they just don’t know what the heck to do with this place, there’s certainly no business in showing movies anymore. And it it hasn’t really been “open” in years under the various recent ownerships, the few random screenings they had were cheap, shoddy digital projection. It’s too bad the Cinematheque or some company couldn’t take it over but nobody would show one way or the other and there’s no profit in this type of thing. It’s over. We’ve seen the end of an era. It’s over
I’ve just written a script called WESTWOOD NIGHTS set at the NATIONAL in ‘85. An 80’s American Graffiti. It will likely never get made but just thought I’d mention it
the REGENT is getting Mission Impossible? That makes no sense, nobody will see it there. Westwood is faint flicker of memories of what was the last great era of cinema. It’s over now. Like Roy Batty at the end of Blade Runner, the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and it burned so very very brightly. Time…to die
I don’t get to the Village or Bruin often these days but it seems those those theaters are empty even on opening nights and weekends for big releases. Do they still pull in crowds? I never see them, but maybe i’m just not there enough to witness it. Westwood still has lots of foot traffic and students but nobody goes to see movies anymore. Cinema is dead, it’s been dead for 20 years or more in all honesty. What’s left of the single houses are just sputtering along. I just wish Regency had reduced the ticket price to $3 at all of it’s theaters, the Village ain’t what it used to be for screen & sound.
it AMAZES me the Avco has lasted as long as it has, nobody goes there anymore do they? Do the local elderly patrons are keeping it going for the matinee’s? Seems like the place has been dead for over 10 or 15 years, or longer. That place went straight to the pits when they split their main auditorium, last couple of times i saw something there I regretted it, screen & sound was horrible. It’s not even a faint shadow of what it used to be. It’s just amazing it’s STILL OPEN as of late Oct 2011
This theater has gone to the pits, like everything. Every time i see something here the screen is WAY too dark, poorly matted or even out of focus at times. About half the amount of light needed is being thrown onto that screen, it’s like a laptop monitor in power save mode. What the hell are they doing there and WHY are they charging large amounts of money for a DIM screen you can barely see?
they can keep The Grove, Santa Monica Promenade and all those overcrowded modern mega-complexes, hip or not. And Century City ain’t what it used to be since the Plitt & Shubert closed ages ago. Westwood is actually still fairly bustling with people, especially on weekends. (been down there a few times in recent weeks) The students haven’t gone anywhere. But people aren’t seeing movie’s anymore,..I don’t know what the heck their doing or IS to do there anymore. Except maybe Falafel King or Deidi Riese
I agree Brad, but despite still seeing large crowds there on weekends, Westwood has been dead for years. Parking is ridiculous (one used to be able to park for FREE all day relatively easily at one time) the theaters are all gone, music/bookstores all gone. The Village and the Bruin just barely saved (temporarily) at the last minute by Regency are all thats left but their just rotting away, and never open with anything good or worthwhile. Not that there are actually good or worthwhile films still being made. Westwood has nothing left, except Lamonica’s Pizza. It’s over, plain and simple. Just hear that Terry Jacks song ‘Seasons in the Sun’ playing when you think of Westwood
That was a great post of the 1970 Box Office mag, I posted it on my facebook page weeks ago. Does anyone know if there are any archived pics of Westwood in the 70’s/80’s anywhere online?
wow, we’re still here, posting. Some of my friends are just NOW (at the end of 2009) discovering the demise of the place. I’ve toyed around with the idea of making a film about working at Mann Theaters in Westwood at the time (‘83-85) It could be like American Graffiti of the 80’s in the cinema world of Westwood Village, and how things changed drastically in the late 80’s, leading up to the present day deterioration of everything. (think Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America meets American Graffitti) Of course this film will never get made but, I can still toy with idea’s, can’t I?
I live a few blocks away from this theatre and have always been curious about the history of it. Some fascinating pics from the 1950’s someone posted above. The whole area looked so different in those days, wow! what happened to our civilization, how quickly things deteriorate. I’m still curious about what films played here over the years during it’s operation as a cinema, especially in the 60’s/70’s. Someone posted an LA Times ad from the 50’s above (which is quite a curious ad, something about spaceships) and it looked like it was some kind of religious spot even at THAT time, weird
i still live around the corner from the Eagle Rock Plaza, all i remember (during it’s final years) was one of the screens looked like it had a heavy diffusion lense on the projector. The first patented “Murko-vision”.
