Historical Note: The SYOSSET was the first custom-built Todd-AO 70mm theatre in the world. (Every venue that ran Todd-AO presentations prior to the SYOSSET were retrofits.)
Earlier in this thread, two people claimed seeing “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Crest in 1968. I think this is highly doubtful considering “2001” played an exclusive run at the Esquire from the time it had its area premiere in June 1968 through spring 1969. Perhaps the posters were thinking of a subsequent engagement. But then, perhaps one theatre is being confused with the other.
It seems a lot of people have fond memories of seeing “2001” in the theatre. For those folks, here’s a link to a little something I researched regarding its original release. Page 2 of the article is a list of the original hard-ticket, reserved-seat roadshow engagements. Well, most of ‘em anyway.
I remember vividly that ‘89 engagement at the Dome! That was the first time I had ever seen “West Side Story,” and the presentation made a big impression on me. Details here: View link (scroll down to September 29)
Although, as far as I know, no bookings have been made, I feel confident it will screen somewhere in L.A. at least once in the near future. We on the West Coast have been VERY lucky the last few years in regard to large-format classics. In fact, I’ll take this opportunity to relay just how cool it was to see the new 70mm print of “Grand Prix” just a few weeks ago, not to mention the slate of stuff recently screened at the Egyptian and Aero!
Peter,
You’re correct; MGM currently own the rights to “West Side Story.” Sony had the rights, briefly, which was when they did some restoration work and had the print struck. (It’s getting more and more confusing trying to keep straight all of the studio mergers and acquisitions and who owns what.)
JSA,
Not sure about the sound format; it’s probably DTS. Not sure about any bookings, either. If the Ziegfeld is only a platter booth, then that might be a dealbreaker, as has been mentioned earlier in this discussion, regarding the possibility of booking “archive” and limited quantity prints.
Forrest136,
Lousy list? Seems more like you have lousy taste in movies. :–)
I notice that “West Side Story” is among the Ziegfeld’s scheduled classics. Coincidentally, I’ve heard that Sony (who now owns the rights) has recently struck a new 70mm print…
I’d can suggest taking a peek at the following pages. Assuming you already know the R&H titles in question, you should be able to find some of the information you’re seeking.
Regarding the June 7 screenings of “Lawrence Of Arabia” and “The King And I” mentioned a few posts back, that event also included a birthday party/roast/tribute to Tomlinson Holman, best known as the developer of the THX Sound System. For those who may have an interest, here is a link to some pics:
“TSOM did move to the Shore but I am not sure if it was April 66 or 67.” (Mikeoaklandpark on May 22, 2006)
“Does that mean that SOM played from May ‘65 until '67 at the Virginia and then moved to the Shore?” (Vincent on May 22, 2006)
It definitely was not in April of ‘66. “The Sound Of Music” played exclusively at the Virginia on a reserved-seat basis from spring '65 through the fall of '66. The Shore engagement would not have been with reserved seats nor would it have been a move-over.
The answer to your question might be Brad Miller, who was a projectionist at the Northpark for many years. I’d suggest visiting his website www.film-tech.com and asking the question in one of the forums.
Oh, and the Tomlinson Harlon you mention is actually Tomlinson Holman (the “T' and "H” of “THX”).
The theatre is gone. I was in Westwood Village the other day and couldn’t help but notice the huge hole in the ground where the Plaza once sat. The whole block of Glendon to the north of where the theatre was located is being redeveloped.
The Stillwell Theatre in Bedford is indeed the Cinema Treasure in question. The address I have, however, is 290 Broadway (sourced from 1960s era Plain Dealer newspaper ads), which would place it a block or two away from the 310 Broadway address supplied in the previous post.
The Stillwell’s engagement of “The Sound Of Music” was a “Special Selective Engagement” (AKA a modified roadshow) premiering in February 1967 and running for 15 weeks.
Sorry I do not have anything else on the theatre. But for more on the original showings of “The Sound Of Music,” see: View link
To clarify, Nashville had two Cinerama venues: the Crescent (which showed 3-strip Cinerama) and the Belle Meade (which showed 70mm promoted as Cinerama).
