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 have a qustion about “The Wizard of Oz"
I ran it in a re-release sometime in the late 50s or early 60s.
Reel one ends when Dorothy’s house lands in Oz and Dorothy approaches the door to open it to a Techniclor world.
Reel two began with her opening the door in Technicolor.
As I recall, the first reel was printed on black and white stock and not sepia. Does anyone know if there was there a sepia version as well as a black and white version of the first reel.
The last few minutes, when Dorothy returns, was also on black and white film spliced on to the end of the last reel.
OK movie buffs, what is the deal with the sepia vs black and white?
Here’s the ad for that 1939 stage and screen show:
View link
I’m probably going on Wednesday, and am looking forward to it. There’s something about seeing these very familiar movies on a huge scale from the Ziegfeld’s front row … suddenly they don’t seem so familiar any more.
While watching “The Wizard of Oz” it was easy to imagine myself back in 1939, only a few blocks away at the Capitol. No Judy and Mickey live stage show after the feature, but the movie must have looked just about the same as it did back then. On the way home I passed the spot where the Capitol once stood. The Gershwin Theater is now in that building, playing “Wicked”, so a version of the Oz story is still being told at that location.
Did anyone see GWTW yet? I want to go Wednesday but am not thrilled it will probably be the print the Loew’s Jersey ran last year.
Is there any way to get notified by email the next time the Zeigfeld will run such a series? I missed some of the top movies on my must-see list, both in this current series and the previous one. argghhhhh.
It did look great up on that very large screen – no sacrifice of sharpness at all, and far surpassing the quality of 16mm. It had the same screen shape as “Citizen Kane” a week earlier, which was an actual 1.37 print.
It looks like 1.37 (and it is), but it’s projected in 1.85 with a 1.85 aperture plate and lens. It’s reduced on the frame to fill the 1.85 screen to look like 1.37 with black bars on the sides. Here’s a image of what an actual frame from these prints looks like.
View link
The image itself is 1.37, but you can see the original 1.37 picture is reduced to a 1.85 frame. It’s a bit of image trickery to allow any theater to project this print. My only point was that to obtain the same thing from this print means mangifying the image more than was required if a full frame print was shown. This can increase the apparent grain and sharpness vs a full frame 1.37 print. To me it’s like the difference between a 16mm print and a 35mm print.
It sounded like stereo in certain scenes (the cyclone, the “Optimistic Voices” at the approach to Emerald City), but there were more than 3 shots of de-registration, and it was projected in 1.37. It opened with a silent WB logo.
I assume this was the 1997 restoration print they showed? Was it rechanneled in faux stereo, scenes back in sepia tone, the three quick spots of 3-strip de-registration, etc?
While this is a great print, and I have nothing really bad to say about it, the only thing I dislike about the restoration was they printed the 1.37 image in a 1.85 frame. While this allows it to be shown in any theater (not many theaters can show 1.37 these days) it means the original full frame image must be over magnified to “appear” full frame. The actual image is smaller in the 35mm frame, about 30% smaller.
Yesterday afternoon’s “The Wizard of Oz” show was notable for a number of reasons. Not only was the film projected in its 1939 dimensions (the intricate details in Jack Dawn’s makeup designs really get a fine showcase from the front row), but Billie Burke Ziegfeld as Glinda appeared on the screen of the theater named after her husband. And there’s an autographed 1929 photo of Burke on permanent display in a glass case in the lobby.
Craig
Are you the Craig that managed the Ziegfeld in the early 80’s? I worked for Joe Torres at the Festival in 81 and 82.
Craig: Thanks for the bonus week (and thanks for all the other weeks too). Can’t wait to see what the titles are.
The movie listings made it into the Onion!
Hi,
Thanks for all of your support for the series, as well as your comments – Pro & Con.
Just a few things to note:
Clearview did send out a Press Release to all the NY Metro newspapers and magazines. Hopefully, they will pick up on the series. We also have ads in Time Out NY and AM NY Newspaper.
