AFI Silver Theatre
8633 Colesville Road,
Silver Spring,
MD
20910
8633 Colesville Road,
Silver Spring,
MD
20910
24 people
favorited this theater
Showing 226 - 250 of 374 comments
In70mm reports a 70mm festival here. Unfortunately, the hyperlink just goes back to the theater webpage. No information as of yet. Not even on the calendar. Someone is in the know and is not telling…hopefully, we’ll have some decent sci-fi this time. There is a new print of 2001 in 70mm. I suspect that will be booked yawn again.
the ‘Lawrence’ re-release is to coincide with the bluray release (street date TBA but rumoured later this year).
As for ‘Hello, Dolly!’ – I thought this second presentation I saw looked better, in terms of color. although there is still an abrupt odd cut in the opening store scene between Barnaby and Cornelius.
I agree I thought the sound seemed a bit off, notably the surrounds being rather non-present. I also thought the treble from the front speakers was a tad too bright at times. In terms of the audio, Todd-AO sound and most 6-track sound at the time was five front channels plus mono surround, so yes, the music and dialogue has a wide directional presense.
I was lucky this time and was able to catch the 70mm version of ‘Hello Dolly.’ Not surprisingly, there were quite a few patrons in spite of the bad weather. I do not recall seeing the film in its entirety even when it would run on tv, specifically, ABC’s movie of the week, in the 70s. Overall, we had a good time watching this classic.
The film looked quite good. Colors were bright but I did notice some contrasting dark parts around the perimeter of the movie in some parts. For example, during the parade scene, you could see the vibrant colors of the costuming, particularly nice bright reds. Yet, if you look at the sky above, it was grey as if a storm were approaching. Not sure if it was just the source negative that faded, but you’d expect color correction if the print was from a digital source, as is with the newer restorations.
Sound was decent as well. I noticed in the beginning when Walter Matthau’s character talked and moved to the left, his voice travelled ‘following him.’ I didn’t notice surrounds though. It seemed as if everything played from the screen. Was this the way the film originally played in the same 6-track format? Or, was the surround switch turned off from the projection booth. :)
The best 70mm presentations I have experienced, even if the film’s story is bad, at least treated one to an immersion of sight and sound, with the surround track and booms. Being a musical, I expected to be surrounded by orchestral instruments with Streisand’s voice filling up the auditorium.
As to the summer 70mm festival, I did send in my suggestion but received no response, as usual. I suspect when they do get to running it, it will be the usual films like 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia, which according to a recent posting on in70mm.com, is to have a celebratory anniversary re-release soon.
I plan on seeing Dolly again, the prior screening was gorgeous, when she comes down the restaurant stairs I thought she was going to walk right off the screen.
Hello Dolly would be from a relatively recent print (it has played the AFI/Silver before).
How expensive is it to make a new print of the older movies? A few thousand? I imagine 70mm would be a little more, of course.
With the director’s edition of TMP, they must have a digital version of it, from which to strike a new print, or go to the original source negatives. Of course, the investment would need recouping. One would think with the popularity of the reboot, revisiting the classic cast would be a no-brainer.
One sound effect I love about 70mm 6 track presentations is when the movies use that sssHHHHHHHHHH transitional sound effect. It gives me goose bumps. Lifeforce has it in the title sequence, Cocoon has it as the film transitioned from space, to earth and sea. Star Trek 3 has it in the opening after the Paramount logo and Brainstorm has it at the end, during the ascension light show sequence at the end.
Hello Dolly is playing here on 3/24, in 70mm. One measly day. I hope to make it that day. Maybe AFI will reconsider and have more showings. I hope that print isn’t pinked out.
I’m sure any 70mm showings would be with existing prints…which would really limit the Star Treks (all were 35mm blow ups too). Any 70mm print struck before 1983 would also be very pink.
