From my first visit to the Lafayette (“It Happened One Night”) to my last (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”) I’ve had so many amazing movie experiences there that, if I could, I’d give Nelson, Pete and the whole crew a special Academy Award. Where to begin?: seeing “2001” with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood in the audience, finally getting to see beloved movies like “A Christmas Carol” (Alastair Sim), “Shane” and “Becket” on the big screen, my niece and I seeing my dad’s favorite movie “Yankee Doodle Dandy” together, helping Pete with a minor detail on turning out the lights in the theater for “Wait Until Dark” and getting my name listed in the program for it … thanks for the memories, guys. Hope to see you in Teaneck.
I agree with you, Ed, about “Man of La Mancha”. I avoided seeing it for years because the reviews were so lousy. When I finally did see it, I was quite surprised at how good it was. Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren were perfect choices for their roles. And even if Peter’s singing wasn’t so good, it sure fit his character (I think he was overdubbed for “The Impossible Dream”, and maybe other songs as well). But you’re right – the critics never gave that movie a chance.
At Ticketmaster, a “West Side Story” ticket is going for $120 like Jeff said, plus $8.75 service and handling charges. I avoided those extra charges on “Billy Elliot” by going directly to the box office at the theater.
Jeff, do you want to share the inside joke with our CT friends? I’ll leave it up to you, but it’s something you should be very proud of. Besides, anyone who goes up to the Ziegfeld posts from 3/28/06 can figure it out :)
Boycotts or not, I don’t see Broadway prices going down anytime soon. In fact, I think they just went up. I got “Billy Elliot” tickets for my nieces last night: $126.50 each. The closest date I could get for the seats I wanted: July 4th. A lot of long-running shows did close recently due to the economy, but incoming tourists love Broadway and they’ll pay whatever it takes to see a show.
I was a little nervous when I saw so many Ziegfeld posts in my inbox. I thought either they announced the Classics schedule, or the theater might be closing! (may that never happen).
Copied from the Embassy 1-2-3 page, with a question for REndres if he’s here:
In the movie clock for Radio City Music Hall on that 11/20 ad, “The Sandpiper” was listed as going on at 3:57 … 9:53 … right to the minute. I wonder if the Music Hall really got their shows off on time like that – they probably took great pride in it. I guess REndres would be able to answer that.
None of the other theaters in the movie clock had such exact time listings.
In the movie clock for Radio City Music Hall on that 11/20 ad, “The Sandpiper” was listed as going on at 3:57 … 9:53 … right to the minute. I wonder if the Music Hall really got their shows off on time like that – they probably took great pride in it. I guess REndres would be able to answer that.
None of the other theaters in the movie clock had such exact time listings.
I’m looking forward to seeing both of those. They sound like the complete opposite of “Benjamin Button”, a movie that would never even get made without a ton of special effects and an unlimited budget. Other lower-budget films I saw recently that I liked much better than “Benjamin”: “Milk”, “Doubt”, “Happy-Go-Lucky”, “Rachel Getting Married”, “Frost/Nixon”.
Gary: You always go to the Ziegfeld on Christmas. Did you like the movie? I wanted to like it more than I did, but there just didn’t seem to be much to it besides what I already knew before I sat down to watch it.
I saw “Benjamin Button” yesterday at 4:30 (OK movie, not great – no Oscars except for makeup if I were an Academy voter – good sized audience for a weekday afternoon) and they didn’t use the curtain. They did use it two weeks ago for “Che”, though.
Now if only it would come to the city that inspired the whole thing, New York. I’ve seen it in a theater 13 times since 1963, but never in 70mm. 2009 could be the year!
CinemarkFan: Please write back with your comments on the show, and also what you thought of your first 70mm experience.
In the lobby after the show, there were a number of teens from the class who looked terribly embarrassed and upset by what some of the others had done. It’s good to know that the bad behavior was not running rampant through the whole group.
William on the Ziegfeld page says no – the only commercial NYC theater to have the 4K installed is the Sunshine Cinemas. But whatever the Ziegfeld is using, it sure looked great.
Pete: you know way more about this than I do, but I saw “Che” at the Ziegfeld yesterday and it was shot with a new kind of digital camera called “The Red”. The picture quality was truly excellent. No pixelation that I could see, and I was sitting in the 8th row. Some scenes had such beautiful highly-saturated color that I really felt like I was watching 70mm. I thought the Star Wars prequels shot on digital often looked flat and washed-out, but this was something else altogether.
Another tactic the annoying kids pulled: whenever somebody shushed them they’d all shush back, in unison. They seemed very hard to get through to. No wonder that guy was so angry on the way out. He was screaming at them, that they disrespected the real Che and everybody who made the movie.
I almost said something to one of the ushers who are constantly checking the thermostats near the front of the Ziegfeld, but those kids seemed to be spread out evenly all around the theater, so I doubt she could’ve done anything about it. I’m with you, saps – this is a job for a matron with a flashlight.
From my first visit to the Lafayette (“It Happened One Night”) to my last (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”) I’ve had so many amazing movie experiences there that, if I could, I’d give Nelson, Pete and the whole crew a special Academy Award. Where to begin?: seeing “2001” with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood in the audience, finally getting to see beloved movies like “A Christmas Carol” (Alastair Sim), “Shane” and “Becket” on the big screen, my niece and I seeing my dad’s favorite movie “Yankee Doodle Dandy” together, helping Pete with a minor detail on turning out the lights in the theater for “Wait Until Dark” and getting my name listed in the program for it … thanks for the memories, guys. Hope to see you in Teaneck.
