Criterion Theatre

1514 Broadway,
New York, NY 10036

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Showing 101 - 125 of 611 comments

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on October 2, 2019 at 12:01 am

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53316491@N08/36383742373

vindanpar
vindanpar on October 1, 2019 at 11:47 pm

The last two I remember were Last of the Red Hot Lovers in ‘73 and The Great Gatsby in '74. Then for years it was an advertisement for Budweiser I believe. Well it was some beer. Not sure if there was a film after Gatsby. At least I don’t remember one. My favorites were the ones I saw as a boy: The Bible (the second one with the pictures from the movie,) Dr. Dolittle, Star! and Krakatoa. That one was amazing.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on October 1, 2019 at 5:08 pm

Hello-

what was the last film advertised on the huge sign above
the Astor and the Victoria theaters?

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on September 30, 2019 at 11:08 pm

Various photos of the Bow Tie Building featuring the Criterion Theatre, lower down in the the link below.

http://bowtiepartners.com/historic_pics.htm

vindanpar
vindanpar on September 13, 2019 at 6:14 pm

I kind of doubt they ran out. Somebody probably didn’t put them out at that performance and I was foolish not to ask. It was strange because they would usually hawk them like peanuts or hot dogs at the Garden.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on September 13, 2019 at 5:48 pm

Hell0-

to my fellow moviegoers who remember the roadshow runs held at this theater and the Loews State, RKO Palace, the Demille, the Warner, the Rivoli and the Loews Capitol.

in reference to vandanpar’s 9/11/19 comment. does any one ever remember a theater running out of souvenir programs? of all the roadshow engagements I attended(in the Set. 1952 to Dec. 1972 period)I never remember a theater running out of souvenir programs.

vindanpar
vindanpar on September 12, 2019 at 1:40 pm

Acronyms can be fun to figure out though I get your frustration. On Lynley’s death I emailed a friend about TPA. He had no idea what I was talking about and wrote me an annoyed email calling me inscrutable and asking me to explain it. It seemed pretty obvious to me.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on September 12, 2019 at 1:27 pm

if anyone has a clear picture of the oval and downstairs lounge, now might be a good time to post it.

SethLewis
SethLewis on September 12, 2019 at 10:48 am

I saw a couple of movies in the early 80s in the basement screens – badly raked and tight seating even for the times. I do remember the downstairs lounge going back to Is Paris Burning and Patton days. The upstairs screen out of the old balcony might have been the best value for money experience in the Criterion Center days – saw Garp and Cry in the Dark there

vindanpar
vindanpar on September 12, 2019 at 10:15 am

I assume that’s where the large elegant oval white lounge was on the lower level. Can anybody who remembers the original theater confirm that?

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on September 12, 2019 at 9:39 am

Maybe the introduction should be updated to mention that those basement theaters we damp little hellholes…

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on September 12, 2019 at 5:09 am

Also, thanks ridethetrain for your Sept 4 info here about this theater & your similiar posts on other theater pages. The Intro has been updated.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on September 12, 2019 at 5:06 am

Please don’t speak in “code” meaning abbreviations! It is taken me awhile to recall that some posts ago “N & A” was Nicholas & Alexandria. Spell out the names of the movies.

vindanpar
vindanpar on September 11, 2019 at 7:22 pm

Bigjoe I assure you I am not making this up! I was scandalized. If I knew how to post pictures I would find that image so you could see. Unfortunately the Criterion marquee is a bit in the distance but you get the idea.

Of course when I first walked into the Criterion the first thing I looked for was the program but I didn’t see it! Strange because when I walked in for the Jan revival of MFL earlier in the year there was a guy in a tux selling an abridged version in softcover of the ‘64 hardback.

I’ve learned about Twilight Time limited edition blu rays the hard way. I did get the Japanese edition of Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines because somebody wrote it was the exact same transfer and you could get rid of subtitles. Do you know if this is the same situation for Nicholas? That it is the exact same transfer and subtitles can be eliminated?