As for 2001 and Lawrence…they play so much due to availability…Warner Bros and Columbia keep those prints in stock as they do get a return on investment. Lawrence was also restored so its INs are readily available and one need not go through another check-print phase…driving the cost up.
But let them know what you want.
oh I forgot, in regards to the 70mm print of ‘Lifeforce’ the print looked a bit dodgy, but the sound.. oh the sound, my jaw was on the floor, by the time the film reached it wild over the top conclusion my ears felt like they had rocketing off my head – wow!, WOW!!
even though I just received the blu-ray of ‘Cleopatra’ which is glorious looking – AFI should have shown the 70mm print of that during the most recent Elizabeth Taylor retrospective. I’d love to see ‘Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines’ ‘Vertigo’ ‘South Pacific’ ‘Lord Jim’ ‘Oklahoma!’ ‘Ryan’s Daughter’
I want some decent sci-fi. No more 2001, please. They’ve shown it enough. Come to think of it..no more Lawrence of Arabia, either. Not to offend fans of either movie, its just that whenever the AFI Silver has 70mm anything, its usually always those two that play.
Show all Star Treks' from TMP-VI, please. :D It would be Trektacular! They had a 70mm retrospective two years ago at the Laehmle (spelling) with a ‘special guest star’ from either the cast or production crew to take Q&A. I know ..I know…we aren’t in SoCA/LA so the stars can just drive over. If the AFI can’t get at least ONE star and/or production crew person (director, producer, production designer, etc)to do Q&A, at least Louise Fletcher does live in nearby Leesburg VA… :)
70mm of TMP (the first Star Trek movie) would be great as it was the only one (and probably one of the last movies) with an overture. It would be perfect to play in the Historic Auditorium. Closed curtain..or partially opened..i forget now, dimmed lights..Ilia’s theme. Curtains opening..house lights turned off. Paramount’s bright logo and Jerry Goldsmith’s stirring, Academy Award nominated score!
The 70mm of WSS was okay, just not what I had expected, as blogged above, but my expectations were probably set too high given the number of glowing experiences during the earlier years.
Brainstorm is out there and would be great in 70mm. I have vivid and fond memories of it playing at the MacArthur. There is a circulating print and would be true 70mm as part of it (the point of view or ‘dream’ parts and sfx) were filmed in 65mm. To be honest, I think it would play even better at the Uptown given the fact that the 70mm scenes, would play better on the curved screen, then on flat.
Whatever they choose to play in 70mm, I hope whomever is in the projection booth remembers to play it up loud. If the sound isn’t cranked up, it lessens the experience. Some of the sound fx in the channels don’t play up right if the sound is too low and the experience just becomes like ‘any other’ movie.
Heads up, the AFI/Silver is looking to do a 70mm film festival later this year. The AFI/Silver is becoming the DC-Metro area’s last 70mm venue.
I’ll admit, was not too impressed with the prints of WSS or Tron. I can assure you, the flaws observed were not due to the AFI/Silver…their system can only deliver what is on the print.
-Steve
I thought the surround sound was tad better than the film quality – but not by that much. The image was bright, with dark blacks and had vibrant colors. The surrounds never sounded subdued – when ‘Master Control’ was derezzing at the finale, the soundlevel was escalating to a spectacular noisey explosion. For a 11:45pm movie on a Friday night though, the audience was very low – which was unfortunate.
Giles, what was the print and surround quality like for this print? Did it seem aged or fresh, or mint? Do you recall any memorable surround sound events? Were the sound levels played up high or more subdued? What about audience attendance?
I wanted to see this movie badly but had work conflicts. I never saw it in 70mm during its initial run only for the fact that the DC market never got a 70mm print.
“Lifeforce” should be fun in 70mm. I saw it when the Circle Ontario was remodeled. You can see my post on that theater’s site. I still remember the experience as if it were yesterday, even the smell of freshly painted seats! The movie is horror themed but campy in a way. I still remember Matilda May, one of the space vampires, walking around the movie naked for the entire movie. John Dykstra’s visual effects were really funtastic for its time.
