Went here once in late 1978 or early 1979 to see “Superman.” (At the time my military parents were stationed at nearby Fort Ord and Salinas had the nearest shopping mall that my mother liked.) I don’t recall much about the theater other than it was at the mall but not in the mall and four screens in one complex (at the time) seemed crazy.
My military parents were stationed at Fort Irwin 1982-85 during which time as a teenager I attended numerous movies here. It was a single-screener then.
The reporter in the video rivest266 posted August 16th recalls seeing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” or “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” at the Continental in June 1982. Neither of those movies played the Continental, so he is misremembering or fabricating. “The Sword and the Sorcerer” was playing the Continental when those two opened, and the ensuing ‘82 bookings at the Continental were lengthy runs of “Author! Author!,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” and “The Verdict.”
This theater complex has (or had) 5-perf 70mm. I don’t see it noted on ridethectrain’s 12/24/24 comment which highlighted the formats and seat count of each auditorium in the complex. (They ran 70s of “The Hateful Eight” and Dunkirk.”) Is this capability still present?
June 26th … Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Louisville, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Rochester, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Toledo, Washington DC
June 27th … Dallas
June 28th … Albuquerque, Charlotte, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, Montreal, New Orleans, Toronto
July 3rd … Austin, Sacramento, San Antonio
July 10th … Omaha, Salt Lake City
July 12th … Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Vancouver
My parents were stationed at Ledward Barracks in Schweinfurt 1979-82; I was there with them during ’79 and most of ’80, plus a summer visit in ‘81. I have fond memories of seeing “Superman” (for the second time), “Moonraker” (my first 007), “Goin’ Coconuts” (hey, who didn’t love Donny & Marie during the late 70s!), “Battlestar Galactica,” “1941,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” “The Jerk,” “Revenge of the Pink Panther,” "Tilt,” “More American Graffiti.” A bunch of Disney: "Mary Poppins,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Black Hole,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Cat from Outer Space,” etc. A steady stream of revival/re-issue bookings: “Jaws,” "American Graffiti,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” etc. And some R-rated movies I suspect my parents regret taking me to: “Apocalypse Now,” “The Deer Hunter,” "Slap Shot,” and "Saturday Night Fever.”
This theater made the news due to being shipped an incomplete print of “Return of the Jedi.” They were sent two Reel 2’s and no Reel 4 and didn’t receive a Reel 4 until later that day. They started the first screening knowing they had an incomplete print. Imagine that first show audience’s reaction of experiencing the end of Reel 3 (the very beginning of the speeder bike sequence) transitioning to the start of Reel 5 (Luke talking to Leia at the Ewok village)!
Joe Vogel wrote: “The Madison is listed in a 1968 ad for Norelco as one of 341 theaters that had installed that company’s 35/70mm projection equipment.”
Bryn Mawr Film Institute recently installed a 70mm projection system. The first announced 70mm booking is Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” which screens April 25,26,27,28.
Scott Neff: Thank you for the information. In my 70mm Presentations in Reno article I cite a figure of 968 seats in the original “21” (later “7”) auditorium.
In what year did the fourth screen open?
Went here once in late 1978 or early 1979 to see “Superman.” (At the time my military parents were stationed at nearby Fort Ord and Salinas had the nearest shopping mall that my mother liked.) I don’t recall much about the theater other than it was at the mall but not in the mall and four screens in one complex (at the time) seemed crazy.
Several images of movie schedules from 1982-83 from my collection have been posted in the Photos section.
Previous name: Fort Irwin Army Theater
My military parents were stationed at Fort Irwin 1982-85 during which time as a teenager I attended numerous movies here. It was a single-screener then.
Phoenix Theatres announced 70mm will be installed at Great Northern Mall 10.
The reporter in the video rivest266 posted August 16th recalls seeing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” or “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” at the Continental in June 1982. Neither of those movies played the Continental, so he is misremembering or fabricating. “The Sword and the Sorcerer” was playing the Continental when those two opened, and the ensuing ‘82 bookings at the Continental were lengthy runs of “Author! Author!,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” and “The Verdict.”
