I remember the serial as well, many people really liked it, personally speaking: I found it quite boring to sit through as I just wanted to get to the feature & kind of dreaded every screening as it just slowed everything down
“It’s a Gift” truly one of the funniest films I ever saw, great presentation at the Lafayette but why is Nelson so down on “The Graduate”? Does that mean the Lafayette will never screen it. It IS one of the great movies and a definite comedy. BTW…Nelson needs to be corrected as he was yesterday in the theater when he asked what was ranked #1 as a comedy by the AFI. A member of the audience said “Some Like it Hot” and he was right but Nelson said it was “The Graduate” which was ranked #9. Actually my opinion of one of the most overrated comedies of all time is what came in at #2: “Tootsie”
But how bout a future screening of “The Graduate” at the Lafayette and let someone else introduce it?
Excellent presentation of “Ten Commandments”. Great print. The 4 hours flew by for me.
Just curious: what year was the print from as it was presented in 2:35 aspect ratio, and not the Vista 1:85. The tops and bottoms were definitely cropped as evident from the opening titles and closing title where the framing moved to include the whole caption. My only critique for the print was the sound in the later parts, where it was mono and the music and sound effects where dim. This movie should get a spruced up restoration for film with 6-track stereo.
Overall, it was great seeing it on the big screen again and the opening presentation with the curtains was flawless. Another great Lafayette show!!
Sand Pebbles Sept. 6th….I have the DVD and haven’t opened it yet, I was gonna watch it tonight actually, but now I’m gonna to see it on the big screen…how bout it Pete? what other tidbits can you give us about the next BigScreen series????
How come all these 70MM revivals are being shown every other place except New York City, where they should be shown??
A 70MM Film Festival should be high on the list for the Ziegfeld and something everyone should be clamoring for…..I haven’t seen a 70MM print since 2002, the 40th of Lawrence of Arabia….my jaw dropped
they could have done alot with this theater but it’s a neighborhood theater in the heart of town and it ran independents. Not enough to make money. Another one gone
actually, right now the theater serves mostly Wayne and surrounding areas and until the Paterson multiplex opens, will serve there too. However, the sevice will be continually bad. When theatre chains gripe about low box-office, it’s not only the crummy movies that are coming out but many people are saying they’d rather rent/buy the DVD and watc it in the comfort of your own home without all the rudeness surrounding you.
Chris….the bulldozer was doing stuff in the surrounding property…however, that was a year ago and I haven’t been there since…I think we can write the place off…another treasure buried.
I walked by there not too long ago, just for nostalgia. It’s boarded up but still intact although a small bulldozer was doing work. I miss that theater especially that it was 31 years ago today, May 25, 1977 that STAR WARS opened there.
I saw FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL in the upstairs theater a few weeks ago. The projector lamp went out for about 10 minutes. I had to go out an yell down at an employee….I was told, they were working on it…TRANSLATION: there’s no one in the booth where they should be and they have to wake up one of he high school employees who is downstairs chilling with his buddies to slow walk up stairs and hit a switch. They didn’t even hand out passes for such bad service. I didn’t evn ask. I always sneak into other movies ayway…as a way of getting my money’s worth. Lousy theater service, the past few times I’ve been there…my high def TV and DVD’s are looking better and better. If it weren’t for teenagers going to see lousy teen movies, theaters would be bankrupt.
rhett
commented about
Clairidgeon
May 25, 2008 at 8:15 am
the last few times I was there have been lousy experiences. I guess I’ve gotten to the point where I really won’t go see a movie there unless it’s something I REALLY want to see. Unfortunately, movies have been getting more lousy with each release (is it just me that feels that?) The Clairidge is not a theater I look forward to going to. Long , slow service at the box office, basement like atmosphere, uncomfortable seating locations…who designed these theaters? it’s outrageous, …projection booth noise- it’s like watching an old home movie on an old movie projector, the projector noise is louder than the movie, high school employees who know nothing about movies -try telling one of them the aspect ratio is wrong- the answer you get will astound you-….managers who, happy they got a job also know nothing about the movie going experience…..how many times, have I gotten out of my seat to tell someone something isn’t working..
