AMC Empire 25

You have to wonder why they would bother. Every time I have been to Lincoln Square IMAX (the only one in Manhattan) it is empty and this is within walking distance.

this is not the only amc theater to have two screens with digital projection. The AMC in Paramus has two and the clifton commons has two.

….

I just found an image from the LAFFMOVIE days. Does anyone know when it converted to the EMPIRE name. I think the image is 1954.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut is running here for one week only, a move-over from the Ziegfeld. In digital projection. I saw it at the Ziegfeld but may see it again here.

I was here Wednesday night; saw two movies and visited the box office, concession stand and the restroom. Everything was just fine.

I think the laws are different now taking into account that almost all theatres are first run. AMC was mostly forced to sell those that monopolized a booking zone.

During the Cineplex Odeon buy, Sony’s stake in Loews became diluted.

This is my favorite house in the city, apart from the Ziegfeld. (Regal E-Walk is next.) I’ve never had the problems others have encountered, and the presentation and ambiance are first-rate. My only caveat is that they used to play more art films here, on the top level, but now it’s mostly run-of-the-mill multiplex fare.

As a regular visitor at both the Empire and the Regal E-Walk I can assure you they are no different than any other New York theatre and better than many.

The 42nd Street project did its best. Putting things in perpective I pay $10.00 to see Russian import DAYBREAK at the AMC with comfortable well spaced seats and bored staff at minimum wage going through the motions.

I pay $111.00 (including $2.50 “theatre restoration charge”) and sit on miniature seats with no leg room or air conditioning while handed a program by some nasty bitch who does it for free show but cannot be bothered to learn the theatre’s seating, to see the bored cast of TARZAN sing Phil Collins tunes. THAT is capitalism at its very worse and masquerading as art to boot!

I pay $10.00 at Lincoln Plaza to see German import THE LIVES OF OTHERS in a tiny screen with abstructing columns and tiny seats while senior citizens chat away during the film and NO usher is on duty at all.

Unpopular as it may seem, I’ll take the two remaining 42nd street movie theatres anyday. Unless the movie is at the Ziegfeld, of course.

I guess it’s return to what the area once was known for.

“AMC Empire Grindhouse 25”

All the above for the price of $11.00 a ticket.

What a dump this place has become! I suspect poor management and uninterested workers are the cause. The seats are becoming worn out, the movies do not start on time, house lights remain on, and nasty and stupid workers take your money. Wish there were alternatives, but as you know , theatre choices are getting less and less!

A few more images I took the other night while on the Duece with my camera:

The face in the window
Standard shot
Blade sign

I guess I never noticed before that the long time Duece retailer from the good ole-bad ole days, Modell’s, was back on the block – relocated across the street from it’s old spot just down from the Harem XXX theater.

Ha… That sounds like the Duece movie-going experience I remember from the 1980’s!!! Of course, back then, tickets were only a $2.50 and once nestled in a favorite seat in the rear corner of the auditorium, one could settle in long term without having to move from room to room!!!

Anyway, Fever Dog, I doubt any one homeless person plunks down the $10.75 per day. Spending whatever money they scrounge up on a movie ticket is just a rare treat to deluxe accommodations for them. I’ll bet this is more of an issue in the cold winter months than during the rest of the year.