Ziegfeld Theatre
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
131 people
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Having a real Cinerama theater in NYC would be a dream come true. There has been some talk about this on the page for the old Mayfair/Demille/Embassy 2,3,4 site. There was also a recent news item here about someone looking to revive the vacant Embassy 2,3,4 as a 4-room complex for live performance and independent film where many CT folks implored a restoration to single screen and perhaps install 3-strip capabilities. The only problem I see with renovating the Ziegfeld for that purpose is that the theater (as has been discussed above) might be that the auditorium is too deep and narrow for maximum effectiveness as a Cinerama showcase. Configuring a new booth (or booths) may also pose a challenge, should the current booth location be inadequate for Cinerama projection within that space.
Still, It would be better than what NYC has now… which is NOTHING!!!
Andreco is right about the drawing power of Cinerama. I’ve gone to see it in Los Angeles twice, and Dayton, OH once. It sure would be nice to get on the subway and see it right here on 54th St., in the city where it was born.
To Craig of Clearview:
Why doesn’t Clearview convert the Ziegfeld into a Cinerama 3-strip theatre? I said this before and I am saying it again: I think Cinerama should be brought back to New York City. Triple projection Cinerama and its huge curved screen debuted right here in New York City at the Broadway Theatre on September 1952. Yet, while Seattle and Los Angeles have Cinerama theatres, New York, “The Capital of the World,” does not. I am sure a Cinerama theater in New York City would be a terrific tourist attraction and would bring movie loving visitors and money to the city, and Clearview. Besides triple projection Cinerama, the theater could show 70mm spectaculars like “Lawrence of Arabia” as they were intended to be seen. Also, the venue could be used for other movie attractions such as a 3D festival like they had last summer at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Except for the occasional double projection 3D film at the Film Forum, most contemporary New Yorkers have not seen double projection 3D, just as they have not seen Cinerama. Last summer both the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens and the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center celebrated 50 years of wide screen movies. It’s ironic that it was Cinerama that started it all right here in New York City and we don’t have a Cinerama theater. Bring Cinerama back to NYC, THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD! As for “classics” programming, see my Feb. 7 post above.
I did not ask for a refund for MFL on Friday night. I was tempted to do so, but as I wanted to support the revival concept (and in the hope that MFL was an anomaly), I decided not to. When an usher in the lobby asked why I was leaving early, I told her and she apologized.
I completely agree with cutting Clearview/the Ziegfeld some slack. I had no expectation that the MFL print would come close to the restored 70MM print that I saw at the Ziegfeld in the early 90s.
On the other hand, when the quality of the print is this bad, there is no point in exhibiting it for a paying audience.
Hey Ed,
Yeah, but they both have smallish screens. The Paris is really a niche market sort of place – they don’t show movies people actually see – and the Tower East (72nd St) likes to run movies at the “barely audible” setting (which is probably due to the neighborhood it is in – those sensitive UES ears!!) There’s also the crappy UA East which is probably THE worst national chain theatre in the city. So really, it’s only The Ziegfeld.
(Why was there no huge outcry over the Astor Plaza’s demise?? It was a better theatre.)
I agree…cut the Ziegfeld some slack on the prints. Some of the older ones may have some problems. If they’re are not in the best of shape, what can you do, THEY’RE OLD MOVIES! Just be glad that something like this is happening. I’m not saying that it’s great to sit through a crappy print of a film, but c'mon. I’d rather go see a not so great print of an old film at a place like the Ziegfeld than see a boring stupid new film somewhere else. Quit the whining. Support the Ziegfeld and support film revival in this area. WE NEED IT!
Movieguy718…. the Paris and the Loew’s 72nd are both single screen houses – though admittedly not as large and plush as the Ziegfeld.
I forgot to ask Erik H if he demanded a refund after walking out on the poor print of MFL only an hour into the screening… And, if so, how was that demand met?
