The kids, seniors, early birds and discount ticket programs bring the average price down significantly. Manhattan has a higher average due to the limited effect of those categories.
Compare the Ziegfeld to the Odeon Leicester Square in London and you will find $12 a real bargain. They get around $36 for an adult yet New Yorkers still complain.
Back when the Ziegfeld charged six dollars people still complained.
Remember Mayor Koch at the picket lines?
“The Guild Theater opened in 1938 as a newsreel house, with an entrance on the south side of Radio City Music Hall.”
“The Guild’s entrance on the north side of West 50th Street was to the east of RCMH’s entrance…”
Since Manhattan streets do not sit on a true north, both statements are correct. The Guild was (is) SOUTHeast of the RCMH entrance as 50th street sits on a northwest angle.
Near the end there some deuce houses ran double feature first-runs. I recall many of the Cineplex Odeon National Twin films both playing double-bill around the corner and at half the price, as long as they did not advertise.
This may have been the result of martial arts and porn product drying up or going straight to video.
The death of 70mm had nothing to do with cost cutting from distributors nor exhibitors.
Audience demand to see films on opening weekend made it possible to sell every seat in any format, so 70mm eventually meant nothing financially to blockbusters. The multiplex just added auditoriums on 35mm interlock and non-discriminating teenagers filled them. Since multiplex screen sizes did not vary much, few noticed the difference.
1980’s kids would never wait months to see E.T in 70mm at Movieland Broadway when their local plex had it on several screens in 35mm.
Louis, the Sheridan was an ABC Florida State Theatre. It did not stay porn only because the City of Miami Beach shut it down when it banned DEEP THROAT which had its South Florida premiere there.
1481 is now a 32 floor high rise with a Chase Bank on the lower floors, one of the four towers that were part of the redevelopment of the 42nd street block. The southwest tower on 8th avenue is yet to be built.
That’s not entirely accurate about the name change.
From 1966 to 1968 the CAPITOL advertised as the CINERAMA without the CAPITOL name being used. It reverted to CAPITOL when Cinerama releases became extinct.
I agree with celboy that the movie could not look any better than the Ziegfeld presentation and the sound level was fine Monday night.
I can’t say this is my favorite version of the film though, as I am a big fan of the original and think the voice over complimented the noir feel and fashions perfectly.
Still, it is not as destructive as the extended version of APOCALYPSE NOW and well worth the effort.
The volume needs to be adjusted to the size of the crowd. A manager who does not respond to the older sparse matinee crowds and lowers the sound is a poor showman. More people complain than you think.
Having once worked the Ziegfeld I can confirm that the complainers of the sound being “too loud” often outnumber the happy hearing impaired “make it louder” action crowd.
Since the dialogue usually comes from speakers behind the screen it becomes the first casualty in a big house.
This gets worse during poorly mixed new movies where noise makes up for the lack of action. Does anyone remember the obnoxiously blaring EVITA with both Antonio Banderas and Madonna equally struggling with the English language during their few dialogue scenes? Or the more recent SPIDER-MAN franchise where subtitles would have been required if it wasn’t that dialogue was not really important so no one cared.
If those films were played at recommended levels we would have emptied the theatres.
I would like to mention something about the focus issues.
Many panoramic scenes, like those so prevalent in PORGY AND BESS, have altered focus so that items of best interest are sharp while others are soft, drawing the viewer to that part of the screen. Since main items were hard to determine in PORGY the projectionist kept playing with the focus trying to find one.
I do not fault him for his efforts but it does make this particular film a challenge on a big screen. I know this was common issue with David Lean films but does anyone know if this was always the case with PORGY?
With all due respect to all those on this thread who love curtains and reel to reel, I really enjoyed last night’s showing of PORGY but I will be the devil’s advocate and report that the curtain was indeed a nuisance and the reel changes were jumpy. I felt like I had missed something each time.
The curtain was indeed opened late after intermission (I thought it was up to its old tricks and we would never see the second half)and we missed part of the scene anyway as it was started without sound. The curtain play at the end credits was distracting and unnecessary.
I will chalk it up to a lost art in the projection booth but lost it has been and for way too many years.
Aside from this the introduction from the biographer was endearing and the film itself lived up to all the hype and justifies none of the detractors, including Mr. Poitier, who was actually quite good in it.
It had a great remodel late in the Cineplex Odeon days when it became a twin and, although a bit dog eared these days, the still booming gay Chelsea crowd keeps it going.
Now that the Beekman is gone, Woody Allen likes his premieres here.
Pre-release screening cell phones only need to be checked in if they have image recording. It is a piracy issue.
Blocking devices are legal now in France but everywhere else is iffy.
The kids, seniors, early birds and discount ticket programs bring the average price down significantly. Manhattan has a higher average due to the limited effect of those categories.
Compare the Ziegfeld to the Odeon Leicester Square in London and you will find $12 a real bargain. They get around $36 for an adult yet New Yorkers still complain.
Back when the Ziegfeld charged six dollars people still complained.
Remember Mayor Koch at the picket lines?
You cannot disagree with geography regardless of what is practice among New Yorkers. Not everyone looking at this page is local.
The GUILD is still a Nautica store and it says “Avenue of the Americas”, not Sixth Avenue, on that street.
