I agree with Ed and Jeff: “Mad Mad World” looks incredible in 70mm and it’d be a knockout at the Ziegfeld. There are also new 70mm prints of “Cleopatra” and “Ryan’s Daughter” (still the Ziegfeld’s longest-running original engagement) that were shown in L.A. a few years ago.
Why should L.A. have all the 70mm fun? New York’s got the Ziegfeld!
Here’s Robert Osborne’s Hollywood Reporter article about “Porgy and Bess”:
NEW YORK — It was a much-touted, much-seen and in some quarters much-admired motion picture in its time, with four Oscar nominations (and one win) to its credit and a cast filled with talented people who, if not yet icons, certainly became so in the years after: Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr. and Diahann Carroll. We’re talking Samuel Goldwyn’s mammoth 1959 musical “Porgy and Bess,” a film that has not — except in a few rare instances — rolled through a projector in decades but will again Sept. 26-27 at the Ziegfeld in Manhattan amid much hoopla, all in conjunction with the publication of an extensive new biography on the film’s director titled “Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King,” written by Foster Hirsch, published by Knopf and headed for bookstores Oct. 21. … There are reasons the film version of George Gershwin’s famed folk opera has been unseen for the past 40-plus years. After a complicated birth (its original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was fired during production, with Preminger taking over; there also was a mysterious fire that destroyed much of the set and delayed production), the finished film drew some negative criticism for its “unrealistic, soundstage look,” while there also was strong opposition from several civil rights groups that felt “Porgy” in any form gave a slanted, unfavorable view of black American life. (The original stage version was similarly roasted when it premiered in 1935.) The movie opened as a roadshow attraction at New York’s Warner Theatre, with the New York Times' Bosley Crowther hailing it as “a stunning, exciting and moving film, packed with human emotions and cheerful and mournful melodies (that) bids to be as much a classic on the screen as it is on the stage.” Others disagreed, stunning Goldwyn. The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and “Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.) At the moment, whatever kept this movie under wraps seems to have if not evaporated at least mellowed, and one holds a hope that, if there’s not a theatrical reissue in the future, at least a DVD edition might be forthcoming. As Hirsch says in his Preminger book, “Whatever their objections, the estate has a moral responsibility to ensure that viewers have the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about this still contested work.” At least this two-day theatrical screening is a step in the right direction. It’s a particular gift for those who’ve always been eager to get a look at this piece of film ghostory, not only those in the black community but also curious historians and eager cinemaniacs who are devotees of Gershwin, Preminger, Poitier and Dandridge, all of who have been the subjects of an interest that’s grown a great deal since the film was launched 48 years ago. … That Sept. 26 date is a significant one for another reason: It’s Gershwin’s birthday, his 109th. “Porgy” is also the last film made by Goldwyn, whose career in film dated back to 1913.
“Porgy and Bess” was in Todd-AO. I wonder if the Ziegfeld will be showing it in 70mm. I must investigate this … I’ve only seen it on TV, and that was about 40 years ago.
I guess we should just be glad it’s being shown in New York at all. But, contrary to what Bob said, too bad it ISN’T playing the Ziegfeld. Like it or not, that’s the only theater left in the city that can even come close to what the 1968 showings at the DeMille must have been like.
Justin: I don’t think there are any rocking chair seats in the Ziegfeld. If there are, they must be in the upstairs section, where I never sit (too far away from the screen).
I’d gladly pay $14 for the Cinerama Dome in the ArcLight complex – and I wish we had one of those here in New York – but how about the rest of the theaters there? That’s a high price for a multiplex (although I’m sure it’s a nice one).
Justin: I think the Empire has morning bargain matinees on weekends, but like we said up above, they can afford it. I’ll always go out of my way and pay the extra few dollars to see something at the Ziegfeld, though. At least you still get something for your money – the theater itself – even when the movie is bad. That’s why “Hairspray” was like a breath of fresh air … a new movie that was really, really good. A rarity these days.
There were no doubt more people seeing “Hairspray” at the Empire last night than there were at the Ziegfeld, but discriminating moviegoers will always be glad to make the extra schlep up to 54th St.
Only the see-through curtain was used last night – better than nothing. But the movie “Hairspray” was sensational. Projection and sound were perfect. A movie like that was made to be shown at the Ziegfeld. The audience ate it up. The best new movie I’ve seen there in several years, since at least “Master and Commander” and “Chicago”.
“Dirty Dancing” (20th Anniversary) coming in for one week starting 8/24. Followed by “Saturday Night Fever” (30th anniversary) for one week starting 8/31. Hopefully more Classics will follow.
A couple of weeks ago the Ziegfeld used the curtains for a Friday night showing of “Ratatouille”. I’m going there tonight for “Hairspray” – I’ll let you know.