I wish I could see it again on the big screen, but unfortunately, I have to work that weekend, too.
According to in70mm, there’s a 70mm print of Star Trek II being shown this weekend, I’m surprised the AFI couldn’t secure that print for showing here for their 80’s retrospective series.
saw ‘Tron’ last Friday in 70mm and wow! it both looked and sounded great!
for last night’s first screening of ‘Stephen Sondheim’s Company’ they used the screen curtains at the intermission – thumbs up!
Sunday night’s attendance was surprisingly good with a good mix of older, younger and the very young. Given the fight scenes in the movie, I was surprised parents brought their toddlers to the viewing. Thankfully, the ones near me were well behaved and quiet.
Not being a fan or having viewed the film in its entirety at anytime, I was curious as to what was really the overture to the movie. I had thought the music played before the AFI ad and previews was the overture. If that is the case, what was the bit of music played with the different color screens that preceded the West Side Story title card?
The use of the curtain was well done. I had bragged to my friend that this is the closest we would ever get to what excellent movie presentation was in the days before the multiplex. Curtain closed and opened with the AFI ad, previews, closed again and opened before the color opening. They forgot to play the THX sound trailer. :P Perhaps the ones they have are all 35mm and digital. The only 70mm trailers I remember was the ‘Grand’ THX trailer scored by James Horner and the prior ‘the audience is listening’ ones.
If this print was struck new, with the newly discovered track, I am surprised there was no clean up to the print. The sound appeared to be void of hiss, crackle and pop leading one to believe that was dealt with. I would also think they’d make a digital master, say 8K, ala Blade Runner, with which to make a 70mm print. Whatever the case, the print, itself, was somewhat of a letdown given restoration efforts done on Vertigo. The print shows off the handsome cast very well. Natalie Wood just radiates and glows in her scenes especially when she and Tony sing together.
Sitting towards the back, I could appreciate the rich soundtrack. The orchestral score appropriately filled the auditorium with music though I have to admit, I find that scores of that era seem disjointed with abrupt cuts and use of percussion instruments. If I’m wrong, someone correct me, but the soundtrack cues such as the opening finger snap, Tony singing Maria that radiated a bit from the front 1/3 to the front half of the theater, the police siren, car whizzing and train runs could be heard from the back.
I think they should remix the soundtrack with new foley sounds like Vertigo and correctly clean up the movie of scratches and fade. Why just do half the job by just restoring the original soundtrack? Then make a HD master for the generations to appreciate the film.
Its a testament to the filmmakers that despite the passing of years, the movie still has the power to move people. The end scene when Maria holds the dying Tony created audible sniffles and crying to the left of where I was sitting. On the other hand, I found Tony to not be that great of a catch. His first onscreen appearance made me think of a beaver with the way his front teeth show up and the side ones disappear in shadow. I was thinking to myself that the gorgeous Maria could do better if she’s going to cross over to the other side for a man. Lastly, people clapped during the end credits as well.
I wish the film had a longer engagement than this weekend, I’d surely want to see it a couple of more times just to see scenes again that went by me a little too fast.