OK, so the projected image is disappointing, but I bet the sound was good. The Belle Meade ran lots of 70mm six-track mag over the years.
A distorted image on giant, curved screens has long been the chief complaint for places like the Cinerama Dome in L.A. and other venues with a similar set-up. I’m not much of a fan of curved screens unless the film being shown was intended for a curved-screen presentation (and not that many were).
‘MUSIC’ PROBABLE FINALE FOR ATLANTIC CITY SITE BEFORE URBAN RENEWAL
“Sound of Music” (20th Century-Fox) continues to draw remarkable crowds to the Virginia Theatre where it shortly will go into its 900th consecutive showing, the longest run of any single motion picture in the history of the resort.
It opened last season on May 27, 1965 and played throughout the summer. George A. Hamid Jr., theatre operator, decided that it would draw during the winter months also, and kept the house open when all others on the boardwalk closed.
In fact, it may be the last motion picture to ever play there, as the theatre is due to be razed in the resort’s massive urban renewal program which will clear 10 city blocks bordering on the boardwalk.
So did this theatre not actually close in late ‘66 as the article suggested?
The grand opening included a Dimension-150 demonstration. I’m not sure if they ever actually ran anything in D-150 or any other deluxe format. They did run some roadshow titles but apparently not on a roadshow basis. Someone told me that he thinks the place at some point had a 70mm Bollywood festival.
It seems reasonable that a non-Dolby-encoded mag stereo print could have been what the Cine Capri ran during the initial weeks of the film’s release…except that I am not aware of any such prints being made, at least for distribution in the U.S. “Star Wars,” if you’ll recall, was the first attempt at a “wide” release in Dolby Stereo. To support that, I believe all of the prints struck for distribution during the initial limited-market launch (43 engagements; May 25-27, 1977) were Dolby-encoded, whether or not they actually got played in that format. (From mid-June ‘77 onward, the majority of the 35mm prints in circulation were genuine Academy mono prints. With this in mind, what else besides a Dolby-encode could’ve been on the optical track of those early prints? And if they were mag-striped, the optical track would have been compromised since half of it would have been covered by one of the mag stripes.)
Only about 2/3rds of the inital-wave theatres actually had a Dolby System installed in time for the release, so I suppose it is possible that, to give those theatres an opportunity to show off the film’s stereophonic mix, special mag prints were provided until those theeatres had a Dolby unit installed. But I don’t buy that, at least not for every situation, since none of those theatres in question were promoting any presentation format in their newspaper advertising, and I really don’t believe Dolby (the company) had any clout at that time to dictate advertising and promotional terms.
In my mind, with perhaps an occasional exception, “No Advertising = Monaural Sound Presentation.”
One other possibility: Phoenix did start out with a 70mm print. I do believe at one time Phoenix was considered for a 70 since that market’s advance advertising mentions 70mm and Dolby. But by the day before the film’s release, those tags disappeared and would not return until four months later. And the month in which those notations re-appeared coincides with the Dolby CP100 install date…
But we’re going in circles because if they started out with a stereo presentation, no matter what the exact format, why wouldn’t it have been promoted???
I’m not sure anyone really knows for sure, and this event was so many years ago that folks' memories, even if they’re correct, can and should be questioned. As for my reasons for researching this stuff, I hope the readers here understand where I’m coming from. That is, as a journalist or historian, if I’m writing an article or a book or whatever, by necessity I’m forced (no pun intended) to take a serious, research-oriented approach, and I much prefer to acquire information via documentation and published info rather than someone’s memory.
Historical Note: The SYOSSET was the first custom-built Todd-AO 70mm theatre in the world. (Every venue that ran Todd-AO presentations prior to the SYOSSET were retrofits.)
I believe the SYOSSET’s most successful engagement was the 78-week run of “The Sound Of Music.”
Another long, successful run was “How The West Was Won” at 43 weeks.
View link
View link
Is this the same theatre as the LANDERS 400?
Earlier in this thread, two people claimed seeing “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Crest in 1968. I think this is highly doubtful considering “2001” played an exclusive run at the Esquire from the time it had its area premiere in June 1968 through spring 1969. Perhaps the posters were thinking of a subsequent engagement. But then, perhaps one theatre is being confused with the other.
