when The Greatest Story Ever Told premiered here Feb.15,1965
what was the running tome at the premiere? the IMDB page for
the film says the original Cinerama print was 260mins. or 4hrs. 20mins.. the 4hr. 20min. running time is also noted on
the Wikipedia page for the film. was the twice noted original
run time of 4hrs. 20mins. ever used during the film’s roadshow
run at this theater?
the cut of Cleopatra which played here in 1971 must have been
a very cut version. the general release print which played
neighborhood theaters around NYC was 3hrs. 15mins.. I saw it
the Valentine Theater in the Bronx which played Fox’s big films.
for this 1971 re-release was even shorter since performances
were very 3hrs. mins..
Hello-
what is the longest running film to play here in recent
years? I say its Call Me By Your Name which opened Thanksgiving
week 2017 and played till the first week of April 2018.
in reference to my 6/20/19 post has anyone been able to
figure out why The Ten Commandments roadshow run at this
theater only lasted 12 weeks when it lasted for well over
a year in other cities such a NYC?
there’s some debate as to what was the first purpose built movie
theater in the Bronx. if the date of 1903 is correct than its this
theater. if not than it would be the Nicoland designed by Thomas
Lamb which opened in 1908.
I did see Funny Girl here during its roadshow engagement. my
father was the head bartender in a prominent restaurant a block
away. the manager and the head usher of this theater often
had a drink after work at the bar/restaurant where my father
worked so they were able to get him excellent seats. the one
thing I remember is the WOW factor of the Don’t Rain On My
Parade number right before the intermission.
also what defines a “successful roadshow” run. is it simply how
long the run was? for instance N&A the last roadshow engagement
here is one of my favorite historical epics ever yet its run
here wasn’t as long as MFL or Funny Girl. the last successful
roadshow engagement simply in terms of $$$ is Fiddler on the
Roof which ran at the Rivoli for approx. a year.
to vindanpar- I got the blu-ray of Oliver issued by Twilight
Time and while I still enjoyed the film the color at times
seemed a bit washed out. its almost worth getting the Columbia
Classics Vol.2 4k set this Sept. just to get the Oliver
disc.
also this is embarrassing but I’ve been trying to figure out what BBB stands for.
to vindanpar- don’t you think its interesting that the
blu-ray disc of the roadshow cut Of Thoroughly Modern
Millie is being issued by Kino and not Universal Home
Video?
the comments you related about what people have said about
the TSOM blu-ray disc baffle me. as I said before the 50th
Anniversary blu-ray disc played on my 43" 4K tv in terms of
both the colors and crispness of picture image defines the
term spectacular. so if there are people who say the colors
is off on the blu-ray disc need new glasses or need to get
their eyes checked.
I haven’t looked at my blu-ray disc of The King and I recently
so I can’t comment on whether the colors seemed a tad off to me.
but I did watch the 50th Anniversary blu-ray disc of TSOM last
week on my 43" 4K t.v. and the colors, the sharpness of the picture
image and the audio tracks were spectacular. so I have no idea
what the roadshow projectionists are talking about.
another thought. why do you think some studios were more adept
at keeping prints of their roadshows cuts in first rate condition
than others? this is especially true if the films were tweaked for
general release. Cleopatra opened at the Rivoli at 4hrs. and the
film was tweaked twice with the general release cut being
3hrs. 15mins. but Dorothy Spencer the film’s editor kept the
45mins. of trims so when the film made its debut on home video
it was the original 4hr. roadshow cut.
interesting situation. it doesn’t say much for 20th Century Fox’s
ability at keeping prints of their classics intact. what in God’s
name happened to the first rate Todd-AO roadshow print you saw at
the Warner 70MM festival that say 9/10 years later it no longer
existed. the fact that Oklahoma’s Todd-AO roadshow print in A+
condition exits to this day makes the whole situation a tad bizarre.
to vindanpar-I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the 70MM
festival at the Warner Cinerama in the late 70S. granted I
wasn’t there but I’m hedging the bet that although it looked
and sounded A++ the print you saw was the general release cut.
if it was the original roadshow cut why would 20th Century Fox
Home Video have needed to lamely reconstruct it?
speaking of Oscar winning films which had roadshow runs at this
theater. a few years back 20th Century Fox Video released a 2
disc blu-ray set of South Pacific. one disc had the general
release cut most people were familiar with and the 2nd disc a
lame try at reconstructing the roadshow cut. apparently when SP
was tweaked for the general release the trims weren’t saved so
in the roadshow cut the tweaked scenes are replaced by the same
scenes from a b&w work print. I have always found it interesting
some studios save the trims and other didn’t.
