Those legends in the newspaper ads are supplied by the studio placing the ad. The studio, in turn, is supposed to get updated information from the theatre chain’s film booker regarding technical upgrades/changes to locations. Rarely, however, are these updates done by the studio. We have DTS at the Lafayette, and in some ads we get listed as DTS, but in others it’s Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, or nothing.
Went to the 4:15 showing of Casino Royale (a gigantic borefest) at the new Rockaway 16 yesterday. Screen was nice and large, digital sound was pretty good (bass was a little too boomy and one-note for my taste, they just need to calibrate it better), crowd was well-behaved. Other than the endless video commercials and then film trailers, the presentation was top-notch. Only technical issue was that there’s a light in the projection booth that, when it was turned on, cast a rectangular shadow image on the left side of the screen. They need to find that light and move it and/or mask off the window it’s shining through.
The Thing is exceptional 50s science fiction, as is Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still. When I played The Thing at the Lafayette a couple of years ago, the audeince (of all ages) ate it up.
The release of the full-length version of “Heaven’s Gate” in 1980 (at the Cinema 1 in NYC) was a roadshow with hard-ticket sales via mail-order. I guess it was probably not an “official” roadshow, since tix could also be bought at the door.
I appreciate your constructive comments and support of our shows.
The reason for yesterday’s show was because of the brutally bad condition of reel 6. The print as it came in had no ending – at least the last 20 feet of image (of Shane riding off) was missing as well as the entire ending Paramount logo. What I did to make it play as smoothly as possible was to remove the Paramount logo from the beginning of the film (after it ran, obviously) and attach it to the end of reel 6 (since that opening logo had a nice picture fade up and out). While I rode the sound – fading down on the last 12 feet of image, I started the curtain closing just as the Paramount logo was hitting the screen, making for a better presentation of a bad print, IMO.
Normally, I time the curtain close so that the audience never sees a white screen (which is the way I was always taught and the real old-timers here will back me up on). I’ll cheat a little and wait a bit longer sometimes if the film doesn’t have a long end cast, but most of the films from the era we’re playing are timed to have a curtain close over their final 8 seconds or so of end-title image.
The studios boooking agreements vary by region, theatres in major metro areas are often not able to offer bargain shows in the afternoon, if at all. Remember that the percentage of the ticket sales that the theatre has to remit to the studio is based on full-priced tickets in most cases, bargain shows or discount programs cost the theatre money.
In its first weekend, it did under $2000 per screen in 143 locations (most major markets). Those are not good numbers for a film with this kind of publicity. If it had any interest from the general public, it would have done over $5000 per screen.
I think everyone enjoyed it as much as you, we’ve received nothing but positive comments, even with the no-show of Plan 9 (which will definitely be making an appearance in the near future, with an added bonus). One thing, there were almost 40 minutes of trailers – they went by so fast that it only seemed like 20.
The Horror & Science Fiction Festival 2006 is this weekend at the Lafayette! Nowhere else will you see PSYCHO, THE CRAWLING EYE, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, HOUSE OF USHER, and ROSEMARY’S BABY in one great festival…
Thanks, Bill. Glad you noticed the music – you were one of three who knew what it was and figured out why I played it. I overheard a couple of people say that they thought it was music from The Omen!
Rhett – the lights coming up a little early on Becket was a mistake. The overhead lights are controlled from the projection booth and I never turn those up until a “The End” hits the screen. But the sidelights (which you are referring to) are controlled from downstairs and they must have faded them up as people started to come in to the lobby (before the film was over, during that last long shot), thinking the film was over. I’ll make certain the manager knows in the future not to turn them up until he sees a “The End”, or whatever the first credit is, on-screen. Unfortunately, our litigious society prevents us from keeping the house lights down until the curtain closes.
Perhaps they don’t think it will do any business for them, being a micro-budgeted indie flick that, most likely, does not fit the demographics of their locations.
I’ve never found any remnants of 70mm equipment anywhere in the Lafayette theatre, all the way from the boiler room to the attic and booth storage area, so I would guess no to ever showing 70mm. The theatre was equipped for 35mm magnetic stereo from Christmas 1953 (for The Robe) and also had one of the area’s first 35mm Dolby Stereo setups installed for the run of the original Star Wars in 1977/78.
According to the “70mm in New York” website, The Black Cauldron had a 70mm engagement at UA’s Route 59 Theatre in Nanuet, NY.
There are no 70mm prints of Superman in circulation any longer (they would have all faded by now, anyway). The Ziegfeld is most likely running the “Director’s Cut” of Superman (which had a limited reisuue in 2000), probably the same print I played a couple of years ago. I don’t believe any prints of the original 1978 version are in circulation.
No, the whole screen is silver, since it’s the same screen we use for all shows. The silver really adds a “sparkle” to the image, particularly the black & white and Technicolor classics when we run them.
Vito – they could do it, but they most likely won’t. When I run 3-D again at the Lafayette next year, you’re welcome to come up and run a show, I could use the break :)
Re: 8th Street Dial M: Warner has new dual-strip polaroid 3-D prints of Dial M for Murder, I ran one at my 3-D festival at the Lafayette back in 2004.
Vito – got a spare cue-scriber in your parts box? :)
If there were cue marks, it was not a digital showing. Perhaps they had a problem with their DLP unit and were using the 35mm backup print?
Vito:
Those legends in the newspaper ads are supplied by the studio placing the ad. The studio, in turn, is supposed to get updated information from the theatre chain’s film booker regarding technical upgrades/changes to locations. Rarely, however, are these updates done by the studio. We have DTS at the Lafayette, and in some ads we get listed as DTS, but in others it’s Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, or nothing.
