Question: When did the Ziegfeld put in a smaller screen…and WHY??? I remember seeing “Apocalypse Now” and others on what I thought was one of the largest screens I ever saw…until I went to the Astor Plaza (now closed)
That is the auditorium of the Central in Passaic?? I didn’t know it had a balcony?? What year is that?? It seems interesting with all the Kung-Fu films of the 70’s that that is the same theater.
Do you have any shots of other Northjersey theaters?
In regards to above postings it all goes back to what we originally said. The people in charge of these theaters are NOT movie pople, just corporate hacks. We’ll probably never see a 70MM classic on the big screen again (unless we go to England)
Talk about “broom closets”. I saw a screening of “Ben-Hur” a few years back. Figuring they would play such an epic on the Big Screen as it should have, they played it in one of their “broom closets”. On top of that, the picture kept loosing it’s framing and they didn’t turn the lights off. I had to get out of my seat 3 times to tell them. (High schoolers who know nothing of theaters as well as people who know nothing about movies)
I saw the film in NJ in 35MM an excellent print, but let me save you all who are debating where to see it…it is a horrible film, a complete bore, lousy acting, bad story, worse directing. Action scenes you’ve seen 200,000 times. Seeing it in DLP wouldn’t help your experience believe me, Ziegfeld or not…skip this one, wait for the DVD
Wasn’t the Central right acroos the street from the Capitol?? That’s where they had all the concerts..I saw The Cowboys there in ‘72…These Passaic theaters along with the Paterson theaters all went downhill as the 70’s progressed with the Blaxploitation and Kung Fu movies…What does that say about it?? Was it the times? the movies? the people? the management not caring anymore??
WoW…The Hyway as a premiere theater…those were the days…in 1974, they had the premiere of “The Savage is Loose” with an appearance by George C. Scott. I have the ad. Wonder if anone has pictures from that. Have you seen the marquee now at the Hyway. Man, talk about bland.
Somebody at WR obviously didn’t do his/her job…the telling of a downslide in quality..
Truthfully…for me at least…“Thief” is one of my all-time greatest flicks…I would have loved to see a pristine print of that..would have a been a great surprise
Great ADs!!! You are 200% correct. The art of movie advertising for a theater is a lost art. These ads actually make me sad because they bring back memeories from the better days of theaters and movies. How we took all that for granted huh?
When I was at Rt. 17 last week, there were highschool employees commiserating in the lobby (the theater was empty anyway, so what the hell else where they going to do?)but I also agree with the marquee. They put NO effort into it. The thinking is, the theater is gonna go bust any time now, so squeeze whatever you can before it dies, then another multiscreen plex with more bad movies, highschoolers who know nothing and managers without a clue.
BTW Bill, I saw Rocky III at the Bellevue in 70MM. It was a scope print, probably one of the only ones, 6-track and it was awesome. Naturally, I was dumbfounded when I saw it at Cinema46 #2 2 months later and it was a flat, mono print. I knew nothing then.
Also, saw “Last Temptation” at Ziegfeld also, they had a few picketers, security at the foot of the screen, and checked our bags. It was like a William Castle film. It was great.
Love the ads, keep em coming.
I think the $10 ticket price is a factor also plus, forgive me for saying, but many French films tend to move a little slow…I went to see “Atlantic City” cause it’s a classic and it has Burt. However, I made sure to get there early because I expected it to be a long line….to my satisfaction, there wasn’t, just got my ticket and walked in….I wonder how the Bing Crosby series will do?
did you see any of the 70MM flicks at this theater Pete??? What was it like??
Think the Lafayette will invest one day for a 70MM festival???? Charge $15 a ticket, alot of pre-advertising and you’ll get many from this site??
(I should’ve included this comment on the Lafayette site, but since I was here…sorry)
BTW…I always find it a shame that the parking lot of Rt. 17 is always empty…just think, they could host premieres in the upstairs big screen theater…what a waste!!! It’s a shame I didn’t have money to buy a theater like that…what I could do….(ranting here…we’re all dreamers)
I took pictures of it while it was being torn down…the interior…lots of memories there…it was the neighborhood theater, was there every week…in ‘73 saw all 5 Planet of the Apes movies…..
does anyone have any pics at all of the Plaza while it was still up??
