As I sit in front of my computer nursing a broken leg, going into Cinema Treasures, American Widesreen Museum and other film related webs is how I spend most of my time. Went into the State page hours ago enjoying all the comments and specially the photos. But a comment about Thunder Bay being the first wide screen movie is not correct. If I remember correctly from what I have read, Shane at the Radio City Music Hall, cropped at top and bottom, was the first non-scope and other processes “wide screen” film shown. It’s mentioned in the Times review of the film.
I heard from a friend in LA that in May the Egyptian Theater will show Around the World, South Pacific and Patton in restored 70mm prints. Couldn’t Clearview make arrangements with the Egyptian management to have these prints shown at the Ziegfeld after the LA showing? Perhaps Clearview could establsh somekind of partnership and bring to NY all these wonderful film series that lucky Angelinos have the opportunity to see. Would appreciate comments and ideas.
When I worked in film distribution and exhibition some years ago, we always checked the prints and if it was a roadshow film we always had a rehearsal the day before opening the film. From what I have read here from Vito, I am sure he always checked the print before throwing the switch.
I remember when I saw the restored Lawrence and other 70mm roadshows here, they played the overture and entre'act with lights dimmed, main curtain open and the traveler closed. When the Columbia logo or whatever logo came up, then they turned the lights copletely off and opened the traveler. Do they still have a traveler at the Ziegfeld?
Re the quality of prints — specially My Fair Lady at the Ziegfeld: How come the Film Forum, a small — very small — independent non-profit cinema here in NYC can get new struck prints in scope and double projection 3D for their revivals and Clearview, a giant exhibitor, can’t? Any answers, Craig?
Re the quality of prints — specially My Fair Lady at the Ziegfeld: How come the Film Forum, a small — very small — independent non-profit cinema here in NYC can get new struck prints in scope and double projection 3D for their revivals and Clearview, a giant exhibitor, can’t? Any answers, Craig?
Howard, from what I have read on the Uptown in DC on its page here, it gives me the impression it still has the Cinerama screen. I have been at the Uptown, the last time about 8 years ago and it had the huge curved screen. What a magnificent moviegoing experience!
Ed, Rita Moreno’s first screen appearance was in “Singin' In The Rain” (Zelda). She had done several movies before WSS, “The King and I” was one of them.
Best, Andres.
To Craig of Clearview:
Why doesn’t Clearview convert the Ziegfeld into a Cinerama 3-strip theatre? I said this before and I am saying it again: I think Cinerama should be brought back to New York City. Triple projection Cinerama and its huge curved screen debuted right here in New York City at the Broadway Theatre on September 1952. Yet, while Seattle and Los Angeles have Cinerama theatres, New York, “The Capital of the World,” does not. I am sure a Cinerama theater in New York City would be a terrific tourist attraction and would bring movie loving visitors and money to the city, and Clearview. Besides triple projection Cinerama, the theater could show 70mm spectaculars like “Lawrence of Arabia” as they were intended to be seen. Also, the venue could be used for other movie attractions such as a 3D festival like they had last summer at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Except for the occasional double projection 3D film at the Film Forum, most contemporary New Yorkers have not seen double projection 3D, just as they have not seen Cinerama. Last summer both the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens and the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center celebrated 50 years of wide screen movies. It’s ironic that it was Cinerama that started it all right here in New York City and we don’t have a Cinerama theater. Bring Cinerama back to NYC, THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! As for “classics” programming, see my Feb. 7 post above.
Re Roadshow instructions, I guess most of you may have seen it, but in case you haven’t, go to American Widescreen Museum web and click on Roadshow in the Lobby page. They have the instructions for WSS, 10 Commandmets, El Cid and others. Incidentally, though WSS does noy have an intermission, when I saw it in San Juan they put an intermission right before I Feel Pretty. No intermission title, no entre'act music. They just closed the curtain when the previous secene faded out and opened the curtain after 15 minutes with I Feel Pretty. I think it worked, and in the recent DVD, in Special Features, they have an optional intermission music, an instrumental I feel Pretty in a lovely arrangement.
70mm_Forever:
I worked with Cobian/Commonweath Theatres when the Plaza Twins were born. The architect was Angel Aviles, who did all the Cobian Theaters in the 60’s. I can’t remember the name of the interior designer, he was married to actress Marta Romero at the time. Then Wometco came in and bought Cobian and then Cinevista bought Wometco. Wometco was based in Miami and besides owning a movie chain in Florida they also owned the Miami Seaquarium and the local CBS television station. The Wometco name comes from the last names of the owners, Wolfson and Mitchell. Why wasn’t it called “Womitco”? I have no idea where Cinevista came from.
