I just saw Rescue Dawn last week, great film! Refreshingly excellent departure from all the recycled mainstream crap. But dang I wish I knew it was going to the National, would’ve waited to see it there!
For anyone who hasn’t seen it I HIGHLY recommend it, and it’s actually a perfect film for the National. The sad thing is that when the occasional rare GOOD movie does actually make it’s way into a theatre (usually in limited arthouse release) nobody goes to see it. Did Paris, je t'aime (another excellent film) bring in loads of business? I doubt it
i’ve always wanted to use the National as a major location in a ‘70’s style’ sci-fi film, some kind of headquarters for the bad guy like the one Curt Jurgens had (underwater) in The Spy Who Loved Me or Maximillion Schell in The Black Hole. The concession stand would be converted into his control booth, the rest of the interior a giant spaceship interior, or maybe some kind of ground base.
i gather the midnights are being cancelled because there was no way of getting any kind of advertsing and extremely low attandance? And/or perhaps a combination of too many other midnight events? (Rialto, Sunset 5, Nuart) Do they ever even have midnight shows in westwood anymore? It seems even big movies opening weekend (at the Village or Bruin) don’t even have them anymore. Westwood has been so written off as a ghost town, my god. It’s nothing but rollers (cops) cruising around late at night looking for kids to bust.
It’s over, we’re slowly dying off as a planet
this board is still the only place i know of (online) to get the list of upcoming midnight shows, is it advertised anywhere else? I don’t even see it in the LA Weekly
Sicko’s great, and I fully support and hope for lots of business (on anything) the National should get might get..but, shouldn’t they (the National) be opening with stuff like Die Hard 4 or Transformers, or Harry Potter..Sicko is more of a Regent or Festival theatre type engagement. Of course i understand the reasons those films won’t open there (they stopped opening first run bloackbusters at the National years ago) but they really should make use of that theatre in a suitable way and allow the large crowds to re-discover it. It’s the only way I can possible see it surviving.
wow Rita’s at the Chinese, haven’t seen her in a long time. She was such a spritely character, i worked with her in 1990 at the Village, she used to do a great imitation of Larry Parker the attorney (from his commercials) I wonder if Enre' is still working Box office at the Village, you may recall he is probably the most perennial figure of Mann figures, having worked with them since the mid 70’s, at the Village box for over 30 years.
Remember when Nicolas Cage and Mathew Modine used to walk around westwood in the mid 80’s acting crazy and freaking people out, and Nic Cage used to tease this girl Michelle Morgan (co-worker) when she was in the box. Yea doesn’t surprise me their tearing it down for a Banana Republic that won’t last long, this will soon be a banana republic country, it’s over.
i know i realized that shortly after, some kind of strange typo on my part..I meant Tightrope!! I don’t what the hells wrong with me ((smack)) ((smack)) —smacking myself Christ,..need to focus on what i’m writing, my mind has turned to mush ((smack)) I remember Barnossy and Chuck Allen—who looked like a space alien. Barnossy was always coming around with flash inspections “we need to get you some black shoes” And MR Haines from the Village. Do you remember Dean (forget his last name) from the Regent in ‘85, and then Mike Lancaster, and how about my old friend William Edwards who managed the Plaza for years. Then there was Rick Pulsepher who managed the National in the later 80’s (and I noticed he posted something on this board) this was when I was fired by the asst manager Isaac for eating M&M’s on duty
editman—
I remember Frank Ramsey, i believe he was still there when i first started (mid-1984, during the engagement of Tightwalk with Clint Eastwood) It was around that time he was replaced by a young Mac Carter. I seem to recall Ramsey (if it is him I’m thinking of) was a really really nice guy and was very kind to the employees. He was certainly the easiest-going manager i can remember working for. It was only under rare occasions when he would flip his lid, actually i can only remember it happening once and it was fully justified since nobody did any work including the assistants, and i think he was under tremedous pressure fom the higher ups. I was sad to hear of his demise some years later
My suggestion for midnight shows, undoubtedly no existing prints available
Catch 22
The Manitu
Suspiria
Fighting Back
Drum
Yessongs
Phantom of the Paradise
SpaceHunter
Hey Good Lookin'
Fuzz
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Little Murders
Sorcerer
Reckless
The Other
Popeye
Beyond the Door
