I went to check the new place out.It is on the 5th floor of the new mall.The theaters themselves are on opposite ends of a long mall walkway, with the concession stand directly in the middle so mall shoppers can buy popcorn without going to a movie. I was in the side containing theaters 6-9.Theater 6 was a nice size with excellent sound and picture on a big screen, and yes the seats are leather. I also checked out theater 7 which was a bit smaller but also featured excellent picture and sound. The place itself does not have much personality.It is a typical Century mall movie theater.Just another set of boxes of varying sizes.
Mr. Overton- I think it very unlikely our mayor will step in here. The closing of the Metro has been rumoured for almost ten years now, and no one in San Francisco seemed to care. I have been to this theater on a Saturday night where there were 20 people in there.What doomed the Metro was the lack of support from the San Francisco film going community.
I can’t help but wonder if this is a direct result of the opening of the new Century 9 screen in the San Francisco Centre.I seem to remember the Regency and the Alhambra both closed around the time the AMC 1000 opened on Van Ness.
Showtime is currently running a series set in Rhode Island called Brotherhood.On the current episode one of the stories involves the saving of an old theatre. The theatre used is the Stadium and there are scenes set in the theatre (both inside and out.)One scene takes place under the marquee, and while the two characters are talking you can hear the buzz of the neon from the sign overhead. A very nice atmospheric detail. Sort of the aural equivalent of standing outside and smelling the popcorn
Getting back to Godzilla, the US version is a cheesy monster movie, while the original version is more of a cautionary tale against nuclear power.The credited director worked very closely with Akira Kurasawa, which led to rumours that Kurasawa has a hand in the making of Gojira.The original version is a much better movie then you would have thought possible if you have only seen the American version with the Raymond Burr footage.
The Balboa has reverted back to being a neighborhood second run double feature house, as the San Francisco media and filmgoing public did not support the rep schedule. They are still planning a few special series, but the Balboa’s days as a rep house are over for the time being.
I walked by the Alhambra today, and it no longer Gorilla Sports. It is now being operated by Crunch Fitness. Who knows, someday it may even be a movie theater again.
Does anyone know what happens to people in the AMC moviewatcher program? I have been accumulating points for a program in a chain that is about to close their theaters in the city I live.I tried calling one of AMC’S locations in San Francisco, but they have no clue.
Speaking of Anita, there is one big difference that I have noticed. Since she is no longer the programmer the quality of the prints has gone way down. A few weeks ago I saw Dragonslayer there and the print was awful. This week I saw Ice Station Zebra, and it may have been the worst quality print I have seen at the Catro in the 20 years I have been going there.This is a film that shows often on TV in an excellent print, so I know there are better available prints then the one the Castro showed this week. Anita’s connections used to assure us the best print available. I guess the new programmer does not have these kind of connections
Last week I had the opportunity to see Valentino in THE SHIEK at the Castro with a pianist providing a live score. What a great night at the movies. Even the hipper then thou crowd was captivated by the experience. After a few initial giggles at the unfamiliar acting style, the audience beacame drawn into the story and the experience. Coming up at at the Castro is a week of Harold Lloyd. The Shiek was preceded by Wings, and the Silent Film Festival. Though there may not be enough Silents for everyone’s taste [including mine] the art of the Silent Film is alive at the Castro.
After they had installed the new sound system, one of the rock films they screened was Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels.I went on a Friday night and it was so crowded people were sitting in the aisles.On the other side of the moviegoing spectrum, I also saw Travels With My Aunt, and The Madwoman Of Chaillot[pardon the spelling]and Otto Preminger’s Rosebud
A friend of mine from high school worked here as an elevator operator during the mid seventies, and he brought me in to see the theater and Bette Midler’s show. Both were pretty mindblowing
I was watching a Jimmy Cagney movie from 1933 called TAXI. In one scene Cagney takes Loretta Young to a movie at the Winter Garden and there is a great shot of the theater. There is also a shot of the screen , but I’m betting this was done somewhere else.
I lived in CO-Op City for 6 years and went her a lot.Just an average twin cinema. Nothing special, but it was a first run house. Some of the films I remeber seeing there are Interiors, Carnal Knowledge, one of the Pink Panther movies, Busting, and many others.
Ah, My first art house. Saw my first Fellini film there, but it was not just an art house. I took my grandfather there to see Fiddler On The Roof. After the film my grandfather, who was Russian, started telling me all these stories about his youth and other things I could never get him to talk about before.A very important memory that the Ascot was part of
I lived around the corner from the Allerton from about 1978-1980, and I remember it as a twin, and one of the worst places you could go to see a movie. As I recall we would take the train into Manhattan to see something that was also playing at the Allerton, because it was such a bad place to see a movie. It might have been a different experience as a single screen, but as a twin you didn’t wasnt to know from it.A good reminder that not every theater was a treasure.
My memories of the Trylon strt in the late 1960’s. I seem to recall it as a poor relation to the first run houses a few blocks up Queens Blvd. [Midway, Forest Hills, Continental] I remember it as a second run house at that time that played a lot of double features. for instance I remember seeing Help on a double with Two For The Road. I moved back to the area in the early 1980’s and went their often, but the crowds were going elsewhere and the place was not well maintained. Still it was always fun to sit in the Balcony, and I always loved the Art Deco feel of the place
I went to check the new place out.It is on the 5th floor of the new mall.The theaters themselves are on opposite ends of a long mall walkway, with the concession stand directly in the middle so mall shoppers can buy popcorn without going to a movie. I was in the side containing theaters 6-9.Theater 6 was a nice size with excellent sound and picture on a big screen, and yes the seats are leather. I also checked out theater 7 which was a bit smaller but also featured excellent picture and sound. The place itself does not have much personality.It is a typical Century mall movie theater.Just another set of boxes of varying sizes.