if I am not mistaken after The Sound of Music finished its
record 80? week roadshow engagement at the Rivoli didn’t it
move here and on a continuous performance basis ran another
6 months?
to Al A. thanks for posting the video link. I’ve tried typing
it 3 times but zippo. to which I accept there is visual
proof that Mark 1-2-3 was actually ob the marquee. though
it must have been for a relatively short period since as I
have said I’ve been a regular patron at the TKTS booth
since the day it opened and don’t remember it.
to vindanpar. you certainly make a number of valid points. to
which a question- the Astor was a moderate sized movie theater
whereas the Roxy and Paramount were HUGE. wouldn’t you say HUGE
theaters like the Roxy and Paramount were doomed the second
tvs became commonplace in the American home?
this theater’s fate is similar to many smaller neighborhood
theaters around NYC. they were state of the art when they
first opened in the early 1910s but were outdated by the time
sound films made their mark.
speaking of the film The Queen of Sheba. its one of those
classics from the silent era that has been “lost” for decades.
but I wonder if its really “lost” or possibly is stored in
unmarked cans deep down in the bowels of some film archive.
to stevenj I have a question I hope you can help me
with. there was a large single screen movie theater
on Union or Chestnut Sts. that was the 1st theater in
the country to have a THX sound system installed. when
I was out in SF the first week of May 1998 the theater
was still playing Titanic which had opened Dec. 1997.
which theater was it?
to stevenj thanks for the info. whether in NYC or SF when grand
old movie theaters are gutted or repurposed its usually for retail.
this is the 1st instance I’ve come across in either NYC or SF where
a grand old movie theater was turned into condos.
in reference to cjwin’s post of 4/17/2017. it was stated
roadshow films returned for a short period in the 80s before
the theater went exclusively to adult films. the studios
discontinued the roadshow policy after the Dec. 1972
opening of Man of La Mancha so what roadshow films in the
80s is cjwin referring to?
Hello-
when The Greatest Story Ever Told premiered here Feb.15,1965 what was the running tome at the premiere? the IMDB page for the film says the original Cinerama print was 260mins. or 4hrs. 20mins.. the 4hr. 20min. running time is also noted on the Wikipedia page for the film. was the twice noted original run time of 4hrs. 20mins. ever used during the film’s roadshow run at this theater?
Hello-
the cut of Cleopatra which played here in 1971 must have been a very cut version. the general release print which played neighborhood theaters around NYC was 3hrs. 15mins.. I saw it the Valentine Theater in the Bronx which played Fox’s big films. for this 1971 re-release was even shorter since performances were very 3hrs. mins..
Hello- what is the longest running film to play here in recent years? I say its Call Me By Your Name which opened Thanksgiving week 2017 and played till the first week of April 2018.
Hello-
how long was Hawaii’s roadshow engagement at this
theater?
Hello-
in reference to my 6/20/19 post has anyone been able to figure out why The Ten Commandments roadshow run at this theater only lasted 12 weeks when it lasted for well over a year in other cities such a NYC?
Hello-
was the reissue of Windjammer which played the Capitol the Spring of 1964 in the 70MM process or the original 3-panel system.
Hello-
there’s some debate as to what was the first purpose built movie theater in the Bronx. if the date of 1903 is correct than its this theater. if not than it would be the Nicoland designed by Thomas Lamb which opened in 1908.
Hello-
I did see Funny Girl here during its roadshow engagement. my father was the head bartender in a prominent restaurant a block away. the manager and the head usher of this theater often had a drink after work at the bar/restaurant where my father worked so they were able to get him excellent seats. the one thing I remember is the WOW factor of the Don’t Rain On My Parade number right before the intermission.
also what defines a “successful roadshow” run. is it simply how long the run was? for instance N&A the last roadshow engagement here is one of my favorite historical epics ever yet its run here wasn’t as long as MFL or Funny Girl. the last successful roadshow engagement simply in terms of $$$ is Fiddler on the Roof which ran at the Rivoli for approx. a year.
Hello-
to vindanpar- I got the blu-ray of Oliver issued by Twilight Time and while I still enjoyed the film the color at times seemed a bit washed out. its almost worth getting the Columbia Classics Vol.2 4k set this Sept. just to get the Oliver disc.
also this is embarrassing but I’ve been trying to figure out
what BBB stands for.
Hello-
to vindanpar- don’t you think its interesting that the blu-ray disc of the roadshow cut Of Thoroughly Modern Millie is being issued by Kino and not Universal Home Video?
