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Singin' in the Rain 60th Anniversary screenings
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
June 26, 2012 at 7:45 am
In honor of its 60th, “Singin' in the Rain” is coming back to theaters on July 12th. Fathom Events in conjunction with TCM is staging it with an introduction by Robert Osborne and a special interview with Debbie Reynolds.
Get more details on Broadway World.
Comments (4)
It will be interesting to see if older films like this, as great as they are but now frankly sort of overexposed with showings on cable TV, DVD & Blu-ray releases as well as streaming, can still draw an audience at the multiplex. You also have to consider that younger audiences think cinema history started with “Star Wars”. At least this one is in color! “Singin' in the Rain” will be playing in six greater Sacramento area multiplexes with a sort of steep adult ticket price of $12.50 (even for the 2 PM matinee).
Cinemark is doing a summer series of classic films on Wednesdays at select theatres. “Citizen Kane”, “Cool Hand Luke”, “That’s Entertainment”, “North by Northwest”, “The Searchers” and others. Regular ticket prices appear to apply to this series. I’m going to see “The Searchers” here in Roseville CA tomorrow 06/27. I vividly remember how stunning it looked in 35mm VistaVision IB Technicolor and anxious to see how it measures up with digital projection. I’m also curious to see how big of an audience it will draw.
If if there isn’t publicity in the media, it may not do well. I’ve enjoyed a 35mm print at the Colonial in Phoenixville. Is this one 2 k or a lesser format? Originally 35mm, the only way I want to see it.
ugh – I hate the picture quality of Fathom Events.
the screening of this at the recent LA TCM Film Festival was 4K DCP – and from what I’ve read was pretty stunning looking.
as for the Cinemark screenings, thankfully they book and present the films from higher encoded DCP hard drives.
Only twelve people including myself and my wife were at the 2:00 pm showing of “The Searchers” at Century 14 in Roseville CA which pretty much confirmed my previous assertion, that there really isn’t much of a market for older films nowadays. Cinemark hasn’t really promoted this series much but I’m not sure any amount of promotion would work. These films are just too widely available on other visual media and the generally older audience that would most appreciate them is dwindling. I’d be surprised if we see a similar series in the future.
The visual quality of the digitally transferred and projected “The Searchers” itself looked very good but not great in my opinion. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve last seen it in 35mm VistaVision but I seem to recall the image being sharper and the Technicolor more saturated on film. When I got home I immediately put on my Blu-ray of the film (probably from the same HD digital transfer) and that too appeared to have a slight edge over Cinemark’s presentation.
It was still a thrill seeing John Ford’s masterpiece on the big screen again where those beautifully photographed Monument Valley panoramas look particularly impressive. I’m glad I went and thank Cinemark for at least giving this oldies series a chance.