It seems a lot of people have fond memories of seeing “2001” in the theatre. For those folks, here’s a link to a little something I researched regarding its original release. Page 2 of the article is a list of the original hard-ticket, reserved-seat roadshow engagements. Well, most of ‘em anyway.
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2004/2001/release.htm
Confirmed via microfilm of The Oklahoman newspaper. The Continental opened on Oct. 21, 1965.
I remember vividly that ‘89 engagement at the Dome! That was the first time I had ever seen “West Side Story,” and the presentation made a big impression on me. Details here:
View link (scroll down to September 29)
Although, as far as I know, no bookings have been made, I feel confident it will screen somewhere in L.A. at least once in the near future. We on the West Coast have been VERY lucky the last few years in regard to large-format classics. In fact, I’ll take this opportunity to relay just how cool it was to see the new 70mm print of “Grand Prix” just a few weeks ago, not to mention the slate of stuff recently screened at the Egyptian and Aero!
Peter,
You’re correct; MGM currently own the rights to “West Side Story.” Sony had the rights, briefly, which was when they did some restoration work and had the print struck. (It’s getting more and more confusing trying to keep straight all of the studio mergers and acquisitions and who owns what.)
JSA,
Not sure about the sound format; it’s probably DTS. Not sure about any bookings, either. If the Ziegfeld is only a platter booth, then that might be a dealbreaker, as has been mentioned earlier in this discussion, regarding the possibility of booking “archive” and limited quantity prints.
Forrest136,
Lousy list? Seems more like you have lousy taste in movies. :–)
I notice that “West Side Story” is among the Ziegfeld’s scheduled classics. Coincidentally, I’ve heard that Sony (who now owns the rights) has recently struck a new 70mm print…
Newspaper advertisements and trade coverage suggest to me that “Empire” opened on Wednesday the 21st, not Friday the 23rd.
I’d can suggest taking a peek at the following pages. Assuming you already know the R&H titles in question, you should be able to find some of the information you’re seeking.
View link
View link
http://www.in70mm.com/library/70mm_in/london.htm
Regarding the June 7 screenings of “Lawrence Of Arabia” and “The King And I” mentioned a few posts back, that event also included a birthday party/roast/tribute to Tomlinson Holman, best known as the developer of the THX Sound System. For those who may have an interest, here is a link to some pics:
View link
And speaking of Mr. Holman, he celebrated a birthday recently. Here’s a link to a photo gallery of the event.
View link
The “Cerwin-Vega Sensurround” subwoofers you’re thinking of may be the ones installed for 70mm-MegaSound presentations ca. 1980.
“Tora! Tora! Tora!” (late 1970/early 1971).
“TSOM did move to the Shore but I am not sure if it was April 66 or 67.” (Mikeoaklandpark on May 22, 2006)
“Does that mean that SOM played from May ‘65 until '67 at the Virginia and then moved to the Shore?” (Vincent on May 22, 2006)
It definitely was not in April of ‘66. “The Sound Of Music” played exclusively at the Virginia on a reserved-seat basis from spring '65 through the fall of '66. The Shore engagement would not have been with reserved seats nor would it have been a move-over.
The answer to your question might be Brad Miller, who was a projectionist at the Northpark for many years. I’d suggest visiting his website www.film-tech.com and asking the question in one of the forums.
Oh, and the Tomlinson Harlon you mention is actually Tomlinson Holman (the “T' and "H” of “THX”).
The theatre is gone. I was in Westwood Village the other day and couldn’t help but notice the huge hole in the ground where the Plaza once sat. The whole block of Glendon to the north of where the theatre was located is being redeveloped.
“Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century” was shown in 70mm with “Star Wars” at the Cinema 21 in San Francisco.
The STILLWELL is the subject of this news item:
http://cinematreasures.org/news/14328_0_1_0_C/
The Stillwell Theatre in Bedford is indeed the Cinema Treasure in question. The address I have, however, is 290 Broadway (sourced from 1960s era Plain Dealer newspaper ads), which would place it a block or two away from the 310 Broadway address supplied in the previous post.
