Thanks Papibear for the nice compliment. Mike Coate, who is also co-owner of www.fromscripttodvd.com, is the other half of the research done on “70mm In….” He deserves a round of applause for his in-depth knowledge and editing expertise. :)
The “70mm In Orange County” project is really a labor of love, as you mentioned. It was an offshoot of the research we’d done on New York and Los Angeles 70mm engagements and theatres. I grew up in Orange County (before it was a catch phrase) and experienced going to most of these theatres. Mike and I thought it would be a good idea, while our memories were somewhat fresh, to catalog the them in print and with photos (if they were available). We’ll be adding some more new surprises to the OC section soon.
I saw “Die Hard” the first time at the South Coast Plaza Theatre III when it opened in Orange County. The print was a 35mm Dolby print. I remember loving the film, but being disappointed that I didn’t take the drive to Westwood to see it in 70mm. The 35mm print, in my opinion, didn’t have the “oomph” and excellent print quality of a 70mm print. (Fox, along with many other studios in 1988, wasn’t releasing a lot of widescreen or 70mm prints. It was a pretty dry year for movies). I was disappointed that OC didn’t get a print, but perhaps Fox didn’t have enough confidence in the film to release more 70mm prints.
I did, later that summer, take a drive to Westwood and saw it at the Avco. Wow! What a difference! This was the best 70mm presentation I had seen at that point in time. Even the best 70mm shows at the Cinedome, City Center or “Big” Newport couldn’t compare with the Avco. Awesome sound (THX, when it was done right and meant something to an audience), and a crisp 70mm print—-plus a packed house with 1100 people. Really spectacular! I could hear bullet casings dropping to the floor in some scenes (or a scene as I recall); the helicopter flying into Century City sounded like it was in the Avco auditorium. Too bad that the main auditorium was split in two in 1993. I guess GCC, like most theatre operators, didn’t learn a thing from the carvings from the 1970s.
I, too, saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at South Coast “III.” What an experience. I remember the opening credits and jumping out of my seat when John Williams' score come crashing over the loudspeakers. And the mother ship’s loud, bassy response to the humans at the end of the film—again, jumped out of my seat. I’ve seen this film in 35mm DTS at the Cinerama Dome (and of course on a small television screen for many years) and it’s just not the same as that 70mm presentation I saw way back in 1977/early 1978.
This is a very nice theatre, considering that UA had let the 8-plex nearby run down.
Krikorian has managed to keep the 18-plex up. I like that most of the auditoriums are fairly good sized—I never feel confined, even in the smallest ones. The sound and the presentations have been good.
The staff is friendly, though I have to say that the snack bar service is almost always sloooooow, even when there’s extra staff. It always seems like the staff could pick up the pace, especially when it costs a lot for a movie and popcorn. Other than that, nice theatre.
I agree with Jeff’s views on the mall. I grew up around Buena Park in the 1970s and can remember it wasn’t all that great back then. Sometime in the 1980s, I recall that’s when the mall added a roof. The interior became very dark and unpleasent to walk around in. Then the recent overhaul hasn’t seemed to do much good. The downstairs is still dark, and the shop selection upstairs isn’t all that great. I think if it weren’t for Wal-Mart, the mall would be history.
I think the National is a valuable theatre to preserve. The theatre is a classic example of modern theatre design that’s been lost over the past ten years. Most theatres built during the 1960s and early 1970s are now gone. Though many of the theatres built in 1970s weren’t very good in design or aesthetic, this one stands out.
Is the National as ornate as some of the movie palaces built during the 1920s? Of course not, but for a modern theatre, it’s wonderful. Thankfully it hasn’t been split, like its sister theatre was in the mid-1970s, the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.
I wish exhibitors would stop this madness of closing down theatres like this. This theatre withstood the multiplex craze of the 1970s and 1980s and the current megaplex craze started in 1995. I believe if given a renovation, this theatre would stand up strong with the Village and Bruin.
Audiences really do crave theatrical experiences in big house like the National, and they will spend big bucks for the experience. By killing this theatre, what’s to say that the Village or Chinese couldn’t be closed in favor of opening a big megaplex? The Avco has already been destroyed, in my opinion, ever since GCC split the main house in half. Now GCC no longer exists and audiences see movies in compromised viewing conditions. If the National closes, I think we might as well kiss Westwood goodbye as a movie haven, if we haven’t already. It distresses me to think that the AMCs of the world have taken over and pretty much killed the moviegoing experience.