I’ve been reading that the kino Lorber Sweet Charity bluray is better than the French blue ray. The problem is they advertised it as the roadshow version yet they left out the entr'acte and exit music. I guess the young people who put these things together don’t know what a roadshow was and don’t really research what that entails. These things exist in earlier video releases of the film. Sloppy.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on September 11, 2019 at 4:27 pm

Joe, why don’t you photograph and post excerpts from some of your roadshow programs…

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on September 11, 2019 at 3:21 pm

Hello-

to vindanpar- I still can not believe that during N&A’s roadshow run at this theater that the marquee only had big block letters and never the glass or plastic plates with the art work. rather highly unusual for a roadshow film.

I did buy the souvenir program the first time I saw the film. its rather nice. in reference to your case with all the roadshow films I saw I never remember a theater running out of souvenir programs.

also whenever Twilight Tine releases a blu-ray disc buy it immediately don;t wait. i looked at Amazon and there is a all regions blu-ray from Spain. that’s reasonably priced.

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on September 4, 2019 at 10:23 pm

The Criterion Center open on March 20,1980 with 5 screens. The 6th screen open on February 6, 1981 When United Artists took over the theatre in 1988, sometime in early 1990 they split the lower auditorium. B.S. Moss wasn’t responsible for theatre 2 to be split, it was United Artists Theatre Circuit> Please update.

vindanpar
vindanpar on August 16, 2019 at 11:06 pm

Wally I was teasing you. It was no way an attack. You have a proud history on CT and I thought I’d needle you a bit. I apologize.

wally 75
wally 75 on August 16, 2019 at 10:38 pm

I WASN’T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING..ABOUT HELLO DOLLY TIL' I SAW WHAT WAS BEING SAID ABOUT DANNY LOCKIN. I HAVE BEEN ON C.T FOR MANY YEARS.. I ALSO KNOW THAT TOPICS GO WITH THE FLOW… THE ONLY REASON I POSTED THIS FOR THE LINE “MAYBE I’M A NEWBIE”. WAS THAT A PERSONAL ATTACK?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on August 12, 2019 at 4:06 pm

Hello-

first off our discussion of the much maligned Hello Dolly got started on this page because I was discussing the 7 Times Square theaters the studios used for their roadshow engagements. that went on to a discussion of maligned roadshow film posters on this page thought were first rate.

to vindanpar- you mentioned your wonderment on they got that gorgeous final wide angle shot of the film with the church and the nearby river with no intrusions of anything that shouted 1968. I read a few years ago they shot that final scene on the grounds of West Point not to far from Garrison.

vindanpar
vindanpar on August 11, 2019 at 10:52 pm

Yes but Cinema Treasures has a long history of people congregating on one page discussing many things unrelated to that specific theater. Maybe Wally is a newbie.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on August 11, 2019 at 10:38 pm

I think Wally meant we should be discussing Hello, Dolly on the Rivoli page…

vindanpar
vindanpar on August 11, 2019 at 10:33 pm

Yes but it was filmed in ‘68. Merrick being the little devil he was decided to have some fun with 20th Century Fox and gave all the executives there heart attacks(figuratively speaking) because he was David Merrick and he could.

Lockin’s death was a terrible tragedy and I think the man who did it was given practically no time at all.

wally 75
wally 75 on August 11, 2019 at 8:28 pm

Danny Lockin’s role, naïve maybe, like a young guy living in a small town hearing for the first time, there’s another world out there.. Sorry, he did not live long enough to show us more…He passed in August 21 1977..due to homicide…You know HELLO DOLLY opened at THE RIVOLI in 1969..

vindanpar
vindanpar on August 11, 2019 at 6:20 pm

Yes the Hudson as a backdrop is magnificent. Though in the opening credits you see cars on the NY thruway which is kind of funny or is it the Palisades parkway?

How they got that wide expansive final shot with the church over looking the river with no 1968 intrusions I’ll never know.