I have a newspaper listing from 1982 when it played both Rocky III and Poltergeist in separate theaters….it said they were both 70MM….how could such a small screen theater play 70MM
While that’s good….it’s too bad that the main part of the Wellmont with it’s original procenium (if you’re in the upstairs theater, go to the corner of the front of the theater and peel back the curtain, you’ll see it) isn’t restored, refurbished and used for BIG movies and classic films instead of just sitting there, wasted while the Wellmont continues showing small movies with small screens, poor projection and mono sound (no wonder people are staying home) What a waste for a once great theater…
Are there any pictures of the Wellmont’s interior from when it was a single screen theater?
I just saw “Land of the Dead” at a matinee…there were 3 people there…the $4 ticket price was nice…but yes, it’s the nail in the coffin, it’s amtter of time…
as I sat in theater 1, downstairs on the left, I keep trying to visualize what the theater looked like as a single, it must have been enormous….also as a twin, some have said it was cut down the middle, with a balcony for each, I still wonder if it wasn’t just the balcony and bottom ??? they both were 70MM equiped, any pictures??
I was first at the Walter Reade in 2003 for a double (separate admission of course….which was a bummer) for “Wind and the Lion' and "Once Upon a Time in the West” (beat up print, but sold out house and a great experience. The curtain opened and closed, it was an awesome time, and a nice size screen.
This past weekend I saw “Atlantic City” with a brief lecture before hand. The print was clean and it was great seeing Burt Lancaster on the big screen again. It was a good time….my only gripe??….the theater seems to be slowly dilapidating…..the curtain remained open, no presentation like experience, the walls have stains on them and there’s a certain dank like appearance…isn’t it time for the Reade to have a makeover or cleanup??? It’s too good a theater.
The girl taking the tickets was courteous, she said, welcome to clearview etc. It was the box-office girl that was rude…wheres the manager during this. Why do they put people with no personality at the boxoffice where people are paying .
It would be nice if the Ziegfeld closed the Summer with a classic bigscreen film. But “That’ll be the day”
WOW…..Poltergeist and Prince/City….those were in the early 80’s…a long time ago. I remember seeing “Animal House” at a midnight show…it was packed..and I was on line for “Superman II” in ‘81 and got the next to last ticket sold for that night…it was awesome…70MM 6 track…..so many good memories and great presentations, which make it’s later years so much more sad…at least I saw the first 2 Star Wars there in 97, back to back as my last films. I only wish they stayed open 1 more week and played “Return of the Jedi” so I could have seen all 3 on the big screen there…
I ventured in to NYC to see “Revenge of the Sith” in Digital before it ends in a few days. I must say I was impressed. It was one of the hottest days and I see that the Ziegfeld has fixed the Air conditioner problem. maybe too good, I had to put a jacket on but didn’t mind. When I saw “Atack of the Clones” it was another hot day and the ac didn’t work, I baked. Another reason Ididn’t like the film. But now I saw all 3 new Star Wars on the Ziegfeld screen…and the digital for Sith was impressive. The curtain actually opened then closed before the previews, the closed curtains brought back “Apocalypse Now” memories from ‘79.
Question: How much theater remodeling have they done since the theater opened??
My only gripe…after paying a whopping $10.75, the box office girl never even looked up at me, she was busy writing a letter, and didn’t even say thank you….to quote C-3PO…“How rude”
Later, I went to the Walter Reade for a screening of “Atlantic City” great flick, great print, big screen….but that theater is starting to get the grundgy look, messy walls, no closed curtain….they need to remodel.
It’s a descent theater complex…I too saw “Entrapment” there as an opening…(well actually “Go” the day before) The prints are usually very good with descent sound…but I see the writing on the wall as this theater since opening is taking a downhill road as far as theater quality…the problems as the many that face multi-plexes is the highschool employees who are rude, clueless and slow. I can’t tell you how many times I’m waiting in line forever while the boxoffice person takes six years to sell a ticket….the problem isn’t always the employees, but also dumb patrons who act as if they never been to a theater before….the one that grates me is the idiots who go down the list of films asking the boxoffice person what they’re about and the employee explaining instead of moving the line….BTW….management is also a problem as at times I approached a manager about a problem I was rudely brushed off or given stupid info..(my first job was at a theater, I work in the business and I’ve forgotten more about this stuff than most of the managers know….