Thank you all for the above responses to my comments on the Ziegfeld classic series. See your point EdSolero, and Peter, I’ll do my best to go to Suffern. By the way, remember the programming ideas came from a friend in LA, he should get the credit for the titles for an ideal classic series.
If Joe Masher is still a division manager for Clearview, this is for him:
I was totally disappointed when I went into the Ziegfeld page at the Clearview web and saw the “classics” revival schedule. Gladiator a classic? Chicago a classic? Who’s the idiot who programmed this series, a 19 year old? The 7 year old daughter of the programmer that, like Amy Carter, advised her father, president Jimmy Carter, on nuclear weapons? (Remember that?) Well, I sent the program of the series to a friend in LA — where they have Cinerama and have REAL series and retrospectives, and he sent me his comments — which follow. Incidentally, it is a shame that in the “capital of the world”, we don’t have a Cinerama theater or have REAL retrospectives and REAL CASSIC FILM series.
Here are his suggestions:
1) “Epics Week”: Remove “Gladiator” and “Braveheart”, and replace with the restored 70 mm prints of “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Spartacus”, and/or “El Cid”.
2) Eliminate the “Indiana Jones” week, replace with Western week. (High Noon, Shane, The Searchers, Gunfight at OK Corral, The Big Country, Magnificent Seven, and so on). Ok, maybe have an Indiana Jones day, ( a weekend if you must) but please not an entire week at the expense of John Ford & company!
3) Eliminate “Lord of the Rings” week, replace with war epics: “Bridge on the River Kwai”, “Guns of Navarone”, “The Longest Day”, “The Great Escape”, “Tora!, Tora!, Tora!”, “Dirty Dozen”
4) Remove “Chicago” and replace with “The Sound of Music”, “Hello Dolly” , “Oklahoma!” or “Singing in the Rain”. Any of those will do.
4) Put all those removed films (“Lord of the Rings”, “Gladiator”, “Chicago” etc.) in a “Contemporary Award Winners” week.
5) I would have a “Cop/Tough Guy” week: “The French Connection”, “Dirty Harry”, “Bullitt”, “Point Blank”
It’s funny, Vincent, that you mention and have mentioned Scorsese because a friend of mine from LA suggested to me yesterday that we should contact him. Scorsese has a good comment about Cinerama on the Cinerama Adventure web. Does anyone know how to reach him?
Or De Niro? He has a restaurant and lives downown in Tribeca, doesn’t he?. Andres.
Thank you for your e-mail. I suggest that you write to Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, 1687 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. She is in charge of movie production in New York City. Also, you should renew your correspondence with Chrystine Nicholas. It is not a matter that I plan on adding to my own plate.
All the best and good luck.
Ed Koch
Let’s bombard Ms. Oliver and Ms. Nycholas (at NYC&CO) with letters on saving the DeMille/Embassy 2-3-4. Andres.
If my memory does not fail me, it was late in Koch’s administration that plans to renovate Times Square began, and they continued under Dinkins and finally Giuliani. It was during Giuliani’s administration that the Disney deal to restore the New Amsterdam was made and the Disneyfication of the area began, including the construction of all the new skyscrapers, where incidentally, Giuliani Partners is located in one of them; the one next to the New Amsterdam in the southwest corner of 42d St. Sadly, some of the 42nd St. theates were lost, but others renovated — i.e. New Victory — and the facade and lobby of the Empire were incorporated into the monstruousity known as the AMC 25. As for the Rivoli, State, Srand/Warner, etc.; the blame goes to greedy Loews, United Artists and the real estate developers, not to any particular mayor. Andres.
Vincent: You know better than I if Koch was not directly involved in the movement to save the Regency, but I remember he was at the picket line at least once.
As for yor opinion of him, I respect it.
I just want and hope like all of you who contribute to this site that this theater is saved.
Best, Andres.
You got it right EdSolero. The current adminitration did not even acknowledge my letter as they are supposed to do when a constituent writes to City Hall, even though I sent it through a person I know at the Mayor’s office. The letters are not responded to personally by the mayor of course. The Mayor’s Correspondence Unit responds and then fowards the letter to the appropiate city agency or unit, in my case the Film Commission. They are supposed to respond to the constituent within 10 days. That office never acknowledged my letter or responded. That’s why I turned to Koch. Koch is not only a person of considerable influence, but he loves the movies. When the Regency in the Upper West Side was taken over by Cineplex Odeon and changed its programming from repertory to first run, Koch initiated and led a picket line in front of the theater, as he did when Loews or Cineplex raised the ticket prices many years ago. He write a weekly movie column — reviews — in The
Villager. Andres.
