Town & Country Theater

Seeing “Die Hard” here in 70mm was truly an EXPERIENCE that I am forever grateful I was able to have.

I saw “Altered States” there in 1981, projected in 70mm. The projection booth door was right beside the left entrance, and the projectionist left his door open for people to see the equipment. I struck up a conversation and was allowed to be inside for picture start-up. A Disney cartoon “Chips Ahoy” preceded the feature. It had been blown-up to 70mm so that no projector change-over was needed. This experience was truly an example of someone who was proud of his work.

Saw Krakato East of Java there and Herbie The Love Bug for 8 straight weeks .My father was the projectionist there Tom Taylor when I was young and mom was fed up with me i was sent to work with my Dad and yes Herbie played for 8 straight weeks not a fun summer but the memories will never go

I saw Die Hard, Top Gun and Superman here…. It had the best presentation back in the day, before AMC bought it and ruined its reputation. On the issue of the 21, 22 and 23 theaters closing across the street- With some serious funding from some serious supporters, the Century 21 could become a class act entertainment destination in the heart of the Silicon Valley once again. With some minor changes to the exterior, lobby and auditorium and a few major changes to the projection booth and screen, this theatre has the potential to be a first-run, 3D digital movie theatre, a one-of-a-kind single-screen IMAX venue and even a Cinerama-capable auditorium (as it was originally constructed to be) all in one. Just see what Paul Allen did for Seattle’s Cinerama Theatre and what the Pacific Theatre chain did for the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The developers even built around that one and both sides won. The issue here is that we have wealthy corporate executives and we have dedicated, film-lovers who appreciate what these screens were in the past, what they are today and what they could be in the future. The problem that we face is that we do not have both qualities in the same person who is willing to swoop down and save the day, like Superman did for me in 1978 (another classic film I watched at these domes – technically across the street at Town & Country, which was still considered to be a part of the old “Block” Century Theatres complex).

FOX TOWN AND COUNTRY THEATRE was originally owned by National General Theatres.It was sold to CENTURY THEATRES in the early 70’s when Mann took over and sold or closed all the Bay Area theatres under the FOX/NATIONAL GENERAL banner.

I worked at the T&C for a few years in the 80’s. I remember both Top Gun and The Natural each played there for seven months. Do any theaters keep a movie for more than two weeks?

Anyway, it had a fantastic curved ‘ribbon screen’. Instead of a single curved piece of material, it was a series of hundreds of 1.5" ribbons that slightly overlapped in a curve. The depth in that screen was amazing. I saw Out of Africa there and went to see it again at another theater (why I would see that again, I can’t remember) and it looked so flat! However, if the A/C blew too hard, it caused the ribbons to shift and it looked as if there were scratches in the film.

T&C had these amazing Norelco projectors. The most forgiving and quiet projector ever. They ran reel-to-reel until Century Theatres took over. However, they left the second projector up—so we actually had a backup projector!

When AMC came in they put in this small screen that they hyped as “the largest Torus compound screen west of the Mississippi.” (Whatever that was.) It looked like crap. Across the street were two 40 x 80 screens and there answer was to put in a 20 x 40 in the same space? When Mann and Century showed films in Scope, the picture practically went ceiling to floor and wall to wall. Look at that picture at the top, it’s practically a quarter of what T&C had before AMC.

Also, AMC had no idea how to run a single-screen. It was total culture shock for them. It was a slow, sad decline for such a great theatre.

There was a Town and Country Cinema in Sunnyvale on Murphy Ave which showed second-run fare until 1975, when it showed hard porn until closing. Does anybody have more info on that theater?

It was owned by a number of companies. I believe it opened as the Fox Town and Country under Mann Theatres, and consisted of yellow seats, yellow carpeting and yellow interior lighting.

It later briefly became the Century Town and Country when Syufy owned it, and finally AMC Town and Country at the time of its closing. I possess the two large FOX signs from its earlier days.

I saw the first screening when AMC took over (“North By Northwest” for the press), and the final screening the night before it closed. And I got in and took some pictures and footage the day after it closed. (They were already removing the seats and the concessions stand had been demolished.)

It was one of the last three big screens in San Jose. The others remain across the street at Century 21 and 22.

Ironically, the last movie which ran there was “Romeo Must Die”, starring Jet Li.

From the ashes…. Syufy, owners of the Century chain of theaters, is slated to open a multiplex in the new complex, named Santana Row. These theaters will compete with the Camera Cinemas in showing foreign and independent releases.

In 2001, the entire Town and Country Village Shopping Center, which included this theatre, was demolished for a new development.