…another major problem….the windows to the projection booth are usually open enabling the sound of the projector to bleed through…you think they’d have the sense to close it…
…once you’re in your seat, to get up, go down the hall, find an employee, explain the problem…you miss minutes of the picture…a patron shouldn’t have to do this…the theater should constantly make sure the film goes off Ok….but once again, highschoolers and managers who know management but not movies..
….matinees, not enough box-office people
…and for god’s sake, these films cost a bundle (considering most of them suck) even the matinees are expensive $7.50 (I’m sure that’ll go up soon, I frequent Loews more now) so, train the employees on courtesy please.
Great ads Bill…I have alot that I copied also…it brings back great memories…I always liked walking down that long corridor where the artwork was displayed before entering the auditorium….That theater I believe was one of the last of the greats that was torn down….what was the last film you saw there??
Many memories of the Cinema 46. I saw the last film there in April 97…“Empire Strikes Back” and right before that, “Star Wars”..it was fitting since I saw “Empire” there in a re-release in 70MM in 81. When they went to $1.99 all shows I know it was doomed. It was once a premiere theater, curtain, 70MM 6-track stereo and all. I remember seeing “Tommy” in ‘75…what an experience. First film I saw there, “Live and Let Die” in '73. “Earthquake” in Sensurround, awesome. I used to walk there.
It was a shame that as the years went by the theater seemed to be run by highschoolers who didn’t know what Panavision was, and non-union projectionists. You could always hear the projector in the booth. The quality of the picture and sound faded rapidly as the 90’s hit. I remember walking out of a screeneing of “Goodfellas” after 10 minutes and telling the employee, “The projectionist needs to wake up” and got my money back. I was bummed when it was torn down, it was another great theater gone. At least when they went triplex they didn’t touch the main theater. Instead they made 2 all-new smaller theaters on the side of the building. Both these theaters were OK for a time but they pretty much were like watching films in a basement. No Dolby stereo, climate control was horrible, the projection was awful.
Does anyone have pics from the Cinema 46??? I really miss driving on route 46 and seeing the marquees of the Cinema 46 and the Totowa Cinema to see what was playing/
Question: When did the Ziegfeld put in a smaller screen…and WHY??? I remember seeing “Apocalypse Now” and others on what I thought was one of the largest screens I ever saw…until I went to the Astor Plaza (now closed)
Warren,
That is the auditorium of the Central in Passaic?? I didn’t know it had a balcony?? What year is that?? It seems interesting with all the Kung-Fu films of the 70’s that that is the same theater.
Do you have any shots of other Northjersey theaters?
In regards to above postings it all goes back to what we originally said. The people in charge of these theaters are NOT movie pople, just corporate hacks. We’ll probably never see a 70MM classic on the big screen again (unless we go to England)
Talk about “broom closets”. I saw a screening of “Ben-Hur” a few years back. Figuring they would play such an epic on the Big Screen as it should have, they played it in one of their “broom closets”. On top of that, the picture kept loosing it’s framing and they didn’t turn the lights off. I had to get out of my seat 3 times to tell them. (High schoolers who know nothing of theaters as well as people who know nothing about movies)
Posters….Re: “Island” DLP.
I saw the film in NJ in 35MM an excellent print, but let me save you all who are debating where to see it…it is a horrible film, a complete bore, lousy acting, bad story, worse directing. Action scenes you’ve seen 200,000 times. Seeing it in DLP wouldn’t help your experience believe me, Ziegfeld or not…skip this one, wait for the DVD
Then again, the FF only seats about 110 people
Wasn’t the Central right acroos the street from the Capitol?? That’s where they had all the concerts..I saw The Cowboys there in ‘72…These Passaic theaters along with the Paterson theaters all went downhill as the 70’s progressed with the Blaxploitation and Kung Fu movies…What does that say about it?? Was it the times? the movies? the people? the management not caring anymore??
WoW…The Hyway as a premiere theater…those were the days…in 1974, they had the premiere of “The Savage is Loose” with an appearance by George C. Scott. I have the ad. Wonder if anone has pictures from that. Have you seen the marquee now at the Hyway. Man, talk about bland.
Pete,
Is there a way to research the Lafayette’s past and find old newspaper (microfilm) ads as to what played there in year’s past?? NY Times??
Somebody at WR obviously didn’t do his/her job…the telling of a downslide in quality..
