AMC Fantasy 5

The AMC Feature presention was running for several years at the AMC Empire 25 prior to the merger. The A/c during the week Bourne was not working as well. But usually it does get too cold in the summer.

I thought the manager at this house was a woman? And I was there the other day and the staff was very nice, from box office to candy counter to ticket taker.

This used to be one of my favorites, and is much better than the Lynbrook, but I now prefer the AMC Raceway in Westbury, for their big screens, big sounds and comfy seating. But I still come to the Fantasy when I can, since I don’t want it to close.

Wow, interesting post. Too late for me, as I went to the theater just the other night to see “The Bourne Ultimatum.” I don’t know about any filthy hillbillies and henchmen, but I will say that the auditorium (number 4 upstairs) was not sufficiently air-conditioned and several seats (including the first one I tried) were broken. As I think has been mentioned on this page already, all traces of the old Fantasy have been completely eliminated – a complete gut-job very much along the lines of the old Meadows Theater in Fresh Meadows, Queens. It suffers from having been renovated prior to the establishment of the high-backed stadium style seating arrangement as the new standard.

There is one small item of interest to report: After the coming attractions, they ran a vintage “And now our feature presentation” bumper that must have dated back to the 1970’s. I wonder if theater management found this reel in some basement storage area and decided to put it back into circulation for nostalgia’s sake. Or is AMC going retro at other theaters?

Like many other theaters on Long Island, this one turned into a teen hangout that will test your patience until you snap!*

In all fairness, the desecration had taken place a number of years prior to the creation of Cinema Treasures, let alone the posting of my photos on May 9th, Warren. The desecration at, say, the Elmwood Theater in Queens is actually happening in the present tense and reasonably evokes response in this forum.

Still… I wonder where the good citzenry of RVC were when this ugly modernization of the Fantasy was taking place. It seems that more than just being concealed behind a new facade, the old ornamentation was completely demolished, including the balustraded parapet wall above the storefronts, the window fenestration on the upper facade and that beautiful church-like vault over the marquee and theater entrance. Despite having attended some films here many years ago when it was still a single screen, I cannot recall if the original facade was more or less intact at the time (we’re talking about the very early 1980’s) nor do I recollect much about the interior – although I do recall that this was one of the nicest theaters I used to frequent at the time.

Here are some photos I took just last week showing the modern day “modernized” facade of the Fantasy Theater.

Long shot from corner of Merrick & N. Park
Facade view 1
Facade view 2
Rear view (from parking lot)
Rear profile from across Sunrise Hwy

Comparing these to the vintage shot on the website that BG0007 posted on February 4th, it appears that the old structure immediately above the entrance was demolished and replaced by a streamlined “art deco” looking blade sign built out against the auditorium structure that is set back off the street. Additionally, the lobby seems to have been expanded into the adjacent retail space on either side of the original entrance. I recall from my most recent visit in 2004 that the escalator and stairs leading to the upstairs theaters are all the way flush against the left wall of the building.

The last photo of the side/rear of the building from across Sunrise Hwy shows the size of the auditorium.

Thanks BG0007 for those wonderful old photos,and a wonderful trip down memory lane.
I was a relief projectionist at the Fantasy during the 60s,the head projectionist, I think his name was John, had a reputation for keeping the cleanest and best maintained projection booth on Long Island. At the time, the Fantasy had two 35/70mm Norelco projectors
which John kept in perfect running order and you had better clean them every shift, otherwise you heard about it from John, he was a fantastic old showman, a true professional in every sense of the word
I loved the Fantasy booth because it was rather large and had windows looking out on the street, which made it less confining on some of those long double shifts.

That’s the Fantasy, BG0007… at least as it used to be. Remember that the theater that stands today has been completely remodeled inside and out. You can make out the shell of the auditorium in that photo starting behind the lobby area that fronts N. Park Ave.

I remember mostly going to the RKO Twin around the corner but I did attend the Fantasy on a couple of occasions in the very early 1980’s. I can’t say for certain that the marquee depicted in the photo was still there, but it looks familar. I think I came here for a late evening showing of Carl Reiner’s “Where’s Poppa” that I think might have also included a 2nd feature – either “Harold & Maude” or “The Groove Tube.” The Ruth Gordon connection makes “Harold” the obvious choice, but I might be thinking about a double feature sometime later at Manhattan’s Hollywood Twin that featured those two films. And “Groove” was usually paired with John Landis' “Kentucky Fried Movie.”

I also seem to remember seeing an obscure horror spoof from France here called “Dracula and Son” which starred Chirstopher Lee reprising his famous role, this time for laughs. I sat in the balcony for that one and recall admiring the theater’s impressive, albeit fading, atmosphere. Did the Fantasy always have this sort of creative booking policy around this time? I’m thinking 1979 – 1982 or so. I might have also seen (for the very first time) Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” here at a midnight showing – but I’m not positive this was the theater.

In 2004, I went back to the Fantasy for the first time in 20 or more years to see the Renny Harlin version of “The Exorcist: The Beginning” in one of the upstairs theaters. I knew the location, but didn’t recognize the exterior or the interior of the place at all. It reminded me a bit of the way the Century Meadows theater in Queens had been gutted to its outer walls and completely reconfigured into a multiplex. At least the Fresh Meadows (as it is now called) still looks like the old place from the outside. The renovations of both theaters suffer from being completed before the much more comfortable stadium-style auditoriums came into vogue – making it even more annoying that all traces of the original decor have been lost to the ages.

If you look at the bottom of the big Loew’s ad for “Butterfield 8” you will see it also played here for Christmas of 1960.

View link

Sounds lovely, with the recessed dome and Austrian curtain…Barry Lyndon and Amadeus must have looked smashing. The theater is so different now, but at least they haven’t changed the lousy plumbing in the restrooms!

The curtain was an AUSTRIAN / BRAIL CURTAIN
Best known as an Austrian curtain. You will see a drawing of it here… View link

Red Carpet was the type of run of film. Red Capet was a first run theater and would get the shows first. There were at somtime in the theaters history live shows there as going through the dressing rooms I found advertizing materials from several shows. I was (am though now retired) an old fashion theater manager and would always show schedule a cartoon with a movie even with Fanny Hill which we did show at the Fantasy.

I often wonder what became of the staff ushers cashiers projectionists etc. Richard Papazian the head usher at the time outside controling the lines with an Armanian accent. The head quarters of Century Theaters had a teak staircase that no one was to use for fear of it getting damaged.

Hello all I was the Manager at the Fantasy when with lines down the street we ran Funny Girl “Red Carpet” The head usher Richard P. the Cashier Bertha H. who lived in an apartment accross the street.

This theater did have dressing rooms in the back and a beautiful terrazo floor in the lobby. I managed many theaters in my career this was the most beautiful of them all. This theater had a personality