Metrograph is great! Especially the balcony! Went to see House Of Traps (1982) and had a blast. Place is bit twee but I like their programs and am thus far quite satisfied.
The Sunn Cinema is heavily featured in the film Gas Food Lodging (1991). Fairuza Balk’s character repeatedly attends matinee’s there and even goes into the projection booth. If I find a good still, I’ll add it to the photo section.
Visited The Rio just after New Year’s to see Patti Smith perform. It was incredible! And the venue has been nicely maintained. I snapped some photos of the marquee, ticket booth, & lobby which I will upload here shortly.
Saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens during my X-Mas sojourn in SF. It’s a fantastic neighborhood theatre with a great, congenial staff. Loved the experience!
The New York State Historical Association Library in Cooperstown is hosting a small exhibit detailing Smalley’s history in Cooperstown; they also house the theatre’s archive (1921-1955 only). I took several pictures and added them here.
Went to the 12:45pm screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to pay my respects and say goodbye. The house was fairly packed — more people than I’d seen in years and even more waiting to get in to the next screening. They drew the curtains after the final credits: a fitting and appropriate touch that those of us who lingered appreciated. I loved this place with all my heart. It was the best theater for epic blockbusters in Manhattan (the faded opulence always making even the most mediocre film a true experience) and its closure will leave a big void.
Very disappointed with the screenings I’ve been to here. The theaters are wide but not deep and in some of the smaller one, the projector is so close to the screen that it messes up the aspect ratio and the picture doesn’t fill the whole screen. On top of that, last night they showed the trailer for the film they were about to screen. I’ve never had that happen ever!
Had never seen a movie here before and I won’t be going back. This place is totally dingy, with a faint musty smell, and uncomfortable, cramped seating. The screens are tiny too! Hard to justify $14 on even the best film if the setting is so poor. Considering both the Paris & Ziegfeld are near-by, I doubt I’ll ever be back here.
I really would have enjoyed The Imitation Game at the Paris last night but the audience was awful. Lots of talking and texting. The film itself was fine, well projected with great audio but the patrons there are getting ever ruder.
It is not just Interstellar, which I agree did not have a good sound mix, but other films recently too. The previews before The Drop were ear-splitting. I think the Ziegfeld just feels obligated to crank the volume since the space is so huge.
The curtains were working at Interstellar last night, though the audience laughed at them closing after the previews only to just open again one second later with another preview to follow.
The 70mm presentation was beautiful visually but the audio was awful. As with other recent visits, the overall volume/decibel level was way too high for both the previews and the film. My ears were ringing afterward. Unless Bow Tie addresses this issue, my next visit to the Ziegfeld might sadly be my last.
Hadn’t been to the Ziegfeld in awhile, not since Bow Tie took over, and I thought they had the place looking nice. My only complaint (I’m not as big on the curtain as others here are) is that the previews were way too loud, much louder than the feature. I was tempted to get my earplugs out!
I was at the Quad last night and their screens are definitely smaller. Not sure about Cinema Village, haven’t been there in awhile but Brooklyn Heights screens were roughly the same size as Film Forum, maybe a little larger.
Metrograph is great! Especially the balcony! Went to see House Of Traps (1982) and had a blast. Place is bit twee but I like their programs and am thus far quite satisfied.
No way! Those are gimmicks that belong in the cookie-cutter big box theaters only!
I read that the audio system from the Ziegfeld ended up at the newly opened Metrograph!
http://metrograph.com/about/theaters
The Sunn Cinema is heavily featured in the film Gas Food Lodging (1991). Fairuza Balk’s character repeatedly attends matinee’s there and even goes into the projection booth. If I find a good still, I’ll add it to the photo section.
Evil exists.
Personally, I hate photos like this. I want to remember the Zieg in all its glory!
Visited The Rio just after New Year’s to see Patti Smith perform. It was incredible! And the venue has been nicely maintained. I snapped some photos of the marquee, ticket booth, & lobby which I will upload here shortly.
Added two lobby photos from Dec. 2015.
Saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens during my X-Mas sojourn in SF. It’s a fantastic neighborhood theatre with a great, congenial staff. Loved the experience!
Still from the movie “Times Square” (Moyle, 1980).
If anyone has an image of the Ziegfeld marquee from the run of Times Square (opened 10/22/80), please post it or contact me.
The New York State Historical Association Library in Cooperstown is hosting a small exhibit detailing Smalley’s history in Cooperstown; they also house the theatre’s archive (1921-1955 only). I took several pictures and added them here.
Can’t stomach the thought of the Ziegfeld being gutted. An absolute shame!
Amen to that! I dragged so many people to the Ziegfeld over the years and none of them walked away less than awed.
Went to the 12:45pm screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to pay my respects and say goodbye. The house was fairly packed — more people than I’d seen in years and even more waiting to get in to the next screening. They drew the curtains after the final credits: a fitting and appropriate touch that those of us who lingered appreciated. I loved this place with all my heart. It was the best theater for epic blockbusters in Manhattan (the faded opulence always making even the most mediocre film a true experience) and its closure will leave a big void.
Final screenings are next Thursday. Go say goodbye, if you can.
Devastating news…
So sad the Ziegfeld is closing. Can’t say I’m surprised but it hurts none the less for knowing it was inevitable.
Saw a lot of movies here since moving to NYC and am glad I made the effort to do so. I feel like a lot of people took this place for granted.
Very disappointed with the screenings I’ve been to here. The theaters are wide but not deep and in some of the smaller one, the projector is so close to the screen that it messes up the aspect ratio and the picture doesn’t fill the whole screen. On top of that, last night they showed the trailer for the film they were about to screen. I’ve never had that happen ever!
Had never seen a movie here before and I won’t be going back. This place is totally dingy, with a faint musty smell, and uncomfortable, cramped seating. The screens are tiny too! Hard to justify $14 on even the best film if the setting is so poor. Considering both the Paris & Ziegfeld are near-by, I doubt I’ll ever be back here.
I really would have enjoyed The Imitation Game at the Paris last night but the audience was awful. Lots of talking and texting. The film itself was fine, well projected with great audio but the patrons there are getting ever ruder.
It is not just Interstellar, which I agree did not have a good sound mix, but other films recently too. The previews before The Drop were ear-splitting. I think the Ziegfeld just feels obligated to crank the volume since the space is so huge.
The curtains were working at Interstellar last night, though the audience laughed at them closing after the previews only to just open again one second later with another preview to follow.
The 70mm presentation was beautiful visually but the audio was awful. As with other recent visits, the overall volume/decibel level was way too high for both the previews and the film. My ears were ringing afterward. Unless Bow Tie addresses this issue, my next visit to the Ziegfeld might sadly be my last.
Hadn’t been to the Ziegfeld in awhile, not since Bow Tie took over, and I thought they had the place looking nice. My only complaint (I’m not as big on the curtain as others here are) is that the previews were way too loud, much louder than the feature. I was tempted to get my earplugs out!
I was at the Quad last night and their screens are definitely smaller. Not sure about Cinema Village, haven’t been there in awhile but Brooklyn Heights screens were roughly the same size as Film Forum, maybe a little larger.