Lafayette Theatre
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
97 Lafayette Avenue,
Suffern,
NY
10901
37 people
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Showing 701 - 725 of 915 comments
Not yet, Fred. I’ll be getting some new photos of Cedar Lane and Newton Theatre this week and will be re-vamping the Big Screen Classics website with that information.
Peter is there a website for the Cedar Lane
Hi, Rhett.
Nelson is no longer an operating partner at the Lafayette. His partners with the management company for the theatre have decided to move forward on their own with the venue. No politics, no acrimony in any way. We’d love to continue with shows up there, but that’s not in the cards right now. We look forward to 2009 with the Cedar Lane series as well as having other events in different historic venues in this area.
I can’t believe the message I received this morning. NO MORE Bigscreen classics at the Lafayette?? WHY?? Why ruin a good thing? Now it’s going to be held at the Cedar Lanes triplex in Teaneck on Wednesday nights at 8pm. Who will attend that? NOT ME. I get home from work, I’m exhausted, I’m not travelling the roads at night for an 8pm show in Teaneck.
The Lafayette shows on Saturday morning were something I always looked forward to. It was my haven and I think I speak for others as well. Did Nelson sell the theater? Was it politics?
I’m crushed, truly crushed and disaponted. You lost a patron.
It was a BITTERLY COLD day outside this morning but it was wonderfully WARM and TOASTY inside the Lafayette Theatre for the annual Christmas screening of It’s A Wonderful Life!
When I arrived at 10 am the crowd already snaked from under the glowing marquee down the sidewalk curving around the corner and extending far down Washington avenue!
When I finally made it inside the warm interior of the the grand old lady I quickly made my way up to the balcony for a prime seat!
Soon after getting comfortable the sold out crowd was treated to a wonderful performance of holiday tunes from the Golden fingers of the ONE and ONLY Jeff Barker on The Ben Hall Memorial Mighty Wurlitzer!
Then Nelson and Abby donned the stage all dressed up and did a great reading of “The Night Before Christmasâ€
Santa then made an early appearance all the way from the North Pole! Old Saint Nick thanked everyone for coming and said “I don’t go to the Palisades Mall!†I only make stops at REAL THEATRES!â€
One more surprise a beautful young lady sang Holly Night to the delight of the full house.
Then it was time for the show to begin! The curtain opened and some shorts played along with a GREAT Warner Brother’s cartoon.
The the heavy read curtain closed and re-opened and the movie magic began with the opening scene of the timeless “It’s A Wonderful Lifeâ€
The experience of seeing this classic with 1000+ people in attendance was INCREDIBLE!
Thank you to Nelson, Abby, Bob, Pete, Jeff Barker and the entire staff of The Lafayette Theatre Rockland’s ONLY Movie Palace
zzzzzzzz
If you HAVE NOT gotten your tickets for It’s A Wonderful Life taking place THIS SAT DEC 20th make sure to DO SO! The show WILL SELL OUT BY 1045am on SATURDAY morning!
Advanced ticket holder’s WILL be admitted when the doors open at 10:30am SHARP!
If you SNOOZE YOU LOOSE!
The Lafayette does it again. Saturday’s showing (11/29) of THE WIZARD OF OZ was another amazing event. The show sold out, and at least 200 people were turned away as the line still stretched down the street and around the corner. Several people of various ages came dressed as Dorothy, complete with ruby slippers, basket, and “Toto”.
Back on November 1st 2008, the Lafayette presented the 1959 classic “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. But this was not the first time the movie had played at this theater:
View link
The paper is the Bergen Evening Record, December 26 1959.
Bob – Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.
Jeff – Thanks for posting those pictures, I will have a complete gallery of your shots posted on the Lafayette website this weekend.
I don’t understand why the box office success of of the 3D “Journey to the Center of the Earth” hasn’t gotten us a Special Edition Blu-ray DVD of the 1959 version. Looks like Fox has the elements to do a striking transfer (their standard DVD from four years ago is pretty good), and while Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl and Diane Baker are still alive, it’d be nice to get a commentary from them.
I have some pictures from Friday’s event:
Auditorium prior to radio show:
View link
Radio show in progress:
View link
RO-MAN, who stood watch outside the theater with his billion bubble machine and promised everyone who entered a “quick and painless death”:
View link
Bob: I watched “Journey” every time it came on the 4:30 Movie as well. The first time I saw it was on the ABC Sunday Night Movie on October 17, 1965 (I still remember the date – I guess it meant a lot to me :) I also had to beg my parents to let me stay up till the end of the movie at 11:30 PM on a school night (I was only 10), but they let me. The next night at dinner, my dad said all the guys at work were talking about how rotten that guy was for eating the duck.