I HATE to say it but I’d rather pay more money for a top of the line theater OR just wait for the DVD to come out and watch it on my high def TV…..the Clairidge is not what it used to be and they lost a customer…
Something really annoying has been happening lately at the Lafayette and it is not the presentation. Nelson’s intro and the print’s that Pete aquires are outstanding as is the whole presentation. Yesterday’s showing of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” was one of the best.
Unfortunately the problem is that during the movie there were countless cellphones ringing much to the disatisfaction of the audience. It wasn’t just one time either. When the ringing starts, some of these people take about ten rings to turn it off. One a couple of occasions, a few rows behind me, a woman actually was having a loud conversation on her phone while being yelled at by other audience members. This is happening alot at the Lafayette screenings as the perpetrators are not young, but the elderly. Yesterday’s show was one of the worst. During the final filibuster scene, phones were going off the entire time, thus ruining the experience.
I would kie to suggest that for the future shows, that when Nelson makes his presentation, he really make a point of pointing out that people turn their phones off, that there have been complaints and more over, that it is rude to other audience members.
As for Indiana Jones model being Chuck Heston in “Incas”…I alsways believed it was his role in “Greatest Show on Earth”…the jacket, hat, whip at his side at times…pure Indy look…I’d love to know if Spielberg had that in mind
I walked aroubd the theater a few days ago The exterior) I was in the area…it’s boarded up but still intact, there was a bulldozer picking up stuff at one end of the theater…wouldn’t it be grand if they saved the theater, made it an entertainment venue for shows, concerts and special premiere film screenings as well as some classic retrospective? It’d be a dam shame to just knock it down, they have the parking. I hear that they saved the Wellmont in Montclair and that it opens in the fall , as a concert hall etc. Maybe they’ll show an occasional movie. As for the Rt. 4- well, it’s good to dream. Any millionaires out there looking for a good buy? Go for it…
All politics aside…Heston will always be associated with the BIG movie and one of Hollywood’s greatest stars…Maybe the Zeigfeld could stage a Classic Big Screen series with Heston’s work: think about it:
-Ben-Hur (the last movie I saw at the Ziegfeld)
-El Cid
-Ten Commandments
-El Cid
-Greatest Story Ever Told
-Earthquake
-Khartoum
-55 Days at Peking
-Greatest Show on Earth
-Planet of the Apes
-Soylent Green
-Agony and the Ecstacy
-The Big Country
Imagine what a film festival like that would be like at the Ziegfeld. But because so many will push a political agenda into it, it would/could never happen. Thanks for all the great movie memories Chuck..Godspeed…
Does anyone have any exterior/interior photos of the Totowa Cinema?? I miss that place
rhett
commented about
Clairidgeon
Dec 29, 2007 at 6:56 am
Recently saw “Atonement”. a good if not greatly overrated movie. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t at the Claridge. Unfortunately, some movies will only play there and we have to grin and bear it. The Box-office line is one of the slowest…only one ticket seller (although the customers usually take a long time to make a decision as well. Many times, I’ve left since the wait was endless). The lady in front of me spent $49 on tickets for an afternoon show in one of the smallest auditoriums. I told her, she’d be beeter off just buying the DVD…she agreed, she wasn’t happy. I always close the theater door myself cause the employees never do or take a long time to. Again, sometimes the customers themselves won’t take it upon themselves to.
I don’t go there much anymore, unless I REALLY want to see something. Unfortunately, I kept waiting for “The Valley of Elajh” (Tomy Lee Jones) and “Jesse James” to open wide but they never did. and I didn’t want to sit in the Claridge for a two and a half hour movie.
What sealed the deal was seeing “Streetcar Named Desire”, it was screened in the 1:85 format, while shot in 1:33. The heads were cut off the entire movie. I fugured if I complained, an employee would just tell me that’s how the movie was made. I didn’t go see any of the other classic movies. I still remember seeing “Rocky II” in 79…what an experience.
The Claridge is a place with such bad atmosphere, it’s hard to just enjoy a movie there. If they closed it, truthfully, I wouldn’t be upset.
