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Memories
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September 30, 2008
The 25th Anniversary of “Brainstorm”
Twenty-five years ago today, “Brainstorm” was released. The film starred Christopher Walken, Cliff Robertson and Natalie Wood in her final role, and at the time was the industry’s largest exclusive 70-millimeter format launch of a motion picture.
Twenty-five years ago, “Brainstorm”, Douglas Trumbull’s “Ultimate Experience”, was released to movie theatres. Though the film was not a box-office success, it is remembered for its effective large-frame cinematography and sound design, and for its interesting take on futuristic technology.
Read the full story at in70mm.com.
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Bad cinema architecture
We often see and read about countless beautiful movie “palaces” in all their splendor and glory.
But how about everyone’s thoughts on the “Ugliest Looking Cinemas”?
Hailing from England, I smile to myself when viewing some of these old (Dracula’s Castle) looking wrecks that have closed. I’m not at all surprised.
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September 29, 2008
Remembering Paul Newman
Paul Newman passed away over the weekend at the age of 83 from cancer. He was one of the last of the great 20th Century movie stars, and indeed, one of the greatest actors I’ve ever seen.
The first film of his that I ever saw was “The Towering Inferno” when it premiered on a relatively new cable channel called HBO in December 1975. Believe it or not, I would not see a Paul Newman film on screen until “The Color of Money” in 1986. But in between, of course, as I learned to appreciate good film, I would discover and cherish such titles as “The Hustler”, “Exodus”, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Verdict”.
His passing causes me to reflect not only on his great career but also the fact that there are almost no Hollywood legends left. People of my generation (I was born in 1967) have stars like Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Jessica Lange to look to as our screen legends.
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September 26, 2008
Remembering Cinerama Part IV
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part IV: HoustonThe following is Part Four of a series of retrospectives on the revolutionary and historic Cinerama process (and copycat formats Cinemiracle and Thrillarama), which provides nostalgia to those who experienced Cinerama when it was new and highlights the great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place.
Part I: New York City
Part II: Chicago
Part III: San FranciscoAnd now…Part IV: Cinerama Presentations in Houston!
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September 23, 2008
The age of the roadshow
Cinema Sightlines just debuted some new insightful articles on the roadshow era. In addition to a look at roadshows in general, they take a more detailed look into “Funny Girl” on its fortieth anniversary. That film will be shown next month at the Egyptian as part of its 81st Anniversary Celebration.
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September 19, 2008
Remembering Cinerama Part III
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part III: San FranciscoThe following is Part Three of a series of retrospective postings on the revolutionary and historic Cinerama process (and copycat formats such as Cinemiracle and Kinopanorama), which provides a dose of nostalgia for those who experienced it when it was new and highlights the great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place.
Previous entries in the series:
Part I: New York City
Part II: ChicagoAnd now…Part III: San Francisco!
THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: December 25, 1953
Engagement Duration: 84 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Promotional Hype: “Something Wonderful in motion picture entertainment! For the first time, a motion picture reaches out to bring you into the story to put you in the picture…with the intensely personal experience of all its excitement and thrills.” -
September 15, 2008
Remembering Cinerama
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part II: ChicagoWith last week’s DVD and Blu-ray release of the Cinerama classic “How The West Was Won,” as well as the recent screenings of “How The West Was Won” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, I thought this would be a great time to take a comprehensive look at Cinerama for those who experienced it when it was new and for those who know it only as history.
The following is Part Two of an ongoing series of retrospective postings on the Cinerama process (and copycat formats such as Cinemiracle and Kinopanorama) which provides a reminder of the many great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place. Part I: New York City was posted a few days ago. This entry focuses on the Cinerama presentations in Chicago.
Enjoy the flashback!
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Largest seat count in a 1960’S single screen theater?
What are some of the highest seat counts for USA single screen theaters constructed during the 1960’s theater construction boom era?The largest General Cinema seat count seen listed in Boxoffice magazine was 2000 seats at their Buffalo, NY Thruway Plaza Cinema. There was also a listing for slightly over 2000 seats for a theater being built by Associated Independent Theaters in Patchogue, NY.
Many Thanks to all, and please patronize the movies this weekend!!
CINEMA TREASURES RULES
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September 9, 2008
Remembering Cinerama
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part I: New York CityWith this week’s DVD and Blu-ray release of the Cinerama classic “How The West Was Won,” as well as last weekend’s screenings of “How The West Was Won” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, I thought this would be a great time to take another look at Cinerama for those who experienced it when it was new and for those who know it only as history.
The following is part of what I envision as an ongoing/semi-regular series of retrospective postings on the Cinerama process (and other multi-panel copycat formats such as Cinemiracle and Kinopanorama) which enables a reminder of the many great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place. Part I features a film-by-film breakdown for the city in which it all began: New York! Future postings will focus on other markets, enabling the reader to compare how Cinerama was handled in different regions of the country. For example, the duration of an engagement, the sequence in which the films were released, and the manner in which they promoted varied by market, and some readers may find this information of interest.
Enjoy the flashback!
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September 5, 2008
Biggest Non IMAX/Cinerama single theater screens ????
I was flipping through a pile of 1960’s Boxoffice magazines and saw one or two profiles of single screen theaters built during the 1960’s with screens that were as large as 80 and 90 plus feet. How common was this back then? These were not Cinerama screens…
Prior to reading about these mammoth screen sizes, 30'x 63' was the largest I had seen and those both located in New Jersey; one was General Cinema’s Cherry Hill location, the other was the Route 4, Paramus Stanley Warner theater.
Thanks.