The Cinerama Dome was saved due to a valiant effort by film lovers (and a gentleman named Doug Haines) and apparently is thriving with the addition of ArcLight Cinemas next door. Why can’t Mann do the same with the National? Make it the anchor to a bigger complex.
This was the first of AMC’s “nice” and “pristine” theatres in the Southern California area. AMC was undergoing a big expansion (when haven’t they, I guess) and MainPlace was a very nice theatre with 70mm projection and THX Sound in two of the big auditoriums.
I was sad when the theatre closed down in 2000, but was happy to see it opened again a short time later. But I must say that the experience of going there wasn’t anything like how AMC ran it. I took my daughter to see “Shrek.” I asked the gentleman at the snackbar how business was going. He said “okay,” in a very monotone voice. It was as if he didn’t care about anything. When we saw the show, it was in glorified mono. This theatre was a very good sounding Dolby Stereo/THX theatre. (I was never crazy about SDDS there or at any AMC). So I’m not sure why this theatre can’t run prints in digital stereo.
My experience with Capt. Blood’s MainPlace is mixed, but not horrific like some of the stories I’ve heard. I haven’t been back, even though I’ve always enjoyed this theatre (though the Orange Cinedome and Orange City Center were better with bigger auditoriums and screens nearby).
I think Capt. Blood might wish to invest in some employees who care about the customer, and running films in their proper presentation. I’m not sure if the stories are true about how his employees act towards customers on previous posts here and on the Villa Theatre in Orange. But some improvement in employee training and presentation would make a world of difference and set his chain apart from AMC and Edwards/Regal.
In regards to “My Fair Lady,” I mistakenly used the word “faded.” Let me just say that the print was in horrible shape all around.
I saw the 1994 re-issue at the Century Plaza and it was spectacular. The opening credits and the scene at the races were simply beautiful on the big screen in 70mm. I had caught bits and pieces of this film on television and never liked it. But seeing it properly made me really like this film.
The last time I saw MFL in 70mm was during a special screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It was James C. Katz’s personal print and looked very good. I think it can help to have a professional projectionist, like Paul Rayton, who babies the print and makes sure the presentation is nearly perfect.
This Ziegfeld film festival has a very good line-up, despite the lack of 70mm prints. “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” had a brand-new 35mm print struck in 2001, and it was one of the best 35mm presentations I’ve ever seen. (This was an instance when Cal State Long Beach’s film dept. started getting better prints.) With any luck, the Ziegfeld will so happen to get this print (provided it’s still in great shape).
It was interesting to hear about the 70mm print of “The Exorcist.” The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) screened a special 70mm print of the film, if memory serves, in 1997. The print I saw was in pristine shape and the sound was very good. You never know how these prints will end up in the future. As for “My Fair Lady,” there was a 70mm screening at California State University at Long Beach sometime in the late 1990s. That print, however, was severly pink, faded and had a “click” running through one of the front channels via one of the reels. The head of the festival, Gary Prebula, stopped the film midway and said that it was the same print that screened at Century Plaza in Century City during its re-release in 1994! How could a print get so beat up in so little time?
There are some new or fairly new 70mm prints around.
“The Sound Of Music”
“Vertigo”
“The Agony and the Ecstasy”
“Doctor Dolittle”
“Playtime”
“Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines”
“The Greatest Story Ever Told”
“It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World”
“Hello, Dolly"
"2001”
“Lord Jim”
“Patton"
"The Sheltering Sky"
"Tron”
These have all screened in the Los Angeles area in recent years in 70mm DTS (except for “The Sheltering Sky” and “Tron”). It probably depends on which theatre, if any, has a DTS decoder for 70mm in New York, to book a print. And most of these screenings were either near capacity or sold out.
Some additional 70mm details regarding “Close Encounters, "Tron,” “Die Hard,” and the re-releases of “Star Wars” in the Los Angeles area can be found here:
Please also check the years 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985 for the Los Angeles re-release engagements of “Star Wars” in the year-by-year search grids toward the bottom of each page.
The Eastland did run some 70mm prints. A good example can be found here:
The UA Cinema is on Sunflower across from Sears. That theatre has a large auditorium and still runs films (independent) and seasonal classic film festivals (mostly films from the 1980s). It’s been operated by Edwards for some time now.
The Twin opened on December 20, 1974. Not sure on the Mall theatres. I do recall that they ran a lot of crummy family features and possibly slasher flicks during the early-1980s.