The Stillwell’s engagement of “The Sound Of Music” was a “Special Selective Engagement” (AKA a modified roadshow) premiering in February 1967 and running for 15 weeks.
Sorry I do not have anything else on the theatre. But for more on the original showings of “The Sound Of Music,” see:
View link
To clarify, Nashville had two Cinerama venues: the Crescent (which showed 3-strip Cinerama) and the Belle Meade (which showed 70mm promoted as Cinerama).
OK, so the projected image is disappointing, but I bet the sound was good. The Belle Meade ran lots of 70mm six-track mag over the years.
A distorted image on giant, curved screens has long been the chief complaint for places like the Cinerama Dome in L.A. and other venues with a similar set-up. I’m not much of a fan of curved screens unless the film being shown was intended for a curved-screen presentation (and not that many were).
From VARIETY (July 20, 1966):
‘MUSIC’ PROBABLE FINALE FOR ATLANTIC CITY SITE BEFORE URBAN RENEWAL
“Sound of Music” (20th Century-Fox) continues to draw remarkable crowds to the Virginia Theatre where it shortly will go into its 900th consecutive showing, the longest run of any single motion picture in the history of the resort.
It opened last season on May 27, 1965 and played throughout the summer. George A. Hamid Jr., theatre operator, decided that it would draw during the winter months also, and kept the house open when all others on the boardwalk closed.
In fact, it may be the last motion picture to ever play there, as the theatre is due to be razed in the resort’s massive urban renewal program which will clear 10 city blocks bordering on the boardwalk.
So did this theatre not actually close in late ‘66 as the article suggested?
Opened in August 1965.
The grand opening included a Dimension-150 demonstration. I’m not sure if they ever actually ran anything in D-150 or any other deluxe format. They did run some roadshow titles but apparently not on a roadshow basis. Someone told me that he thinks the place at some point had a 70mm Bollywood festival.
It seems reasonable that a non-Dolby-encoded mag stereo print could have been what the Cine Capri ran during the initial weeks of the film’s release…except that I am not aware of any such prints being made, at least for distribution in the U.S. “Star Wars,” if you’ll recall, was the first attempt at a “wide” release in Dolby Stereo. To support that, I believe all of the prints struck for distribution during the initial limited-market launch (43 engagements; May 25-27, 1977) were Dolby-encoded, whether or not they actually got played in that format. (From mid-June ‘77 onward, the majority of the 35mm prints in circulation were genuine Academy mono prints. With this in mind, what else besides a Dolby-encode could’ve been on the optical track of those early prints? And if they were mag-striped, the optical track would have been compromised since half of it would have been covered by one of the mag stripes.)
Only about 2/3rds of the inital-wave theatres actually had a Dolby System installed in time for the release, so I suppose it is possible that, to give those theatres an opportunity to show off the film’s stereophonic mix, special mag prints were provided until those theeatres had a Dolby unit installed. But I don’t buy that, at least not for every situation, since none of those theatres in question were promoting any presentation format in their newspaper advertising, and I really don’t believe Dolby (the company) had any clout at that time to dictate advertising and promotional terms.
In my mind, with perhaps an occasional exception, “No Advertising = Monaural Sound Presentation.”
One other possibility: Phoenix did start out with a 70mm print. I do believe at one time Phoenix was considered for a 70 since that market’s advance advertising mentions 70mm and Dolby. But by the day before the film’s release, those tags disappeared and would not return until four months later. And the month in which those notations re-appeared coincides with the Dolby CP100 install date…
But we’re going in circles because if they started out with a stereo presentation, no matter what the exact format, why wouldn’t it have been promoted???
I’m not sure anyone really knows for sure, and this event was so many years ago that folks' memories, even if they’re correct, can and should be questioned. As for my reasons for researching this stuff, I hope the readers here understand where I’m coming from. That is, as a journalist or historian, if I’m writing an article or a book or whatever, by necessity I’m forced (no pun intended) to take a serious, research-oriented approach, and I much prefer to acquire information via documentation and published info rather than someone’s memory.