AMC Loews Paramus Route 4 Tenplex

Christophersepp on May 29, 2007 at 6:08 am

Peter, there actually was an individual who contacted me, after the article in The Record, who was interested in leasing the Tenplex. He’s been in the business of leasing older theaters, when the companies that own them decide to close, for about 30 years. The only problem is that no one seems to be able to reach AMC directly. If you go to their website, there is no email address or phone number listed for any form of contact whatsoever, only mailing addresses. Even the historical societies I’ve been in contact with haven’t had any luck speaking with AMC directly. As I said originally, there is no reason you can’t keep the Tenplex open for first run movies. The new theater at GSP was only showing 4 movies this past weekend, on its 16 screens, which leaves a lot of smaller and independent films that could be shown at the Tenplex. I know that won’t always be the case when the summer blockbuster season is over, but the Hyway Theater, a few minutes further up Rt.4 has always shown first run movies, and that was never a problem with the Tenplex or the old theater at the mall. There were rumors about the Tenplex being closed, but up until recently, it was never definitive. Their own staff wasn’t even informed until a couple of weeks ago. Where did you read about the stipulation of the tenplex closing?

moviebuff82 on May 28, 2007 at 12:51 pm

if amc renovates the tenplex and rename both theaters amc garden state 1-16 and garden state 17-26 that would make a difference. they should make the tenplex a bowling alley since the borough doesn’t have its own, and the nearest is bowler city in hackensack.

Christophersepp on May 28, 2007 at 12:28 pm

Nothing will be done on the Tenplex site for a while, which is why there is still a chance to save it. Local legislators are looking into the zoning issues and NJ Historical societies are still looking into its historical significance. If it is true that they’re going to extend the Bergen Mall on to the Tenplex property, that’s still months, if not years away from happening. It’s not cost effective to demolish a property, if you’re not all set to build something new there. A lot of people are still surprised to hear about the closing, due to the fact that AMC kept it very quiet. Other than the article in The Record, which was not instigated by AMC, who actually tried to quash the article, there wasn’t anything in the press about it. AMC knew there would be a lot of public outcry, if the story got to the public earlier. Now, most people think it’s a done deal, and don’t want to be bothered calling AMC, local legislators, historical societies, etc… when they think it’s already too late to have an effect. The more public outrage, the more chance it can still be saved as long it’s still standing. Boycotting the new theater will also help to get that point across, but with all the teens at the mall, that’s an uphill battle in itself.

Christophersepp on May 25, 2007 at 5:18 pm

I’m hoping the Fairlawn Theater is going to be ok, mostly because, unlike the Tenplex, it’s independently owned. Remember, it wasn’t failing ticket sales that doomed the Tenplex, it was AMC’s market strategy. The Tenplex was still packed every weekend. I think the Fairlawn theater might actually do better after the GSP theater opens, and the Tenplex is closed, because there is no parking/traffic problems there.

memorious on May 25, 2007 at 2:36 pm

For those above who mentioned the Muvico theaters at Xanadu, please note that this multiplex has now been downgraded from 26 screens to 18 screens (one of which is outdoors). See the 6th paragraph of this link for more information:

View link

95Crash on May 25, 2007 at 8:58 am

Hey photoman1001, I meant no disrespect to the projectionists, believe me. Most all of my memories of the this theater are positive.

I can remember seeing films here where the walls literally shook in Theater One! But unfortunately, during these last few years, more often than not I had to strain to hear much of the dialogue.

You’re right, most people don’t know the mechanics of the film delivery system — including me! I’d like to learn more about it.

BTW, I’m the guy who emailed you the other day about the pictures. I can’t wait to see them!

Christophersepp on May 25, 2007 at 8:18 am

I’m so happy to hear that there are many others who share my feelings about this truly special theater. If you grew up in Bergen County in the 70s/80s, the Tenplex was/is a touchstone from the “Wonder Years” of youth. I have so many countless memories of this theater, from my first film, Raggedy Anne and Andy: A Musical Adventure, to waiting in endless longlines around the building for any of the original Star Wars films. The Tenplex changed over the years, as did we all. Sometimes it was for the better and sometimes for the worst, but it was always there to help us get through those tough times when we needed a cinematic experience to take us away from the trials and tribulations of real life. I totally agree with one of the earlier posters, in the fact that, it corrupt local politicians who get kickbacks from contractors and corporations that are responsible for letting this happen. It’s the same reason why we have the highest property taxes in the country. It’s the local councils and mayors that are profiting from the loss of our cultural landmarks and the rising cost of living in NJ. If any of the above posters has the pics they took last night online, please refer me to the site they are on, or email them to me on here. Thanks, in advance.