I worked at the Clifton (my very first job) in the mid-70’s. I was an “usher”…. remember them? The theater was huge and we got the main movies. It’s amazing how we took it for granted back then. I went there when it was a quad , the last movie I saw there was “Conspiracy Theory”…it wasn’t the same, it seemed like all the old neighborhood theaters that went to hell…I went upstairs to re-visit….where the old storage rooms used to be , were now theaters. I looked in…it was a described here….a storage room with a few rows of seats and a small screen…what were the owners thinking??? Now all we have are multiplexes…the ALLWOOD is still there, but it is one of the worst constructed theaters ever…the architect should be brought up on charges….the seating is uncomfortable and the movies in theaters 5 and 6 are never shown in their proper aspect ratio. Boy, I miss the times of the Clifton and single screen theaters
Closing the Wayne Preakness quad is a big mistake…that’s the only theatre close enough for the elderly of the town and I’m sure they get college and high school crowds thre too….any idea when they plan to close it?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Rt. 4 had a finale of a 70MM print of STAR WARS on the day it is closed, May 25th, the actual day that it opened 30 years before in 1977….That’ll be the day, I guess it’s OK to dream..can you imagine the line of people…there’s be more there than at the new complex…it would be a definite throwback….unfortunately, there are no good businessmen to come up with that idea…I’m going to miss that theater…now there’s nothing in North Jersey….but I’m going to the Lafayette for a showing of SCARFACE (1932)for a dose of old time grand movie theater experience
I attended last week with Spiderman 3, knowing it would be the last film I saw at the big auditorium. Fitting, since Spiderman 2 was the last film I saw at the Loews Astor Plaza in NY. I brought my video camera in last week and took some quick shots of the auditorium and exterior. I told the ticket employee that I saw Star Wars there 30 years ago (before he was even a concept). The only other theater now tat I have some nostagic memories that’s still running is the Ziegfeld. The new mulitplex in Paramus will be just another assembly line theater. “Pirates” will be on probably 10 screens.
Gonna miss the Paramus theater. Never forget whn I saw Star Wars there in ‘77.
I remember the serial as well, many people really liked it, personally speaking: I found it quite boring to sit through as I just wanted to get to the feature & kind of dreaded every screening as it just slowed everything down
“It’s a Gift” truly one of the funniest films I ever saw, great presentation at the Lafayette but why is Nelson so down on “The Graduate”? Does that mean the Lafayette will never screen it. It IS one of the great movies and a definite comedy. BTW…Nelson needs to be corrected as he was yesterday in the theater when he asked what was ranked #1 as a comedy by the AFI. A member of the audience said “Some Like it Hot” and he was right but Nelson said it was “The Graduate” which was ranked #9. Actually my opinion of one of the most overrated comedies of all time is what came in at #2: “Tootsie”
But how bout a future screening of “The Graduate” at the Lafayette and let someone else introduce it?
Excellent presentation of “Ten Commandments”. Great print. The 4 hours flew by for me.
Just curious: what year was the print from as it was presented in 2:35 aspect ratio, and not the Vista 1:85. The tops and bottoms were definitely cropped as evident from the opening titles and closing title where the framing moved to include the whole caption. My only critique for the print was the sound in the later parts, where it was mono and the music and sound effects where dim. This movie should get a spruced up restoration for film with 6-track stereo.
Overall, it was great seeing it on the big screen again and the opening presentation with the curtains was flawless. Another great Lafayette show!!
Great piece of showmanship at “San Francisco” screening by turning up the subwoofer during the earthquake scene…nicely done Pete!!
Excellent print and presentation, certainly one of the best. Great job Pete and the audience was definitely into it.
Sand Pebbles Sept. 6th….I have the DVD and haven’t opened it yet, I was gonna watch it tonight actually, but now I’m gonna to see it on the big screen…how bout it Pete? what other tidbits can you give us about the next BigScreen series????
How come all these 70MM revivals are being shown every other place except New York City, where they should be shown??