wow free drink popcorn & hot dog with an $8 admission? Midnight shows starting right away. it sounds too good to be true. Very cool of you guys,..did the folks from this board inspire the whole thing? Was it us? How did this come about? Did Cinematreasures save the day? I still can’t believe it, my only little suggestion is, try and occasionally schedule lesser popular mainstream films (ala Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, etc) grant it they may be safe seat fillers, it’s the kind of material that’s shown all too often, it seems like the Rialto or Nuart shows that stuff every other month and i would think everyone’s seen them a million times already. There are some good suggestions for midnight shows on this board, (70’s disaster films, 70’s/80’s sci-fi-fantasy films, etc) double features are absolutely a good idea. Take a look above at that master list (Michael Coate posted) of all the films that played at the National back in the glory days, thats a good template to use for prints to search for. Thanks much for bringing in midnight shows
oh yea I remember when it was there in ‘83 prior to Brainstorm. Brainstorm btw was quite spectacular to see at the National in Super70mm. sigh, sigh, those were the days
no kidding, Chasing Ghosts eh. I’m gonna have to check that out, was very much a part of that scene. (I was 2nd place state champion at Defender in 1981) Been watching episodes of “Starcade” lately too, a show i never even knew existed. I still want to make a film called “Sinistar”
Mr Topps, thanks for the info, I checked the LA Film Fest online schedule, yea it’s playing on the 31st. I remember seeing it at LACMA in sensurround several years back, they brought in the inventor to discuss it, had a rare 4 track mag print of it. Some interesting things on that schedule, also looks like their premiering Transformers in DLP SuperHD at the NATIONAL later this month! Finally making good use of the theatre, if only for a few special screenings
Last Crusade was the weaker entry in my opinion, Temple of Doom is far better. I’ve had this discussion many times before, come on Last Crusade was just not very good. The tank sequence was great, other than that it really lacked. I don’t undersatnd why so many think it’s better than Temple! I’m just hoping the next one will be an improvement.
The Pod People, Teen Wolf Too and Cool as Ice???! I know for certain there are 70mm prints of Krull, Castle Keep and Days of Heaven laying around since the Cinematheque had uncovered them but weren’t interested in showing them. The Apple has screened at the egyptian & aero several times and looks great, MGM struck a new print for the DVD. How about Earthquake and Battlestar Galactica: the movie in Sensurround!! I would give my left arm to see all three Battlestar Galactica movie’s in a theatre (few know there were two sequels released theatrically overseas, edited together from various episodes with bits of added footage) There was also a Space 1999 theatrical movie, sigh, were are those prints now god only knows
I sure hope some midnight shows happen again! Or any kind of revival engagements. Are they really considering it? Well Indiana Jones IV is shooting right now but it ain’t going to the National next year, quick somebody get the word to Spielberg. Ah forget it he doesn’t care
amazing to think the Independent Theatre Directory in the LA Times still has any theatres left, it’s shrunk and shrunk over the years. I often wonder just how much of a future movie theatres have in general. Too bad the next Indiana Jones film won’t open at the National, even if it wasn’t being demolished they’d likely send it somewhere else.
Btw, wanted to mention i just finished a new film called “SpaceDisco One” which will be screened Fri June 8 at the Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena sometime after midnight in 4 track quadrophonic stereo and I’d be happy to send anyone interested a DVD. www.myspace.com/choogo
poor, typical early 90’s generic multiplex. I used to like going there on weeknights though cause it was always completely empty, a total ghost town. Of course most of the other Glendale theatres are like that now anyway.
Yea, another thing is unfortunately i don’t think there are many 70 prints floating around, and their difficult to obtain. The Cinematheque for example shows the same damn 2 or 3 films every year (Lawrence of Arabia, Baraka, etc) Part of that is their afraid of scheduling anything too obscure (i know first hand they uncovered 70mm prints of things like “Krull” and “Castle Keep” but weren’t interested in showing them) But I don’t think there are many prints easily obtainable, and many have been damaged, faded or deteriorated. They wanted to show “Raiders” in 70 last year but the print was damaged, it’s a shame. Ghastly to think of all those discarded 70 prints that cost a fortune to strike, their basically collectors items now.
a 3.5 hour cut of YOR?? where did you hear that?
