a few years back Twilight Time released a blu-ray disc
of Hawaii but botched it by using the general release
cut rather than the original roadshow which did exist.
now another blu-ray disc of Hawaii is coming out but like
Twilight Time did the new company is botching it by
again using the general release cut. the original
roadshow cut exits why not use it?
South Pacific’s roadshow run which started at the Criterion
moved here at some point. it would be interesting for a 1st
person account of seeing it here on the curved screen installed
specifically for films shot in Todd-AO as opposed to what
I assume was a flat screen at the Criterion.
to bad a remastered blu-ray disc of WSS wasn’t issued for the 60th
Anni. last October 2021. the currently available blu-ray from say
10? years ago contains a huge mistake that did not occur on
any previous home video version of the film.
to Peter A.- thanks for the link. what I’m still a tad
confused by is if the water damage was as severe as
originally reported won’t that still appear to some degree
even on a “restored” blu-ray disc?
I just read the Warner Archive Collection is releasing a
blu-ray disc of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
on March 29. shortly after the stellar blu-ray disc of
How The West Was Won was released the Fall of 2008 I asked
on several sites that reviewed blu-ray discs when The
Wonderful ……. would be coming out. most said probably
never since the original camera negative had bad/severe
water damage and Warner Bros. probably wouldn’t expend
the $$$ necessary to do a COMPLETE restoration. so what
is the Warner Archive Collection using as their source
for the HD transfer???
I am not aware of exactly when actual porn debuted. to which on
pg.1 of the photo section ads for such films as Vapors, Erotic
Salad and Post-Graduate. I’m guessing by the dates given for the
ads that they were exploitation films and not actual porn.
to MSC77- thanks for the new link. it worked perfectly.
a few comments/questions.
*after reading the article I’m assuming the reason the
Todd-AO 70MM print of the original roadshow cut used in the
festival wasn’t used for the blu-ray is it was too faded?
*also during this theater’s 70M festival in the late 70s
what print was used for South Pacific the original Todd-AO
roadshow cut or the general release print?
*The Agony and the Ecstasy is one of my favorite historical
epics. it would have been amazing to see the original
Todd-AO roadshow cut in 70MM on the large curved screen.
we recently discussed that Call Me By Your Name was the longest
running film here of recent years. it ran from Thanksgiving week
2017 to the first week of April 2018. but what is the longest
running film ever here?
I have tried the link to the article about the print of South
Pacific shown at the film festival in Bradford, England twice
and it doesn’t work. it would interesting to read the article.
to vindanpar- a few weeks back we were discussion why the
Todd-AO roadshow cut of Oklahoma survives yet
the original Todd-AO roadshow cut of South
Pacific doesn’t. the interesting thing is if
the original Todd-AO roadshow cut of South
Pacific was used in the 70MM festival why
when the home video market started a few
years later did it suddenly disappear. the
“roadshow cut” on the blu-ray disc is a
reconstruction using clips from a B&W work
print to replace the scenes that were cut
to make the general release print. here’s
an interesting bit of info.
on the Wikipedia page for the film is this
statement- "the original 3hr. roadshow cut
long thought lost was rediscovered in s 70MM
print owned by a collector". if in fact the
original 3hr.roadshow cut was found as
stated why then is the roadshow cut on the
blu-ray a reconstruction using footage from
a b&w work print?
I believe it was the late 70s? when this theater held a festival
of great films that were shot in 70MM. one of which was South
Pacific. for those who might have attended was the print shown
of SP the original Todd-AO roadshow print pr the general release
print?
after posting the question I had the same thought you did. but
if San Francisco’s much smaller population than LA or NYC was
probably the reason for The Ten Commandments roadshow run of only
12 weeks how do you explain other roadshow runs that were
much longer? for instance The Sound of Music ran at the United
Artist Theater for a year.
to Mike (saps)- the discussion of roadshow engagements was as
you say a tad acrimonious but I believe the quote from Variety’s
9/27/61 review of West Side Story settles the argument.
if I remember the person complaining about our use of the
term “roadshow engagement” said it was technically only correct
during the silent era when films frequently traveled from
town to town and were hence always on the road.
to stevenj- thanks for the info. I read the article you sent
a link to which was fact filled. as you state in your e-mail the
article mentions the Todd-AO screen installed for Oklahoma
was replaced with a D-150 screen prior to The Sand Pebbles
opening. which prompts a question- what was the height and
width of the D-150 screen as opposed to the Todd-AO screen?