Hey all,
I’m just so thrilled that someone is doing SOMETHING with the theatre… I’d love to see a pristine 70mm 6 Track Dolby print of RAIDERS but am going to take what I can get! I go to EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CRAP MOVIE that they throw up on that screen whether I’m interested in seeing it or not, just to support the theatre – which is, for all practical purposes, our last single screen in the city.
I have ZERO tolerance for sloppy presentation of NEW movies, but guys – you gotta cut them some slack with the revivals!
Caught the 1PM “WSS” screening today and, despite the blizzard, there was a good turnout. It was a beautiful print with wonderful sound, a huge improvement over the poor “MFL” print. Even the 5 minutes of commercials before the start of the movie looked better (much brighter than at yesterday’s 1PM screening). That’s the good news. The bad news: The movie stopped dead TWICE during the opening minutes — once during the overhead aerial shot of Manhattan and again just before the camera comes in on the Jets in the playground. I wonder what the problem was?
Perhaps when clearview made the decsion to have the festival, the film buyer should have had a discussion with the studio regarding print availabilily. If the studio could not promise a good quality print of MFL, the picture should not have been booked at all. I still believe the poor presentation of MFL was the fault of Clearview dropping the ball here and not the studio. As ALAvarez pointed out, Clearview can only play the prints that are available.
I just feel, under the circumstances, MFL should not have been played. I promise not to vent about this any longer. I only hope Clearview will pay more attention to print quality next time.
My compliments to Clearview for doing their best!…and to Craig for listening. It is easy to criticize, but putting this type of program together requires some serious hard work.
Clearview can only play the prints that are available so save your grief for distributor Warner Bros who really did this
Cheers to Clearview for bothering with MY FAIR LADY instead of some better print of RENT.
Regarding the condition of the MFL print, I would like to know why that print was accepted for this very important engagement. Did the projection staff not notice the condition of the print and report same condition to management? If there was any question as to the quality of the print, it should have been screened in advance and rejected, then demands should have been made for a better quality print. Clearview had no right to present this masterpiece in the condition outlined in this forum.
All very well and good Craig, however you missed the boat here, more effort should have been made to present WSS and MFL in their original 70mm roadshow granduer. As you can see by reading posts here, it was expected and would have been more appreciated. Having said that, I will say, myself and many others apppeciate the effort.
Glad to hear from you, Craig! Knowing that you care and are proactively interested in our opinions brings a big smile to my face. I wish nothing by success with the program and look forward to future series… See you guys on Tuesday night!
Hi,
Yes, we are reading your comments and they are invaluable to us. We will again communicate with our partners in distribution so that they assure us that the prints are in decent condition. However, with these older titles, sometimes there are a few bad apples out there, but we will do our best to provide a good presentation…
Since this is a new program, there will be some “bumps” along the way, but we are VERY happy to see that this program is being embraced by loyal cinema lovers in and around NYC.
Please keep the comments and suggestions coming! Together we will make The Ziegfeld’s Hollywood Classics a success for all of us!
Craig O'Connor
Marketing Manager
Clearview Cinemas
If they show the Ben Hur print that they ran at Loew’s Jersey last year it was a good one.
On Sunday, a Time Out film critic tried to speak before both The Godfather and Part II, both of which I attended. Each time within a few minutes into his remarks, the audience yelled out that they just wanted the movie, not to hear him! I’ve never seen an audience do that in Philadelphia or elsewhere, but I guess New Yorkers can be tough.
Also, although when he was Clearview District Manager, Joe Masher replied on ths site, I don’t know if anybody from Clearview is reading it. So, I’d encourage anybody with a complaint about film quality to write a letter to Clearview corporate HQ (you can Internet search or ask the Ziegfeld staff)about the quality of My Fair Lady print or any other print problems. Promise them more audience if they advertize “restored” or “new” print. Don’t assume they know anything, maybe they are new managers. They do care about bottom line, so if they think they will get more audience by getting the right print, they may try.