Now that the National is an independant maybe they can have some revival midnight screenings or something, perhaps some rare 70mm showings. It’s unlikely but be great if someone organized that. Like when Carl from the Plaza was doing those midnight showings years ago, occasionally if the Plaza was tied up they’d have them at the National. Which is how I saw “Dragonslayer” and “The Wall” in 70mm there.
wow thats when i was working there (re: above photo) in fact i’m probably in that photo somewhere. Wouldn’t it be neat to go back in time and walk around observing yourself anonymously
y'know John Steiner the villain in YOR is now a real estate agent in Los Angeles, he’s an old friend of mine. I love the idea that the YOR discussion is taking over the National thread, hehe
I remember when YOR was there (only in the early 80’s could such a thing happen) and I think Fire & Ice was at the Cineramadome around the same time, I remember seeing SpaceHunter and Krull there too. Audiences were laughing it off the screen but i loved it. I remember when sneaking in to see Krull someone coming out the exit doors saying “you don’t want to sneak into that it ain’t worth it!!”
wow thanks for posting that list, really brings back memories and reminders of a few forgotten films. I worked there from the start of “The Wild Life” in august of ‘84 up through Beverly Hills Cop where a bunch of us transferred over to the Regent at the beginning of '85 to stay with the manager of the time (who’s name i’ve temporarily forgotten but he was a cool guy) When i first started, prior to the 21 year old Mac Carter who replaced him, there was a long time manager (name slips my memory again) who I later heard committed suicide, poor guy. I remember he used to walk up to check us floor staff every now and again to find everyone standing around having a good time (anything but working which we rarely did) and would start screaming at us “Get in there and BAG you fu*@ers..!!” (re: bagging trash in the theatre) lol Those were wild days, concessions was $1000 short a week during Beverly Hills Cop, everybody was dipping their hands in the register, it was total madness, there were firings left and right including management. It was too much fun!
I can remember living on popcorn and nacho cheese which was permanently soiled all over the polyester uniforms, celebrities were always frequenting the place and I’d strike conversations with directors like William Friedkin, Ron Howard, Robert Wise, Peter Hyams and others.
Re: the master list, I’m really surprised to see they installed the showscan equipment in '77, i always thought that came in the early 80’s. Imagine how mind-blowing it was to see Showscan in 1977, too bad it didn’t fly and Trumball ultimately sold the company. Btw, regarding the above link to the upcoming demise of the National, which is a travesty, did you notice the one comment someone left on that page? This is what i’m talking about, they want to erase or change our memory of a time when things were better, for the new generation anyway. It’s over. Just look at how things shifted in the late 80s, how bad movies got around '90-91-92—-and all the way to the present. The last 7 years in partuclar have been a new downslope that keeps sloping lower and lower.
ps, Lost Horizon played there for 3 months in ‘73? wow i thought that one flopped big time on it’s release, must’ve been a booking contract, I personally love the film though.
I just saw Rescue Dawn last week, great film! Refreshingly excellent departure from all the recycled mainstream crap. But dang I wish I knew it was going to the National, would’ve waited to see it there!
For anyone who hasn’t seen it I HIGHLY recommend it, and it’s actually a perfect film for the National. The sad thing is that when the occasional rare GOOD movie does actually make it’s way into a theatre (usually in limited arthouse release) nobody goes to see it. Did Paris, je t'aime (another excellent film) bring in loads of business? I doubt it
i’ve always wanted to use the National as a major location in a ‘70’s style’ sci-fi film, some kind of headquarters for the bad guy like the one Curt Jurgens had (underwater) in The Spy Who Loved Me or Maximillion Schell in The Black Hole. The concession stand would be converted into his control booth, the rest of the interior a giant spaceship interior, or maybe some kind of ground base.
i gather the midnights are being cancelled because there was no way of getting any kind of advertsing and extremely low attandance? And/or perhaps a combination of too many other midnight events? (Rialto, Sunset 5, Nuart) Do they ever even have midnight shows in westwood anymore? It seems even big movies opening weekend (at the Village or Bruin) don’t even have them anymore. Westwood has been so written off as a ghost town, my god. It’s nothing but rollers (cops) cruising around late at night looking for kids to bust.
It’s over, we’re slowly dying off as a planet
this board is still the only place i know of (online) to get the list of upcoming midnight shows, is it advertised anywhere else? I don’t even see it in the LA Weekly
Sicko’s great, and I fully support and hope for lots of business (on anything) the National should get might get..but, shouldn’t they (the National) be opening with stuff like Die Hard 4 or Transformers, or Harry Potter..Sicko is more of a Regent or Festival theatre type engagement. Of course i understand the reasons those films won’t open there (they stopped opening first run bloackbusters at the National years ago) but they really should make use of that theatre in a suitable way and allow the large crowds to re-discover it. It’s the only way I can possible see it surviving.
wow Rita’s at the Chinese, haven’t seen her in a long time. She was such a spritely character, i worked with her in 1990 at the Village, she used to do a great imitation of Larry Parker the attorney (from his commercials) I wonder if Enre' is still working Box office at the Village, you may recall he is probably the most perennial figure of Mann figures, having worked with them since the mid 70’s, at the Village box for over 30 years.