to Al A.- as always thanks for your reply. I assumed the 491
figure mentioned in my previous post was for the number of theaters
not the number of auditoriums. the point I was making was its
amazing the number of theaters that people alive today went
to that I had no idea ever existed. for instance the Parkwest on
W. 99 St. which people alive today that aren’t that old
attended.
as always I thank you for answering my posts with your
apparently bottomless font of knowledge. this time its
an interesting comment. it seems whenever I look at
this site’s page for Manhattan another movie theater
I never knew existed is listed. for instance the
Parkwest Theater which was on W. 99 St. the all time
count for Manhattan is currently 491 theaters. one
winders how much more it will increase.
for the longest period of time this theater’s marquee
had a little box on top that said “a D-150 Theater”. to
the best of my knowledge this theater never showed a
film in D-150 so why was that little box up there for
soooooo long?
recently I bought the 4K Columbia Classics Vol. 2 set
primarily for Oliver since I was dissatisfied with the
Twilight Time blu-ray disc released a few years back.
two thoughts-
*the richness of the colors and the clarity of the
picture is A+ but there’s a defect so to speak on
the audio tracks. thru out the film every often you
hear a rather audible sound as if someone was lightly
blowing on a tuba. I haven’t watched the blu-ray to
hear if the audio defect is repeated.
*when the main menu comes up with play, settings. scenes
extras etc… the music playing is always from the
film. but the music playing on main menu of the 4K of
Oliver is not from the film and I have no idea what ‘
music it is.
interesting note . this theater hosted the premiere in 1913
of A Traffic in Souls an early feature from Universal. for
1913 at least the film was considered as daring expose of
the white slave trade.
thanks to DavidZ. for your reply. just out of curiosity from
1952-1972 the studios regularly released their BIG films
with roadshow engagements. was the Chicago ever used for
roadshow engagements?
to MSC77- thanks for the info. just out of curiosity could a
theater get out of a roadshow engagement if the film wasn’t doing
well even if they signed a contract with a studio to show the
film for however many weeks or months? the reason I ask is
simple. I happen to like The Greatest Story Ever Told and saw
it twice during its roadshow run “in Cinerama” at the Warner
Theater in Manhattan. now after the box office tallies for
1965 were added up the TGSET was considered a financial loss
for United Artists. to which my question- why in God’s
name would the Warner have hosted a roadshow engagement of
TGSET for 44 weeks if it wasn’t making $$$?
Hello-
a few years back Twilight Time released a blu-ray disc of Hawaii but botched it by using the general release cut rather than the original roadshow which did exist. now another blu-ray disc of Hawaii is coming out but like Twilight Time did the new company is botching it by again using the general release cut. the original roadshow cut exits why not use it?
Hello-
South Pacific’s roadshow run which started at the Criterion moved here at some point. it would be interesting for a 1st person account of seeing it here on the curved screen installed specifically for films shot in Todd-AO as opposed to what I assume was a flat screen at the Criterion.
Hello-
to bad a remastered blu-ray disc of WSS wasn’t issued for the 60th
Anni. last October 2021. the currently available blu-ray from say 10? years ago contains a huge mistake that did not occur on any previous home video version of the film.
Hello-
to Peter A.- thanks for the link. what I’m still a tad confused by is if the water damage was as severe as originally reported won’t that still appear to some degree even on a “restored” blu-ray disc?
Hello-
I just read the Warner Archive Collection is releasing a blu-ray disc of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm on March 29. shortly after the stellar blu-ray disc of How The West Was Won was released the Fall of 2008 I asked on several sites that reviewed blu-ray discs when The Wonderful ……. would be coming out. most said probably never since the original camera negative had bad/severe water damage and Warner Bros. probably wouldn’t expend the $$$ necessary to do a COMPLETE restoration. so what is the Warner Archive Collection using as their source for the HD transfer???
Hello-
is this the theater where the 1928 part-talkie version of Showboat opened?
Hello-
does the supermarket occupy just the entrance and lobby areas or does it occupy the entire auditorium section as well?
Hello-
I am not aware of exactly when actual porn debuted. to which on pg.1 of the photo section ads for such films as Vapors, Erotic Salad and Post-Graduate. I’m guessing by the dates given for the ads that they were exploitation films and not actual porn.
Hello-
to MSC77- thanks for the new link. it worked perfectly. a few comments/questions.
*after reading the article I’m assuming the reason the Todd-AO 70MM print of the original roadshow cut used in the festival wasn’t used for the blu-ray is it was too faded?
*also during this theater’s 70M festival in the late 70s what print was used for South Pacific the original Todd-AO roadshow cut or the general release print?
*The Agony and the Ecstasy is one of my favorite historical epics. it would have been amazing to see the original Todd-AO roadshow cut in 70MM on the large curved screen.
