Ziegfeld Theatre
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
132 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 4,514 comments
“In fact the use of them at the beginning of This is Cinerama was so effective it knocked audiences for a loop” What actually knocked audiences for a loop was the abrupt change in screen dimensions, not the presence or absence of screen curtains. Somewhere on this site, possibly the New York Broadway or Warner Theatre sections, is a post from a gentleman who claims to have attended This Is Cinerama in its very first week at the Broadway and states that the vertically-rising curtain was not operating. Some other local runs of the 70mm This Is Cinerama in your area were also presented sans curtains…I’m thinking of the Bellevue in Montclair NJ…not sure about the presentations in Nanuet and Hicksville. And, just for the record, the three-panel presentation of Abel Gance’s Napoleon at the Music Hall some years back featured its colossal screen in front of the Hall’s curtains.
Yes I do remember the lights but I did not mention them and perhaps Canby did not as well because it was so poorly and weakly executed(I had no idea they were meant to simulate curtains) that it made no difference. To me it was still a bare screen. From what I’ve read the curtains and borders truly made a difference. In fact the use of them at the beginning of This is Cinerama was so effective it knocked audiences for a loop. I wonder if the Vistavision screen at the Paramount was larger than that of the Music Hall which of course always used curtains no matter what. Also wasn’t it slightly curved compared to the Hall’s flat screen?
re “…bare screen with no curtains…” Not quite entirely true. An image of curtains was projected upon the entire screen. At the end of the overture, this image dimmed but the center section upon which the prologue was projected remained totally unlit to give the impression that there was soft lighting on curtains concealing the entire screen that had partially opened to project the prologue. Canby didn’t mention this in his initial review or in his Sunday follow-up piece. I’ve been told that a similar light curtain had been used years earlier at the Times Square Paramount when the VistaVision installation entailed the removal of the screen curtain.
It was an old Cinerama print simply transferred to 70mm so shown with a single lens on a bare screen with no curtains and therefore no showmanship whatsoever. Vincent Canby wrote a piece on it at the time so if you have access to the Times' archive you might want to read it.
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in vindanpar’s comment of 7/17/19 he said Zefferelli’s R&J was a replacement “for the shameful presentation of This is Cinerama”. what was shameful about the presentation of TIC?
What happened to the numerous Ziegfeld Theatre images uploaded to the Photos Section by “NYer”? All seem to have suddenly vanished.
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I read a lot via computer, magazines and newspapers and have not come across a single item about the Paris' imminent closing.
Later this year, this venue turns 50 years old. With the closing of the Paris imminent, there won’t be any more single screen movie houses from this era anymore, although radio city occasionally shows movies and tv shows on its screen.
On this date 20 years ago, the phantom menace premiered to a sold out crowd.
According to an Associated Press article from 12/1967, it was planned that Saturday night screenings would require formal evening dress.
Sunday, after enjoying a movie at the Paris, I went to see the Ziegfeld exterior. I was delighted to see “Ziegfeld, A Walter Reade Theatre” still on the marquee. The Ziegfeld -Ballroom- flag was nice.The left & right sections of the marquee were changing graphics with jazzy Art Deco details, in white & black- “Z” and “The legend lives on” (in caps). Much of the former entry was walled off with a blank wall with flower boxes so current entry is narrower. No poster cases. An elevator has an entry at the front area. The redone lobby & stairs can be seen from outside. Alongside the fountains on the plaza that runs with the former auditorium had been gutted & that space fenced off to be redone to whatever. I’m not happy with the quality of my photos so maybe in the future I will photo again & post better photos.
As per the discussion of the ‘73 Cinerama screen. Though the presentation of this Is Cinerama was very poor and in 70mm the screen should have been kept. The theater finally had a screen worthy of it’s size. Like the Cinerama screen that was kept at the Warner and I assume at the Capitol different film ratios could have been presented on it with proper masking and the use of curtains. Films like the epics that were to play there in the future and the restored films done by Harris would have been so much more impressive.
At least they left the marquee up. Small consolation, I know.
You, too, can hire it out for a disco night!
YouTube video of the Ziegfeld Ballroom.
(IMO… tacky in all respects…)
Too bad disco is dead……Would make a great new “Studio 54” with those panels changing LED colors!!!
“Photosphere” 360° photo.
Berefit of any quality design other than (what I assume to be) a nice custom-made carpet, this fine theatre has been converted into a nightmare, what I would regard to be the very opposite of “escape to the movies”: a tacky socialites' cavern. :–(
We need a petition to make it a movie theater again this time with reserved seating and recliners!!!
So right about the the deco of the ballroom. Isn’t there enough of hotel ballrooms in NY to warrant another ballroom space? This should have remained a movie theater. A special place with a great name that means theater history… Shame on Disney for not going forward with a plan to showcase their productions! This will fail and will be torn down for another high-rise building!!!
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I thank Mikeoaklandpark for his reply but I should have been more exact in my question. I should have said I am referring to actual engagements not special quickie engagements before a film opens wide. that would also exclude Anastasia from 1997.
I think the z has shown more mono movies than stereo and surround sound movies in its history.
I am pretty sure it was Dreamgirls. The Ziegfeld had an exclusive reserved seat engagement for two weeks prior to the wide release. This included a souvenir program too
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I apologize for asking this question again but I can’t remember what the answer was. what was the last big studio film to have an exclusive 1st run engagement at the Ziegfeld?
For those with an interest in this sort of stuff, here’s the link to my recent retrospective article, Still Watching the Skies: Remembering “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on its 40th Anniversary, which includes mention of the Ziegfeld run (and a bunch of other info).
Two photos are in the photo section.
Where are there pictures of the ballroom?