I believe that when Edwards took over (sometime in the mid-80s), they installed Dolby Stereo in this theatre, as they did with most of their locations. Probably didn’t help much on the presentation. If this was like the Brea UA, the presentation was horrible anyway.
I think UA had opened a series of mall theatres around Southern California when new malls were springing up during the 1970s. The City (Orange), Brea Mall, Los Cerritos Mall and Westminster Mall all had UAs, and even though I haven’t been to all of them, I bet they were all very similar to each other. Occasionally, UA opened some decent theatres with at least one large auditorium during the 1970s.
I have a very foggy memory of the empty patch of land where the Westminster Mall was built. Once it opened sometime in the 1970s, it was the place to shop.
The Edwards Cinema West (“1 & 2”) was apparently once a big single screen house with approx. 1000 seats until it was split apart. I recall going to that theatre when it had four screens to see “Airport 77” and “Audrey Rose.”
I have fond memory of this theatre. When “Grease” was playing in the smaller auditorium, I had the pleasure of ants crawling on my arm during the screening. On the top of that, a lady sitting behind me and my parents sung every single song, verbatim, from the film. Did we leave? Nope. We were enjoying the film too much!
I also recall my aunt offering to take me to see “Star Wars” there. We walked across the parking lot and peeked in the lobby. We could clearly hear the roar of T.I.E. fighters on the soundtrack. But since my aunt bought me the 45 rpm version of Meco’s “Star Wars Theme,” she didn’t have enough money for the show. Luckily I had already seen it at the Orange City Center in 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo, and that was perhaps the most memorable film experience in my life.
As for the Twin, it was renovated in 1991 and was quite nice. The large auditorium was accomodating and comfortable with a large screen. The theatre did run some 70mm at times during the 1980s and early 1990s. But like most theatres built in the 1970s, this one met with the wrecking ball and was covered with asphalt for the Los Cerritos Mall parking lot.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe this was actually a four screen complex, not three. It was built around the same time as the UA theatres at the Brea Mall. Though I never went inside of the UA at the Westminster Mall, my hunch is that it was very similar, if not identical, to the shoebox-style mall UA theatres at the Brea Mall. And if that was the case, then it was a dreadful movie experience for anyone seeing films there. Tiny auditoriums, tiny screens and mostly mono sound “presentations.”
The Twin Westminster Mall, also run by UA, was indeed located in the parking lot of the mall. That theatre had 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo capability and showed a few of the big films in that format, including “E.T.” and “Ghostbusters.” It has been demolished and replaced by a Babies-R-Us.
The Century 21 opened on June 30, 1965. The theatre was indeed a grand mid-‘60s designed building with a rounded exterior, large lobby and 1250-seat capacity. According to local newspaper announcements prior to the theatre’s opening, it was to be equipped for 70mm. The theatre was very similar, if not identical, to the Inland that opened later in San Bernardino, CA. That structure still exists (the Century 21 does not).
My recollection of the Century 21 was that its auditorium had red curtains and was very long. I didn’t know it at the time in Christmas 1978 that the auditorium had been split in two.
If you live on the West Coast and can attend one these screenings of HTWWW, please do. You haven’t seen this film in its proper presentation until you’ve seen it in true Cinerama. The picture (or pictures) shining on the large Dome screen are clear and bright, and the sound is good, warm analog sound.
John Sittig and his crew put on a spectacular show, and a lot of effort goes into these special engagements. They deserve an audience and deserve applause for their efforts. Sittig has been at the forefront of many special engagements at the Dome of Cinerama and Super Cinerama shows. It doesn’t get any better than this.
The films that audiences see in their local shoebox megaplex are such a far cry from the epic quality of HTWWW. Before I saw it at the Dome in 2003, I had only seen it on LaserDisc and wondered what was so special about it. I found it boring and stagey. BUT, when seen in Cinerama, what a difference! This is a true film with showmanship in mind and shouldn’t be missed!
Thanks Papibear for the nice compliment. Mike Coate, who is also co-owner of www.fromscripttodvd.com, is the other half of the research done on “70mm In….” He deserves a round of applause for his in-depth knowledge and editing expertise. :)
The “70mm In Orange County” project is really a labor of love, as you mentioned. It was an offshoot of the research we’d done on New York and Los Angeles 70mm engagements and theatres. I grew up in Orange County (before it was a catch phrase) and experienced going to most of these theatres. Mike and I thought it would be a good idea, while our memories were somewhat fresh, to catalog the them in print and with photos (if they were available). We’ll be adding some more new surprises to the OC section soon.