I’d be interested in hearing more about this place in the 70’s. Too bad there are no cinema’s left in the eagle rock area. The theatre scene is dead. These are the final years before D-Day
oh thats right, Run Simon Run (1974) was the one i was thinking of not Run Joe Run (ugh) I think it was an ABC movie of the week, Run Joe Run was the kids show from oddly enough the SAME YEAR!
I still can’t imagine how Zoot Suit got a 70mm Sensurround presentation.
Someone needs to track down that 70 print of the Muppet Movie and show it, whooo..!
ahh the Brentwood Twins, i lived right around the corner from the theater back in ‘82-83 and used to sneak in every night. I spent most of my life in this theater during those years watching “Blade Runner, The Thing, Empire Strikes Back (re-release) and everything else that played there those years over and over for weeks/months. It was the easiest theater to sneak into as the exit doors were always slightly ajar with generally few people inside. Cheap, run down, sticky floors, and the employees/floor staff were completely non present. I vividly remember during a late afternoon showing of "Sword and the Sorcerer” (which i also saw there a couple dozen times) a drug-connection friend of a friend i was with came thru the always-open exit doors right in the middle of the film, stood in the middle of the screen and started yelling out my friends name “Marc Maaarc..!!” Luckily there were only 2 or 3 other people in the theatre but it was quite embarrassing. Those were crazy days. Many memories of this theater.
was just perusing Michael Coate’s list above, some reason I could have swore “Alien” played at the dome (in 70mm) in ‘79, before or after Apocalypse but i guess not. Where did Alien open, the Egyptian? Some surprising 70mm engagements like “The Muppet Movie” and “Run, Run Joe!” (1974) a film i’d never even HEARD of before, strange that the TV movie “Run Joe Run” (Burt Reynolds) came out the same year. “The Earthling” (1981) there’s a forgotten film, as well as “Bully” (1978) “Sextette” (1978) “Maurie” (1973) “You’ll Like My Mother” (1972) and “Zandy’s Bride” (1974) And nobody ever believes me when i mention “Zoot Suit” as the last Sunsurround presentation (and 70mm too!?) How did THAT film justify that kind of presentation??
Sure wish i’d seen Quest for Fire (in 70) there, probably no prints on the planet left of that
The Bridge!? Thats the “BRUTHU” theatre, uh-hm, all the bruthu’s be hanging out there with their baggy pants and over-sized shirts, jaded apathetic employees selling tickets to forgettable time-killer movies to jaded apathetic teens strolling and with suckers in their mouth (ok so i wear baggy pants and oversized shirts too)
The design of that place is like some kind of bad futuristic space station or something
actually the 90’s are now considered the old days, just think of how nostalgic people will be for the late 2000’s, all of the bland homogenized mini-malls, megaplex’s and shallow cold corporate chains.
I graduated in ‘85, but not at Uni, went to Uni sometime in ('83 or 84 i think?) Graduated at Phoenix High in Venice, also went to Santa Monica High for my first year ('82) Was bouncing around a lot in those days, they were rambunctious times. I shot a Super8 film in front of Uni sometime around '84, a long Spielberg-like tracking shot, should upload that one to youtube. Other stuff you can see at http://www.youtube.com/user/pookie67
wow “Uni” i went there (in the 80’s) too, Cpt Videos arcade was a 2nd home through the early 80’s, I dominated all the Defender machines there. What was the name of the soundtrack record store guy on Pico? This is starting to look more like a ‘pico blvd’ memory thread than Picwood theatre
You guys missed the SENSURROUND earthquake showing..,,it was incredible!!