This theater is indirectly mentioned in Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay for “Marty”, the 1955 Best Picture Oscar winner. The scene takes place in the Bronx. Someone says “I’ll never forgive LaGuardia for cutting burlesque out of New York City”, and his friend says, “There’s a burlesque in Union City. Why don’t we go down to Union City?”
There’s a 7-foot-tall can of hairspray on display in the lobby, so it probably will play there. I think every big movie musical made in the last few years has played the Ziegfeld.
I was thinking only of really big-screen theaters there, which is why I forgot the Lafayette in Suffern, NY. The screen may not be super large, but the appearance of the theater and everything about the way it is run makes it one of the best in the country.
I guess “Marriage on the Rocks” was the actual first movie screened, even though it was a one-time-only engagement. My friend and frequent poster Jeff S. owns a 35mm print of that film. I’d like to think it was the same one that opened the Stanley Warner that night in 1965.
Like Pete Apruzzese, I too saw “Blade Runner” on opening night at the Loew’s Meadows 6 in Secaucus NJ. The screen wasn’t opened all the way for anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 until about 30 minutes into the picture (opening night glitches, I guess). I had read Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and was very disappointed that the movie was nothing like the book. It also seemed to be a comedown from Ridley Scott’s last film, “Alien”. In the years since, I’ve come to appreciate “Blade Runner” for the good movie it is without all that baggage I brought to it in 1982, but it never seemed like a truly great film to me. Its fans should be happy to know it just got included in the new edition of the AFI Top 100 Movies list for the first time.
The Capitol called their upstairs front rows “divans”. My dad got “2001” tickets for that section in 1968, and before I went I wasn’t sure what kind of seats we were going to get. I pictured them to be something like boxes in an opera house. But it was just the front couple of rows in the upstairs, at eye level with the middle part of the Cinerama screen.
I agree with Ed and Jeff: “Mad Mad World” looks incredible in 70mm and it’d be a knockout at the Ziegfeld. There are also new 70mm prints of “Cleopatra” and “Ryan’s Daughter” (still the Ziegfeld’s longest-running original engagement) that were shown in L.A. a few years ago.
Why should L.A. have all the 70mm fun? New York’s got the Ziegfeld!
Warren: I didn’t even know about the “War and Peace” screenings until I saw them mentioned here. I hope I don’t get turned away.
Here’s Robert Osborne’s Hollywood Reporter article about “Porgy and Bess”:
NEW YORK — It was a much-touted, much-seen and in some quarters much-admired motion picture in its time, with four Oscar nominations (and one win) to its credit and a cast filled with talented people who, if not yet icons, certainly became so in the years after: Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr. and Diahann Carroll. We’re talking Samuel Goldwyn’s mammoth 1959 musical “Porgy and Bess,” a film that has not — except in a few rare instances — rolled through a projector in decades but will again Sept. 26-27 at the Ziegfeld in Manhattan amid much hoopla, all in conjunction with the publication of an extensive new biography on the film’s director titled “Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King,” written by Foster Hirsch, published by Knopf and headed for bookstores Oct. 21. … There are reasons the film version of George Gershwin’s famed folk opera has been unseen for the past 40-plus years. After a complicated birth (its original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was fired during production, with Preminger taking over; there also was a mysterious fire that destroyed much of the set and delayed production), the finished film drew some negative criticism for its “unrealistic, soundstage look,” while there also was strong opposition from several civil rights groups that felt “Porgy” in any form gave a slanted, unfavorable view of black American life. (The original stage version was similarly roasted when it premiered in 1935.) The movie opened as a roadshow attraction at New York’s Warner Theatre, with the New York Times' Bosley Crowther hailing it as “a stunning, exciting and moving film, packed with human emotions and cheerful and mournful melodies (that) bids to be as much a classic on the screen as it is on the stage.” Others disagreed, stunning Goldwyn. The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and “Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.) At the moment, whatever kept this movie under wraps seems to have if not evaporated at least mellowed, and one holds a hope that, if there’s not a theatrical reissue in the future, at least a DVD edition might be forthcoming. As Hirsch says in his Preminger book, “Whatever their objections, the estate has a moral responsibility to ensure that viewers have the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about this still contested work.” At least this two-day theatrical screening is a step in the right direction. It’s a particular gift for those who’ve always been eager to get a look at this piece of film ghostory, not only those in the black community but also curious historians and eager cinemaniacs who are devotees of Gershwin, Preminger, Poitier and Dandridge, all of who have been the subjects of an interest that’s grown a great deal since the film was launched 48 years ago. … That Sept. 26 date is a significant one for another reason: It’s Gershwin’s birthday, his 109th. “Porgy” is also the last film made by Goldwyn, whose career in film dated back to 1913.