I agree with you, Ed, about “Man of La Mancha”. I avoided seeing it for years because the reviews were so lousy. When I finally did see it, I was quite surprised at how good it was. Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren were perfect choices for their roles. And even if Peter’s singing wasn’t so good, it sure fit his character (I think he was overdubbed for “The Impossible Dream”, and maybe other songs as well). But you’re right – the critics never gave that movie a chance.
But “The Dark Knight” did get 8 Oscar nominations. I think that might be a record for a movie that isn’t in the running for Best Picture.
No record … I just remembered “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” got 9 nominations in 1969. “The Dark Knight” came close, though.
At Ticketmaster, a “West Side Story” ticket is going for $120 like Jeff said, plus $8.75 service and handling charges. I avoided those extra charges on “Billy Elliot” by going directly to the box office at the theater.
Jeff, do you want to share the inside joke with our CT friends? I’ll leave it up to you, but it’s something you should be very proud of. Besides, anyone who goes up to the Ziegfeld posts from 3/28/06 can figure it out :)
Boycotts or not, I don’t see Broadway prices going down anytime soon. In fact, I think they just went up. I got “Billy Elliot” tickets for my nieces last night: $126.50 each. The closest date I could get for the seats I wanted: July 4th. A lot of long-running shows did close recently due to the economy, but incoming tourists love Broadway and they’ll pay whatever it takes to see a show.
I was a little nervous when I saw so many Ziegfeld posts in my inbox. I thought either they announced the Classics schedule, or the theater might be closing! (may that never happen).
That new 70mm print of “West Side Story” is still floating around somewhere. The Ziegfeld is by far the best place to show it in NYC.
Out of that group, I’d say “The Man with the Golden Gun”. My real favorite Moore is “The Spy Who Loved Me” but that’s not being shown.
The best site on the Web. Thanks and Happy New Year to all of you who run it, and to all members too.
Could this be the only city where “Ice Station Zebra” played longer than “2001”?
Thanks, Jay. Somehow I knew that timetable was being kept, considering we’re taking about Radio City Music Hall here.
Sorry – it was the Embassy 2-3-4 page.
Copied from the Embassy 1-2-3 page, with a question for REndres if he’s here:
In the movie clock for Radio City Music Hall on that 11/20 ad, “The Sandpiper” was listed as going on at 3:57 … 9:53 … right to the minute. I wonder if the Music Hall really got their shows off on time like that – they probably took great pride in it. I guess REndres would be able to answer that.
None of the other theaters in the movie clock had such exact time listings.
View link
In the movie clock for Radio City Music Hall on that 11/20 ad, “The Sandpiper” was listed as going on at 3:57 … 9:53 … right to the minute. I wonder if the Music Hall really got their shows off on time like that – they probably took great pride in it. I guess REndres would be able to answer that.
None of the other theaters in the movie clock had such exact time listings.
I’m looking forward to seeing both of those. They sound like the complete opposite of “Benjamin Button”, a movie that would never even get made without a ton of special effects and an unlimited budget. Other lower-budget films I saw recently that I liked much better than “Benjamin”: “Milk”, “Doubt”, “Happy-Go-Lucky”, “Rachel Getting Married”, “Frost/Nixon”.
Gary: You always go to the Ziegfeld on Christmas. Did you like the movie? I wanted to like it more than I did, but there just didn’t seem to be much to it besides what I already knew before I sat down to watch it.
I saw “Benjamin Button” yesterday at 4:30 (OK movie, not great – no Oscars except for makeup if I were an Academy voter – good sized audience for a weekday afternoon) and they didn’t use the curtain. They did use it two weeks ago for “Che”, though.
Now if only it would come to the city that inspired the whole thing, New York. I’ve seen it in a theater 13 times since 1963, but never in 70mm. 2009 could be the year!
CinemarkFan: Please write back with your comments on the show, and also what you thought of your first 70mm experience.
In the lobby after the show, there were a number of teens from the class who looked terribly embarrassed and upset by what some of the others had done. It’s good to know that the bad behavior was not running rampant through the whole group.
William on the Ziegfeld page says no – the only commercial NYC theater to have the 4K installed is the Sunshine Cinemas. But whatever the Ziegfeld is using, it sure looked great.
The movie portrays him as practically a saint. The director chose not to dramatize the dark side of Che.
Can anyone confirm whether “Che” was shown on a Sony 4K projector? Thanks.
“Che” was shown digitally. I’ll check over on the Ziegfeld page – maybe somebody has mentioned the 4K projector.
Pete: you know way more about this than I do, but I saw “Che” at the Ziegfeld yesterday and it was shot with a new kind of digital camera called “The Red”. The picture quality was truly excellent. No pixelation that I could see, and I was sitting in the 8th row. Some scenes had such beautiful highly-saturated color that I really felt like I was watching 70mm. I thought the Star Wars prequels shot on digital often looked flat and washed-out, but this was something else altogether.
Another tactic the annoying kids pulled: whenever somebody shushed them they’d all shush back, in unison. They seemed very hard to get through to. No wonder that guy was so angry on the way out. He was screaming at them, that they disrespected the real Che and everybody who made the movie.
I almost said something to one of the ushers who are constantly checking the thermostats near the front of the Ziegfeld, but those kids seemed to be spread out evenly all around the theater, so I doubt she could’ve done anything about it. I’m with you, saps – this is a job for a matron with a flashlight.