AMC Lincoln Square 13
1998 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
1998 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
78 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 1,707 comments
Here’s a question for all of you…what was the first non-imax 70mm feature shown here during its first few years of operation?
bigjoe59, I can tell you that as recent as Dec 2017 to March 2018, I ran “Phantom Thread” here in 70MM 5 shows a day. When the print went back, Focus was amazed that it looked to be in the same condition it was when it was shipped. Im not saying Im perfect, cause Im not. Its just how I was taught to handle film. Its too bad theatres got rid of professionals in the late 90s/early 2000s and put kids in the booth. Thats what really gave digital the boost it needed.
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since I get the impression markp works at this theater and he’s an expert on handling of film prints 70mm especially it seems totally appropriate to ask him about how long a film print 70MM or otherwise will last.
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to markp- many thanks for your reply. after I sent it the thought occurred to me that how worn or not a print might be after a long long roadshow had more to do with care the projectionist gave to the print and the projection equipment. the roadshow run of The Sound of Music at the Rivoli was even longer than Funny Girl’s at the Criterion. TSOM ran at the Rivoli from the first week of March 1965 to the last week of Sept. 1966.
bigjoe59, although the roadshows were before my time, I started in 1976, My father who was a projectionist for 55 years had told me that sometimes prints would get worn but for the most part back then you had professional projectionists who cared for the prints. And i know from my own personal expieriance that I ran Star Wars for 32 weeks, sometimes 5 or 6 shows a day, or Jurassic Park for 9 months 4 to 5 shows a day and even Titanic for 7 months. Same print. No damage. No scratches. It all depended on who was running it and how clean the equipment and booth was.
If a print is worn out or is ready to break during a show it can be replaced with a new print from the studio which costs money to reproduce. When film transtioned to digital for most mainstream theaters the last decade, it made it easier for movie studios to send companies the digital files to play on the projector with no loss in quality unless the computer system required to decode the file crashes. I have had no issues during digital showings in which the system crashed at my local theatre.
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to markp- you are an expert at showing movies on film especially 70MM so I have a question for you and it has to do with traditional roadshow engagements. Funny Girl opened at the Criterion Theater the 3rd week of Oct. 1968 and played on said engagement till Feb. 1970. though the film played at the most twice daily by Feb. 1970 wouldn’t the print have been a tad worn? or did they as a matter of course replace prints that had rather long roadshow engagements?
hdtv267, Tenet was supposed to be in 70MM here and the Regal E Walk. I run the 70 at both theatres. We have not been notified when to show up to get things ready. Im getting the feeling it wont come out until Christmas. Just a vibe I get when I talk to my contacts.
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for people who have seen big blockbuster type films in both the IMAX and Dolby theaters which would say is the better experience?
Looks like Tenet is being delayed until Aug. 12 due to what’s going on…the 10th anniversary reissue of Inception will be shown on Tenet’s release date a week after Mulan comes out unless Disney delays it much like they’re doing with their theme parks.
Antoine Doinel I am guessing was named for Truffaut’s iconic character…wow!
Antoine Doinel, when Hateful Eight first came out the 70MM was put in by BL & S for Weinstein Pictures. After the run the equipment was sold to Warner Bros. Im guessing AMC wanted it in the big house. In 2018 when I went to work there for a company who installed temporary 70MM in house 2 we ran Murder on the Orient Express for one month. After that I believe Warner Bros wanted their equipment returned to house 2. We then ran Phantom Thread there in 70MM for 13 weeks. As far as I know the equipment is still in house 2 and will not be moved in the future.
@markp @xbs2034 That’s too bad that 70mm was removed from house #1. I saw Dunkirk in there in Super Panavision 70mm and it was great. AMC really stinks. House #2’s screen isn’t big enough to get the full effect of 70mm (I saw Hateful Eight in 70mm in house #2).
