Loew's Jersey Theatre

My comments were to explore WHY what took place had occurred. The only way errors can be prevented in the future is to honestly look into why they happen, not to ignore them, gloss over them or pretend they did not occur. If that in itself is negative or not to be taken seriously, so be it. I also stated twice the Loew’s was well worth supporting. Nice of you to ignore that portion. Why does it matter when I registered? Yes it was after the Friday show. Am I to write about the mix-up before it happened? It appears it may be you that has some sort of protect-at-all-cost agenda. I think The Loew’s is a treasure. I also happen to think Friday’s mishap was an unnecessary blunder. That’s all. Let’s move on.

They did make amends for their mistake by showing “Isle of the Dead” (quite a good ‘40’s horror substitute for “The Uninvited”) and charging no admission for it. “The Uninvited” is tentatively scheduled to be shown at the end of May.

Somehow it got mixed up with the 2009 release “The Uninvited”, which came and went from theaters a couple of weeks ago.

This afternoon I read the original New York Times review of “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” from June 1947:

View link

Tonight at the Loew’s Jersey I felt like I’d gone back to 1947, watching the film at Radio City Music Hall. I’d seen it countless times on TV and video, but never in a theater. And what a theater to see it in for the first time. Even before the show started I had a great “Mrs. Muir” experience walking around the upstairs gallery, with its heavy velvet drapes and large ornate mirrors, as Bernard Herrmann’s most beautiful score played from unseen overhead speakers. I must’ve spent a half hour up there and didn’t even notice.

Later that evening came “The Innocents”, in a breathtakingly beautiful black and white CinemaScope print. Under the right circumstances, the Loew’s Jersey can be quite a scary place when the lights go down – that huge empty overhead space, the booming echo chamber effect – perfect for “The Innocents”. No wonder the audience screamed and gasped at all the right moments.

Coming April 25th: a 50th anniversary screening of “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, with special guest Arlene Dahl in person. The Loew’s echo is going to work wonders for that particular soundtrack.

The engineering is underway for restoring the air conditioning and the heating system is now in the hands of a talented professional who is donating his time to do essential maintenance.

The Loew’s Jersey is very lucky to have volunteers like that. The same holds true for the projection crew.

It’s probably too much to ask but please, if you get the chance at your next visit, shake the hand of the ticket taker or usher. I have suggested, more times than I can remember, to the Director of the Loew’s Jersey and to the Friends of the Loew’s to print the names of volunteers that have contributed during the season in the final program of the season. Unfortunately, the response has been less then receptive. But that is just a single opinion.

Everyone there, from the top of the organization to the smallest volunteers, does their best out of a love and generosity that deserves nothing but praise.

I’ll even throw a “thanks” to Jersey City. The City might be a difficult force for the Loew’s to deal with but Jersey City does pay the utility bills.

I just received word that Loew’s Jersey is presenting a free, 35mm screening of ISLE OF THE DEAD tonight. You can’t beat that price.

But better than that, the pre-show organ concert will be played by Bernie Anderson – one of the premier theater organists on the East Coast. Bernie never fails to entertain and this will be his debut on the restored Wonder Morton!

Agree with Life’s too short. It is almost a miracle.

If the loges could be reopened, I could die peacefully (many years from now — I hope). Imagine walking down those l-o-n-g tunnels (esp. the one on the left side), through the French doors, and then WHAM — what a sight!!! easily on of the most impressive proscenium arches in the world, and THE BEST view for movies and stage performances.

I don’t see why they can’t be reopened since they at the same level as the 2nd floor of the lobby. I suppose it’s up to the Fire Dept. They’ve been good to the Loew’s so far, for which I am most grateful.

This is very good news. I hope it happens soon. Just opening the loges would double the impressiveness of the Loew’s Jersey, in my opinion.

I can’t really speak to any plans we have for the side coves, but I would assume our aim would be to return them to their original state, whatever that might have been. I think they might have had curtains in them to emulate opera boxes (these weren’t meant to be “windows” like you might find in an atmospheric). The original incandescent lighting strips still exist, but are currently unused (they are not lamped). These are controlled at the stage lighting board and I assume they are set up for the 3 color circuits like the rest of the house and stage lights. Right now they are painted a greenish-blue color on the inside, and most of them have blue neon lighting.

