Comments from bigjoe59

Showing 876 - 900 of 1,248 comments

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Feb 13, 2015 at 8:35 pm

Hello-

as a fellow poster said these large theaters cost way to much to heat during the winter and cool during the summer. plus the last nail in the coffin for these large theaters was the end of exclusive first runs whether roadshow or continuous performance and wide or showcase releases. for the Roxy the cost of heating it nowadays would be astronomical and far more than any hit film could bring in.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Feb 13, 2015 at 3:15 pm

Hello-

on this site’s pages for many of the late but great beloved movie palaces people are always lamenting their demolition. but as grand and glorious as these movie palaces were by 1959-1960 they had become just plan economically unviable as single screen 1st run movie theaters. in fact even as revival theaters they would have been even more economically unviable. people forget its called show “business” not show philanthropy.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Feb 12, 2015 at 4:23 pm

Hello-

that is most certainly true but those plaques honoring former Loews theaters are in many cases wrong. for instance the one for the Capitol says it was torn down at the end of 1967 which we all know is not true.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Feb 11, 2015 at 3:59 pm

Hello-

i thank my fellow posters for their replies. I still would love to know why Paramount chose not to open it on a roadshow engagement.

also I wonder what the audience’s reaction was
in 1956 to seating thru a 3hr. 28min. film with
no intermission.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Feb 9, 2015 at 6:02 pm

Hello-

the book I mentioned does in fact state that W&P’s run at the Capitol was a roadshow engagement. in fact one of the last roadshow runs in Manhattan The Trojan Women starring Katherine Hepburn played the Fine Arts Nov. 1971 is mentioned nowhere in the book. in my review on Amazon where I bought it I suggested the author do a revised edition to correct all the factual errors.

three quick questions about War and Peace from 1956.

*it was a large scale historical epic the typical roadshow material and just about 3 and a half hours. so why didn’t Paramount choose a roadshow run for it?

*since it was 3hrs. 28mins. did it at least have an intermission? eventhough as you say it was run on a continuous performance basis I can’t believe they’d run such a long film straight thru.

*since it was a prestigious exclusive 1st run engagement did it at least have a souvenir program?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Embassy 1,2,3 Theatre on Jan 28, 2015 at 8:00 pm

to patryan6019-

the traditional soft cover souvenir program for The Lion In Winter that i own was also published by Ronark Pub. i don’t have a souvenir program for Patton. i saw it at my local theater not during its roadshow run at the Criterion. since Tora Tora Tora also from Fox had a program when it opened in Nov. i should think Patton did as well.

also my collection of 137 movie souvenir programs spans the years 1925 -1997.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Jan 26, 2015 at 2:00 pm

Hello-

thanks for your reply. according to “Movie Roadshows” by Kim Holston is was a roadshow run. 3hrs. 28mins. seems awfully long certainly in 1956 for a continuous performance film without an intermission.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Loew's Capitol Theatre on Jan 25, 2015 at 6:28 pm

Hello-

this past Tues. Paramount Home Video released a blu-ray disc of War and Peace from 1956. to which i have two questions.

*the blu-ray disc has a running time of 3hrs.
28mins but there’s no intermission. i can’t
believe the film didn’t have an intermission
during its roadshow run.

*i have a rather large collection of souvenir programs. now in all the years i’ve been collecting them and in all the memorabilia shops i’ve been in i have never come across a souvenir program for War and Peace. did it not have one?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Uptown Theatre on Dec 11, 2014 at 6:11 pm

Hello-

I thank my fellow posters for any info about Circus World’s Cinerama reserved seat engagement at the Uptown. granted its not Oscar material but I found it even on vhs to be a corny hokey enjoyable popcorn
movie. so I should think on a giant curved screen with stereophonic sound it would have been that much more enjoyable. to which its roadshow run of only 3 weeks at the Uptown is just utterly bizarre when you consider its roadshow runs in other cities lasted from 15 to 23 weeks.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 23, 2014 at 3:30 pm

Hello-

since this is the movie theater in Manhattan today i have a question for my fellow Ziegfeld devotees. the 1st time movies or flickers as they were called were projected on screen in a theater before a paying audience was the night of April 25, 1896 at Koster and Bail’s Music Hall on 34th St.. and the rest as they say is history. now for the first several of the biz whatever “movie theaters” existed in Manhattan were music halls, vaudville theaters, legitmate theaters or decent sized unused retail spaces that were simply converted top show movies.

which is where my question comes in. i have been trying to determine what was the 1st theater built in Manhattan brick by brick by the ground up with the purpose of being a picture house to use the old term. anyone have any clues?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Cinema Village on Nov 20, 2014 at 4:54 pm

