AFI Silver Theatre

The AFI/Silver NEVER ran movies on a platter except on rare occasions in theatres 2 or 3 (not even an option in 1). My only comment on the projectionists for the site is that the regular projectionists are no longer there.

Sadly, I found out why the website doesn’t list any classic films in film. The theater is NOT showing any 35mm or 70mm film. The theater is not paying film projectionist to show real film. This would be tragic, as the AFI has always prided itself on its classic film program. DCPs & lesser are not the same.

Ah hah! Someone must’ve been listening. They have Star Trek: TOS Movie screenings this week at the AFI, but mostly in 35mm and DCP. The Motion Picture is Blu-Ray and is the Director’s Edition. Sadly, no 70mm for anything. The Blu-Ray presentation was underwhelming the first go around even though it was in the Historic Auditorium. III maybe worth a viewing in 35mm. I can’t believe I’m saying that after all the years of complaining about scratched and mishandled 35mm film prints at the local megaplex. Maybe its a studio vault print. Then again, why not the 70mm, if its a vault print. :P Decisions, decisions. To boldly go, or not.

are there recliners at this venue?

Thanks! what month was the new curtain installed? I will mention it at the Intro above.

JodarMovieFan, my photo of old curtain is the profile photo on this page. Many colors like the auditorium, no doubt inspired by the auditorium colors. Not as photogenic as the red curtain.

I was delighted to see in the main, historic auditorium, wonderful 35mm prints of Northwest Passage (1940) and Barry Lyndon (1975) on 8-20-16. I’ve posted photos of those movies on the marquee, and photo of new red curtain in the photo section. I was told new curtain installed a few months ago? Why did the original curtain have to go? Photos are better with the new red curtain.

I saw ‘Hateful Eight’ here yesterday midday and I thought the presentation was outstanding – typical for AFI Silver in my opinion ~wow!~

Morricone’s score at times was so powerful and suitably loud.

my only gripe is that Tarantino should have had some entre' act music at the beginning of the second part of the movie – it abruptly jumps back into the movie without much of a breather.

70mm has a normal ratio of 2.20. At the AFI, like most older theatres, the front-end sort of dictates how big an image you can work with. Also, don’t confuse width with area. I believe that the 2.20 ratio has the largest area at the Silver. 35mm scope is wider but less tall.

Great posts. I guess I will trek to see H8ful 8 here as opposed to my local BowTie, where it is reported the experience was not good. Still.. $20 for 70mm! At least throw in a free drink. Howard, did you get a movie program?

Steve, why is it 70mm does not fill the width of the (presumably Historic auditorium) screen? Is it the lenses? What do they use? I remember the previous owner of the Senator touting the then lenses used were some German type.. Bauer? I suspect the Bauer lenses are the best.

The Hateful Eight was selling out the afternoon & evening screenings over the weekend. I’ve never seen a movie 2 days in a row & almost never see a new movie 2ce, but I attended Saturday & Sunday evenings. Unlike chain multiplexes, full use of the curtain (before, intermission and close) & proper masking was used. Sunday was even better because the curtain was closed until the start, with no slide show before using the curtain. Projection & surround were excellent. The movie was 5.1 surround. Souvenir programs were handed out. Three cheers to the AFI workers each day for the special presentations! And, as to the movie, it was awesome, including the details seen due to 70mm, the widescreen vistas, and the score.

Wow, Howard. Thanks for the post. Ultra panavision 70 sounds so h u g e. I wonder if the Silver’s 40 ft screen will do it justice. I’m hoping for the best..no, I’m going to set my expectations low, so if its good, then I’ll say it was great. :)

Here’s the text of the above 12-14-15 article-

The film premieres tonight in New York in 70mm at the Ziegfeld theater. Starting today, moviegoers can purchase tickets for the 70mm roadshow showings at tickets.thehatefuleight.com. To mark the occasion, Quentin and TWC are commemorating the opening with the “12 Days of Hateful Eight Giveaways,” where each day a different Hateful Eight prize, memorabilia or once-in-a-lifetime experience will be given away to moviegoers who buy roadshow tickets in advance leading up to the Christmas day opening.

The exclusive roadshow engagement that The Hateful Eight is embarking on will replicate the special event releases that films used to receive in the early and mid-twentieth century. They screened a longer version of the film than would have been shown in wide release, including a musical overture to start the show and an intermission between acts, and moviegoers received a special souvenir program. The Hateful Eight roadshow experience will offer moviegoers all three special features. Roadshows were the gold standard for exhibiting pictures like Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With the Wind, Cleopatra, Battle of the Bulge, The Ten Commandments andBen-Hur. TWC and Tarantino’s presentation of The Hateful Eight will mark the widest 70mm release that the industry has seen in over twenty years.

The film will open in 44 markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston, Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa, Minneapolis, Denver, Miami, Cleveland, Orlando, Sacramento, St. Louis, Portland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Baltimore, San Diego, Nashville, Kansas City, San Antonio, West Palm Beach, Birmingham, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Austin, New Orleans, Providence, Knoxville, Santa Barbara, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. Quentin and cast members from The Hateful Eight will be touring the country making surprise appearances in select cities at 70mm roadshow showings.

Not since the 1966 film Khartoum starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier has a film been shot in Ultra Panavision 70 format. In 2012, TWC distributed Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed film The Master in a similar 70mm format. Beloved by filmmakers and cinephilesfor its wide-scope and high-resolution image quality, Ultra Panavision 70mm stock captures nearly twice the landscape of the more common 35mm and digital styles. Because of its unique quality and its importance to the art of filmmaking, Quentin, TWC, and a number of other major Hollywood directors and studios have negotiated deals with Kodak to continue production of 70mm and other film formats despite their higher costs and complexity of use.

The lead cast for The Hateful Eight includes Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), Kurt Russell (Escape From New York), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle), Walton Goggins (“Justified”), Demian Bichir (A Better Life), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), and Bruce Dern (Nebraska). Written and directed by Tarantino, The Hateful Eight is produced by Richard N. Gladstein, Stacey Sher and Shannon McIntosh. Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein and Georgia Kacandes are executive producing, and Coco Francini and William Paul Clark are associate producing.