Remember when Nicolas Cage and Mathew Modine used to walk around westwood in the mid 80’s acting crazy and freaking people out, and Nic Cage used to tease this girl Michelle Morgan (co-worker) when she was in the box. Yea doesn’t surprise me their tearing it down for a Banana Republic that won’t last long, this will soon be a banana republic country, it’s over.
i know i realized that shortly after, some kind of strange typo on my part..I meant Tightrope!! I don’t what the hells wrong with me ((smack)) ((smack)) —smacking myself Christ,..need to focus on what i’m writing, my mind has turned to mush ((smack)) I remember Barnossy and Chuck Allen—who looked like a space alien. Barnossy was always coming around with flash inspections “we need to get you some black shoes” And MR Haines from the Village. Do you remember Dean (forget his last name) from the Regent in ‘85, and then Mike Lancaster, and how about my old friend William Edwards who managed the Plaza for years. Then there was Rick Pulsepher who managed the National in the later 80’s (and I noticed he posted something on this board) this was when I was fired by the asst manager Isaac for eating M&M’s on duty
editman—
I remember Frank Ramsey, i believe he was still there when i first started (mid-1984, during the engagement of Tightwalk with Clint Eastwood) It was around that time he was replaced by a young Mac Carter. I seem to recall Ramsey (if it is him I’m thinking of) was a really really nice guy and was very kind to the employees. He was certainly the easiest-going manager i can remember working for. It was only under rare occasions when he would flip his lid, actually i can only remember it happening once and it was fully justified since nobody did any work including the assistants, and i think he was under tremedous pressure fom the higher ups. I was sad to hear of his demise some years later
My suggestion for midnight shows, undoubtedly no existing prints available
Catch 22
The Manitu
Suspiria
Fighting Back
Drum
Yessongs
Phantom of the Paradise
SpaceHunter
Hey Good Lookin'
Fuzz
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Little Murders
Sorcerer
Reckless
The Other
Popeye
Beyond the Door
wow free drink popcorn & hot dog with an $8 admission? Midnight shows starting right away. it sounds too good to be true. Very cool of you guys,..did the folks from this board inspire the whole thing? Was it us? How did this come about? Did Cinematreasures save the day? I still can’t believe it, my only little suggestion is, try and occasionally schedule lesser popular mainstream films (ala Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, etc) grant it they may be safe seat fillers, it’s the kind of material that’s shown all too often, it seems like the Rialto or Nuart shows that stuff every other month and i would think everyone’s seen them a million times already. There are some good suggestions for midnight shows on this board, (70’s disaster films, 70’s/80’s sci-fi-fantasy films, etc) double features are absolutely a good idea. Take a look above at that master list (Michael Coate posted) of all the films that played at the National back in the glory days, thats a good template to use for prints to search for. Thanks much for bringing in midnight shows
oh yea I remember when it was there in ‘83 prior to Brainstorm. Brainstorm btw was quite spectacular to see at the National in Super70mm. sigh, sigh, those were the days
no kidding, Chasing Ghosts eh. I’m gonna have to check that out, was very much a part of that scene. (I was 2nd place state champion at Defender in 1981) Been watching episodes of “Starcade” lately too, a show i never even knew existed. I still want to make a film called “Sinistar”
Mr Topps, thanks for the info, I checked the LA Film Fest online schedule, yea it’s playing on the 31st. I remember seeing it at LACMA in sensurround several years back, they brought in the inventor to discuss it, had a rare 4 track mag print of it. Some interesting things on that schedule, also looks like their premiering Transformers in DLP SuperHD at the NATIONAL later this month! Finally making good use of the theatre, if only for a few special screenings
Last Crusade was the weaker entry in my opinion, Temple of Doom is far better. I’ve had this discussion many times before, come on Last Crusade was just not very good. The tank sequence was great, other than that it really lacked. I don’t undersatnd why so many think it’s better than Temple! I’m just hoping the next one will be an improvement.
The Pod People, Teen Wolf Too and Cool as Ice???! I know for certain there are 70mm prints of Krull, Castle Keep and Days of Heaven laying around since the Cinematheque had uncovered them but weren’t interested in showing them. The Apple has screened at the egyptian & aero several times and looks great, MGM struck a new print for the DVD. How about Earthquake and Battlestar Galactica: the movie in Sensurround!! I would give my left arm to see all three Battlestar Galactica movie’s in a theatre (few know there were two sequels released theatrically overseas, edited together from various episodes with bits of added footage) There was also a Space 1999 theatrical movie, sigh, were are those prints now god only knows
somebody get ahold of Doug Trumball and tell him to bring his Showscan Projector back!!