PeterApruzzese on May 25, 2007 at 7:38 am

The sound system may be the same, but the room is certainly different now, hence the different sound. When was the last time it was EQ’d?

Also, DTS runs off CD-ROM discs (synchronized via time code printed on the 35mm film) and not DVDs and is generally more reliable than SDDS and on-par with Dolby Digital. Yes, none of the digital formats sound as good as magnetic.

photoman1001 on May 25, 2007 at 7:31 am

95crash.. believe it or not, the sound system in theater one is the same one that you heard the original Star Wars on. The problem is in the delivery system. Star Wars was 6 track magnetic. Now a days it is digital or optical. I know that theater one has DTS, which is played off of dvd disks. I can speak from experience that DTS and Sony SDD dont work as well as Dolby digital. All 3 formats will never sound like 6 track magnetic.. ever.

The memories of the film breaking are nothing compaired to the memories of the projectionists that had to work with 70mm film. It was heavy, stiff, and unforgiving. I dont think many people know the mechanics of the film delivery system.

95Crash on May 25, 2007 at 6:25 am

I was there last night too to see Pirates in Theater One. And just as John J. Fink said (posted by John J. Fink on May 24, 2007 at 8:38pm), it was nice that the employee came into the auditorium and gave that little speech.

I grew up in Bergen County and have visited this theater many times. My first recollection of it was seeing the King Kong remake in 1976. I was 7 years old. I believe I watched the movie in the upstairs theater.

The next year, 1977, I saw Star Wars there in Theater One. My earliest memory of being in Theater One. The auditorium was jam-packed. Me and my two friends (I was 8 years old) had to sit a few rows in front of my parents because we couldn’t find five seats together. I always remembered that the screen was huge and the sound made the walls shake. But then I read Paul Bubny’s post on this page (posted by Paul Bubny on Dec 5, 2005 at 12:09pm), and it brought back a repressed memory. I too was at that showing of Star Wars when the film stopped during the scene where Luke, Leia, and Han were in the trash compactor! I can now recall that it took a few minutes before the film came back on and the sound wasn’t completely right for part of — but not the whole — movie.

I can also remember that back then there was another movie theater directly next this one, as MBD recalled in his post (posted by MBD on Oct 25, 2005 at 7:13am). He said it was called the Route 4 Cinema. I remember thinking how it was weird that there were two theaters, with different names and separate box offices, right next to each other! The only thing I remember about that other theater was that it was a twin (I think) and that I saw a movie called The Stuntman there in or around 1979.

Anyway, back to yesterday, I am glad I went to see a film there one last time, especially it being closing night and all. The crowd was young but polite (meaning: not a lot of talking). Sorry, I don’t mean to sound old, but I hate a lot of talking during a movie and cell phone noise, etc. But there was none of that last night, so it was good!

Unfortunately, as others have alluded to on this page, the sound system was not what it used to be back in the day. I had to struggle to hear some of the lines spoken.

But all in all it was a very enjoyable experience. I even took some pictures — which embarrassed my wife a little.

As I left, I took a look at the marquee and it said (all lit up) Thanks for the Memories 1965-2007. (As I drove by there on my way to work this morning, I saw that it still said that.)

I would love to see a timeline of this theater — when it changed from one screen to two, from two to a triplex, from a triplex to a sevenplex, and so on …

photoman1001 on May 25, 2007 at 3:20 am

emily24, the screening of star wars… are you speaking now? If so was it in 70mm?? I know theater one can run 70mm but it doesnt have a 6 track magnetic reader.

Did anyone from this forum take any pictures?

fred1 on May 25, 2007 at 12:03 am

good by old freind you’ll be missed