I saw “Die Hard” the first time at the South Coast Plaza Theatre III when it opened in Orange County. The print was a 35mm Dolby print. I remember loving the film, but being disappointed that I didn’t take the drive to Westwood to see it in 70mm. The 35mm print, in my opinion, didn’t have the “oomph” and excellent print quality of a 70mm print. (Fox, along with many other studios in 1988, wasn’t releasing a lot of widescreen or 70mm prints. It was a pretty dry year for movies). I was disappointed that OC didn’t get a print, but perhaps Fox didn’t have enough confidence in the film to release more 70mm prints.
I did, later that summer, take a drive to Westwood and saw it at the Avco. Wow! What a difference! This was the best 70mm presentation I had seen at that point in time. Even the best 70mm shows at the Cinedome, City Center or “Big” Newport couldn’t compare with the Avco. Awesome sound (THX, when it was done right and meant something to an audience), and a crisp 70mm print—-plus a packed house with 1100 people. Really spectacular! I could hear bullet casings dropping to the floor in some scenes (or a scene as I recall); the helicopter flying into Century City sounded like it was in the Avco auditorium. Too bad that the main auditorium was split in two in 1993. I guess GCC, like most theatre operators, didn’t learn a thing from the carvings from the 1970s.
I, too, saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at South Coast “III.” What an experience. I remember the opening credits and jumping out of my seat when John Williams' score come crashing over the loudspeakers. And the mother ship’s loud, bassy response to the humans at the end of the film—again, jumped out of my seat. I’ve seen this film in 35mm DTS at the Cinerama Dome (and of course on a small television screen for many years) and it’s just not the same as that 70mm presentation I saw way back in 1977/early 1978.
Thanks for the memory update, Papibear! :)
Additional pictures of the Wescove can be found here:
View link
More information and pictures can be found here:
View link
This is a very nice theatre, considering that UA had let the 8-plex nearby run down.
Krikorian has managed to keep the 18-plex up. I like that most of the auditoriums are fairly good sized—I never feel confined, even in the smallest ones. The sound and the presentations have been good.
The staff is friendly, though I have to say that the snack bar service is almost always sloooooow, even when there’s extra staff. It always seems like the staff could pick up the pace, especially when it costs a lot for a movie and popcorn. Other than that, nice theatre.
I agree with Jeff’s views on the mall. I grew up around Buena Park in the 1970s and can remember it wasn’t all that great back then. Sometime in the 1980s, I recall that’s when the mall added a roof. The interior became very dark and unpleasent to walk around in. Then the recent overhaul hasn’t seemed to do much good. The downstairs is still dark, and the shop selection upstairs isn’t all that great. I think if it weren’t for Wal-Mart, the mall would be history.
More information and photos can be found here:
View link
View link
This theatre is featured here by scrolling to the bottom of the page under Westminster:
View link
I think the National is a valuable theatre to preserve. The theatre is a classic example of modern theatre design that’s been lost over the past ten years. Most theatres built during the 1960s and early 1970s are now gone. Though many of the theatres built in 1970s weren’t very good in design or aesthetic, this one stands out.
Is the National as ornate as some of the movie palaces built during the 1920s? Of course not, but for a modern theatre, it’s wonderful. Thankfully it hasn’t been split, like its sister theatre was in the mid-1970s, the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.
I wish exhibitors would stop this madness of closing down theatres like this. This theatre withstood the multiplex craze of the 1970s and 1980s and the current megaplex craze started in 1995. I believe if given a renovation, this theatre would stand up strong with the Village and Bruin.
Audiences really do crave theatrical experiences in big house like the National, and they will spend big bucks for the experience. By killing this theatre, what’s to say that the Village or Chinese couldn’t be closed in favor of opening a big megaplex? The Avco has already been destroyed, in my opinion, ever since GCC split the main house in half. Now GCC no longer exists and audiences see movies in compromised viewing conditions. If the National closes, I think we might as well kiss Westwood goodbye as a movie haven, if we haven’t already. It distresses me to think that the AMCs of the world have taken over and pretty much killed the moviegoing experience.
The Cinerama Dome was saved due to a valiant effort by film lovers (and a gentleman named Doug Haines) and apparently is thriving with the addition of ArcLight Cinemas next door. Why can’t Mann do the same with the National? Make it the anchor to a bigger complex.