JSA:=
Forgot to tell you…
Have you seen the special edition DVD of the original King Kong? There’s a docu on Merriam C. Cooper that mentions his involvement in developing Cinerama which includes a segment of the opening scenes of This is Cinerama made to look as if it is shown on a big curved screen.
Also, in the 50th anni DVD of Oklahoma, there is a featurette showing the filming of the CinemaScope version and the 70mm Todd-AO version. A shame they did not put the same scene of both versions together like they did some years ago on American Movie Classics. There they had a scene in CinemaScope at the top and Todd-AO at the bottom, and you could see different hand and head movements in the same scene. The CinemaScope version was like a “dress rehearsal,” and the 70mm version is real thing. Best, Andres.
Thanks, Warren. i stand corrected.
As I sit in front of my computer nursing a broken leg, going into Cinema Treasures, American Widesreen Museum and other film related webs is how I spend most of my time. Went into the State page hours ago enjoying all the comments and specially the photos. But a comment about Thunder Bay being the first wide screen movie is not correct. If I remember correctly from what I have read, Shane at the Radio City Music Hall, cropped at top and bottom, was the first non-scope and other processes “wide screen” film shown. It’s mentioned in the Times review of the film.
I heard from a friend in LA that in May the Egyptian Theater will show Around the World, South Pacific and Patton in restored 70mm prints. Couldn’t Clearview make arrangements with the Egyptian management to have these prints shown at the Ziegfeld after the LA showing? Perhaps Clearview could establsh somekind of partnership and bring to NY all these wonderful film series that lucky Angelinos have the opportunity to see. Would appreciate comments and ideas.
When I worked in film distribution and exhibition some years ago, we always checked the prints and if it was a roadshow film we always had a rehearsal the day before opening the film. From what I have read here from Vito, I am sure he always checked the print before throwing the switch.
I remember when I saw the restored Lawrence and other 70mm roadshows here, they played the overture and entre'act with lights dimmed, main curtain open and the traveler closed. When the Columbia logo or whatever logo came up, then they turned the lights copletely off and opened the traveler. Do they still have a traveler at the Ziegfeld?
I stand corrected Ed. I should have read more carefully. Best, Andres.
PS to my previous comment: To JSA of LA, thanks for your comments and support.
Re the quality of prints — specially My Fair Lady at the Ziegfeld: How come the Film Forum, a small — very small — independent non-profit cinema here in NYC can get new struck prints in scope and double projection 3D for their revivals and Clearview, a giant exhibitor, can’t? Any answers, Craig?
Re the quality of prints — specially My Fair Lady at the Ziegfeld: How come the Film Forum, a small — very small — independent non-profit cinema here in NYC can get new struck prints in scope and double projection 3D for their revivals and Clearview, a giant exhibitor, can’t? Any answers, Craig?
Howard, from what I have read on the Uptown in DC on its page here, it gives me the impression it still has the Cinerama screen. I have been at the Uptown, the last time about 8 years ago and it had the huge curved screen. What a magnificent moviegoing experience!
Ed, Rita Moreno’s first screen appearance was in “Singin' In The Rain” (Zelda). She had done several movies before WSS, “The King and I” was one of them.
Best, Andres.
To Craig of Clearview:
Why doesn’t Clearview convert the Ziegfeld into a Cinerama 3-strip theatre? I said this before and I am saying it again: I think Cinerama should be brought back to New York City. Triple projection Cinerama and its huge curved screen debuted right here in New York City at the Broadway Theatre on September 1952. Yet, while Seattle and Los Angeles have Cinerama theatres, New York, “The Capital of the World,” does not. I am sure a Cinerama theater in New York City would be a terrific tourist attraction and would bring movie loving visitors and money to the city, and Clearview. Besides triple projection Cinerama, the theater could show 70mm spectaculars like “Lawrence of Arabia” as they were intended to be seen. Also, the venue could be used for other movie attractions such as a 3D festival like they had last summer at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Except for the occasional double projection 3D film at the Film Forum, most contemporary New Yorkers have not seen double projection 3D, just as they have not seen Cinerama. Last summer both the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens and the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center celebrated 50 years of wide screen movies. It’s ironic that it was Cinerama that started it all right here in New York City and we don’t have a Cinerama theater. Bring Cinerama back to NYC, THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! As for “classics” programming, see my Feb. 7 post above.
