Comments from Jon Lidolt

Showing 51 - 75 of 168 comments

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Reel Pizza Cinerama on Oct 5, 2011 at 3:12 pm

They’ve probably never heard of or even seen a Cinerama movie. It looks a dump. What do they do, project DVD’s?

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Cinerama Film Festival announced on Sep 7, 2011 at 10:20 am

I wonder if Seattle will be supplied with a Mad World print that’s been optically corrected for Cinerama projection onto the deeply curved screen. Or will it be a standard anamorphic 70mm Ultra-Panavison print?

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Kentucky drive-in theaters see popularity rise again on Aug 15, 2011 at 10:55 am

Sure, you can take the dog and kids but the dim image and mono sound doesn’t a great night out a the movies make. On the other hand the popcorn’s freshly popped and pizzas aren’t too bad either.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Tara Auditorium on Aug 11, 2011 at 12:47 pm

I’d really be interested in seeing more shots of the auditorium. What I have seen of the theatre looks very pleasant.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Lakeside Theatre on Aug 7, 2011 at 4:12 pm

Thank you Ken. Glad you like the photos. Truth be told, I probably spent more hours at the Lakeside than I did in class.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Victory Theatre on Jul 28, 2011 at 12:19 pm

I was in this unattractive theatre once in the late 60’s. The place was rundown and so were the ladies of burlesque gracing the stage. But I do remember that they had great hot dogs.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Jem struggles with digital conversion on Jul 28, 2011 at 12:09 pm

The industry has to rethink this whole thing. All of these smaller town cinemas have Xenon light sources with a film projector attached to them. Why can’t one of the projector manufacturers come up with a digital imager that can be fitted onto the existing lamps? Without this alternative many cinemas will close leaving many areas without a movie theatre. Without such a facility movie fans will have to travel miles to see the latest releases or wait to watch them on DVD or Pay TV. What’s the difference between what we think of as a movie or a feature length photoplay produced for TV exhibition? It’s the same thing isn’t it? But wait… show it to an audience on a big screen in a cinema and it turns into a motion picture – an event!

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Imagine Cinemas Market Square on Jul 21, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Tim, as far as I know it’s simply a coincidence that Rainbow ended up taking over a number of former Cineplex locations. The spaces became available and they managed to get a good deal on a lease.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Imagine Cinemas Market Square on Jul 21, 2011 at 11:10 am

When Cineplex closed up shop, almost everything was removed from the theatre. Rainbow made many improvements when they took over, but it’s still a far cry from the state of the art AMC Yonge and Dundas 24-plex located many blocks north of here. Mind you, it is less expensive to see a movie at the Market Square.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Park Theatre on Jul 16, 2011 at 4:13 pm

The theatre to the left is Welland’s 700 seat Park theatre as seen in 1955. Further down the street, to the right, you can see the marquee of the 1200 seat Capitol. Unfortunately the Capitol has been demolished and the Park is no longer a movie house. The only cinema left in Welland is a bottom of the barrel multiplex located in the local shopping mall.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Music Hall theatre on Jul 16, 2011 at 3:56 pm

This picture was shot in the late 70’s or early 80’s during one of it’s brief turns as a live venue. The onstage attraction advertised on the marquee stars Divine in The Neon Woman. It also hosted such shows as a Barbara Cooke concert and the dance company La La La Human Steps. It'a great location but the place has been mismanaged by various groups for way too many years.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about United Artists on Jul 16, 2011 at 2:26 pm

The photo of the United Artists and the other theatres further down Randolph Street was taken in 1960.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Lakeside Theatre on Jul 16, 2011 at 2:01 pm

All 5 photos of the Lakeside as a functioning movie house were taken in 1961. I worked there as an assistant manager when I was an art student in Chicago.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Richard O'Brien personal appearance on Jul 9, 2011 at 12:56 pm

Some of the Photo Info about the Roxy pictures is incorrect. The 2007 date refers to when to when the slides and prints of the theatre were digitized to preserve them. Most of the pictures were taken in the late 70’s and O'Brien’s appearance was in 1981.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Landmark Loews Theater, Jersey City, NJ 5/30/09 on Jun 28, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Ross, thanks for posting this video. It reminds us once again what a pleasure going to the movies used to be. I sure wish we had a Loew’s Jersey here in Toronto.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Cineplex selects Christie for 900+ projectors on Jun 25, 2011 at 12:52 pm

The switch to digital won’t make an ounce of difference if they don’t stop “saving money” by turning down the brightness of the projection lamps in their theatres. I don’t know if this is company policy or not, but friends working in the business tell me it is. My last 3 visits to their downtown Varsity cinema in Toronto seem to confirm this practice. The pictures are incredibly dark and lifeless… I won’t be going back.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about University Theatre on Jun 10, 2011 at 10:55 am

In the early 60’s Richard Burton was in Toronto appearing onstage in the John Gielgud production of Hamlet. One morning Burton’s new movie Becket was being screened in 70mm at the University for the local critics. As the lights dimmed and the film began, Elizabeth Taylor quietly took her place at the back of the theatre to watch her new husband’s new movie. No one in the audience even knew she was there.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Pressure to go digital stresses small town theaters such as the Ganado Cinema on Feb 27, 2011 at 4:39 pm

