My first time there, a 5 ½ hour double feature of West Side Story and Around the World in 80 Days, in 1970.
First time seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey there, in 1974. It wouldn’t be the last.
The roof-raising Quintaphonic Sound presentation of Tommy in March 1975.
Seeing a 1 AM showing of Close Encounters after waiting on line outside for several hours in bitter cold on Thanksgiving night, 1977.
Getting yelled at by the guy in front of me for unconsciously kicking his seat in time to the music from Fame, May 1980.
Seeing Gandhi on the night of a terrible blizzard in February 1983. The house was sold out!
Angry Christian groups marching on the theater with banners flying to protest The Last Temptation of Christ, August 1988.
People frantically searching for seats at a sold-out showing of Lawrence of Arabia, 1989.
My mom meeting Shirley MacLaine in the ladies' room during the intermission of Spartacus, 1991.
Seeing Independence Day at 6 AM on the 4th of July 1996.
Seeing Kim Novak and Pat Hitchcock outside the theater at the premiere of the restored Vertigo in 1996, then seeing the film itself two days later.
Being on the concession line with Isabella Rossellini and her kids at the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back, 1997.
Seeing the following classics there in 2006: The Godfather Part II, Ben-Hur, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, North by Northwest, Doctor Zhivago, Citizen Kane, Jaws, E.T., The Birds. How I wish they’d do something like this now, so the Ziegfeld could go out with a bang.
The free-admission TCM Road to Hollywood shows, all with every seat taken: All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird, Cabaret.
The Paris showed “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm in the ‘90’s. Don’t know if they still have that equipment, though. Small screen too, compared to the Ziegfeld.
And of course “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) with a CinemaScope print from the 20th Century-Fox vault, a packed house, and the volume turned way up. There were many fantastic shows like that, come to think of it.
When I think back to the good old days, I think my favorite unusual choice at the Lafayette was “Becket” (1964). I don’t think that had been shown anywhere in 35mm for decades.
I’d heard both sides of the story about Barbra Streisand working at the Kings as an usherette – Streisand herself has denied it – so I asked an employee. Before he could answer, two older women who were standing nearby yelled out, “YES! YES! SHE DID! 1959!” Then the employee agreed with them that she indeed did work there. I believe them!
One of the employees I talked to said there’s a possibility that movies will one day be shown here again. Right now, though, there’s no screen installed.
The restoration is indeed an amazing sight. I didn’t want to leave.
The Kings held a free neighborhood open house today to celebrate the re-opening. I posted some pictures in the photo section, but all the pictures I took can be seen here.
Just got back from the premiere of The Imitation Game at the Ziegfeld. Harvey Weinstein and most of the actors in the movie (Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Charles Dance, etc.) were there. What puzzled me was that they didn’t use the curtains for this big event, leaving the blank screen exposed at all times. They would have added a nice touch of class to the proceedings.
The movie was very good, if not quite the Oscar juggernaut Harvey thinks it is. He has a great Oscar track record, so I could be wrong about that.
Thank you, Mr. John Sittig. I just saw you a few minutes ago in my home theater in “The Last Days of Cinerama”, part of the “Search for Paradise” Blu-ray package.
Thanks, Vito, for all the cue info. “Cue” is the word I was looking for! I actually tried to count them to see how many reels “Interstellar” would be, but I lost track somewhere after Reel 5.
I’ve seen that too, long ago. There was nothing like that at the Ziegfeld, but the film print did have the circular 70mm reel change markings, as opposed to 35mm anamorphic widescreen markings which are oval. It was good to see the circles again after a very long time.
Went to the 2:45 show this afternoon with three friends who hadn’t been to the Ziegfeld in at least 9 years, since Revenge of the Sith. They all enjoyed the movie, and understood it better than I did. This was actually my third time seeing it – the first time I was totally baffled. Now I’ve made my peace with it and see it for the good movie it is.
I’d like to second what Luis said about the curtains. Funny how such a simple thing can add so much good feeling to the show. In fact, they were closed when we came in, which is unusual. There are usually commercials being played at that time. Seeing those beautiful gold curtains while walking in was like going back to the ‘70s in a black hole time warp.
My friend was going to see Interstellar in some multiplex on Staten Island, where he lives. I said he should go to the Ziegfeld, and he took my advice. He’ll be there for the first time tomorrow night.
moviebuff82: you should make the trip in for “Interstellar” in 70mm. It’ll be like going back to the Ziegfeld’s glory days. Hope the movie is as good as I want it to be!
For me, it was the movie itself. I know it got 3 Oscar nominations for acting, but I found it almost unwatchable. Projection and sound were fine, as they usually are at the Ziegfeld.
Some of my favorite Ziegfeld memories:
My first time there, a 5 ½ hour double feature of West Side Story and Around the World in 80 Days, in 1970.
First time seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey there, in 1974. It wouldn’t be the last.
The roof-raising Quintaphonic Sound presentation of Tommy in March 1975.
Seeing a 1 AM showing of Close Encounters after waiting on line outside for several hours in bitter cold on Thanksgiving night, 1977.
Getting yelled at by the guy in front of me for unconsciously kicking his seat in time to the music from Fame, May 1980.