Re Roadshow instructions, I guess most of you may have seen it, but in case you haven’t, go to American Widescreen Museum web and click on Roadshow in the Lobby page. They have the instructions for WSS, 10 Commandmets, El Cid and others. Incidentally, though WSS does noy have an intermission, when I saw it in San Juan they put an intermission right before I Feel Pretty. No intermission title, no entre'act music. They just closed the curtain when the previous secene faded out and opened the curtain after 15 minutes with I Feel Pretty. I think it worked, and in the recent DVD, in Special Features, they have an optional intermission music, an instrumental I feel Pretty in a lovely arrangement.
Correction: the design made them “look” bigger, not bigger.
Forgot to mention in the previous comment that the Plaza 1 had about 900 seats and the Plaza 2 about 450. The way they were designed made them bigger.
70mm_Forever:
I worked with Cobian/Commonweath Theatres when the Plaza Twins were born. The architect was Angel Aviles, who did all the Cobian Theaters in the 60’s. I can’t remember the name of the interior designer, he was married to actress Marta Romero at the time. Then Wometco came in and bought Cobian and then Cinevista bought Wometco. Wometco was based in Miami and besides owning a movie chain in Florida they also owned the Miami Seaquarium and the local CBS television station. The Wometco name comes from the last names of the owners, Wolfson and Mitchell. Why wasn’t it called “Womitco”? I have no idea where Cinevista came from.
Thank you all for the above responses to my comments on the Ziegfeld classic series. See your point EdSolero, and Peter, I’ll do my best to go to Suffern. By the way, remember the programming ideas came from a friend in LA, he should get the credit for the titles for an ideal classic series.
If Joe Masher is still a division manager for Clearview, this is for him:
I was totally disappointed when I went into the Ziegfeld page at the Clearview web and saw the “classics” revival schedule. Gladiator a classic? Chicago a classic? Who’s the idiot who programmed this series, a 19 year old? The 7 year old daughter of the programmer that, like Amy Carter, advised her father, president Jimmy Carter, on nuclear weapons? (Remember that?) Well, I sent the program of the series to a friend in LA — where they have Cinerama and have REAL series and retrospectives, and he sent me his comments — which follow. Incidentally, it is a shame that in the “capital of the world”, we don’t have a Cinerama theater or have REAL retrospectives and REAL CASSIC FILM series.
Here are his suggestions:
1) “Epics Week”: Remove “Gladiator” and “Braveheart”, and replace with the restored 70 mm prints of “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Spartacus”, and/or “El Cid”.
2) Eliminate the “Indiana Jones” week, replace with Western week. (High Noon, Shane, The Searchers, Gunfight at OK Corral, The Big Country, Magnificent Seven, and so on). Ok, maybe have an Indiana Jones day, ( a weekend if you must) but please not an entire week at the expense of John Ford & company!
3) Eliminate “Lord of the Rings” week, replace with war epics: “Bridge on the River Kwai”, “Guns of Navarone”, “The Longest Day”, “The Great Escape”, “Tora!, Tora!, Tora!”, “Dirty Dozen”
4) Remove “Chicago” and replace with “The Sound of Music”, “Hello Dolly” , “Oklahoma!” or “Singing in the Rain”. Any of those will do.
4) Put all those removed films (“Lord of the Rings”, “Gladiator”, “Chicago” etc.) in a “Contemporary Award Winners” week.
5) I would have a “Cop/Tough Guy” week: “The French Connection”, “Dirty Harry”, “Bullitt”, “Point Blank”
6) Comedy week. Lots to choose there!
Please, please, do what JSA from LA suggests. Bring back Cinerama to NYC, where it debuted 1952. If I had the money I would write you a check right now. All the best, Andrés.
It’s funny, Vincent, that you mention and have mentioned Scorsese because a friend of mine from LA suggested to me yesterday that we should contact him. Scorsese has a good comment about Cinerama on the Cinerama Adventure web. Does anyone know how to reach him?
Or De Niro? He has a restaurant and lives downown in Tribeca, doesn’t he?. Andres.
Well, Koch said no. Here is his e-mail:
Thank you for your e-mail. I suggest that you write to Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, 1687 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. She is in charge of movie production in New York City. Also, you should renew your correspondence with Chrystine Nicholas. It is not a matter that I plan on adding to my own plate.
All the best and good luck.
Ed Koch
Let’s bombard Ms. Oliver and Ms. Nycholas (at NYC&CO) with letters on saving the DeMille/Embassy 2-3-4. Andres.