Save The National!
This was the first of AMC’s “nice” and “pristine” theatres in the Southern California area. AMC was undergoing a big expansion (when haven’t they, I guess) and MainPlace was a very nice theatre with 70mm projection and THX Sound in two of the big auditoriums.
I was sad when the theatre closed down in 2000, but was happy to see it opened again a short time later. But I must say that the experience of going there wasn’t anything like how AMC ran it. I took my daughter to see “Shrek.” I asked the gentleman at the snackbar how business was going. He said “okay,” in a very monotone voice. It was as if he didn’t care about anything. When we saw the show, it was in glorified mono. This theatre was a very good sounding Dolby Stereo/THX theatre. (I was never crazy about SDDS there or at any AMC). So I’m not sure why this theatre can’t run prints in digital stereo.
My experience with Capt. Blood’s MainPlace is mixed, but not horrific like some of the stories I’ve heard. I haven’t been back, even though I’ve always enjoyed this theatre (though the Orange Cinedome and Orange City Center were better with bigger auditoriums and screens nearby).
I think Capt. Blood might wish to invest in some employees who care about the customer, and running films in their proper presentation. I’m not sure if the stories are true about how his employees act towards customers on previous posts here and on the Villa Theatre in Orange. But some improvement in employee training and presentation would make a world of difference and set his chain apart from AMC and Edwards/Regal.
Hi Joe Scotti, I’d be interested in seeing those pictures that you took of this theatre. Please email me at Thanks.
This theatre was torn down around either 2004 or 2005.
In regards to “My Fair Lady,” I mistakenly used the word “faded.” Let me just say that the print was in horrible shape all around.
I saw the 1994 re-issue at the Century Plaza and it was spectacular. The opening credits and the scene at the races were simply beautiful on the big screen in 70mm. I had caught bits and pieces of this film on television and never liked it. But seeing it properly made me really like this film.
The last time I saw MFL in 70mm was during a special screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It was James C. Katz’s personal print and looked very good. I think it can help to have a professional projectionist, like Paul Rayton, who babies the print and makes sure the presentation is nearly perfect.
This Ziegfeld film festival has a very good line-up, despite the lack of 70mm prints. “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” had a brand-new 35mm print struck in 2001, and it was one of the best 35mm presentations I’ve ever seen. (This was an instance when Cal State Long Beach’s film dept. started getting better prints.) With any luck, the Ziegfeld will so happen to get this print (provided it’s still in great shape).
Bill
www.fromscripttodvd.com
It was interesting to hear about the 70mm print of “The Exorcist.” The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) screened a special 70mm print of the film, if memory serves, in 1997. The print I saw was in pristine shape and the sound was very good. You never know how these prints will end up in the future. As for “My Fair Lady,” there was a 70mm screening at California State University at Long Beach sometime in the late 1990s. That print, however, was severly pink, faded and had a “click” running through one of the front channels via one of the reels. The head of the festival, Gary Prebula, stopped the film midway and said that it was the same print that screened at Century Plaza in Century City during its re-release in 1994! How could a print get so beat up in so little time?
There are some new or fairly new 70mm prints around.
“The Sound Of Music”
“Vertigo”
“The Agony and the Ecstasy”
“Doctor Dolittle”
“Playtime”
“Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines”
“The Greatest Story Ever Told”
“It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World”
“Hello, Dolly"
"2001”
“Lord Jim”
“Patton"
"The Sheltering Sky"
"Tron”
These have all screened in the Los Angeles area in recent years in 70mm DTS (except for “The Sheltering Sky” and “Tron”). It probably depends on which theatre, if any, has a DTS decoder for 70mm in New York, to book a print. And most of these screenings were either near capacity or sold out.
Some additional 70mm details regarding “Close Encounters, "Tron,” “Die Hard,” and the re-releases of “Star Wars” in the Los Angeles area can be found here:
View link
View link
View link
Please also check the years 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985 for the Los Angeles re-release engagements of “Star Wars” in the year-by-year search grids toward the bottom of each page.
The Eastland did run some 70mm prints. A good example can be found here:
View link
The Eastland opened in the early 1960s and featured 1000 seats.
I should add that both UA and Edwards are now owned by Regal Cinemas.
This drive-in was equipped for 70mm projection.
The UA Cinema is on Sunflower across from Sears. That theatre has a large auditorium and still runs films (independent) and seasonal classic film festivals (mostly films from the 1980s). It’s been operated by Edwards for some time now.