Seeing Gandhi on the night of a terrible blizzard in February 1983. The house was sold out!
Angry Christian groups marching on the theater with banners flying to protest The Last Temptation of Christ, August 1988.
People frantically searching for seats at a sold-out showing of Lawrence of Arabia, 1989.
My mom meeting Shirley MacLaine in the ladies' room during the intermission of Spartacus, 1991.
Seeing Independence Day at 6 AM on the 4th of July 1996.
Seeing Kim Novak and Pat Hitchcock outside the theater at the premiere of the restored Vertigo in 1996, then seeing the film itself two days later.
Being on the concession line with Isabella Rossellini and her kids at the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back, 1997.
Seeing the following classics there in 2006: The Godfather Part II, Ben-Hur, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, North by Northwest, Doctor Zhivago, Citizen Kane, Jaws, E.T., The Birds. How I wish they’d do something like this now, so the Ziegfeld could go out with a bang.
The free-admission TCM Road to Hollywood shows, all with every seat taken: All About Eve, To Kill a Mockingbird, Cabaret.
I’ve seen 147 movies at the Ziegfeld over the last 46 years. Hope I get to see one more before the end, to say goodbye.
The Paris showed “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm in the ‘90’s. Don’t know if they still have that equipment, though. Small screen too, compared to the Ziegfeld.
From a Portland, ME newspaper.
Happy “2001 at the Capitol” anniversary to me. 6/15/1968, 47 years. Heading toward the big 5-0.
And of course “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) with a CinemaScope print from the 20th Century-Fox vault, a packed house, and the volume turned way up. There were many fantastic shows like that, come to think of it.
When I think back to the good old days, I think my favorite unusual choice at the Lafayette was “Becket” (1964). I don’t think that had been shown anywhere in 35mm for decades.
Dine-in movie theaters are becoming popular. I think there are one or two in NJ. I just hope the diners don’t mess up the beautiful Lafayette.
To the overseers: Let Jeff speak! (That’s also a line from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which I’m sure has played the Lafayette at least once).
Theatrefan: the Loew’s Jersey did not originally have a 70mm projector, but I hope it will have one someday soon.
I’d heard both sides of the story about Barbra Streisand working at the Kings as an usherette – Streisand herself has denied it – so I asked an employee. Before he could answer, two older women who were standing nearby yelled out, “YES! YES! SHE DID! 1959!” Then the employee agreed with them that she indeed did work there. I believe them!
One of the employees I talked to said there’s a possibility that movies will one day be shown here again. Right now, though, there’s no screen installed.
The restoration is indeed an amazing sight. I didn’t want to leave.
The Kings held a free neighborhood open house today to celebrate the re-opening. I posted some pictures in the photo section, but all the pictures I took can be seen here.
From a free neighborhood open house celebrating the re-opening of the Kings after a $90 million restoration, 2/7/15.
Just got back from the premiere of The Imitation Game at the Ziegfeld. Harvey Weinstein and most of the actors in the movie (Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Charles Dance, etc.) were there. What puzzled me was that they didn’t use the curtains for this big event, leaving the blank screen exposed at all times. They would have added a nice touch of class to the proceedings.
The movie was very good, if not quite the Oscar juggernaut Harvey thinks it is. He has a great Oscar track record, so I could be wrong about that.
Thank you, Mr. John Sittig. I just saw you a few minutes ago in my home theater in “The Last Days of Cinerama”, part of the “Search for Paradise” Blu-ray package.
Thanks for your photo essay, Howard. You really captured the Ziegfeld experience!
Thanks, Vito, for all the cue info. “Cue” is the word I was looking for! I actually tried to count them to see how many reels “Interstellar” would be, but I lost track somewhere after Reel 5.
I’ve seen that too, long ago. There was nothing like that at the Ziegfeld, but the film print did have the circular 70mm reel change markings, as opposed to 35mm anamorphic widescreen markings which are oval. It was good to see the circles again after a very long time.
I brought up the ‘70s only as far as the Ziegfeld is concerned. They were the glory days for this theater.
Went to the 2:45 show this afternoon with three friends who hadn’t been to the Ziegfeld in at least 9 years, since Revenge of the Sith. They all enjoyed the movie, and understood it better than I did. This was actually my third time seeing it – the first time I was totally baffled. Now I’ve made my peace with it and see it for the good movie it is.
I’d like to second what Luis said about the curtains. Funny how such a simple thing can add so much good feeling to the show. In fact, they were closed when we came in, which is unusual. There are usually commercials being played at that time. Seeing those beautiful gold curtains while walking in was like going back to the ‘70s in a black hole time warp.
My friend was going to see Interstellar in some multiplex on Staten Island, where he lives. I said he should go to the Ziegfeld, and he took my advice. He’ll be there for the first time tomorrow night.
moviebuff82: you should make the trip in for “Interstellar” in 70mm. It’ll be like going back to the Ziegfeld’s glory days. Hope the movie is as good as I want it to be!
For me, it was the movie itself. I know it got 3 Oscar nominations for acting, but I found it almost unwatchable. Projection and sound were fine, as they usually are at the Ziegfeld.
I just thought it was a bad movie. Even 70mm couldn’t save it.