If my memory does not fail me, it was late in Koch’s administration that plans to renovate Times Square began, and they continued under Dinkins and finally Giuliani. It was during Giuliani’s administration that the Disney deal to restore the New Amsterdam was made and the Disneyfication of the area began, including the construction of all the new skyscrapers, where incidentally, Giuliani Partners is located in one of them; the one next to the New Amsterdam in the southwest corner of 42d St. Sadly, some of the 42nd St. theates were lost, but others renovated — i.e. New Victory — and the facade and lobby of the Empire were incorporated into the monstruousity known as the AMC 25. As for the Rivoli, State, Srand/Warner, etc.; the blame goes to greedy Loews, United Artists and the real estate developers, not to any particular mayor. Andres.
Vincent: You know better than I if Koch was not directly involved in the movement to save the Regency, but I remember he was at the picket line at least once.
As for yor opinion of him, I respect it.
I just want and hope like all of you who contribute to this site that this theater is saved.
Best, Andres.
You got it right EdSolero. The current adminitration did not even acknowledge my letter as they are supposed to do when a constituent writes to City Hall, even though I sent it through a person I know at the Mayor’s office. The letters are not responded to personally by the mayor of course. The Mayor’s Correspondence Unit responds and then fowards the letter to the appropiate city agency or unit, in my case the Film Commission. They are supposed to respond to the constituent within 10 days. That office never acknowledged my letter or responded. That’s why I turned to Koch. Koch is not only a person of considerable influence, but he loves the movies. When the Regency in the Upper West Side was taken over by Cineplex Odeon and changed its programming from repertory to first run, Koch initiated and led a picket line in front of the theater, as he did when Loews or Cineplex raised the ticket prices many years ago. He write a weekly movie column — reviews — in The
Villager. Andres.
I just sent this e-mail to Mayor Ed Koch. Let’s hope he becomes interested and something is done about this theater. Best, Andrés.
Dear Mayor Koch:
I am taking the liberty of writing to you because some time ago you gave out your e-mail address on the NY1 Wiseguys segment (which I never miss). But this not about politics, it’s about movies. Specifically, Cinerama.
As a die hard movie fan just like you ( I was involved in film exhibition back home in Puerto Rico, where we had a Cinerama theater ); I think Cinerama should be brought back to New York City.
Triple projection Cinerama and its huge curved screen debuted right here in New York City at the Broadway Theatre on September 1952. Yet, while Seattle and Los Angeles have Cinerama theatres, New York, “The Capital of the World,” does not. I am sure a Cinerama theater in Times Square, “the crossroads of the world,” would be a terrific tourist attraction and would bring movie loving visitors and money to the city. Besides triple projection Cinerama, the theater could show 70mm spectaculars like “Lawrence of Arabia” as they were intended to be seen. Also, the venue could be used for other movie attractions such as a 3D festival like they had last summer at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Except for the occasional double projection 3D film at the Film Forum, most contemporary New Yorkers have not seen double projection 3D, just as they have not seen Cinerama. Last summer both the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens and the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center celebrated 50 years of wide screen movies. It’s ironic that it was Cinerama that started it all right here in New York City and we don’t have a Cinerama theater.
As for the venue, the abandoned Embassy 2-3-4 (formerly the DeMille, originally the RKO Mayfair) on Seventh Avenue and 47th Street, is wide enough for triple projection Cinerama since it used to play 70mm spectaculars in its heyday.
I have written to a contact I have at City Hall, to Chrystine Nicholas of NYC & Co., whom I happen to know, though I have not seen her in years; to members of the City Council who belong to the film/theatre committee, to no avail. Someone like you, a liked former mayor with contacts in all walks of life, can surely convince a group of investors/film people to bring Cinerama back to NYC, THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!
Think about it Mayor Koch, if someone can do it it’s you. Let’s bring back Cinerama to it’s birthplace, New York City. Again, if someone can do it, it’s you Mayor Koch.
Incidentally, I missed you at the retirement party of Amy Betanzos last October at the Time Warner Center.
Respectfully,
Andrés Roura
JSA:=
Forgot to tell you…
Have you seen the special edition DVD of the original King Kong? There’s a docu on Merriam C. Cooper that mentions his involvement in developing Cinerama which includes a segment of the opening scenes of This is Cinerama made to look as if it is shown on a big curved screen.
Also, in the 50th anni DVD of Oklahoma, there is a featurette showing the filming of the CinemaScope version and the 70mm Todd-AO version. A shame they did not put the same scene of both versions together like they did some years ago on American Movie Classics. There they had a scene in CinemaScope at the top and Todd-AO at the bottom, and you could see different hand and head movements in the same scene. The CinemaScope version was like a “dress rehearsal,” and the 70mm version is real thing. Best, Andres.