A 70MM Film Festival should be high on the list for the Ziegfeld and something everyone should be clamoring for…..I haven’t seen a 70MM print since 2002, the 40th of Lawrence of Arabia….my jaw dropped
they could have done alot with this theater but it’s a neighborhood theater in the heart of town and it ran independents. Not enough to make money. Another one gone
actually, right now the theater serves mostly Wayne and surrounding areas and until the Paterson multiplex opens, will serve there too. However, the sevice will be continually bad. When theatre chains gripe about low box-office, it’s not only the crummy movies that are coming out but many people are saying they’d rather rent/buy the DVD and watc it in the comfort of your own home without all the rudeness surrounding you.
Chris….the bulldozer was doing stuff in the surrounding property…however, that was a year ago and I haven’t been there since…I think we can write the place off…another treasure buried.
I walked by there not too long ago, just for nostalgia. It’s boarded up but still intact although a small bulldozer was doing work. I miss that theater especially that it was 31 years ago today, May 25, 1977 that STAR WARS opened there.
I saw FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL in the upstairs theater a few weeks ago. The projector lamp went out for about 10 minutes. I had to go out an yell down at an employee….I was told, they were working on it…TRANSLATION: there’s no one in the booth where they should be and they have to wake up one of he high school employees who is downstairs chilling with his buddies to slow walk up stairs and hit a switch. They didn’t even hand out passes for such bad service. I didn’t evn ask. I always sneak into other movies ayway…as a way of getting my money’s worth. Lousy theater service, the past few times I’ve been there…my high def TV and DVD’s are looking better and better. If it weren’t for teenagers going to see lousy teen movies, theaters would be bankrupt.
the last few times I was there have been lousy experiences. I guess I’ve gotten to the point where I really won’t go see a movie there unless it’s something I REALLY want to see. Unfortunately, movies have been getting more lousy with each release (is it just me that feels that?) The Clairidge is not a theater I look forward to going to. Long , slow service at the box office, basement like atmosphere, uncomfortable seating locations…who designed these theaters? it’s outrageous, …projection booth noise- it’s like watching an old home movie on an old movie projector, the projector noise is louder than the movie, high school employees who know nothing about movies -try telling one of them the aspect ratio is wrong- the answer you get will astound you-….managers who, happy they got a job also know nothing about the movie going experience…..how many times, have I gotten out of my seat to tell someone something isn’t working..
I HATE to say it but I’d rather pay more money for a top of the line theater OR just wait for the DVD to come out and watch it on my high def TV…..the Clairidge is not what it used to be and they lost a customer…
Something really annoying has been happening lately at the Lafayette and it is not the presentation. Nelson’s intro and the print’s that Pete aquires are outstanding as is the whole presentation. Yesterday’s showing of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” was one of the best.
Unfortunately the problem is that during the movie there were countless cellphones ringing much to the disatisfaction of the audience. It wasn’t just one time either. When the ringing starts, some of these people take about ten rings to turn it off. One a couple of occasions, a few rows behind me, a woman actually was having a loud conversation on her phone while being yelled at by other audience members. This is happening alot at the Lafayette screenings as the perpetrators are not young, but the elderly. Yesterday’s show was one of the worst. During the final filibuster scene, phones were going off the entire time, thus ruining the experience.
I would kie to suggest that for the future shows, that when Nelson makes his presentation, he really make a point of pointing out that people turn their phones off, that there have been complaints and more over, that it is rude to other audience members.
As for Indiana Jones model being Chuck Heston in “Incas”…I alsways believed it was his role in “Greatest Show on Earth”…the jacket, hat, whip at his side at times…pure Indy look…I’d love to know if Spielberg had that in mind
I walked aroubd the theater a few days ago The exterior) I was in the area…it’s boarded up but still intact, there was a bulldozer picking up stuff at one end of the theater…wouldn’t it be grand if they saved the theater, made it an entertainment venue for shows, concerts and special premiere film screenings as well as some classic retrospective? It’d be a dam shame to just knock it down, they have the parking. I hear that they saved the Wellmont in Montclair and that it opens in the fall , as a concert hall etc. Maybe they’ll show an occasional movie. As for the Rt. 4- well, it’s good to dream. Any millionaires out there looking for a good buy? Go for it…
All politics aside…Heston will always be associated with the BIG movie and one of Hollywood’s greatest stars…Maybe the Zeigfeld could stage a Classic Big Screen series with Heston’s work: think about it:
-Ben-Hur (the last movie I saw at the Ziegfeld)
-El Cid
-Ten Commandments
-El Cid
-Greatest Story Ever Told
-Earthquake
-Khartoum
-55 Days at Peking
-Greatest Show on Earth
-Planet of the Apes
-Soylent Green
-Agony and the Ecstacy
-The Big Country
Imagine what a film festival like that would be like at the Ziegfeld. But because so many will push a political agenda into it, it would/could never happen. Thanks for all the great movie memories Chuck..Godspeed…
are there ANY interior shots of the Montauk…???
