Loew's Jersey Theatre

Thanks Rob for another entertaining and informative post. Where would we be without REndres contributions to Cinema Treasures

REndres… I posted some images from a 1978 RCMH souvenir booklet over on the Hall’s page here. It features photos and mention of a lot of folks who worked at the Hall at the time (yourself included), if you care to check it out. You probably have a number of such booklets in your possession, but I thought I’d mention it. I posted them about a week or so ago. I purchased the booklet while attending the Easter Show that year, which featured what was to have been (but wasn’t) the Hall’s final attraction, the movie “Crossed Swords”.

In reference to the above: the 2.55 ratio was the original ratio for CinemaScope 35mm composite magnetic releases. The ratio was achieved by printing on stock with narrower than normal perforations (Fox hole sprockets had to be installed on projectors to run composite four-track mag prints.) I wonder if the Jersey will be able to secure (or run) the original mag prints. When we did the restoration of “A Star Is Born” at Radio City we ran a 35mm optical print interlocked to four-track 35mm full coat mag reels, since the only four-track prints weren’t in good enough condition in terms of picture. They recorded the mag tracks from the composite over to mag 35mm full coat, and used the best existing 2.35 optical print or negative to strike the picture (which also carried the 35mm optical track.) I raised the issue with Doug Edwards of the Academy about the original aspect ratio being 2.55, and we debated whether or not to cut plates that would crop the top and bottom of the frame to give a 2.55 ratio. I thought that Cukor would have preferred to have all of the picture information available used, so we ran it 2.35. Interestingly enough, I bought a copy of “The Robe” on LaserDisc only to find that it was 2.35. The DVD copy came out advertised as being 2.55, and sure enough it is, but putting a still frame of each up and switching between the formats revealed that Fox had cropped the top and bottom of the frame to achieve the 2.55 ratio — the sides were basically the same.

In regards to the VistaVision projector question — there are a number of the machines around. Boston Light & Sound has two, and I ran VistaVision dailies on “Men In Black”, “Jungle 2 Jungle” and “Michael” at Sound One in New York, where Vista Vision was used for some of the action and for plates. While we had one of the two B.L.& S. machines, the other was at Bob Harris'place where he was working on the “Vertigo” restoration. In addiiton, I worked with the Hansards of background projection fame, and they may have had some of the original projection heads and did have the Mitchell VistaVision process projection heads that had been used at Paramount where the Hansards had worked during the glory days of VistaVision. One of the stories they told me (which may be apocryphal) was that Paramount’s head process D.P. Farciot Eduart was eventually let go, and in retaliation he took the index he had of stock footage plates in the Paramount vaults. Thus Paramount had thousands of feet of VistaVision plates with no way of identifying what was on each roll.

By the way, I believe only the first three films were actually shown in horizontal VistaVision in theatres in this country. They would be “White Christmas”, “The Far Horizons” and “Strategic Air Command”. The VistaVision machines we had at the Hall were taken out after the “White Christmas” screenings. Unlike 70mm projectors which could screen normal 35mm prints, VistaVision projectors could only screen horizontal prints (that might have included Technirama if they had released enough prints at the same time) and most booths couldn’t accomodate those machines and the standard 35mm machines at the same time. Radio City was one of the few booth that even had four machines, and there the VistaVision mahcines were placed in the effects ports just outside of the main booth.

Ten Commandments was never shown in VistaVision. Not even on its original roadshow engagments.

I believe you are correct, Bob. I just eyeballed the new print of Rebel without a Cause that I’m running this Saturday, March 4, at the Lafayette in Suffern and it appears to be the standard 2.35 ratio.

With the upcoming early cinemascope coming to Loews at a 2.55 ratio the screen will be fairly small. Maybe almost half the size of a screen used for 1.85.
I saw it once at the Music Hall for a revival of Seven Brides and it was was amazing.

Thanks for the info SteveJKo… It’s almost understandable that during the widescreen craze of the roadshow era a reissue of “Gone With the Wind” would have been gussied up in stereophonic sound and cropped to a 1.85:1 ratio. It’s hard to imagine, however, that in the “enlightened” era of late 80’s film restoration (when “GWTW” was itself restored in full 1.37:1 Academy ratio), a film like “The Ten Commandments” would have its image cropped for reissue.

Ed Solero… I cant say what version the Jersey will be showing, but Im sure it will be excellent anyway.I can`t remember what format it was released in in the 80s, but the version I saw was magnificent- and the color did NOT look bleached out like it looked in GWTW when I saw it at Radio City in the mid 70s.So it is written…..

The TEN COMMANDMENTS is usually shown on the Channel 7 movie on Easter night, but there will be no comparison to seeing it on the big screen- the way it is supposed to be seen.I remember seeing a re release of it at the Loew1s 46th.St theater in Brooklyn in the summer of 1966 and another re release of it on St Patricks Day in 1984 at a theater on Bway in NY.I can`t remember what theater it was, but I went with my friend Mike B{ More of a film buff than theaterbuff} and the print quality and presentation were first rate. You just HAVE to see the parting of the Red Sea on the big screen! One of the best special effects { for my money anyway} ever filmed. Oh almost forgot The Plagues and the Exodus.

re: APE marathon: I saw all five at the Plaza in Paterson. Same times as the Central., What is going on here?? 10 Commandments?? at the Loews?? I just heard the Ziegfeld is planning a 70MM Lawrence of Arabia on mar. 24th??? WOW>>this is great

10 Commandments will run on Sunday March 26th starting at 2pm in the afternoon. They have secured an excellent condition, archival original release, dye transfer Technicolor print for the showing.

So let it be written, so let it be done…

/Mitchell :)

Bob, I agree with most of what you’re saying, but the 1.37 is the old academy ratio, right, which is almost square. And the 1.85 is the new “flat” which takes up the full screen. But then when you have the scope ratio of 2.35, you have less height but the same width, which means less screen space.

So, at the Loew’s Jersey, 2.35 is bigger than 1.37, but the 2.35 is smaller than the 1.85.