Hello-

I always thought the Cinema Village which has been a beacon for film goers for at 50? years was built from the ground up as a movie theater. but I read it was actually built within the gutted skeletal structure of an 1890s firehouse. how much of the firehouse actually exists?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on Nov 20, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Hello Again From NYC-

thanks for all the replies. I know I set a rather tight parameter but I was interested in what grand old time theaters other than the Chinese that were built from the get go as 1st run venues have continued to operate as such since the day they opened. the area in an around Hollywood is luck they have 3 that fit my criteria, Manhattan doesn’t have any.

also where is the Vista?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on Nov 18, 2014 at 6:43 pm

to Roger A.–

thanks for your quick reply. unfortunately the grand El Capitan doesn’t qualify since it wasn’t built as a movie theater. it opened in 1926 as a legitimate theater for live shows and didn’t start showing films till Citizen Kane in 1941. so based on your reply other than the Chinese the Village and Bruin theaters both in Westwood are the only old time movie theaters in or around Hollywood that were built from the get go as 1st run venues and have continued to operate as such since the day they opened?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 18, 2014 at 5:19 pm

to Bill H.–

I know what you mean about Oscar bait films not living up to the hype. I saw Birdman based on all the Oscar juggernaut/hoopla talk. well it was 2hrs. of my life wasted i’ll never get back. and the final third or resolution section of Gone Girl totally ruined the film for me.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on Nov 18, 2014 at 5:13 pm

Hello From NYC-

I would greatly appreciate it someone answered my question of Oct. 14. thanks.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 16, 2014 at 8:52 pm

Hello-

I saw the film last weekend but not at this theater which I had planned to but as they say things happen. now I thought the sound at the theater I saw it at was fine. so might someone explain to me what the complaints are about.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:07 pm

Hello to All-

if I am not mistaken its been everyone’s assumption that the reason the curtains at the Ziegfeld hadn’t been used in God knows how long was because the mechanism to open and close them was broken. plus neither Clearview nor Bow Tie wanted to spend the money to fix said mechanism. but apparently said mechanism isn’t broken so why haven’t the curtains been used in God knows how long?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 6, 2014 at 5:46 pm

Hello Again-

did I understand correctly that the curtains were
used for the 1st time in God knows how long?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Embassy 1,2,3 Theatre on Nov 6, 2014 at 5:42 pm

Hello to All-

several months back I posted a question and I was wondering if anyone had any new info. the question was simple. April 25, 1896 was a pivotal point in movie history , it was the 1st time movies were projected on a screen in a theater before a paying audience. the theater being Koster Bail’s Music Hall at Bway & 34 St.. now whatever “movie theaters” existed in Manhattan in the first several years of the biz were music halls, vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters or decent sized unused retail spaces simply converted to show “flickers”. so wouldn’t the 1st theater built brick by brick from the ground up as a “picture house” been made note of in the press at the time?

the first i was able to find was the Crescent which was located at 36 W. 135 St. and opened on the nite of Dec. 16 ,1909.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Nov 6, 2014 at 5:28 pm

to MarkP.–

the reason the Ziegfeld is never “packed” to use your term no matter how good the film might be is quite simple- whatever big film opens here also opens at countless other theaters in Manhattan. and people naturally go to theaters closest to them.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Roxy Theatre on Nov 2, 2014 at 5:55 pm

Hello Again-

thanks for the reply to my question. I knew when the Roxy was closed but had no idea what the last film was. I had never heard of the “The Wind Cannot Read” so I naturally assumed it was a B movie but according to MarkD. that’s not the case. I had no idea “The Gazebo” was the last big studio film to debut at the Roxy.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Roxy Theatre on Nov 2, 2014 at 4:06 pm

Hello-

I first posted this question some time ago so I was wondering if anyone had additional info. at the point the Roxy was closed the movie biz was still operating on the A Level, B and even C Levels of movie production. so what was the last big A Level studio film to play the Roxy?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Blog Hiatus on Oct 27, 2014 at 3:23 pm

Hello-

i am a tad confused. at the top of this page there are- Home,Theaters,Photos,Video, Blog and About. so is just the page denoted by “Blog” going on hiatus or is the entire wonderful site going puff?

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Oct 21, 2014 at 4:40 pm

Hello-

like Bill H. I hope the film is as good as all the hype its getting. also I know I will get into whatever showing I want. the film will be playing at several other theaters in Manhattan and for some reason people consider this theater “off the beaten path”.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on Oct 14, 2014 at 5:59 pm

Hello From NYC-

i have a question for my fellow L.A film buffs. this theater is the only one of the grand old movie theaters built in the hayday of such construction that was as built as a 1st run venue and has continued to operate as such since the day it opened. so i was wondering what is the second oldest movie theater in L.A. that was built from the get go as a 1st run venue and as continued to operate as such since the day it opened.