“The Guild Theater opened in 1938 as a newsreel house, with an entrance on the south side of Radio City Music Hall.”
“The Guild’s entrance on the north side of West 50th Street was to the east of RCMH’s entrance…”
Since Manhattan streets do not sit on a true north, both statements are correct. The Guild was (is) SOUTHeast of the RCMH entrance as 50th street sits on a northwest angle.
$12.00 for two hours' entertainment in a borough that charges six dollars for drink is more than fair.
The “elite” who pay $120.00 for high-brow entertainments such as GREASE and MAMMA MIA are mostly middle class tourists from the midwest.
Laffmovie seems to disappear in 1948, so it either became the Empire then or reverted to Eltinge.
Muvico is a class act and this can only be good news. The limited seating may be a comfort issue.
https://www.muvico.com/press_releases.htm
Thanks for these, Ed. As we know from the lack of photos from some sites, there is no such thing as too much coverage of these palaces.
Near the end there some deuce houses ran double feature first-runs. I recall many of the Cineplex Odeon National Twin films both playing double-bill around the corner and at half the price, as long as they did not advertise.
This may have been the result of martial arts and porn product drying up or going straight to video.
“ES TU MOMENTO@ (Its your moment) is a Vodaphone ad slogan, so it may be a paid advertisement or a special event party being held on the site.
The death of 70mm had nothing to do with cost cutting from distributors nor exhibitors.
Audience demand to see films on opening weekend made it possible to sell every seat in any format, so 70mm eventually meant nothing financially to blockbusters. The multiplex just added auditoriums on 35mm interlock and non-discriminating teenagers filled them. Since multiplex screen sizes did not vary much, few noticed the difference.
1980’s kids would never wait months to see E.T in 70mm at Movieland Broadway when their local plex had it on several screens in 35mm.
Louis, the Sheridan was an ABC Florida State Theatre. It did not stay porn only because the City of Miami Beach shut it down when it banned DEEP THROAT which had its South Florida premiere there.
There’s a new even further watered down version of IMAX being installed these days in multiplexes. It looks like they are heading the way of Cinerama.
They have already abandoned the speaker head gear, have selected scenes only in 3D movies and now allow for smaller screens.
Wow! Finally a decent photo of one of Florida’s most important theatres. Thanks, Miamiguy.
1481 is now a 32 floor high rise with a Chase Bank on the lower floors, one of the four towers that were part of the redevelopment of the 42nd street block. The southwest tower on 8th avenue is yet to be built.
Sorry, the name changed from 1963 to 1966.
That’s not entirely accurate about the name change.
From 1966 to 1968 the CAPITOL advertised as the CINERAMA without the CAPITOL name being used. It reverted to CAPITOL when Cinerama releases became extinct.
And one should never start a sentence with “And” either but who really cares.
I agree with celboy that the movie could not look any better than the Ziegfeld presentation and the sound level was fine Monday night.
I can’t say this is my favorite version of the film though, as I am a big fan of the original and think the voice over complimented the noir feel and fashions perfectly.
Still, it is not as destructive as the extended version of APOCALYPSE NOW and well worth the effort.
The volume needs to be adjusted to the size of the crowd. A manager who does not respond to the older sparse matinee crowds and lowers the sound is a poor showman. More people complain than you think.
Having once worked the Ziegfeld I can confirm that the complainers of the sound being “too loud” often outnumber the happy hearing impaired “make it louder” action crowd.
Since the dialogue usually comes from speakers behind the screen it becomes the first casualty in a big house.
This gets worse during poorly mixed new movies where noise makes up for the lack of action. Does anyone remember the obnoxiously blaring EVITA with both Antonio Banderas and Madonna equally struggling with the English language during their few dialogue scenes? Or the more recent SPIDER-MAN franchise where subtitles would have been required if it wasn’t that dialogue was not really important so no one cared.
If those films were played at recommended levels we would have emptied the theatres.
I would like to mention something about the focus issues.
Many panoramic scenes, like those so prevalent in PORGY AND BESS, have altered focus so that items of best interest are sharp while others are soft, drawing the viewer to that part of the screen. Since main items were hard to determine in PORGY the projectionist kept playing with the focus trying to find one.
I do not fault him for his efforts but it does make this particular film a challenge on a big screen. I know this was common issue with David Lean films but does anyone know if this was always the case with PORGY?
With all due respect to all those on this thread who love curtains and reel to reel, I really enjoyed last night’s showing of PORGY but I will be the devil’s advocate and report that the curtain was indeed a nuisance and the reel changes were jumpy. I felt like I had missed something each time.
The curtain was indeed opened late after intermission (I thought it was up to its old tricks and we would never see the second half)and we missed part of the scene anyway as it was started without sound. The curtain play at the end credits was distracting and unnecessary.
I will chalk it up to a lost art in the projection booth but lost it has been and for way too many years.
Aside from this the introduction from the biographer was endearing and the film itself lived up to all the hype and justifies none of the detractors, including Mr. Poitier, who was actually quite good in it.
By the way, previous names were RKO 23rd St, Roundabout, 23rd St West Triplex, as a single, legit and triple, respectively.
It had a great remodel late in the Cineplex Odeon days when it became a twin and, although a bit dog eared these days, the still booming gay Chelsea crowd keeps it going.
Now that the Beekman is gone, Woody Allen likes his premieres here.