From what i understand some theater in Germany will be showing Rollercoaster, Midway and Battlestar Galactica in Sensurround in 2010
they just don’t know what the heck to do with this place, there’s certainly no business in showing movies anymore. And it it hasn’t really been “open” in years under the various recent ownerships, the few random screenings they had were cheap, shoddy digital projection. It’s too bad the Cinematheque or some company couldn’t take it over but nobody would show one way or the other and there’s no profit in this type of thing. It’s over. We’ve seen the end of an era. It’s over
Wasn’t the original Eagle Rock sign different in the 70s/80s? I can’t find ANY vintage pics of the place
I’ve just written a script called WESTWOOD NIGHTS set at the NATIONAL in ‘85. An 80’s American Graffiti. It will likely never get made but just thought I’d mention it
a theater re-opening in Westwood?!? (rubbing eyes) this can’t be.
the REGENT is getting Mission Impossible? That makes no sense, nobody will see it there. Westwood is faint flicker of memories of what was the last great era of cinema. It’s over now. Like Roy Batty at the end of Blade Runner, the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and it burned so very very brightly. Time…to die
I don’t get to the Village or Bruin often these days but it seems those those theaters are empty even on opening nights and weekends for big releases. Do they still pull in crowds? I never see them, but maybe i’m just not there enough to witness it. Westwood still has lots of foot traffic and students but nobody goes to see movies anymore. Cinema is dead, it’s been dead for 20 years or more in all honesty. What’s left of the single houses are just sputtering along. I just wish Regency had reduced the ticket price to $3 at all of it’s theaters, the Village ain’t what it used to be for screen & sound.
it AMAZES me the Avco has lasted as long as it has, nobody goes there anymore do they? Do the local elderly patrons are keeping it going for the matinee’s? Seems like the place has been dead for over 10 or 15 years, or longer. That place went straight to the pits when they split their main auditorium, last couple of times i saw something there I regretted it, screen & sound was horrible. It’s not even a faint shadow of what it used to be. It’s just amazing it’s STILL OPEN as of late Oct 2011
This theater has gone to the pits, like everything. Every time i see something here the screen is WAY too dark, poorly matted or even out of focus at times. About half the amount of light needed is being thrown onto that screen, it’s like a laptop monitor in power save mode. What the hell are they doing there and WHY are they charging large amounts of money for a DIM screen you can barely see?
with the state of cinema these days it’ll be a boarded up shell before long
they can keep The Grove, Santa Monica Promenade and all those overcrowded modern mega-complexes, hip or not. And Century City ain’t what it used to be since the Plitt & Shubert closed ages ago. Westwood is actually still fairly bustling with people, especially on weekends. (been down there a few times in recent weeks) The students haven’t gone anywhere. But people aren’t seeing movie’s anymore,..I don’t know what the heck their doing or IS to do there anymore. Except maybe Falafel King or Deidi Riese
anyone see John Carpenter’s The Thing when it played at the Crest in 70mm in 1982? I remember sitting an an empty theatre watching it
I agree Brad, but despite still seeing large crowds there on weekends, Westwood has been dead for years. Parking is ridiculous (one used to be able to park for FREE all day relatively easily at one time) the theaters are all gone, music/bookstores all gone. The Village and the Bruin just barely saved (temporarily) at the last minute by Regency are all thats left but their just rotting away, and never open with anything good or worthwhile. Not that there are actually good or worthwhile films still being made. Westwood has nothing left, except Lamonica’s Pizza. It’s over, plain and simple. Just hear that Terry Jacks song ‘Seasons in the Sun’ playing when you think of Westwood
VISTASONIC SOUND first presented in 1980? I’d never heard of such a thing, what was Vistasonic?
That was a great post of the 1970 Box Office mag, I posted it on my facebook page weeks ago. Does anyone know if there are any archived pics of Westwood in the 70’s/80’s anywhere online?
wow, we’re still here, posting. Some of my friends are just NOW (at the end of 2009) discovering the demise of the place. I’ve toyed around with the idea of making a film about working at Mann Theaters in Westwood at the time (‘83-85) It could be like American Graffiti of the 80’s in the cinema world of Westwood Village, and how things changed drastically in the late 80’s, leading up to the present day deterioration of everything. (think Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America meets American Graffitti) Of course this film will never get made but, I can still toy with idea’s, can’t I?