This was another fantastic weekend for classic film at the Lafayette Theater. The live radio show on Friday night was a first and certainly unique. The cast of professional actors did a wonderful job and I hope to see â€" AND hear – more of them!
On Saturday, “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers†was an excellent archival print from the films original release. Seeing it in its intended widescreen format (1:85) was a revelation, and the superb print quality with its high silver content was quite a treat.
“Man from Planet X†is a true rarity and this was a brand new print struck a few years ago. While the contrast looked a bit light at times (from a dupe negative perhaps) it was easy to overlook for the sheer rareness of seeing this low budget gem in 35mm.
For me, the absolute highlight of the weekend was Saturday night’s presentation of “Journey to the Center of the Earth.†I first saw this film on the ABC 4:30 movie (in two parts) way back in the early 1970’s and it was always a childhood favorite. I’ve owned it on laser disc, DVD and, at one time, even had an original (totally faded) 35mm print. However, seeing this brand new print on the Lafayette’s big screen was like seeing it for the first time. The color was perfect, and the clarity off the camera negative was amazing. I felt as if I had gone back to 1959 and was seeing the film first run!
The icing on the cinematic cake was the 4 channel stereo sound. While the voices and effects seemed primarily set in the center channel, Bernard Herrman’s wonderful music really came to life with the 3 speakers behind the screen. It was also cool having various sound effects (such as wind and echoes) bouncing from the surround speakers. The spacious size of the Lafayette’s auditorium added immensely to the totally immersive wrap-around audio.
On Sunday, the archival dye-transfer Technicolor print of “Rodan†was in mint condition. It’s always great to see real Technicolor on the big screen!
Unfortunately, a prior commitment kept me from attending the rest of the shows on Sunday, but I certainly had a great time when I was there.
The appearance of Ro-Man in front of the theater was a nice touch – especially since he brought his Automatic Billion Bubble Machine. Perhaps this means the Lafayette will bring back 3-D with a presentation of this gem in its original dual-strip, Polaroid version? One can only hope. I must â€" but I cannot.
Jeff Barker was quite entertaining on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ, and the addition of a Theremin on stage was inspired. Many people were amazed to see the actual instrument in action, and the player was a real pro.
Pete Apruzzese and the crew are to be commended for their usual excellent showmanship and attention to detail. One of the things I enjoy most about attending this theater is the fact that you don’t have to worry about the presentation. You know that the curtains and stage lights will be utilized to create the appropriate movie palace experience. The focus was always crisp and the sound really delivered a punch. Some of those low bass music cues in Journey had the seat shaking. I thought I was hearing Sensurround again!
If you have the opportunity to be in the area, don’t miss a chance to see a classic movie at this great showplace. You can sit back – relax – and enjoy the show, for it is truly the way movies were meant to be seen!
Pete: since the finale cue is so short, I was still in the building for the beginning of “Twice as Tall”.
That finale is so powerful – the producers should’ve found a way (like you did) to include it in the film itself, instead of the “ki-yi-yi-yi” song.
Jeff: I made the train with lots of time to spare, because it came in 5 minutes late. I would’ve made it anyway, though.
Yes, please post some photos, Jeff. It’ll be a while before I can add them to the Lafayette’s website. Don’t forget Ro-man!
Bill was out of there the instant the screen went dark. I think he had less than 10 minutes until his train left.
Pete, great job on the few shows I attended. I hope you got a chance to look over the pictures from Friday. I should post some links to them here, no?
Oh, and the sound was perfect!
Bill – glad you enjoyed the show. Our friend Jeff S. reminded me that he wanted the CinemaScope logo and fanfare LOUD, so that’s what you got :) And who else would have thought to run that unused Herrmann finale as exit music but me? You probably left before the next piece came on, the full recording of the unused “Twice as Tall” vocal.
Before the show, Nelson Page announced that this print of “Journey to the Center of the Earth” was so new it had never been shown to a theater audience before. He also told us it was the first movie he and his brother had ever seen in a theater. Last night’s show was like being transported back to 1959 and seeing the film in its first run, the way Nelson and his brother saw it in Fort Lee, NJ, in all its CinemaScope glory.
The sound was turned up to just the right level to best showcase Bernard Herrmann’s one-of-a-kind score. His “Atlantis” organ/vibraphone music never sounded so good.
