Medallion 5 Theatre
125 Medallion Center,
Dallas,
TX
75214
125 Medallion Center,
Dallas,
TX
75214
1 person
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Showing 26 - 39 of 39 comments
James, I echo the first part of your comment – oops! And, you are correct.
OOps! My original comment about “Gandhi” was incorrect; it opened at Northpark in 1983, not 1973!
Matt, “Gandhi” was a 1982 release but only in N.Y. and L.A., probably for Academy Award consideration (which worked out real well for them!). The rest of the country opened it in early ‘83.
James, “Gandhi” was released in 1982, altho' I agree, I don’t recall the Medallion being a 70mm showcase until “Rollerball” and later.
“Gandhi” played first-run in 70MM at the Northpark Cinema I beginning in early 1973.
“This theatre opened with 70MM capability but didn’t show a 70MM feature until 6 years later when Rollerball opened in 1975—ran quite a bit of 70 after that.”
This theatre opened with 70MM capability but didn’t show a 70MM feature until 6 years later when Rollerball opened in 1975—ran quite a bit of 70 after that.
The Medallion was the first in a planned new generation of Interstate suburban venues dedicated to prestige exclusive first-run bookings; included in this plan were new single-screen suburban showplaces to replace the old downtown prestige venues, Palace, Tower, and Majestic, all of which were scheduled for closing and/or demolition. This plan was never carried to ultimate fruition and, though the three downtown venues were indeed eventually shuttered, only the Medallion was constructed before Interstate itself ceased to exist. Everything about the Medallion was first-class except, IMHO, for the screen, which was ruler-flat instead of curved. Overall, not much to complain about.
I attended the ALIEN preview (4/6/79) at the Plitt Medallion (a spectacularly good theatre in every way). An usher peeked into the auditorium just when the chest burster scene was on the screen. He fainted. Ridley Scott (hanging out in the lobby) was pleased. Afterwards, I filled out the very extensive survey card. The next day, I was called by a market research firm in Phoenix. The rep interviewed me for THREE HOURS. And my very few issues concerning this amazing film were addressed in the final cut! And it was an advertised preview (not really a “sneak”), as there was a full-page ad in the Dallas papers with the name and all the credits and 70mm Dolby Six-Track Stereo advertised with a huge graphic.
The Medallion had the same status in Dallas as the Ziegfeld does in New York, the McClurg Court did in Chicago, the Coronet did in San Francisco, Cinerama does in Seattle (I could go on…)
October 30th, 1969 grand opening ad is at View link
Ridley Scott did one of the first sneaks of ‘Alien’ there. He attended as did a lot of studio suits. We had to line up in the early afternoon to get tickets, and then come back that evening and line up again to get in. There were even scalpers! This was a time when a ‘sneak’ was really a SNEAK and the directors would make changes based on survey cards that were handed out to the audience. After you filled out the card you were asked if you could be called for more in depth questions (of course I said yes! lol).
There really hadnt been anything of the intensity of the movie really seen before and supposedly someone threw up in the restroom.
We were invited to stay for the regular movie that was playing afterwards….I dont think anyone did!
The Medallion was demolished in June 2005.
It closed down sometime between mid 2001 and early 2002. A friend of mine and I had started visiting that theater sometime in the Summer of 2001 because they had started showing older movies that we were too young to remember during their initial runs. We happened to pass by it during March of 2002 and were greatly disappointed to find it closed down.
Later, we found out that it had been the theater where Steven Spielberg had sneak-previewed Jaws in 1975 and Close Encounters in 1977.
What a downward spiral this theater had. It was the first-run theater in Dallas for all of the 70s and early 80s and then ‘poof’. When a single screen, it was Interstate Dallas' flagship theater.