I live a few blocks away from this theatre and have always been curious about the history of it. Some fascinating pics from the 1950’s someone posted above. The whole area looked so different in those days, wow! what happened to our civilization, how quickly things deteriorate. I’m still curious about what films played here over the years during it’s operation as a cinema, especially in the 60’s/70’s. Someone posted an LA Times ad from the 50’s above (which is quite a curious ad, something about spaceships) and it looked like it was some kind of religious spot even at THAT time, weird
i still live around the corner from the Eagle Rock Plaza, all i remember (during it’s final years) was one of the screens looked like it had a heavy diffusion lense on the projector. The first patented “Murko-vision”.
I’d be interested in hearing more about this place in the 70’s. Too bad there are no cinema’s left in the eagle rock area. The theatre scene is dead. These are the final years before D-Day
oh thats right, Run Simon Run (1974) was the one i was thinking of not Run Joe Run (ugh) I think it was an ABC movie of the week, Run Joe Run was the kids show from oddly enough the SAME YEAR!
I still can’t imagine how Zoot Suit got a 70mm Sensurround presentation.
Someone needs to track down that 70 print of the Muppet Movie and show it, whooo..!
ahh the Brentwood Twins, i lived right around the corner from the theater back in ‘82-83 and used to sneak in every night. I spent most of my life in this theater during those years watching “Blade Runner, The Thing, Empire Strikes Back (re-release) and everything else that played there those years over and over for weeks/months. It was the easiest theater to sneak into as the exit doors were always slightly ajar with generally few people inside. Cheap, run down, sticky floors, and the employees/floor staff were completely non present. I vividly remember during a late afternoon showing of "Sword and the Sorcerer” (which i also saw there a couple dozen times) a drug-connection friend of a friend i was with came thru the always-open exit doors right in the middle of the film, stood in the middle of the screen and started yelling out my friends name “Marc Maaarc..!!” Luckily there were only 2 or 3 other people in the theatre but it was quite embarrassing. Those were crazy days. Many memories of this theater.
was just perusing Michael Coate’s list above, some reason I could have swore “Alien” played at the dome (in 70mm) in ‘79, before or after Apocalypse but i guess not. Where did Alien open, the Egyptian? Some surprising 70mm engagements like “The Muppet Movie” and “Run, Run Joe!” (1974) a film i’d never even HEARD of before, strange that the TV movie “Run Joe Run” (Burt Reynolds) came out the same year. “The Earthling” (1981) there’s a forgotten film, as well as “Bully” (1978) “Sextette” (1978) “Maurie” (1973) “You’ll Like My Mother” (1972) and “Zandy’s Bride” (1974) And nobody ever believes me when i mention “Zoot Suit” as the last Sunsurround presentation (and 70mm too!?) How did THAT film justify that kind of presentation??
Sure wish i’d seen Quest for Fire (in 70) there, probably no prints on the planet left of that
The Bridge!? Thats the “BRUTHU” theatre, uh-hm, all the bruthu’s be hanging out there with their baggy pants and over-sized shirts, jaded apathetic employees selling tickets to forgettable time-killer movies to jaded apathetic teens strolling and with suckers in their mouth (ok so i wear baggy pants and oversized shirts too)
The design of that place is like some kind of bad futuristic space station or something
actually the 90’s are now considered the old days, just think of how nostalgic people will be for the late 2000’s, all of the bland homogenized mini-malls, megaplex’s and shallow cold corporate chains.
I graduated in ‘85, but not at Uni, went to Uni sometime in ('83 or 84 i think?) Graduated at Phoenix High in Venice, also went to Santa Monica High for my first year ('82) Was bouncing around a lot in those days, they were rambunctious times. I shot a Super8 film in front of Uni sometime around '84, a long Spielberg-like tracking shot, should upload that one to youtube. Other stuff you can see at http://www.youtube.com/user/pookie67
wow “Uni” i went there (in the 80’s) too, Cpt Videos arcade was a 2nd home through the early 80’s, I dominated all the Defender machines there. What was the name of the soundtrack record store guy on Pico? This is starting to look more like a ‘pico blvd’ memory thread than Picwood theatre
You guys missed the SENSURROUND earthquake showing..,,it was incredible!!
From what i understand some theater in Germany will be showing Rollercoaster, Midway and Battlestar Galactica in Sensurround in 2010
Now the dark times are ahead