One idea I had for using single slide projectors (we have a few of them already) was to project an image of the triplex “scar” on the underside of the balcony for demonstration purposes after it is restored.

All of the seat bottoms and backs have already been reupholstered (all of the seats, both balcony and orchestra, were done at once) and are awaiting installation. The current work involves cleaning and painting the seat standards, and refurbishing and painting the hinges for the seat bottoms. Our volunteers are making good progress on both fronts.

We are working on getting a grant to fund the work needed on the fire escapes to get the balcony open. We may be able to open the loge (lower section of the balcony) before the fire escapes for the upper part of the balcony are restored, but I can’t make any promises.

While Puerto Rican pop singer Don Omar is the credited star of the music video “Canción de Amor”, it is the theatre that truly shines here. The following footage offers some fantastic interior views of the theatre, including backstage, stage, auditorium and grand lobby areas.

Here is a brief, behind-the-scenes, “making of” mini-documentary (narrated in Spanish):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlGKx_PPu-s

Here is television coverage on Univision Network’s entertainment and celebrity gossip news program “Primer Impacto” (the Spanish-language equivalent of “Extra”):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZt2GRUXh0

And here is the final product (filmed on location in October 2007):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiKG51Yxw5E

If I may, a big warm thank-you to the Friends of The Loews for the spectacular film noir series this past weekend! “Nobody does it better” than you folks! And also a debt of gratitude must be paid to Dr. Foster Hirsch for adding so much insight into the films that weekend beyond what was on the screen. A truely fascinating and engaging speaker. His enthusiasm was really infectious. ( I wonder if he teaches film classes at any of our local colleges?)
If there is one thing that the Loews Jersey excels all other film establishments in has to be the sense of education that one always leaves the theater with… and this weekend was no exception! Especially when introduced to a film such as Jules Dassin’s, “Night and The City”!! For me, this film helps reinforce the phrase,“they don’t make them like that anymore.”
Please keep up the great work, FOL! I look forward to standing on line this month!

Hello everybody. Thank God Jersey gets it. My namesake theatre was taken down and OH, what a loss. Radio City was a lovely little project-and I’m glad everyone stills loves that sunrise arch-but NOTHING beats the original. But it’s gone, all gone. In Ben Hall’s book, “The Best Remaining Seats”, your wonderful edifice was mentioned as one of the 5 “wonder” theaters but one without the Morton 4/23. How nice that he is now wrong. How lovely the perfume of the popcorn in the grand foyer and, as you approach your seat, the increasing presence of that Morton! The sound, the comfort, the politeness of the staff and those big bright pictures on that big bright screen. How grand it is to be, as Gloria Swanson said in “Sunset Boulevard”, one of those “wonderful people in the dark”. Keep up the good work, FOL. Do not let the little voices distract you.It’s a grand place, if not the grandest, place to see the show. And every year, it’s grander yet! Your Loews Jersey is truly New Jersey’s Cathedral of the Motion Picture. Count me in to be in line, waiting for the box office to open and for the popcorn to pop. When I heard Mr.Ralph play that Morton, I got a little misty eyed, as I never thought I would ever hear that sound again, wafting up the aisles, into the lobby….

If there is one aspect of the great Loews Jersey that I appreciate the most it is their wonderful sense of choice in selecting films that resonate with the overall audience… not exactly “popular” films all of the time, but film programs with a “theme”. (ie James Bond, Adventure heroes etc.)
I’m also grateful to Colin and the other Friends of the Loews for presenting films that might not have been very popular during their initial release, but now “deserve” a second look. (Two films that I always “turned my nose up” at [being the snobby little Sean Connery fan that I was at an early age] were “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and , the above-mentioned “For Your Eyes Only”… they are now two of my favorite Bond films.)

Friends of the Loews deserves the support of every classic film fan in the Nj/Ny metro area. We seem to be in an age of shrinking interest in movie theaters that show classic films. We need to keep this jewel alive and shining.

Out of that group, I’d say “The Man with the Golden Gun”. My real favorite Moore is “The Spy Who Loved Me” but that’s not being shown.