Ziegfeld Theatre
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
131 people
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I was following up on what Luis V said. And if you don’t see the connection of what I was saying and the destruction of midtown one of the greatest neighborhoods in the United State ever I can’t believe it and have absolutely no apologies to make.
Vincent, I must strongly onject to the ranting and raving in your earlier post. There are a multitude of websites, blogs and the like for those types of comments, Cinema Tresures is NOT one of them.
I apologize to the other members for taking up space with this comment, however I always assumed this forum would be exempt from that sort of political self indulgence.
That tirade came from the fact that all the truly great NY cinemas are gone and the Ziegeld is a poor substitute. The middle class are the people who filled these great theaters and the politicians and developers destroyed Times Square as a great NY neighborhood. And yeah talking about the destruction of the middle class which attended movies and made this country great is not only more interesting but is endemic to all facets today of our lives.
And you guys are discussing Zodiac?
Sheesh.
Hey Vincent…..Where did that tirade come from? We’re chatting about what’s playing next at The Ziegfeld and then, BAM! Death To Developers and woe to the middle class!
So, back to the Ziegfeld…..I agree that a classic schedule would absolutely draw more than films like Zodiac, but the theater should also have the opportunity to pack them in with one of the blockbuster films.
The Ziegfeld screen was always small. It hasn’t changed, it still fits in that ridiculously small proscenium(at least for that size theater.) By the way the total destruction of Times square was because of the politicians changing the zoning laws which were initially put in place so sunlight could get through and not to overbuild.
Todays politicians said the hell with that starting with the destruction of the Roxy up to the insane speed of the 80’s which destroyed everything.
This is why the middle class is disappearing. Todays politicians are living off the gravy of developers and tourists. I mean with the middle class you can’t get a stone to bleed.
So what if you can’t afford to live here then get out. We get too much in kickbacks from from greedy insane developers.
Screw you.
They make the robber barons of the late 19th century and early 20th century look like benign, benevolent seekers of spiritual truth.
This is also why this country is losing its grip big time.
And we ain’t gonna get it back in our lifetime, if ever.
And after the summer blockbusters die down in 6 weeks or so, I hope they go back to a fall edition of the Classics. I’m sure they’d be filling more seats with the Classics right now than they are with “Zodiac”.
I would hope that “Meet the Robinsons” will be a much better programming choice than “Zodiac”. I didn’t realize that was playing at the Ziegfeld so I wound up seeing it on 42nd St. I can see why there were only 12 people at The Ziegfeld. Zodiac was a dull, tedious film. While it got overall great reviews, word of mouth is not. A film like this should never be booked into a theater the size of The Ziegfeld. Hopefully, The Ziegfeld will snare one of the summer blockbusters of Shrek 3/Spiderman 3/Pirates 3 or Harry Potter 5!
I attended a screening of “Zodiac” at the Ziegfeld last Saturday afternoon. Absorbing film; a shame that it doesn’t appear to be attracting much of an audience—-there couldn’t have been more than several dozen people at that screening.
I received a flyer at the box office for the next attraction, beginning March 30: “Meet the Robinsons” (to be presented in digital 3-D).
Let me comment on the Ziegfeld! I’ve seen many films there fron the 70’s to just last year, 2006. It has lost a little of the lustre it once had, but it still has a quality to it. I had great enjoyment in seeing the original run of the all-digital, re-recorded track, “Fantasia,” and seeing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on its first matinee for the public in November 1977, and seeing “Hair!,” and “Apocalypse Now,” and “The Last Waltz,” and more recently “Star Wars Episode VI” in its stunning hi-def image and sound. My enjoyment of the theater was not only the fine projection, but also the wonderful sound that always was blasted at the very level I loved to hear it played. “Close Encounters” and “The Last Waltz” were so loud that I would not be surprised if they had to tighten the screws on all the speakers every night! “Close Encounters” sounded so amazing, especially John Williams' gigantic score, matching the huge alien mothership in size. “The Last Waltz” was so loud I felt as though I had attended the concert. “Apocalypse Now” was all-enveloping, sound effects acted as an accompaniment to the music of the Doors. The screen always seemed large back then, but now it seems to have dwindled in ratio as compared with the larger screens at the newer multiplexes. The image clarity at the HD “Star Wars VI” was excellent. Last year, however, I saw a showing of “North By Northwest,” and the print quality was only fair, and not nearly as stunning as the recent DVD image.
Thanks for the good news, Gary. I too am anxiously hoping for the return of the Classics but if “Dreamgirls” is still making money, and people are still choosing to see it at the Ziegfeld instead of anywhere else – nothing wrong with that!
“Has anyone tried contacting Clearview to see if there will be another one this spring? The way it’s looking they might keep Dreamgirls till early March after the Oscars.”
