatre now seats 264 and has a large 50 foot amphitheatre screen. The screening room now seats 71.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Registering.
Looks like they had issues with the screening of “2001” last Saturday in 70MM. They had a focus issue and had to stop the show 3 times. The print is a new print with just afew runs from a Toronto engagement.
A friend who was there for both 70mm shows (Playtime and 2001) said the focus problem was also present during the Playtime screening. Between shows, they apologized and said that they were trying to work out the problem. One of the two projectors was having the focus problem, so his description of the day’s screening boiled down to “every other reel looked great”.
Sounds like a lens problem on one projector.
So they only run reel to reel there? Or do they have a platter that is used for 35mm? I’m glad to hear they run 70MM and have a full sized screen. I’ve been hesitant to catch any screenings here because I’ve suspected the room and screen would be undersized. How is the sound system? Has anyone here attended a screening since the renovations?
In my opinion, the main auditorium is the best current screen in the United States! I saw “The Tree of Life” here in digital with legendary Visual Effects Supervisor Douglas Trumbull in attendance for intro and Q&A. I got there late and had my photography equipment in tow. So, I watched the film from the front row of the upper section, seated in one of the far-left seats. So, quite an angle! But, the picture was blow-you-away incredible! Mr. Trumbull was kind-of cranky, but this made for one of my all-time greatest film experiences!
Photos of Museum of the Moving Image from February 2012.