“Porgy and Bess” was in Todd-AO. I wonder if the Ziegfeld will be showing it in 70mm. I must investigate this … I’ve only seen it on TV, and that was about 40 years ago.
I’m glad I got my Cinerama Dome and Cinerama logo fridge magnets in 2003. They gave them away, too, for “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”.
I guess we should just be glad it’s being shown in New York at all. But, contrary to what Bob said, too bad it ISN’T playing the Ziegfeld. Like it or not, that’s the only theater left in the city that can even come close to what the 1968 showings at the DeMille must have been like.
View link
Justin: I don’t think there are any rocking chair seats in the Ziegfeld. If there are, they must be in the upstairs section, where I never sit (too far away from the screen).
I’d gladly pay $14 for the Cinerama Dome in the ArcLight complex – and I wish we had one of those here in New York – but how about the rest of the theaters there? That’s a high price for a multiplex (although I’m sure it’s a nice one).
Justin: I think the Empire has morning bargain matinees on weekends, but like we said up above, they can afford it. I’ll always go out of my way and pay the extra few dollars to see something at the Ziegfeld, though. At least you still get something for your money – the theater itself – even when the movie is bad. That’s why “Hairspray” was like a breath of fresh air … a new movie that was really, really good. A rarity these days.
I guess that would be the Empire 42nd St., with all those elevators that seem like they’re never going to arrive.
$11.00 for adults, I think $7.00 for children under 12 and seniors. No bargain matinees.
There were no doubt more people seeing “Hairspray” at the Empire last night than there were at the Ziegfeld, but discriminating moviegoers will always be glad to make the extra schlep up to 54th St.
Only the see-through curtain was used last night – better than nothing. But the movie “Hairspray” was sensational. Projection and sound were perfect. A movie like that was made to be shown at the Ziegfeld. The audience ate it up. The best new movie I’ve seen there in several years, since at least “Master and Commander” and “Chicago”.
“Dirty Dancing” (20th Anniversary) coming in for one week starting 8/24. Followed by “Saturday Night Fever” (30th anniversary) for one week starting 8/31. Hopefully more Classics will follow.
A couple of weeks ago the Ziegfeld used the curtains for a Friday night showing of “Ratatouille”. I’m going there tonight for “Hairspray” – I’ll let you know.
This theater is indirectly mentioned in Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay for “Marty”, the 1955 Best Picture Oscar winner. The scene takes place in the Bronx. Someone says “I’ll never forgive LaGuardia for cutting burlesque out of New York City”, and his friend says, “There’s a burlesque in Union City. Why don’t we go down to Union City?”
It’s official – starts July 20th:
View link
There’s a 7-foot-tall can of hairspray on display in the lobby, so it probably will play there. I think every big movie musical made in the last few years has played the Ziegfeld.
You can find listings for the Stanley Warner in the Bergen Record. The Hackensack Public Library has all the issues on microfilm, in the basement.
I was thinking only of really big-screen theaters there, which is why I forgot the Lafayette in Suffern, NY. The screen may not be super large, but the appearance of the theater and everything about the way it is run makes it one of the best in the country.
My favorites:
New York: The Ziegfeld
Washington DC: The Uptown
Los Angeles: Grauman’s Chinese, Cinerama Dome, The El Capitan.
Thanks to Michael Coate and Bill Kallay, here’s the answer to Movieguru’s question:
View link
I guess “Marriage on the Rocks” was the actual first movie screened, even though it was a one-time-only engagement. My friend and frequent poster Jeff S. owns a 35mm print of that film. I’d like to think it was the same one that opened the Stanley Warner that night in 1965.
Like Pete Apruzzese, I too saw “Blade Runner” on opening night at the Loew’s Meadows 6 in Secaucus NJ. The screen wasn’t opened all the way for anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 until about 30 minutes into the picture (opening night glitches, I guess). I had read Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and was very disappointed that the movie was nothing like the book. It also seemed to be a comedown from Ridley Scott’s last film, “Alien”. In the years since, I’ve come to appreciate “Blade Runner” for the good movie it is without all that baggage I brought to it in 1982, but it never seemed like a truly great film to me. Its fans should be happy to know it just got included in the new edition of the AFI Top 100 Movies list for the first time.
Sorry. I just wanted to add to the discussion about upstairs seating that was going on here.
As you can see here, the divans were the highest-priced seats ($4.25!)
View link
The Capitol called their upstairs front rows “divans”. My dad got “2001” tickets for that section in 1968, and before I went I wasn’t sure what kind of seats we were going to get. I pictured them to be something like boxes in an opera house. But it was just the front couple of rows in the upstairs, at eye level with the middle part of the Cinerama screen.