Mr. Overton- I think it very unlikely our mayor will step in here. The closing of the Metro has been rumoured for almost ten years now, and no one in San Francisco seemed to care. I have been to this theater on a Saturday night where there were 20 people in there.What doomed the Metro was the lack of support from the San Francisco film going community.
I can’t help but wonder if this is a direct result of the opening of the new Century 9 screen in the San Francisco Centre.I seem to remember the Regency and the Alhambra both closed around the time the AMC 1000 opened on Van Ness.
Showtime is currently running a series set in Rhode Island called Brotherhood.On the current episode one of the stories involves the saving of an old theatre. The theatre used is the Stadium and there are scenes set in the theatre (both inside and out.)One scene takes place under the marquee, and while the two characters are talking you can hear the buzz of the neon from the sign overhead. A very nice atmospheric detail. Sort of the aural equivalent of standing outside and smelling the popcorn
Getting back to Godzilla, the US version is a cheesy monster movie, while the original version is more of a cautionary tale against nuclear power.The credited director worked very closely with Akira Kurasawa, which led to rumours that Kurasawa has a hand in the making of Gojira.The original version is a much better movie then you would have thought possible if you have only seen the American version with the Raymond Burr footage.
The Balboa has reverted back to being a neighborhood second run double feature house, as the San Francisco media and filmgoing public did not support the rep schedule. They are still planning a few special series, but the Balboa’s days as a rep house are over for the time being.
It is still open, however in the SF Chronicle listings it is no longer listed as an AMC theater, but just as the Kabuki
I walked by the Alhambra today, and it no longer Gorilla Sports. It is now being operated by Crunch Fitness. Who knows, someday it may even be a movie theater again.
What was the Electric on Market St, is now an “adult” emporium.
Aerick-You are right about the beautiful ceiling, but it was not a triplex, It was a twin.
Does anyone know what happens to people in the AMC moviewatcher program? I have been accumulating points for a program in a chain that is about to close their theaters in the city I live.I tried calling one of AMC’S locations in San Francisco, but they have no clue.
Speaking of Anita, there is one big difference that I have noticed. Since she is no longer the programmer the quality of the prints has gone way down. A few weeks ago I saw Dragonslayer there and the print was awful. This week I saw Ice Station Zebra, and it may have been the worst quality print I have seen at the Catro in the 20 years I have been going there.This is a film that shows often on TV in an excellent print, so I know there are better available prints then the one the Castro showed this week. Anita’s connections used to assure us the best print available. I guess the new programmer does not have these kind of connections
Thank you Gerald, so much for the I before e rule huh?
Thank you Gerald, so much for the I before e rule huh?
Last week I had the opportunity to see Valentino in THE SHIEK at the Castro with a pianist providing a live score. What a great night at the movies. Even the hipper then thou crowd was captivated by the experience. After a few initial giggles at the unfamiliar acting style, the audience beacame drawn into the story and the experience. Coming up at at the Castro is a week of Harold Lloyd. The Shiek was preceded by Wings, and the Silent Film Festival. Though there may not be enough Silents for everyone’s taste [including mine] the art of the Silent Film is alive at the Castro.
If you are sitting in the larger of the three thaters on a rainy day, the sound of the rain on the roof competes with the film’s soundtrack.
A very San Francisco kind of place. I remember My Dinner with Andre, and the Secret Policeman’s Ball playing in the theater’s last days
After they had installed the new sound system, one of the rock films they screened was Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels.I went on a Friday night and it was so crowded people were sitting in the aisles.On the other side of the moviegoing spectrum, I also saw Travels With My Aunt, and The Madwoman Of Chaillot[pardon the spelling]and Otto Preminger’s Rosebud
A friend of mine from high school worked here as an elevator operator during the mid seventies, and he brought me in to see the theater and Bette Midler’s show. Both were pretty mindblowing
In the 1970s the Laconia was a porno house.
I was watching a Jimmy Cagney movie from 1933 called TAXI. In one scene Cagney takes Loretta Young to a movie at the Winter Garden and there is a great shot of the theater. There is also a shot of the screen , but I’m betting this was done somewhere else.
I lived in CO-Op City for 6 years and went her a lot.Just an average twin cinema. Nothing special, but it was a first run house. Some of the films I remeber seeing there are Interiors, Carnal Knowledge, one of the Pink Panther movies, Busting, and many others.
Ah, My first art house. Saw my first Fellini film there, but it was not just an art house. I took my grandfather there to see Fiddler On The Roof. After the film my grandfather, who was Russian, started telling me all these stories about his youth and other things I could never get him to talk about before.A very important memory that the Ascot was part of
I lived around the corner from the Allerton from about 1978-1980, and I remember it as a twin, and one of the worst places you could go to see a movie. As I recall we would take the train into Manhattan to see something that was also playing at the Allerton, because it was such a bad place to see a movie. It might have been a different experience as a single screen, but as a twin you didn’t wasnt to know from it.A good reminder that not every theater was a treasure.
My memories of the Trylon strt in the late 1960’s. I seem to recall it as a poor relation to the first run houses a few blocks up Queens Blvd. [Midway, Forest Hills, Continental] I remember it as a second run house at that time that played a lot of double features. for instance I remember seeing Help on a double with Two For The Road. I moved back to the area in the early 1980’s and went their often, but the crowds were going elsewhere and the place was not well maintained. Still it was always fun to sit in the Balcony, and I always loved the Art Deco feel of the place