Hi Ladies and Gentlemen: Been a while since I checked in here, but I certainly have checked in with Craig O'Connor. As of just a few weeks ago here’s the story:
Hi Gary,
Thanks. I will keep you posted on the Ziegfeld Classics. As of now, we have no firm date set.
Craig is certainly on board and committed to the program. “Dreamgirls” will run its course, and if it’s making money for the theatre, all the better. I saw it on Christmas Day to a sold out audience. People could have gone to a bunch of theatres in Manhattan to see it, but the fact that they chose the Zig still shows that it is quite a special place.
So keep the faith, send an e-mail to Craig at Clearview to show your support, and see you at the Classics!!!
Best,
Gary
Hey Irv, Believe it or not, I agree with a large part of what you said above. New York (especially Manhattan) has become an enclave of the rich and the poor (if they live in subsidized housing). There is less and less room for the middle class. This has resulted in the blossoming of northern Manhattan, Park Slope, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Long Island City, etc. I spent my teen years in the 70’s. Those were very rough times and the city was dying then. Few people wanted to live here. They did so becasue they had to. That meant there was a lot of cheap real estate to use as rock clubs and discos, etc. As the city cleaned up and became safer it resulted in rising property values and more people wanting to live here. It’s always a trade off. While I miss much of what you miss I don’t want to go back to those times. I feel fortunate that I am able to afford to live in Manhattan, but I also have found ways to have a cheap night out. One of those ways is a disocunt theater website called audienceextras.com. This is a live theater club that charges an annual fee of $85. That gets you access to a website that contains lists of performances available for that night’s performances for mostly off and off off broadway shows. On ocassion, actual Broadway shows are listed in addition to concerts, sporting events and movie previews. The cost per ticket? $3 each! (You can order two tickets) Not quite priceless, but pretty damn close. I’ve been a member for over 10 years and have seen great stuff.
Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Back to The Ziegfeld, I have a lot of memories in this theater and I pray that this youngest of the palaces can be preserved for future generations. In the past few months alone I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Casino Royale and Dreamgirls in sold out performances and they are among my best movie going experiences of my life. We need to preserve what little is left and not forget that there are others that can be brought back to life (Kings, Brooklyn Paramount). Who truly thought that The Paradise in the Bronx would ever be restored! Well, it has and that’s why I’m an optomist!
Well said!
LuisV-
I know some of the comments above may sound negative, and please don’t misinterpret my tone here, I don’t mean to rant and be nasty to anybody..but the negative part of the philosophy that I talked about is also reality. I’m not challenging your point of view, just venting, if that’s okay. I can face the reality of a New York City that is sterile and devoid of any real character, or any character that’s left, but I don’t have to like it. To make a long story short, there are less things to do here than there were in the past. Unless you have lots of money that is. Wanna go see some great old movies on a Friday or Saturday at an old revival house on a screen the way they were meat to be seen? Can’t, unless you wait around for something cool to come to Film Forum, and ocassionally at Loews Jersey, or the rarity at Ziegfeld or Radio City. Wanna go see a grungy rock band in some dark club? Can’t, there ARE no more rock clubs in Manhattan. The ’re-developers' are pricing them all out. Wanna see your favorite classic rock band at Madison Square Garden like The Stones or The Police. Sure…you can if you have a minimum of $600 for a pair of nose-bleed seats. Wanna go to a Broadway show? Sure…now that they’ve figured out that customers will pay exorbitant prices from rock concerts, they’re jacking up ticket prices too. And if you want to move to Manhattan now, you’d BETTER have some money or a rich mom and dad. Living in the East Village now? Got $2600 dollars a month to live in a ‘large studio’ in a 100 yr old tenament walk up? At this point I can’t see why in the world any 20-something year old would want to move here now. It’s the suburbs, just more expensive and harder to get around. See…all of those great, unique, little middle-class pleasures that used to exist in New York are disappearing, because collectively across the US, that class of people is disappearing as well. Where in the past there were little enclaves of art, music, and general ‘unique-ness’ for lack of a better term, New York now belongs exclusively to the priveleged and wealthy. It’s no longer limited to Park Avenue and the Upper West Side. I don’t want to live in a crime ridden neighborhood and have to watch my back all the time anymore than the next guy, but with all the ‘redevelopment’ comes STERILITY. The board of directors want the riff-raff gone…totally. And that riff-raff includes the middle class. They don’t understand it and they dont want it around..period!Some call it progress, and that’s okay, but it’s not progress for all, just for those that can afford it. And if those that can’t afford to go out or find anything to do, isn’t it just a little sad that we all have to be at home ordering movies from Netflix to watch on DVD? Wasn’t New York about having experiences? People love the old theaters because they were fun to go to. You don’t get that at home watching a letter-boxed movie on your TV. Am I bitching & moaning right now? Totally. Am I bitter? If you don’t agree with me than I am, but that’s okay anyway, I’m an equal opportunity cynic, and don’t forget what Frank Zappa once said: “being cynical is a positive value” If there was a cooler city on the East Coast to go to, I would, but New York is sorta like the Roach Motel. ‘You can check, but you can’t check out.’ :–)
Some people have to get out of their mother’s basement once in a while. And not “one day,” but today.