Truthfully…for me at least…“Thief” is one of my all-time greatest flicks…I would have loved to see a pristine print of that..would have a been a great surprise
Bill,
Great ADs!!! You are 200% correct. The art of movie advertising for a theater is a lost art. These ads actually make me sad because they bring back memeories from the better days of theaters and movies. How we took all that for granted huh?
When I was at Rt. 17 last week, there were highschool employees commiserating in the lobby (the theater was empty anyway, so what the hell else where they going to do?)but I also agree with the marquee. They put NO effort into it. The thinking is, the theater is gonna go bust any time now, so squeeze whatever you can before it dies, then another multiscreen plex with more bad movies, highschoolers who know nothing and managers without a clue.
BTW Bill, I saw Rocky III at the Bellevue in 70MM. It was a scope print, probably one of the only ones, 6-track and it was awesome. Naturally, I was dumbfounded when I saw it at Cinema46 #2 2 months later and it was a flat, mono print. I knew nothing then.
Also, saw “Last Temptation” at Ziegfeld also, they had a few picketers, security at the foot of the screen, and checked our bags. It was like a William Castle film. It was great.
Love the ads, keep em coming.
I think the $10 ticket price is a factor also plus, forgive me for saying, but many French films tend to move a little slow…I went to see “Atlantic City” cause it’s a classic and it has Burt. However, I made sure to get there early because I expected it to be a long line….to my satisfaction, there wasn’t, just got my ticket and walked in….I wonder how the Bing Crosby series will do?
did you see any of the 70MM flicks at this theater Pete??? What was it like??
Think the Lafayette will invest one day for a 70MM festival???? Charge $15 a ticket, alot of pre-advertising and you’ll get many from this site??
(I should’ve included this comment on the Lafayette site, but since I was here…sorry)
BTW…I always find it a shame that the parking lot of Rt. 17 is always empty…just think, they could host premieres in the upstairs big screen theater…what a waste!!! It’s a shame I didn’t have money to buy a theater like that…what I could do….(ranting here…we’re all dreamers)
I took pictures of it while it was being torn down…the interior…lots of memories there…it was the neighborhood theater, was there every week…in ‘73 saw all 5 Planet of the Apes movies…..
does anyone have any pics at all of the Plaza while it was still up??
I have a newspaper listing from 1982 when it played both Rocky III and Poltergeist in separate theaters….it said they were both 70MM….how could such a small screen theater play 70MM
What was it like as a single screen theater?
While that’s good….it’s too bad that the main part of the Wellmont with it’s original procenium (if you’re in the upstairs theater, go to the corner of the front of the theater and peel back the curtain, you’ll see it) isn’t restored, refurbished and used for BIG movies and classic films instead of just sitting there, wasted while the Wellmont continues showing small movies with small screens, poor projection and mono sound (no wonder people are staying home) What a waste for a once great theater…
Are there any pictures of the Wellmont’s interior from when it was a single screen theater?
does anyone know of or have any photos of the Bellevue and it’s marquee from when it was a single screen theater??
I just saw “Land of the Dead” at a matinee…there were 3 people there…the $4 ticket price was nice…but yes, it’s the nail in the coffin, it’s amtter of time…
as I sat in theater 1, downstairs on the left, I keep trying to visualize what the theater looked like as a single, it must have been enormous….also as a twin, some have said it was cut down the middle, with a balcony for each, I still wonder if it wasn’t just the balcony and bottom ??? they both were 70MM equiped, any pictures??
I was first at the Walter Reade in 2003 for a double (separate admission of course….which was a bummer) for “Wind and the Lion' and "Once Upon a Time in the West” (beat up print, but sold out house and a great experience. The curtain opened and closed, it was an awesome time, and a nice size screen.
This past weekend I saw “Atlantic City” with a brief lecture before hand. The print was clean and it was great seeing Burt Lancaster on the big screen again. It was a good time….my only gripe??….the theater seems to be slowly dilapidating…..the curtain remained open, no presentation like experience, the walls have stains on them and there’s a certain dank like appearance…isn’t it time for the Reade to have a makeover or cleanup??? It’s too good a theater.
The girl taking the tickets was courteous, she said, welcome to clearview etc. It was the box-office girl that was rude…wheres the manager during this. Why do they put people with no personality at the boxoffice where people are paying .