The theatre ran “The Empire Strikes Back” in 70mm (December 19, 1980).
This theatre was located inside of the mall. I don’t recall which department store it was located near.
The Plitt (later run by Syufy/Century) City Center Theatre was located in the parking lot of the mall.
The Twin opened on December 20, 1974. Not sure on the Mall theatres. I do recall that they ran a lot of crummy family features and possibly slasher flicks during the early-1980s.
I believe that when Edwards took over (sometime in the mid-80s), they installed Dolby Stereo in this theatre, as they did with most of their locations. Probably didn’t help much on the presentation. If this was like the Brea UA, the presentation was horrible anyway.
I think UA had opened a series of mall theatres around Southern California when new malls were springing up during the 1970s. The City (Orange), Brea Mall, Los Cerritos Mall and Westminster Mall all had UAs, and even though I haven’t been to all of them, I bet they were all very similar to each other. Occasionally, UA opened some decent theatres with at least one large auditorium during the 1970s.
I have a very foggy memory of the empty patch of land where the Westminster Mall was built. Once it opened sometime in the 1970s, it was the place to shop.
The Edwards Cinema West (“1 & 2”) was apparently once a big single screen house with approx. 1000 seats until it was split apart. I recall going to that theatre when it had four screens to see “Airport 77” and “Audrey Rose.”
I have fond memory of this theatre. When “Grease” was playing in the smaller auditorium, I had the pleasure of ants crawling on my arm during the screening. On the top of that, a lady sitting behind me and my parents sung every single song, verbatim, from the film. Did we leave? Nope. We were enjoying the film too much!
I also recall my aunt offering to take me to see “Star Wars” there. We walked across the parking lot and peeked in the lobby. We could clearly hear the roar of T.I.E. fighters on the soundtrack. But since my aunt bought me the 45 rpm version of Meco’s “Star Wars Theme,” she didn’t have enough money for the show. Luckily I had already seen it at the Orange City Center in 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo, and that was perhaps the most memorable film experience in my life.
As for the Twin, it was renovated in 1991 and was quite nice. The large auditorium was accomodating and comfortable with a large screen. The theatre did run some 70mm at times during the 1980s and early 1990s. But like most theatres built in the 1970s, this one met with the wrecking ball and was covered with asphalt for the Los Cerritos Mall parking lot.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe this was actually a four screen complex, not three. It was built around the same time as the UA theatres at the Brea Mall. Though I never went inside of the UA at the Westminster Mall, my hunch is that it was very similar, if not identical, to the shoebox-style mall UA theatres at the Brea Mall. And if that was the case, then it was a dreadful movie experience for anyone seeing films there. Tiny auditoriums, tiny screens and mostly mono sound “presentations.”
The Twin Westminster Mall, also run by UA, was indeed located in the parking lot of the mall. That theatre had 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo capability and showed a few of the big films in that format, including “E.T.” and “Ghostbusters.” It has been demolished and replaced by a Babies-R-Us.
The Century 21 opened on June 30, 1965. The theatre was indeed a grand mid-‘60s designed building with a rounded exterior, large lobby and 1250-seat capacity. According to local newspaper announcements prior to the theatre’s opening, it was to be equipped for 70mm. The theatre was very similar, if not identical, to the Inland that opened later in San Bernardino, CA. That structure still exists (the Century 21 does not).
My recollection of the Century 21 was that its auditorium had red curtains and was very long. I didn’t know it at the time in Christmas 1978 that the auditorium had been split in two.
Warren, do you have the date of publication of that photo page? Thanks.
If you live on the West Coast and can attend one these screenings of HTWWW, please do. You haven’t seen this film in its proper presentation until you’ve seen it in true Cinerama. The picture (or pictures) shining on the large Dome screen are clear and bright, and the sound is good, warm analog sound.
John Sittig and his crew put on a spectacular show, and a lot of effort goes into these special engagements. They deserve an audience and deserve applause for their efforts. Sittig has been at the forefront of many special engagements at the Dome of Cinerama and Super Cinerama shows. It doesn’t get any better than this.
The films that audiences see in their local shoebox megaplex are such a far cry from the epic quality of HTWWW. Before I saw it at the Dome in 2003, I had only seen it on LaserDisc and wondered what was so special about it. I found it boring and stagey. BUT, when seen in Cinerama, what a difference! This is a true film with showmanship in mind and shouldn’t be missed!