One day I will go see a movie at this theater before it closes.
Wow! Such negative comments! While I would love to see the old palaces up and running as movie theaters we have to live in reality. Theaters are a business and they either have to pay their way or have government subsidies. Real Estate prices in New York are sky high and going higher which doesn’t bode well for old theater buildings. Why the price climb? Because unlike some of the posters above, a vast majority of us think New York is simply the best place to live. Period! Crime is at historic lows and those of you who pine for the tawdry, dangerous and seedy Times Square of yesteryear can have it. Just go to the tenderloin district of San Francisco. For all of its faults, I just love this city! There are things about the past that I miss, but the reality of a dynamic city is that it changes and the changes (overall) for New York in the last 20 years have been nothing short of spectacular. It’s no accident that the city expects another million people living here by 2025.
I hope the city continues to offer incentives to keep some of our theaters alive for future generations. The New Amsterdam was abandoned and had holes in its roof before the City and Disney saved it! Virtually all of the other theaters on 42nd St. were in deep decay as well, but the city and private enterprise were able to save most (though not all) of the structures and not necessarily as theaters.
My hope is that The Kings will be saved. Perhaps the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn can be salvaged; The Victoria in Harlem; Maybe The Hollywood theater can be bought back from The Times Square Church and brought back to movies as a premiere house.
Times have changed. Fewer people go to the theater, we have DVD’s and home theaters now, Hollywood is making less product. We have to face reality. I really hope we can save The Ziegfeld. I really love this theater.
and a hot spot for terrorism, as evidenced by the 9/11 attacks as well as crime and corruption, none of which has kept the Ziegfeld from closing. when that time comes, if it shuts down for good, it will leave celebrities another choice to see a movie premiere: the lincoln square multiplex.
New York has become a mall like everyplace else! Nothing special to come here for anymore except high prices!
‘sounds like the classic series is dead’
Unfortunately I think you’re right. Well, at least there was a little glimmer of hope there for a minute. But let’s face it, New York is being culturally castrated, and stripped of alot of the uniqueness that made it great in the first place. If things remained as they were up until say the mid 90s we would still have all of the cool revival houses that we had up until that time. Off the top of my head I can think of about a half-dozen amazing revival houses that are now long gone. Clearview and The Ziegfeld gave it a damn good try last year and you have to give them credit for it. I hate to sound like a crank, but sometimes New York just dissapoints me these days. All these cool places getting bull-dozed for condos and stuff. I mean..what the hell is this town about anymmore? Certainly not what it was. I think in the future The Ziegfeld will probably run a revival screening of SOMETHING for a short run, like when they did they ‘Spartacus’ thing a few years back. That is as long as we still have it here. Until then it’s Beyonce in the movies, and Bald Britney and American Idol on the TV. Deciline? What DECLINE???
sounds like the classic series is dead
Ed: That’s a good question. Wish I knew the answer! Pacific Arclight screened “Goldfinger” last September as part of the AFI series, but I do not know if it was a new print or an archival one. I agree that probably YOLT may have a problem finding an audience, but who knows? I would love to see Thunderball on the big screen though. Also, the films were not screened in sequence. They started with OHMSS, and ended with FRWL (?!).
JSA
I wonder why “Goldfinger” was left out from that roster of Bond films? It’s the only one missing in the sequence. Anyway, given the success of “Casino Royale” (which played here) a Bond retro might spark some interest. But it would seem to me that “Goldfinger” would be a highlight in such a fest. I fear that “Thunderball” and “You Only Live Twice” might fall a bit flat with modern audiences – given that Bond had started to become spectacle by those films and the seams definitely show in those antiquated blue-screen and miniature effects shots! Not to mention that no one would be able to take Donald Pleasance’s Blofeld too seriously after having lived through the Austin Powers films!
A suggestion for the Ziegfeld is to screen the recently restored early Bond films. These were shown a few weekends ago in LA (at the Aero) in new 35 mm prints. The titles were “Dr No”, “From Russia with Love”, “Thunderball”, “You Only Live Twice” and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
JSA
Star Wars series is not available, because Lucas is working on the new 3D versions. The 70MM prints cost more to ship to and from the theatres and older release prints do not run that well on platters. They sometimes tear going through the platter rollers and have damaged soundtracks. And the newer re-strike titles the studios want them run only reel to reel, because of poor operators in the past. And many of the release prints that were used in their original releases are now junked, because the studios had no need for them.