I sure hope some midnight shows happen again! Or any kind of revival engagements. Are they really considering it? Well Indiana Jones IV is shooting right now but it ain’t going to the National next year, quick somebody get the word to Spielberg. Ah forget it he doesn’t care
amazing to think the Independent Theatre Directory in the LA Times still has any theatres left, it’s shrunk and shrunk over the years. I often wonder just how much of a future movie theatres have in general. Too bad the next Indiana Jones film won’t open at the National, even if it wasn’t being demolished they’d likely send it somewhere else.
Btw, wanted to mention i just finished a new film called “SpaceDisco One” which will be screened Fri June 8 at the Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena sometime after midnight in 4 track quadrophonic stereo and I’d be happy to send anyone interested a DVD. www.myspace.com/choogo
poor, typical early 90’s generic multiplex. I used to like going there on weeknights though cause it was always completely empty, a total ghost town. Of course most of the other Glendale theatres are like that now anyway.
Yea, another thing is unfortunately i don’t think there are many 70 prints floating around, and their difficult to obtain. The Cinematheque for example shows the same damn 2 or 3 films every year (Lawrence of Arabia, Baraka, etc) Part of that is their afraid of scheduling anything too obscure (i know first hand they uncovered 70mm prints of things like “Krull” and “Castle Keep” but weren’t interested in showing them) But I don’t think there are many prints easily obtainable, and many have been damaged, faded or deteriorated. They wanted to show “Raiders” in 70 last year but the print was damaged, it’s a shame. Ghastly to think of all those discarded 70 prints that cost a fortune to strike, their basically collectors items now.
a 3.5 hour cut of YOR?? where did you hear that?
Now that the National is an independant maybe they can have some revival midnight screenings or something, perhaps some rare 70mm showings. It’s unlikely but be great if someone organized that. Like when Carl from the Plaza was doing those midnight showings years ago, occasionally if the Plaza was tied up they’d have them at the National. Which is how I saw “Dragonslayer” and “The Wall” in 70mm there.
wow thats when i was working there (re: above photo) in fact i’m probably in that photo somewhere. Wouldn’t it be neat to go back in time and walk around observing yourself anonymously
y'know John Steiner the villain in YOR is now a real estate agent in Los Angeles, he’s an old friend of mine. I love the idea that the YOR discussion is taking over the National thread, hehe
I remember when YOR was there (only in the early 80’s could such a thing happen) and I think Fire & Ice was at the Cineramadome around the same time, I remember seeing SpaceHunter and Krull there too. Audiences were laughing it off the screen but i loved it. I remember when sneaking in to see Krull someone coming out the exit doors saying “you don’t want to sneak into that it ain’t worth it!!”
wow thanks for posting that list, really brings back memories and reminders of a few forgotten films. I worked there from the start of “The Wild Life” in august of ‘84 up through Beverly Hills Cop where a bunch of us transferred over to the Regent at the beginning of '85 to stay with the manager of the time (who’s name i’ve temporarily forgotten but he was a cool guy) When i first started, prior to the 21 year old Mac Carter who replaced him, there was a long time manager (name slips my memory again) who I later heard committed suicide, poor guy. I remember he used to walk up to check us floor staff every now and again to find everyone standing around having a good time (anything but working which we rarely did) and would start screaming at us “Get in there and BAG you fu*@ers..!!” (re: bagging trash in the theatre) lol Those were wild days, concessions was $1000 short a week during Beverly Hills Cop, everybody was dipping their hands in the register, it was total madness, there were firings left and right including management. It was too much fun!
I can remember living on popcorn and nacho cheese which was permanently soiled all over the polyester uniforms, celebrities were always frequenting the place and I’d strike conversations with directors like William Friedkin, Ron Howard, Robert Wise, Peter Hyams and others.
Re: the master list, I’m really surprised to see they installed the showscan equipment in '77, i always thought that came in the early 80’s. Imagine how mind-blowing it was to see Showscan in 1977, too bad it didn’t fly and Trumball ultimately sold the company. Btw, regarding the above link to the upcoming demise of the National, which is a travesty, did you notice the one comment someone left on that page? This is what i’m talking about, they want to erase or change our memory of a time when things were better, for the new generation anyway. It’s over. Just look at how things shifted in the late 80s, how bad movies got around '90-91-92—-and all the way to the present. The last 7 years in partuclar have been a new downslope that keeps sloping lower and lower.
ps, Lost Horizon played there for 3 months in ‘73? wow i thought that one flopped big time on it’s release, must’ve been a booking contract, I personally love the film though.