It would be nice if the Ziegfeld closed the Summer with a classic bigscreen film. But “That’ll be the day”
WOW…..Poltergeist and Prince/City….those were in the early 80’s…a long time ago. I remember seeing “Animal House” at a midnight show…it was packed..and I was on line for “Superman II” in ‘81 and got the next to last ticket sold for that night…it was awesome…70MM 6 track…..so many good memories and great presentations, which make it’s later years so much more sad…at least I saw the first 2 Star Wars there in 97, back to back as my last films. I only wish they stayed open 1 more week and played “Return of the Jedi” so I could have seen all 3 on the big screen there…
I ventured in to NYC to see “Revenge of the Sith” in Digital before it ends in a few days. I must say I was impressed. It was one of the hottest days and I see that the Ziegfeld has fixed the Air conditioner problem. maybe too good, I had to put a jacket on but didn’t mind. When I saw “Atack of the Clones” it was another hot day and the ac didn’t work, I baked. Another reason Ididn’t like the film. But now I saw all 3 new Star Wars on the Ziegfeld screen…and the digital for Sith was impressive. The curtain actually opened then closed before the previews, the closed curtains brought back “Apocalypse Now” memories from ‘79.
Question: How much theater remodeling have they done since the theater opened??
My only gripe…after paying a whopping $10.75, the box office girl never even looked up at me, she was busy writing a letter, and didn’t even say thank you….to quote C-3PO…“How rude”
Later, I went to the Walter Reade for a screening of “Atlantic City” great flick, great print, big screen….but that theater is starting to get the grundgy look, messy walls, no closed curtain….they need to remodel.
It’s a descent theater complex…I too saw “Entrapment” there as an opening…(well actually “Go” the day before) The prints are usually very good with descent sound…but I see the writing on the wall as this theater since opening is taking a downhill road as far as theater quality…the problems as the many that face multi-plexes is the highschool employees who are rude, clueless and slow. I can’t tell you how many times I’m waiting in line forever while the boxoffice person takes six years to sell a ticket….the problem isn’t always the employees, but also dumb patrons who act as if they never been to a theater before….the one that grates me is the idiots who go down the list of films asking the boxoffice person what they’re about and the employee explaining instead of moving the line….BTW….management is also a problem as at times I approached a manager about a problem I was rudely brushed off or given stupid info..(my first job was at a theater, I work in the business and I’ve forgotten more about this stuff than most of the managers know….
…another major problem….the windows to the projection booth are usually open enabling the sound of the projector to bleed through…you think they’d have the sense to close it…
…once you’re in your seat, to get up, go down the hall, find an employee, explain the problem…you miss minutes of the picture…a patron shouldn’t have to do this…the theater should constantly make sure the film goes off Ok….but once again, highschoolers and managers who know management but not movies..
….matinees, not enough box-office people
…and for god’s sake, these films cost a bundle (considering most of them suck) even the matinees are expensive $7.50 (I’m sure that’ll go up soon, I frequent Loews more now) so, train the employees on courtesy please.
Great ads Bill…I have alot that I copied also…it brings back great memories…I always liked walking down that long corridor where the artwork was displayed before entering the auditorium….That theater I believe was one of the last of the greats that was torn down….what was the last film you saw there??
Many memories of the Cinema 46. I saw the last film there in April 97…“Empire Strikes Back” and right before that, “Star Wars”..it was fitting since I saw “Empire” there in a re-release in 70MM in 81. When they went to $1.99 all shows I know it was doomed. It was once a premiere theater, curtain, 70MM 6-track stereo and all. I remember seeing “Tommy” in ‘75…what an experience. First film I saw there, “Live and Let Die” in '73. “Earthquake” in Sensurround, awesome. I used to walk there.
It was a shame that as the years went by the theater seemed to be run by highschoolers who didn’t know what Panavision was, and non-union projectionists. You could always hear the projector in the booth. The quality of the picture and sound faded rapidly as the 90’s hit. I remember walking out of a screeneing of “Goodfellas” after 10 minutes and telling the employee, “The projectionist needs to wake up” and got my money back. I was bummed when it was torn down, it was another great theater gone. At least when they went triplex they didn’t touch the main theater. Instead they made 2 all-new smaller theaters on the side of the building. Both these theaters were OK for a time but they pretty much were like watching films in a basement. No Dolby stereo, climate control was horrible, the projection was awful.
Does anyone have pics from the Cinema 46??? I really miss driving on route 46 and seeing the marquees of the Cinema 46 and the Totowa Cinema to see what was playing/