Hello-
the comments you related about what people have said about the TSOM blu-ray disc baffle me. as I said before the 50th Anniversary blu-ray disc played on my 43" 4K tv in terms of both the colors and crispness of picture image defines the term spectacular. so if there are people who say the colors is off on the blu-ray disc need new glasses or need to get their eyes checked.
Hello-
I haven’t looked at my blu-ray disc of The King and I recently so I can’t comment on whether the colors seemed a tad off to me. but I did watch the 50th Anniversary blu-ray disc of TSOM last week on my 43" 4K t.v. and the colors, the sharpness of the picture image and the audio tracks were spectacular. so I have no idea what the roadshow projectionists are talking about.
another thought. why do you think some studios were more adept at keeping prints of their roadshows cuts in first rate condition than others? this is especially true if the films were tweaked for general release. Cleopatra opened at the Rivoli at 4hrs. and the film was tweaked twice with the general release cut being 3hrs. 15mins. but Dorothy Spencer the film’s editor kept the 45mins. of trims so when the film made its debut on home video it was the original 4hr. roadshow cut.
Hello-
why in God’s name are they changing the entrance to 47th St.? the
entrance as always been on 7TH Ave.
Hello-
interesting situation. it doesn’t say much for 20th Century Fox’s ability at keeping prints of their classics intact. what in God’s name happened to the first rate Todd-AO roadshow print you saw at the Warner 70MM festival that say 9/10 years later it no longer existed. the fact that Oklahoma’s Todd-AO roadshow print in A+ condition exits to this day makes the whole situation a tad bizarre.
Hello-
to vindanpar-I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the 70MM festival at the Warner Cinerama in the late 70S. granted I wasn’t there but I’m hedging the bet that although it looked and sounded A++ the print you saw was the general release cut. if it was the original roadshow cut why would 20th Century Fox Home Video have needed to lamely reconstruct it?
Hello-
speaking of Oscar winning films which had roadshow runs at this theater. a few years back 20th Century Fox Video released a 2 disc blu-ray set of South Pacific. one disc had the general release cut most people were familiar with and the 2nd disc a lame try at reconstructing the roadshow cut. apparently when SP was tweaked for the general release the trims weren’t saved so
in the roadshow cut the tweaked scenes are replaced by the same scenes from a b&w work print. I have always found it interesting some studios save the trims and other didn’t.
Hello-
if I am not mistaken after The Sound of Music finished its record 80? week roadshow engagement at the Rivoli didn’t it move here and on a continuous performance basis ran another 6 months?
Hello-
to Al A. thanks for posting the video link. I’ve tried typing it 3 times but zippo. to which I accept there is visual proof that Mark 1-2-3 was actually ob the marquee. though it must have been for a relatively short period since as I have said I’ve been a regular patron at the TKTS booth since the day it opened and don’t remember it.
Hello-
to vindanpar. you certainly make a number of valid points. to which a question- the Astor was a moderate sized movie theater whereas the Roxy and Paramount were HUGE. wouldn’t you say HUGE theaters like the Roxy and Paramount were doomed the second tvs became commonplace in the American home?
Hello-
as grand as this theater and the Roxy in Manhattan were they were doomed with a capital D the second t.v. became commomplace in the American home.
Hello from NYC-
this theater’s fate is similar to many smaller neighborhood theaters around NYC. they were state of the art when they first opened in the early 1910s but were outdated by the time sound films made their mark.
Hello-
speaking of the film The Queen of Sheba. its one of those classics from the silent era that has been “lost” for decades. but I wonder if its really “lost” or possibly is stored in unmarked cans deep down in the bowels of some film archive.
Hello Again from NYC-
to stevenj I have a question I hope you can help me with. there was a large single screen movie theater on Union or Chestnut Sts. that was the 1st theater in the country to have a THX sound system installed. when I was out in SF the first week of May 1998 the theater was still playing Titanic which had opened Dec. 1997. which theater was it?
Hello from NYC-
to stevenj thanks for the info. whether in NYC or SF when grand old movie theaters are gutted or repurposed its usually for retail. this is the 1st instance I’ve come across in either NYC or SF where a grand old movie theater was turned into condos.
Hello from NYC-
in reference to cjwin’s post of 4/17/2017. it was stated roadshow films returned for a short period in the 80s before the theater went exclusively to adult films. the studios discontinued the roadshow policy after the Dec. 1972 opening of Man of La Mancha so what roadshow films in the 80s is cjwin referring to?