The Richmond is/was special to me – I saw CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG there in 1969 when I was 5 – and then FIDDLER, and so many of my other favorites! It had a huge screen, and I miss it!
Hi! I have very, very special memories about the Fortway. I was born in Brooklyn in 1963, and my mom frequently took me there. To this day, I recall seeing YOURS MINE AND OURS with Lucille Ball there – and I think MARY POPPINS when it moved to the neighborhood houses.
In 1980, I saw the re-release of MARY there as well. ANd now it’s gone!
I’ve already asked about the width of the screen at RCMH, regarding the big films that played there in Cinemascope / Panavision. My next question – were the later Disney films like POPPINS and BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS in any kind of widescreen process? I don’t know if Disney used any kind of widescreen on his films. Anybody? Thanks!
I have a question? If this has been covered earlier, I apologize:
As I recall from when I was a little boy in the 70’s, the RCMH screen didn’t seem too terribly wide. Yet, many wide-screen films played there – THE MUSIC MAN, MOLLY BROWN, MAME, AIRPORT – basically, anything from the mid-50’s and of course into the 70’s.
My question – was the screen indeed wide enough for these kind of films, or were the films “cropped” for the RCMH showings?
Thanks REndres! I always though that Panavision and TODD-AO were pretty much the same aspect ratio – I noticed that the images on my dvd’s of FIDDLER and FUNNY GIRL (Panavision) are a wider than the images on the SOM, DOLLY, and STAR! dvd’s. Now I know why!
Although- WEST SIDE STORY was filmed in PANAVISION 70, and on the dvd, the box states that the ratio is 2:20, which is the TODD-AO ratio, right? And indeed, when watching the dvd, you can see that the ratio on the WSS picture looks like the above-mentioned TODD-AO dvd movies. Interesting!
I actually work in the area, and I pass that black glass skyscraper frequently. It only occured to me just the other day that it sits on the site of the Rivoli.
I have the dvd’s of many of the Todd-AO films that played there – DOLLY, STAR, SOM – and somehow, I get the feeling that aspect ratio is not exact – I’m sure that the picture area must have been wider than the letter-boxing on those dvds.
I will never forget seeing FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at the Rivoli in Summer, 1972. My mom took me into NYC weeks before to order the tix at the box office. While she did that, I looked at the beautiful lobby cards that were on display (remember them?). The film itself, on that screen was mind-blowing. I was 8 years old, and sat through that three hour movie completely in awe.
I only wish I could have seen SOM, STAR!, HELLO DOLLY!, and the other biggies there as well!
Thanks! My dvd’s are not really “letterboxed”, so I was wondering.
The Richmond is/was special to me – I saw CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG there in 1969 when I was 5 – and then FIDDLER, and so many of my other favorites! It had a huge screen, and I miss it!
Hi! I have very, very special memories about the Fortway. I was born in Brooklyn in 1963, and my mom frequently took me there. To this day, I recall seeing YOURS MINE AND OURS with Lucille Ball there – and I think MARY POPPINS when it moved to the neighborhood houses.
In 1980, I saw the re-release of MARY there as well. ANd now it’s gone!
I’ve already asked about the width of the screen at RCMH, regarding the big films that played there in Cinemascope / Panavision. My next question – were the later Disney films like POPPINS and BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS in any kind of widescreen process? I don’t know if Disney used any kind of widescreen on his films. Anybody? Thanks!
I have a question? If this has been covered earlier, I apologize:
As I recall from when I was a little boy in the 70’s, the RCMH screen didn’t seem too terribly wide. Yet, many wide-screen films played there – THE MUSIC MAN, MOLLY BROWN, MAME, AIRPORT – basically, anything from the mid-50’s and of course into the 70’s.
My question – was the screen indeed wide enough for these kind of films, or were the films “cropped” for the RCMH showings?
Thanks!
Thanks REndres! I always though that Panavision and TODD-AO were pretty much the same aspect ratio – I noticed that the images on my dvd’s of FIDDLER and FUNNY GIRL (Panavision) are a wider than the images on the SOM, DOLLY, and STAR! dvd’s. Now I know why!
Although- WEST SIDE STORY was filmed in PANAVISION 70, and on the dvd, the box states that the ratio is 2:20, which is the TODD-AO ratio, right? And indeed, when watching the dvd, you can see that the ratio on the WSS picture looks like the above-mentioned TODD-AO dvd movies. Interesting!
If this got “off topic”, I’m sorry!
I actually work in the area, and I pass that black glass skyscraper frequently. It only occured to me just the other day that it sits on the site of the Rivoli.
I have the dvd’s of many of the Todd-AO films that played there – DOLLY, STAR, SOM – and somehow, I get the feeling that aspect ratio is not exact – I’m sure that the picture area must have been wider than the letter-boxing on those dvds.
Judging from the photo, it was so beautiful!!
I will never forget seeing FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at the Rivoli in Summer, 1972. My mom took me into NYC weeks before to order the tix at the box office. While she did that, I looked at the beautiful lobby cards that were on display (remember them?). The film itself, on that screen was mind-blowing. I was 8 years old, and sat through that three hour movie completely in awe.
I only wish I could have seen SOM, STAR!, HELLO DOLLY!, and the other biggies there as well!