Does anyone have any exterior/interior photos of the Totowa Cinema?? I miss that place
Recently saw “Atonement”. a good if not greatly overrated movie. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t at the Claridge. Unfortunately, some movies will only play there and we have to grin and bear it. The Box-office line is one of the slowest…only one ticket seller (although the customers usually take a long time to make a decision as well. Many times, I’ve left since the wait was endless). The lady in front of me spent $49 on tickets for an afternoon show in one of the smallest auditoriums. I told her, she’d be beeter off just buying the DVD…she agreed, she wasn’t happy. I always close the theater door myself cause the employees never do or take a long time to. Again, sometimes the customers themselves won’t take it upon themselves to.
I don’t go there much anymore, unless I REALLY want to see something. Unfortunately, I kept waiting for “The Valley of Elajh” (Tomy Lee Jones) and “Jesse James” to open wide but they never did. and I didn’t want to sit in the Claridge for a two and a half hour movie.
What sealed the deal was seeing “Streetcar Named Desire”, it was screened in the 1:85 format, while shot in 1:33. The heads were cut off the entire movie. I fugured if I complained, an employee would just tell me that’s how the movie was made. I didn’t go see any of the other classic movies. I still remember seeing “Rocky II” in 79…what an experience.
The Claridge is a place with such bad atmosphere, it’s hard to just enjoy a movie there. If they closed it, truthfully, I wouldn’t be upset.
I worked at the Clifton (my very first job) in the mid-70’s. I was an “usher”…. remember them? The theater was huge and we got the main movies. It’s amazing how we took it for granted back then. I went there when it was a quad , the last movie I saw there was “Conspiracy Theory”…it wasn’t the same, it seemed like all the old neighborhood theaters that went to hell…I went upstairs to re-visit….where the old storage rooms used to be , were now theaters. I looked in…it was a described here….a storage room with a few rows of seats and a small screen…what were the owners thinking??? Now all we have are multiplexes…the ALLWOOD is still there, but it is one of the worst constructed theaters ever…the architect should be brought up on charges….the seating is uncomfortable and the movies in theaters 5 and 6 are never shown in their proper aspect ratio. Boy, I miss the times of the Clifton and single screen theaters
Closing the Wayne Preakness quad is a big mistake…that’s the only theatre close enough for the elderly of the town and I’m sure they get college and high school crowds thre too….any idea when they plan to close it?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Rt. 4 had a finale of a 70MM print of STAR WARS on the day it is closed, May 25th, the actual day that it opened 30 years before in 1977….That’ll be the day, I guess it’s OK to dream..can you imagine the line of people…there’s be more there than at the new complex…it would be a definite throwback….unfortunately, there are no good businessmen to come up with that idea…I’m going to miss that theater…now there’s nothing in North Jersey….but I’m going to the Lafayette for a showing of SCARFACE (1932)for a dose of old time grand movie theater experience
I attended last week with Spiderman 3, knowing it would be the last film I saw at the big auditorium. Fitting, since Spiderman 2 was the last film I saw at the Loews Astor Plaza in NY. I brought my video camera in last week and took some quick shots of the auditorium and exterior. I told the ticket employee that I saw Star Wars there 30 years ago (before he was even a concept). The only other theater now tat I have some nostagic memories that’s still running is the Ziegfeld. The new mulitplex in Paramus will be just another assembly line theater. “Pirates” will be on probably 10 screens.
Gonna miss the Paramus theater. Never forget whn I saw Star Wars there in ‘77.
anyone have ANY pics of the Plaza Theatre of Paterson?