The audience was most likely as awestruck as I was all through it, but some of them did applaud when Count Saknussemm fell to his death and was crushed by rocks. That’s what he gets for EATING a most valuable member of the expedition (Gertrude the Duck). The fact that he did that still disturbs me, 43 years after I first saw it.
As I rushed out of the theater to catch a train, I got to hear Herrmann’s triumphant finale music which was never used in the film, but which the Lafayette played from the soundtrack CD as exit music. Bravo to Pete Apruzzese (or whoever’s idea it was) for doing that.
Even before the movie started, there was another memorable musical event. Besides Jeff Barker at the organ playing music from the film’s score, there was a man named Thad on stage performing on a theremin, that strange electronic instrument used in many a sci-fi and horror film score. It was fascinating to actually see one of them in action.
What a great show!
Even though I can’t be there, I’m very interested in how good the print is and how the audience enjoys JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. So, if there’s anyone who attends, please write a little review here. Thanks.
Finished inspecting the films for the weekend last night – we’ve got some real beauties. The War of the Worlds is virtually brand new (fantastic color), the Journey to Center of the Earth is amazing with a really big-sounding stereo track. The Creeping Unknown is the longer British version, the Rodan is genuine Technicolor, the Man from Planet X is in excellent shape and almost never shown anywhere, the Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is an original release print as approved by Ray Harryhausen, and the Metropolis is Kino’s best print and the longest version currently available.
Hope to see you there – or make sure to listen in on the radio Friday night at 8pm (Eastern, we’ll be on about 8:07 after the national news): 1300AM or www.wrcr.com
We’ve got a busy week in store for you!
Thursday night, October 30 at 7:30 pm, we’re happy to present – by popular demand – the 1925 silent horror classic THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, starring Lon Chaney, with LIVE musical accompaniment by Jeff Barker on the Mighty Wurlitzer. Tickets are $10 for this special event and are on sale at the door.
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Then, on Friday, October 31, the Lafayette Theatre’s SCIENCE FICTION SPECTACULAR begins!
Here’s the complete SCIENCE FICTION SPECTACULAR 2008 line-up:
Friday, October 31 – War of the Worlds Tribute Night!
7:30pm – THE WAR OF THE WORLDS – LIVE ON STAGE & ON THE AIR! Our tribute begins with a 70th Anniversary live presentation of the 1938 Orson Welles ‘panic broadcast’, performed by a 5-person professional cast along with chilling sound effects using the original 1938 Howard W. Koch script. This special once-in-a-lifetime event will also be broadcast live on WRCR, Rockland County Radio, AM1300, or streamed on the internet at www.wrcr.com beginning at 8:07 pm (after the national news).
9:45pm – THE WAR OF THE WORLDS – The 1953 film will be shown, in tribute to the Centennial of the birth of its visionary producer George Pal. Presented in an archive vault print from Paramount Pictures.
(separate admission required for each event)
Saturday, November 1
1:30pm – EARTH V.S THE FLYING SAUCERS, featuring special visual effect by Ray Harryhausen, print courtesy Sony Pictures.
3:45pm – THE MAN FROM PLANET X, starring Robert Clarke and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, rare showing of MGM’s vault print.
7:45pm – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, starring James Mason and Pat Boone. Presented in CinemaScope & stereophonic sound via the East Coast premiere of a new vault print from 20th Century Fox!
Sunday, November 2
1:30pm – RODAN: THE FLYING MONSTER, presented in its original American release version and in Technicolor.
3:45pm – THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (aka THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT) starring Brian Donlevy – uncut British version.
7:30pm – Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS, this silent science fiction epic will be presented in its 2002 restored version and feature LIVE musical accompaniment by John Baratta on the Mighty Wurlitzer!
All tickets – $9 per show. Separate admission required. Doors open 30 minutes prior to each showtime and you can buy your tickets at the door. Go to: View link for more information.
Excellent print and presentation, certainly one of the best. Great job Pete and the audience was definitely into it.
Yes, the audience was into the movie, it went over very well in my opinion. Go ahead and use the comments if you like.
Thanks, Jeff, for posting that. I’m a big fan of THE SAND PEBBLES, but I can’t afford to travel all the way to Suffern, NY (I live in NC). Anyway, I have it on Blu-ray, which is mastered from the same 4K scan. I hope the audience was into the movie. Anyway, I’m going to forward your comments, Jeff, to the website www.thesandpebbles.com Hope you don’t mind.