I have to agree with Evan Chase. Digital is here to stay and there’s no sense in complaining about it. If I had my way the industry would produce and distribute movies on 70mm film for projection onto giant curved screens. But that ain’t gonna happen. On the other hand, I have to agree that there are many relatively low cost digital projectors that can produce a quality image on a screen under 25 ft. in width. The industry should make provision for cinemas with small auditoriums. A digital projector selling for almost $100,000 is overkill, total unnecessary and will mean the end of many small town (and even medium town) cinemas. This means that millions of potential moviegoers will end up watching current movies at home. Doesn’t the industry realize that this kills off the idea of movies as something special? Skip the cinemas and these products morph into TV programs… nothing special. Just one of thousands of moving images flickering by on our flat screen TV’s while we wash the dishes and feed the cat.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Nortown Theatre on Feb 13, 2011 at 10:31 am

The Nortown was operated by Famous Players Theatres, but on occasion 20th Century Theatres would do the booking. How this worked I don’t know, but I was in charge of the art dept. at 20th Century at that time and the Nortown would sometimes end up being advertised in our newspaper ads instead of the Famous Player’s display.

The Nortown was also equipped with 70mm projection, but the screen was just an average size which did nothing to enhance the 70mm viewing experience.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about UltraStar upgrades its Garden Walk Theater in Anaheim on Feb 2, 2011 at 10:10 am

All I can say is: hurray for the Garden Walk Theater. My local cinema charges an extra $5.00 for a digital IMAX presentation on top of what a lot of my friends (myself included) already consider a hefty ticket price. On the other hand, a dollar or two increase would be reasonable.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about UltraStar upgrades its Garden Walk Theater in Anaheim on Feb 1, 2011 at 11:11 am

UltraMax, ETX, or any of the other SuperX auditoriums – really who cares? Bigger is not necessarily better unless a feature film is shot in a higher resolution format to begin with and designed specifically to be viewed on an oversize screen. This is not being done. In the 50’s and 60’s cinematographers shot beautifully composed 70mm pictures that took advantage of those eye-popping, deeply curved Dimension 150 and Cinerama screens. Now all we’re getting is the same old movie overly magnified to fill an oversize screen. Dear me, I almost forgot to mention the higher admission price they charge for this added wonder. All I can add to this is “buyer beware.”

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Exclusive one month engagement of "2001" in Toronto on Jan 29, 2011 at 10:43 am

WOW! What else can I say? Thanks Bill.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Exclusive one month engagement of "2001" in Toronto on Jan 26, 2011 at 9:55 pm

Bill, I’m both pleased and flattered that you have my ads (which I suspect you found on Roland Lataille’s Cinerama wesite) displayed in your office.

I only wish we still had theatres like the Glendale Cinerama to design ads for. Looking back on it now, I realize how lucky I was to be part of that experience. At 20th Century Theatres we routinely reworked the standard studio ads to try to generate excitement about going to the movies – and sometimes we succeeded. 2nd Big Year and still going strong? That’s something we’ll not see again.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Exclusive one month engagement of "2001" in Toronto on Jan 1, 2011 at 2:18 pm

Unfortunately, the 70mm showing of 2001 at Tiff was a disappointment. Their flat screen is actually smaller than the screen I had installed when I ran Toronto’s Roxy theatre, an independent rep house I ran many years ago.

Keep in mind that Kubrick designed his epic to be viewed on massive Cinerama screens. I vividly remember seeing 2001 at the Glendale in Toronto (which I prepared all the ads for) and also at the Capitol in NY. Watching 2001 on those huge deeply curved screens was almost a religious experience. At Tiff I was not overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased as punch that we get to see 70mm presentations in Toronto again, but why or why did they not install a decent size screen? It’s really a shame because other than that “little” problem, they have terrific facilities.

Jon Lidolt
Jon Lidolt commented about Ave Atque Vale: Let's hear it for skilled projectionists as they pass into history on Dec 12, 2010 at 5:52 pm

I’ve worked in the film business, both in exhibition and production since the late 50’s, I also ran a rep cinema for almost 10 years and remember with horror the problems I had with a few union projectionists. To be fair, we had prints arrive in horrible condition: some had to be cleaned, bad splices remade, cue marks added so that changeovers could be made and even leaders added to the reels so that the film could be threaded. Thank heavens for our regular projectionist. That being said, I also had nights where a relief projectionist would come in drunk, didn’t know how to run the equipment or simply couldn’t be bothered to check the focus. One night the audience of about 400 people started chanting we want our money back – and rightfully so. The masking kept opening and closing, the curtains suddenly closed in the middle of the movie and one changeover was made to a machine without a lens in place. I threw him out and ran the film myself. The union called the next day and threatened me. I told then in no uncertain terms that if something like that happened again, and I had to give refunds to disgruntled patrons, the union would be getting a bill and hearing from my lawyer. Never heard from them again. On the other hand, our regular house projectionist was always on the ball and fortunately loved movies. We were one of the lucky ones.

Nowadays I live about 10 minutes away from an all-digital AMC 24 screen megaplex. I have to admit that I do miss the showmanship: the pre-show music fading away, the dimming of the house lights, the curtains opening, etc. but in a way I don’t really mind because both the IMAX and the 4K digital presentations are flawless.