Bellevue Cinema 4
260 Bellevue Avenue,
Upper Montclair,
NJ
07043
260 Bellevue Avenue,
Upper Montclair,
NJ
07043
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Showing 1 - 25 of 65 comments
Any up-dates as to when or if the Bellvue will re-open?
A chronology of 70mm presentations in Northern New Jersey has been published. The Bellevue gets several mentions in the article.
Enlargeable 1925 image in below link.
https://www.alamy.com/bellevue-theatre-upper-montclair-new-jersey-1925-artist-unknown-image262791838.html?irclickid=wy609ARERxyNRNnUSa3hYTBKUkAQl0zrE1xOzI0&utm_source=77643&utm_campaign=Shop%20Royalty%20Free%20at%20Alamy&utm_medium=impact&irgwc=1
The owners of the Cranford Theatre in Cranford New Jersey. They are now the owners of this theater the Bellevue theater. They were supposed to open it up again May 2022. But it looks like there’s some delays. Hopefully they can get it open sometime this year.
It’s strange that in Montclair which was the roadshow center of North Jersey neither the Bellevue nor the Clairidge which had played the big roadshow hits up until that point neither played Oliver or Funny Girl two of the last big roadshow hits. Maybe not even Zhivago.
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The Bellevue’s lengthy run is mentioned in the piece.
Thank you for the mention, CCMPI. Those 10 years I spent up there were hard work but very rewarding.
CCPI - you are correct, I forget they ran the one CineMiracle movie.
The Bellevue wasn’t equipped for Cinerama, so you most likely saw your shows at the Clairidge in Montclair.
As a young boy I saw “Windjammer” (in Cinemiracle) and “How the West Was Won” at the Bellevue. During one of those screenings, I don’t remember which one, one of the film strips broke. As I recall, it took almost an hour to repair the broken film strip, and then sync up the three projectors to continue the show.
the longtime building owner says she will reopen by the Fall. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/essex/montclair/2021/05/14/montclair-nj-bellevue-theater-reopen-fall/5074763001/
I passed by the Bellvue on Friday and the marquee read, “Coming Soon”. Not sure how long that message has been up.
Plans to reopen the Bellevue were announced last January, an article in the Montclair Local laying out plans can be viewed here. The plan calls for adding 2 screens bringing the total to 6, but with 400 less seats total than previously, to accommodate an indoor/outdoor bar on the first floor and a restaurant on the second. In addition, more restrooms and an elevator will be added. Theatres will range from 42 to 106 seats. Six of the seven partners in the project are from Montclair, currently plans have not finished working their way through the zoning board.
last week the Local ran an article mentioning the current status of the project.
The developers do have a website for those interested:
https://thebellevuemontclair.com/
I may be wrong, but every time I drive pass the Bellvue there seems to be some activity on the marquee re: a re-opening. Any up-dates as to when or if this might be happening?
3 screens on December 16th, 1983. Grand opening ad posted. Also known as Bell3vue for a very short time.
Finally some good news!!! http://www.montclairlocal.news/wp/index.php/2018/02/25/montclair-bellevue/
Anyone have Bellevue playdates from the 1960s? In particular, did “Camelot” play its North New Jersey roadshow run all the way up to the June ‘68 opening of “Doctor Dolittle” or were there other bookings in between?
Here is an article about the closing of the Bellevue.
A slide show on the history of the recently-closed Bellevue Theater in Upper Montclair, N.J., is coming up on Jan. 17, 2018. Details:
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, at 7 p.m. THE BELLEVUE THEATER: FADE TO BLACK OR DOUBLE FEATURE? From the days of silent movies to digital projectors, the Bellevue has played a prominent cultural role in Montclair and is an architectural anchor of the Upper Montclair business district. This slide show chronicles this theater’s development, explores how Montclair came to have three major movie houses operating at once, and what the future might hold for the Bellevue as it nears its centennial. Sponsored by the Montclair History Center and presented by Lisanne Renner, historian for Friends of Anderson Park. Suggested donation: $5. At the Montclair History Center’s Crane House and Historic YWCA, lower level Founders’ Room, 110 Orange Road, Montclair; montclairhistory.org or FriendsOfAndersonPark.com.
I’m not sure what the point is of holding onto these theaters after they are multiplexed.
This was a great cinema at one time and a splendid place to see 70MM. Wish I had seen Sound of Music here during its two year run but I was too young. Got to see though the 70MM GWTW and Sleeping Beauty.
But when they carve it up into shoeboxes and you can see a movie just as well on a large screen TV I don’t get the love. If it could be restored then yes. But it’s not going to happen,
There’s a petition going on change.org for the theatre to come back. I hope the theater finds new life. It was featured on the local channel 2 news two nights ago.
Supposedly closing on Sunday, Nov. 12
https://baristanet.com/2017/11/rumors-true-upper-montclairs-iconic-bellevue-theater-close-says-bow-tie-cinemas/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
The overview mentions: “United Artists triplexed the theatre in the 1980’s, and an independent operator converted it into a quad.” Does anyone have a more specific timeframe for when these screen-count renovations took place?
Ads for Windjammer and This is Cinerama – http://incinerama.com/bellevue1.htm
Saw “My Fair Lady” in Oct. it was presented letterboxed in a 1:85 flatscreen. They didn’t correct the projector settings.