At least one auditorium was equipped with Dolby and 70mm projection. (They played “Hoffa” in 70mm.)
References: 70mm Presentations in Tampa Bay: A Chronology of 70mm Large Format Exhibition, 1958-Present and Hoffa: The 70mm Engagements.
This ad is not from July 10, 1985. The Wednesday mentioned in the ad was July 10, but the ad is actually from July 7.
The 70mm presentations at this theater were “Stakeout” (1987), “Empire of the Sun” (1987), “The Abyss” (1989), and “Hoffa” (1992).
Reference: 70mm Presentations in New York City: A Chronology of Large Format Exhibition, 1955-Present
This theater complex has (or had) 5-perf 70mm. I don’t see it noted on ridethectrain’s 12/24/24 comment which highlighted the formats and seat count of each auditorium in the complex. (They ran 70s of “The Hateful Eight” and Dunkirk.”) Is this capability still present?
m00se1111:
The “Chinatown” rollout in North America….
June 20th … New York City
June 21st … Los Angeles
June 26th … Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Louisville, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Rochester, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Toledo, Washington DC
June 27th … Dallas
June 28th … Albuquerque, Charlotte, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, Montreal, New Orleans, Toronto
July 3rd … Austin, Sacramento, San Antonio
July 10th … Omaha, Salt Lake City
July 12th … Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Vancouver
July 19th … Denver
August 21st … Honolulu
And on and on and on….
If you consider the invitational preview, then the actual opening date is August 8th, 1962.
It isn’t mentioned in the grand-opening advertisement, but this theater complex was equipped for 70mm presentations on (at least) one screen.
In that April/May 1970 festival of 70mm, by the time they got to the final week, “The Bible” had been replaced with “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Remove the unnecessary dash in the theater name, please.
My parents were stationed at Ledward Barracks in Schweinfurt 1979-82; I was there with them during ’79 and most of ’80, plus a summer visit in ‘81. I have fond memories of seeing “Superman” (for the second time), “Moonraker” (my first 007), “Goin’ Coconuts” (hey, who didn’t love Donny & Marie during the late 70s!), “Battlestar Galactica,” “1941,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” “The Jerk,” “Revenge of the Pink Panther,” "Tilt,” “More American Graffiti.” A bunch of Disney: "Mary Poppins,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Black Hole,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Cat from Outer Space,” etc. A steady stream of revival/re-issue bookings: “Jaws,” "American Graffiti,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” etc. And some R-rated movies I suspect my parents regret taking me to: “Apocalypse Now,” “The Deer Hunter,” "Slap Shot,” and "Saturday Night Fever.”
This theater made the news due to being shipped an incomplete print of “Return of the Jedi.” They were sent two Reel 2’s and no Reel 4 and didn’t receive a Reel 4 until later that day. They started the first screening knowing they had an incomplete print. Imagine that first show audience’s reaction of experiencing the end of Reel 3 (the very beginning of the speeder bike sequence) transitioning to the start of Reel 5 (Luke talking to Leia at the Ewok village)!
Joe Vogel wrote: “The Madison is listed in a 1968 ad for Norelco as one of 341 theaters that had installed that company’s 35/70mm projection equipment.”
The Madison cited in that Norelco ad is the one in Huntsville, Alabama, not the Arkansas one that is the subject of this page.
Markland Mall is included in my articles on “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 1968 and 1974 as well as in my 70mm-equipped Cinemas in North America as of 1970 listing.
Thank you for mentioning the missing 70mm run of “Hello, Dolly!” I’ll have it added to that article sometime soon.
Bryn Mawr Film Institute recently installed a 70mm projection system. The first announced 70mm booking is Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” which screens April 25,26,27,28.
Opened June 15, 1966.
Scott Neff: Thank you for the information. In my 70mm Presentations in Reno article I cite a figure of 968 seats in the original “21” (later “7”) auditorium.
The actual opening date is October 6, 1983.
“Star Wars” enjoyed a 26-week run here in 1977. Anyone know if 26 weeks is the long-run record for this venue or the Monterey Bay region?