Also, we are going to ad a Bonus 6th Week to the series. We are working on some nice titles for that last week. As soon as they are confirmed, I will let you know.
thanks
Craig O'Connor
Why no ads for this series? No one I know knows about it! It needs some press!
Ed:
Come up to the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern this Saturday morning when we screen CITIZEN KANE. You’ll also get Chapter One of the vintage cliffhanger serial “The Crimson Ghost”.
Not a single newspaper ad ever ran for the last series, David… nor have I seen an ad for this round. I’m surprised by that as well. Time Out sponsored the last one, so it’s possible there was a mention in that publication. But certainly not in the daily papers. The only mention in the Spring was via an article by Lou Lumenick that ran in the NY Post the day the series opened.
Anyway, I am really upset that I have a business obligation tomorrow from which I am unable to wriggle free, so I’ll have to pass on “Kane” and “Casablanca”. That’s a big disappointment for me. Had I realized that, I might have made a greater effort to try and see the films earlier in the week. Today’s calendar is empty due to the premiere for the movie “Beer League” tonight. I assume that the entire day is needed to spruce up the theater, test-screen the print, set up whatever sundry needs for the press and industry folks and lay down the red carpet. Howard Stern fans will be out in force tonight as the movie stars and was written by Stern radio show regular Artie Lange, so I presume the police will be setting up barricades for crowd control. If I didn’t have plans tonight, I might have joined the throng tonight myself!
I can understand Clearview not springing for a newspaper ad for the current series (I don’t recall them doing so for the Spring series either — I learned about it by accident, spotting mention of CE3K in the Times movie clock that weekend) but I don’t see ANY mention of the current series in the Village Voice’s “Alternatives & Revivals” listings, which manages to include some of the most obscure venues and titles around. Who’s responsible for letting the NYC press, and the public, in on this series?
Anyone seen Good+Bad+Ugly? How was/is the print?
The “Kane” print was fine – just some scratches near each reel change. And practically no missing footage either. I think only one word of dialogue was missing from the print.
Thanks Movieguy… I’ll give this print of “Casablanca” a go. “Kane” sounds good too, Bill. Is the print in good shape?
Write down “reel to reel changeover projection” too.
The comment cards are once again available in the lobby, so it looks like the Classics will be an ongoing event. I wrote down “Cleopatra” in 70mm – no harm in asking :)
To all the Ziegfeld gripers and naysayers who are skipping “Citizen Kane” because the schedule is too familiar, too TCM, etc.: to paraphrase Mr. Kane, it’s your loss.
The film was perfectly framed and I was in the third row, which meant the movie was literally towering over my head. Not only did I notice lots of important details I’d never seen before in almost every scene (and I’ve seen the movie about 100 times), but entire sequences like the after-election campaign headquarters (with the camera placed in a pit below floor level) and especially the final tracking shot flying over Kane’s accumulated “stuff” (you can spot Rosebud coming from a long way away at the top of the screen) became truly jaw-dropping from that perspective. I’m willing to bet that “Kane” hasn’t been shown in New York in quite the same amazing proportions since the Palace in 1941.
The sound was turned up good and loud, too. Bernard Herrmann’s climactic Rosebud music gave me goosebumps. And the audience was noticeably startled by the screeching cockatoo, which was probably why Welles put it in there in the first place. If anyone had fallen asleep (there were people complaining on the way out, “How could anyone call that the best movie ever made?”), that cockatoo would’ve woken them up all right.
Only three more shows. Don’t miss it – it’s terrific!
I doubt you had a print with a bad soundtrack. You probably just had a patron who doesn’t understand what “dynamic range” is and made them turn it down. Then it’s too low for the soft sections. Movies go from loud to soft. That’s just the way it is. Stay home if you can’t take the volume, or sit farther back.
Another problem could be their sound system, but that’s doubtful too until you’ve heard another film played through it.
Bill, maybe they’ll give you a pass – good for two weeks.