Went to the 4:15 showing of Casino Royale (a gigantic borefest) at the new Rockaway 16 yesterday. Screen was nice and large, digital sound was pretty good (bass was a little too boomy and one-note for my taste, they just need to calibrate it better), crowd was well-behaved. Other than the endless video commercials and then film trailers, the presentation was top-notch. Only technical issue was that there’s a light in the projection booth that, when it was turned on, cast a rectangular shadow image on the left side of the screen. They need to find that light and move it and/or mask off the window it’s shining through.
Good job – I’ll be back.
Are all of these shows on 35mm film?
The owner of the building has apparently run into issues with his construction project, so I don’t know what the current timetable is.
The Thing is exceptional 50s science fiction, as is Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still. When I played The Thing at the Lafayette a couple of years ago, the audeince (of all ages) ate it up.
According to the Variety article, there is no Intermission in Dreamgirls.
The release of the full-length version of “Heaven’s Gate” in 1980 (at the Cinema 1 in NYC) was a roadshow with hard-ticket sales via mail-order. I guess it was probably not an “official” roadshow, since tix could also be bought at the door.
Empty.
Hi, Rhett.
I appreciate your constructive comments and support of our shows.
The reason for yesterday’s show was because of the brutally bad condition of reel 6. The print as it came in had no ending – at least the last 20 feet of image (of Shane riding off) was missing as well as the entire ending Paramount logo. What I did to make it play as smoothly as possible was to remove the Paramount logo from the beginning of the film (after it ran, obviously) and attach it to the end of reel 6 (since that opening logo had a nice picture fade up and out). While I rode the sound – fading down on the last 12 feet of image, I started the curtain closing just as the Paramount logo was hitting the screen, making for a better presentation of a bad print, IMO.
Normally, I time the curtain close so that the audience never sees a white screen (which is the way I was always taught and the real old-timers here will back me up on). I’ll cheat a little and wait a bit longer sometimes if the film doesn’t have a long end cast, but most of the films from the era we’re playing are timed to have a curtain close over their final 8 seconds or so of end-title image.
Thanks.
The studios boooking agreements vary by region, theatres in major metro areas are often not able to offer bargain shows in the afternoon, if at all. Remember that the percentage of the ticket sales that the theatre has to remit to the studio is based on full-priced tickets in most cases, bargain shows or discount programs cost the theatre money.
In its first weekend, it did under $2000 per screen in 143 locations (most major markets). Those are not good numbers for a film with this kind of publicity. If it had any interest from the general public, it would have done over $5000 per screen.
Thanks, hotwaterbottle.
I think everyone enjoyed it as much as you, we’ve received nothing but positive comments, even with the no-show of Plan 9 (which will definitely be making an appearance in the near future, with an added bonus). One thing, there were almost 40 minutes of trailers – they went by so fast that it only seemed like 20.
Neat pics, Bill, thanks for posting.
See you Saturday!
Forgot to add:
The Horror & Science Fiction Festival 2006 is this weekend at the Lafayette! Nowhere else will you see PSYCHO, THE CRAWLING EYE, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, HOUSE OF USHER, and ROSEMARY’S BABY in one great festival…
See the news item posted here: http://cinematreasures.org/news/15378_0_1_0_C/
Thanks, Bill. Glad you noticed the music – you were one of three who knew what it was and figured out why I played it. I overheard a couple of people say that they thought it was music from The Omen!
Rhett – the lights coming up a little early on Becket was a mistake. The overhead lights are controlled from the projection booth and I never turn those up until a “The End” hits the screen. But the sidelights (which you are referring to) are controlled from downstairs and they must have faded them up as people started to come in to the lobby (before the film was over, during that last long shot), thinking the film was over. I’ll make certain the manager knows in the future not to turn them up until he sees a “The End”, or whatever the first credit is, on-screen. Unfortunately, our litigious society prevents us from keeping the house lights down until the curtain closes.
Perhaps they don’t think it will do any business for them, being a micro-budgeted indie flick that, most likely, does not fit the demographics of their locations.
You’re welcome – hope to see you there!
It’s less than an hour by car from Manhattan. Train service gets you there in about 55 minutes.
“To Be Continued” was only added to the video version, it was never on the original 1985 theatrical prints.
I’ve never found any remnants of 70mm equipment anywhere in the Lafayette theatre, all the way from the boiler room to the attic and booth storage area, so I would guess no to ever showing 70mm. The theatre was equipped for 35mm magnetic stereo from Christmas 1953 (for The Robe) and also had one of the area’s first 35mm Dolby Stereo setups installed for the run of the original Star Wars in 1977/78.
According to the “70mm in New York” website, The Black Cauldron had a 70mm engagement at UA’s Route 59 Theatre in Nanuet, NY.
There are no 70mm prints of Superman in circulation any longer (they would have all faded by now, anyway). The Ziegfeld is most likely running the “Director’s Cut” of Superman (which had a limited reisuue in 2000), probably the same print I played a couple of years ago. I don’t believe any prints of the original 1978 version are in circulation.
No, the whole screen is silver, since it’s the same screen we use for all shows. The silver really adds a “sparkle” to the image, particularly the black & white and Technicolor classics when we run them.
Vito – they could do it, but they most likely won’t. When I run 3-D again at the Lafayette next year, you’re welcome to come up and run a show, I could use the break :)
Re: 8th Street Dial M: Warner has new dual-strip polaroid 3-D prints of Dial M for Murder, I ran one at my 3-D festival at the Lafayette back in 2004.