I could nitpick, but I wont …(oh who am I kidding) but a few things I want to point out about the presentation last night (Friday) – was that the curtains were used for the beginning, the beginning of the intermission and obviousily the beginning of the second act of the film [hooray!]. The annyoing thing though was that of course in this day and age, we dumb humans have to be reminded to turn off our phones, pagers, things that go ‘ping’ so, the AFI slide comes up behind the curtain along with the opening whistle [face palm]. As for the print, it’s surprisingly (annoyingly) hit or miss, more notably in the first half of the film than the second. The most noticeable is the beginning of the dance in the gym, it almost seems out of focus and drained of color. In once instance, a reel change results in the next scene the image to jump. Even though 70mm easily trounces hidef bluray resolution, the hidef presentation I saw on HD Net Movies was meticulousily cleaned up to the point it looked like the first time the movie unspooled
As for the sound – wow! it’s very front heavy, while the under the highway rumble scene creates some interesting rear channel sound effects. But the five across front sound is quite remarkable. One flaw though is that when the police lieutenant first address' the Jets in the playground, his voice echoes in the center and immediate left/center channel. The more appropriate moment of echoing voices and best implemented the speaker configuration is the beginning of the song ‘Maria’ – the additional ‘Maria’s’ envelope Tony’s main voice to excellent effect. The spreading out of the music really is the star here and even though early it seems a tad too strident at times, the musical cues and crescendo’s in the second act sound full and grandiose and really add drama to the underlying scenes. Another scene that is brief, beautiful and delicate: is the music cue that Maria dances on the rooftop after the rumble scene, the individual musical instruments creates a wall of sound that seems light and airy and just wonderful translucent – I wish more mixers would go back and resurrect 8-channel SDDS sound. Digital receivers in conjunction with digital projection can allow up to sixteen channels of sound – for someone to mix in a movie with five front + four surrounds AND bass channel could technically produce some really spectacular soundmixes.
I’m thinking either Sat or Sun. I’m thinking there will be some kinks on the first night. I do not know if the theater runs prints before to discover problems before the actual showtime, but they should especially for 70mm and special presentations like this. That way any adjustments that can be made is performed before the actual curtain time.
As far as Facebook, I gave up on that. I had an account and could not control the spam that I would get after signing up.
As far as complaints about this theater, or I should say ORGANIZATION to be more precise, I have a major one that I’m chomping at the bit to post but I’m giving myself time to cool off before posting.
you know what you should do Jodar is send them a request via their facebook page – they read it daily and they always address questions/requests – I know I’ve complained on their facebook page before and they have always replied. Which night are you going to see ‘West Side Story’ – I’m more than likely going to Saturday nights screening.
Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot about it. Should be fun. I hope they use the curtain and they have proper intros by someone who knows something about the movie and the format. So if someone from AFI is reading this, please do a little research if you do plan to have someone talk WSS trivia. You have to educate those under 30 that cinema isn’t just digital projection and IMAX-lite. :D
it’s been noted that it’s the same 70mm print that the Aero Theatre played last month, which they advertised as being the ‘original 6-track soundtrack’ I can’t wait to see/hear this, this weekend!!
Hooray. I’m wondering if this print will be the one with the recently discovered ORIGINAL 6-track soundtrack probably mixed for DTS? I’m looking forward to it even if I’m not a major fan.
On the Ziegfeld page, there are several blogs about its original run, with curtain usage and the intro with whistles and snapping fingers coming at you in stereo from different parts of the theater? Should be interesting.
Just a head’s up that there will be three showings of ‘West Side Story’ in glorious 70mm for the film’s 50th Anniversary at the AFI/Silver next month:
Friday February 11: 8:30pm
Saturday (12th): 9:30pm
Sunday (13th): 5:30pm
the new film program (Feb. 2 – Apr.14) came in the Post this morning.
On Wednesday, I saw “Black Swan” in the historic main # 1 auditorium. The curtain moved a bit afterwards in regard to slides, but did not open before the picture or close afterwards. Staff confirmed the curtain is used sometimes. Sound was great, with surround sound from side walls & back very loud. I had to guess which movie was in auditorium 1 because the website & answerimg machine announcement do not identify which movie is in which auditorium, and the offices were closed over the holidays. If staff is reading this, please identify which movie is in which theater on the website (even if there’s a caveat that last minute the movie might change)! Visiting from Philadelphia, my time was worth it only
if the movie that I wanted to see was in the historic auditorium. Enjoying a movie in the historic auditorium was a real treat.
the place to vent is on their facebook page, add a comment to one of the postings and you will more than likely get a response – I complained about their one showing of ‘Empire Strikes Back’ and got a reply almost immediately.