I had to postpone my “West Side Story” screening until Tuesday night. While it’s dissapointing to read the negative reports on the MFL print, I’m delighted and encouraged to learn that the WSS print is a sparkler. I look forward to Tuesday night’s screening and will keep my fingers crossed for next weekend’s “Ben-Hur” screening. Did they have anyone introduce the print on Saturday night? Glimpsing at the schedule, it appears they had some folks there to introduce the Godfather films and “Chinatown” last weekend.
Ben Hur is the one I want to see; I hope it’s a good print like West Side Story and not a bad one like My Fair Lady.
I was also at the screening of WSS at The Ziegfeld tonight and everything that Bill has just written above is true. Great night. It’s great to see films on that big Ziegfeld screen that were shot by cinematographers that really made use of the wide screen format. Some of the shots compositionally were just beautiful. I was hoping that the Ziegfeld was going to follow Robert Wise’s instructions at the beginning of the film, but they didn’t. No big deal it was still a great experience. Thank god this kind of thing still happens in New York City. It’s sad that it doesn’t happen as often as it did 20 or 30 years ago, but at least it’s happening. I hope the box office receipts for this festival are showing good numbers. There was a good crowd there tonight, way more people than the last time I was there to see the god-awful Cameron Crowe disaster ‘Elizabethtown’. Can’t wait to see Ben Hur and hopefully this kind of thing will continue to happen at the Ziegfeld, the last great movie palace in New York City.
While walking uptown from the Port Authority after taking the bus in from Weehawken, NJ, I made believe it was a snowy night in 1961 and I was going to the Rivoli to see “West Side Story”. I passed the Caroline’s Comedy Club where the Rivoli once stood, then headed over to the Ziegfeld. It turned out to be a good omen. My one-word capsule review of “West Side Story” at the Ziegfeld: WOW.
I sat in the front row, center seat. The print was in beautiful condition and the sound was perfect, with lots of deep bass tones. There were several hundred people there, who came out in a blizzard. The audience broke into applause about 5 times during the actual movie, and several more times during the credits. And, for the first time in over 40 years (and thanks to my front row seat and the size of the Ziegfeld’s screen), I finally got to read the title of the book in Gladhand/John Astin’s pocket at the dance: “Existentialism”.
All the people who are complaining about the “My Fair Lady” shows should try not to miss “West Side Story”. It will restore their faith in the Ziegfeld.
I was also at today’s sparsely attended 1PM “MFL” screening. It was a really beat-up print, with starts/ends of each reel in poor condition (scratches, jumpy, discolored, bad audio), the first half of reel one had some kind of synch problem, there was no intermission (just an abrupt cut/fade where the intermission title card used to be) and no walk out music. The series is billed as “Movies…The Way They Were Meant To be Seen!” Sorry, I don’t think so. What’s the point of promoting a special series like this and then you kill the experience by showing a crappy print? I’m hoping the “WSS” and “Ben-Hur” prints are in decent shape.
Just got in from the 1 pm screeening of “My Fair Lady”. There was about 30 people attending. The print was awful scratchy, faded, and discolored. Itr also seemed out of sinc at times. The stereo sound was non existant. I remember it 42 years ago as such a wide SUPER PANAVISION 70 fim. The sould and picture then was breathtaking! Oh the good old days!
Re Roadshow instructions, I guess most of you may have seen it, but in case you haven’t, go to American Widescreen Museum web and click on Roadshow in the Lobby page. They have the instructions for WSS, 10 Commandmets, El Cid and others. Incidentally, though WSS does noy have an intermission, when I saw it in San Juan they put an intermission right before I Feel Pretty. No intermission title, no entre'act music. They just closed the curtain when the previous secene faded out and opened the curtain after 15 minutes with I Feel Pretty. I think it worked, and in the recent DVD, in Special Features, they have an optional intermission music, an instrumental I feel Pretty in a lovely arrangement.