Hello-
to HowardB-
we recently discussed that Call Me By Your Name was the longest running film here of recent years. it ran from Thanksgiving week 2017 to the first week of April 2018. but what is the longest running film ever here?
Hello-
I have tried the link to the article about the print of South Pacific shown at the film festival in Bradford, England twice and it doesn’t work. it would interesting to read the article.
Hello-
to vindanpar- a few weeks back we were discussion why the Todd-AO roadshow cut of Oklahoma survives yet the original Todd-AO roadshow cut of South Pacific doesn’t. the interesting thing is if the original Todd-AO roadshow cut of South Pacific was used in the 70MM festival why when the home video market started a few years later did it suddenly disappear. the “roadshow cut” on the blu-ray disc is a reconstruction using clips from a B&W work print to replace the scenes that were cut to make the general release print. here’s an interesting bit of info.
Hello-
I believe it was the late 70s? when this theater held a festival of great films that were shot in 70MM. one of which was South Pacific. for those who might have attended was the print shown of SP the original Todd-AO roadshow print pr the general release print?
Hello-
after posting the question I had the same thought you did. but if San Francisco’s much smaller population than LA or NYC was probably the reason for The Ten Commandments roadshow run of only 12 weeks how do you explain other roadshow runs that were much longer? for instance The Sound of Music ran at the United Artist Theater for a year.
Hello-
to Mike (saps)- the discussion of roadshow engagements was as you say a tad acrimonious but I believe the quote from Variety’s 9/27/61 review of West Side Story settles the argument.
if I remember the person complaining about our use of the term “roadshow engagement” said it was technically only correct during the silent era when films frequently traveled from town to town and were hence always on the road.
Hello-
to stevenj- thanks for the info. I read the article you sent a link to which was fact filled. as you state in your e-mail the article mentions the Todd-AO screen installed for Oklahoma was replaced with a D-150 screen prior to The Sand Pebbles opening. which prompts a question- what was the height and width of the D-150 screen as opposed to the Todd-AO screen?
Hello-
to Al A.- as always thanks for your reply. I assumed the 491 figure mentioned in my previous post was for the number of theaters not the number of auditoriums. the point I was making was its amazing the number of theaters that people alive today went to that I had no idea ever existed. for instance the Parkwest on W. 99 St. which people alive today that aren’t that old attended.
Hello-
to Al A.-
as always I thank you for answering my posts with your apparently bottomless font of knowledge. this time its an interesting comment. it seems whenever I look at this site’s page for Manhattan another movie theater I never knew existed is listed. for instance the Parkwest Theater which was on W. 99 St. the all time count for Manhattan is currently 491 theaters. one winders how much more it will increase.
Hello-
for the longest period of time this theater’s marquee had a little box on top that said “a D-150 Theater”. to the best of my knowledge this theater never showed a film in D-150 so why was that little box up there for soooooo long?
Hello-
recently I bought the 4K Columbia Classics Vol. 2 set primarily for Oliver since I was dissatisfied with the Twilight Time blu-ray disc released a few years back.
two thoughts-
*the richness of the colors and the clarity of the picture is A+ but there’s a defect so to speak on the audio tracks. thru out the film every often you hear a rather audible sound as if someone was lightly blowing on a tuba. I haven’t watched the blu-ray to hear if the audio defect is repeated.
*when the main menu comes up with play, settings. scenes extras etc… the music playing is always from the film. but the music playing on main menu of the 4K of Oliver is not from the film and I have no idea what ‘ music it is.
Hello-
interesting note . this theater hosted the premiere in 1913 of A Traffic in Souls an early feature from Universal. for 1913 at least the film was considered as daring expose of the white slave trade.
Hello-
to DavidZ.- I looked at the list you mentioned and none of
the films listed were roadshow engagements.
Hello-
thanks to DavidZ. for your reply. just out of curiosity from 1952-1972 the studios regularly released their BIG films with roadshow engagements. was the Chicago ever used for roadshow engagements?
Hello-
to MSC77- thanks for the info. just out of curiosity could a theater get out of a roadshow engagement if the film wasn’t doing well even if they signed a contract with a studio to show the film for however many weeks or months? the reason I ask is simple. I happen to like The Greatest Story Ever Told and saw it twice during its roadshow run “in Cinerama” at the Warner Theater in Manhattan. now after the box office tallies for 1965 were added up the TGSET was considered a financial loss for United Artists. to which my question- why in God’s name would the Warner have hosted a roadshow engagement of TGSET for 44 weeks if it wasn’t making $$$?
Hello from NYC-
when did this theater end its life as a 1st run venue?