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Once in a lifetime film event at the restored Plaza Theatre in El Paso Texas
posted by
philbertgray
on
August 15, 2008 at 9:15 am
EL PASO, TX — A once in a lifetime event is being held at the beautifully restored Plaza Theatre. Sixty four classic films are being screened now through August 24th. Classics from every period include “Casablanca”, “King Kong”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Singin' in the Rain”, “North by Northwest”, “Giant”, “The Exorcist”, “Frankenstein”, “An Affair to Remember”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Bonnie and Clyde” and “2001 A Space Odyssey.”
The cost of the screenings range from $2.00 to $6.00. For a full list of films see The schedule at the Plaza Theatre website The screenings will be split between the main restored theatre and the adjacent smaller auditorium built in a style reminiscent of the original auditorium.
Also check out an extensive gallery of photos before and after the restoration. The restoration is absolutely remarkable.
Comments (7)
That’s a terrific line-up of films, and it’s nice to see them taking a chance with some unusual titles.
MANOS-HANDS OF FATE? Wow, I wish I could see that one on the big screen!
Sounds like a great series…it ALMOST makes me want to make a return trip to El Paso even though I now live 1200 miles away! As a young GI stationed at Fort Bliss in 1961 and 1962 I have fond memories of that old theater, it’s huge auditorium and the Wurlitzer pipe organ that was played during intermission on Sunday nights when in addition to the regular feature you saw a “Major Studio Sneak Preview”, usually the next attraction at the Plaza or one coming very soon. I’m delighted to know that grand movie palace (as well as the Wurlitzer!) is still there, has been restored and is still playing movies…at least on special occasions such as this!
I noticed there’s no pictures of the projection booth after the restoration. Are they showing these classics on 35mm film or have they gone the video route?
Hi, Ken…
Found this info in the “FAQ” section of the website…
Are you showing actual films?
Yes (and no). We are very pleased to be showing exclusively 35mm film prints of all titles listed in The Plaza Theatre. We’ve worked hard to procure the best available film prints of each title and we’re pleased that the major Hollywood Studios have provided us with mostly archival film prints.
In the New Philanthropy Theatre, we will be presenting digital screenings of all titles listed for this venue.
Great point about the source used to show some of the films. I assumed that all prints would be 35mm. Looks like some of the presentations in the Philanthropy Theatre may be projections from DVDs. I have never seen a film being projected using a DVD source but I would think the quality would be substantially degraded when enlarged to an auditorium sized screen. Am I right?
And hey Bob Furmanek I sent you an email regarding some questions about the conversion of classic 3D films to digital but I never heard back from you. Did you get the mail? my email address is Would love to hear your thoughts about re-mastering some of the 50s classic 3D films to digital,
Although I live pretty much on the opposite side of the country, it sounds beautiful. It’s great that they managed to get a new print of “Bonnie & Clyde”. Here’s hoping that “Bonnie and Clyde” comes east, too.
I also might add that it looks like a beautifully palatial movie theatre. Way to go.