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I have an interesting situation I hope someone has advise on. i recently ordered the 4K discs of Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them after getting a gift card for a prominent online retailer as a birthday gift. I happened to see all three films at this theater when they were released. when i received the package a blind person could tell all three discs were opened returned re-shrink wrapped discs. so I contacted said online retailer got s refund of the gift card after\ returning the discs. so I thought I’d order them from the WBShop where I’d certainly get brand new factory sealed discs in their think cardboard sleeve. guess what? the Batman v Superman was such but the Wonder Woman and Fantastic ……… discs were again opened returned re-shrink wrapped discs. what online retailer can I get brand new factory sealed in their thin cardboard sleeves discs from. i thought the WBShop would sell such but even they sell used returned re-shrink wrapped discs as new.
Well, imagine masking with the huge screen in the IMAX theater here at Lincoln Square when non-IMAX films are shown! Wouldn’t that be a project!!
I remember an art theater at 34th St. and Second Ave where narrow black strips would come down from the top of the screen at the beginning of the movie to mark where the sides of the movie would be. Not sure how they handled the height.
(Side note: I’ve always wondered why TV went with the “wider-screen” format but many programs/commercials chose 16:9. Wonder if they ever considered the standard to be 16:9? When I saw my first new TV screen in the “wide screen” format I stated it’s not the wide screen I’m used to!! Interesting they were showing a 16:9 movie that didn’t use the full screen!)
My tv can perfectly show stuff in its aspect ratio when its shown properly.
Masking is mainly a generational thing. I watch a lot of old TV shows that are 4:3 and on a widescreen TV am now used to seeing bars. Hopefully outcry of the Simpsons being cropped on Disney+ will lead to fewer shows being adjusted to fit 16:9 screens. But the downside will mean people will be more and more used to bars in the top or the sides, and masking will eventually totally disappear. I like masking but can live without it. As people go to fewer movies, a lot people haven’t even noticed.
Let’s be fair now. Netflix' takeover of the Belasco and Paris for their own Oscar bait premieres was quite a blast from the past in Showmanship.
bigjoe59, Im 61 and I agree. But remember, in todays theatres there is no showmanship anymore.
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to markp- I thank you for your reply since I know you have personal knowledge in the area. but to reiterate my original comment I think not properly masking screens is a sign of poor showmanship pure and simple. I’m in my 60s and have been an avid moviegoer virtually since I could walk. to which the non-masking of screens is a relatively recent event. so if it was done for all these years why stop now.
AMC and Regal are building new screens and renovating theatres without masking. Some AMC theatres have wide screen auditoriums that a scope film won’t be distracting. The AMC Village VII (screens 1, 2 and 3 are scope screens), AMC 19th Street East (1, 2,4,5 and 6 are scope screens, haven’t seen theatre 3) and AMC Roosevelt Field #3 and #8 are scope screens.
Some of the early AMC renovations to recliners have masking, but now AMC is opting for NO MASKING. Hopefully, when the AMC 34th is done, it should all be scope screens.
At Lincoln Square, avoid the downstairs screens #10 thru 12, the masking for FLAT films are smaller when they went digital.
bigjoe59, the answer is simple. First, masking requires motors and cables to operate. They can and do break down. Second, when digital came into theatres, the image on the edges was so sharp, it looked like it was masked. It was better than anything you could get with 35MM. Whenever we filed aperture plates on 35 or 70MM we always went a touch over onto the black masking to get a sharp image. Third, with only managers in the booths now and no one around, its just easier as the digital projectors are programmed to adjust film format for 1.85 or 2.35. Masking could be programmed, but if it broke down that’s it. Its all about the $$$$$$. And as a 44 year veteran, I hate it too.
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to markp- who have been most helpful in answering questions about the technical side of movie exhibition so here goes with a new one. why did theaters come to the decision to stop masking screens? whether a film is shown in the 1.85.1 ratio or the 2.35.1 ratio to see white bars on the top and bottom or at the sides I find distracting. I would say its poor showmanship for theaters to not properly mask screens.
definitely imax70mm film
The 70MM projectors are owned by Warner Bros and are installed in cinema 2, the Kings. I was informed a 70MM release is coming this summer of the new Nolan movie, so Im sure I will be here or at the Regal on 42nd street running them.