Chris: I also think “The Sound of Music” has a good shot at playing the Dome, along with the other two you mentioned. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when the tickets go on sale. If only I didn’t live 3,000 miles away …
There’s also a gift shop like the one Terry mentioned at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, in the forecourt, and it gets a LOT of tourist traffic as you’d expect. The book would most likely sell really well there too.
Warren: The ads were explained a couple of days ago on the homepage:
In a few weeks, Cinema Treasures will have been online for seven years.
As many of you know, a few months ago we moved this website to a much more powerful (and expensive) server. The new server has been fantastic, and has really helped us keep up with the growth of this website and our traffic.
However, the monthly cost of maintaining this project has become more than either of us can support without additional funding. After seven years, we’ve definitely reached a point where we need your support.
Starting next week, we will begin accepting donations. As well, we’ll be including some tasteful, text-based advertisements on our pages to help offset costs. (Don’t worry… they won’t be annoying.)
And they aren’t annoying. I didn’t even notice them until you pointed them out.
Thanks, Rory, for referring to me as an expert on “2001”. Even though William answered your question, I can’t think of a better thing for someone on this site to call me. You made my day!
Robert Osborne mentioned that in the Hollywood Reporter:
“The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and "Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.)"
I last saw it the same time you did, Ed. I mostly remember Sammy Davis Jr.’s scenes. But it was on a black and white TV, which is why I was so looking forward to seeing it right, at the Ziegfeld.
“The Great Escape” was the first movie I saw in a theater all by myself (October 1963, age 8), and I got to relive that experience on Saturday at the Lafayette. I found myself recoiling in my seat when Ives tried to jump the wire and when Henley and Blythe went down in their small plane, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen to everyone in the movie at all times. That’s what a big screen and a beautifully restored movie palace will do for you.
Thanks, Pete. I wonder if the potential cancellation has anything to do with the Gershwin estate. Didn’t they make sure the movie could not be shown for many, many years?
Saps: I saw “Pete’s Dragon” at the Music Hall and was so bored by it that I spent most of its running time daydreaming about what “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was going to be like. That was opening at the Ziegfeld later in the week.
Irv: “Porgy and Bess” is on the schedule at the Ziegfeld on movietickets.com. One show at 8 PM on 9/26 and three shows on 9/27. I expect these shows might sell out if the word gets out.
Rory: I had a similar reaction after seeing “Beneath”. My cousin and I went to see “The Out-of-Towners” at Radio City Music Hall later that day. When we got within sight of the theater my cousin said, “There’s Radio City – before the apes got to it!”
Rory: I too saw “Beneath” at the Loew’s State 2. What a comedown from the 1968 original, but it was good for a few laughs. More than a few, now that I look back on it. Even the closing credits were funny: Victor Buono was listed as “Fat Man” and black actor Don Pedro Colley was billed as “Negro”.
Now that the debate is over, all I can say is, I wish there was still a theater in New York that had three operational Cinerama booths, whether they were visible or not. Roadshow, you’re lucky to be living in a city that does still have such a theater. Even though they haven’t shown Cinerama for two years, they’re bound to do it again someday.
Back to the Ziegfeld, which is still a source of pride for New York even without the three booths: Movieguy, at one point I thought people in the audience were talking behind me during “Saturday Night Fever”. I soon realized that it was part of the surround soundtrack. Very impressive!
I think the Ziegfeld will be closed after “Saturday Night Fever” ends its run on 9/6, until “Porgy and Bess” comes in on 9/26 for two days only. The marquee currently has the Hollywood Classics display up, which gave me hope for a Classics series like we had last year at this time, but I guess not.
Last night’s “Saturday Night Fever” show featured some of the best uses of the surround channels I’ve ever heard at the Ziegfeld. All the songs sounded amazing. I was surprised by the small turnout, though – less than half the people that were there for “Grease” last October. Maybe everyone’s away for the Labor Day weekend?
The original 1959 ads for “Porgy and Bess” outside the Ziegfeld say “Produced in Todd-AO”. Whatever format they show it in, 35mm or 70mm, that’s got to be one of the rarest classic movie engagements we’ve had in New York for many years. We should all patronize it!
Forrest136: I’d say the Ziegfeld’s screen is quite big enough for an impressive 70mm presentation, especially if you sit in the front half of the theater. I know some people here don’t agree with that, but I’ve had some fantastic 70mm experiences there over the years (“2001”, “Close Encounters”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Vertigo”, “That’s Entertainment”, “Gandhi”, “My Fair Lady”, “Apocalypse Now”).
And I agree with you about “Hawaii” – an excellent movie that’s sadly underrated. Coming in at the end of the religious epic cycle, it was really Hollywood’s first (and only?) ANTI-religious epic.
I agree with Ed and Jeff: “Mad Mad World” looks incredible in 70mm and it’d be a knockout at the Ziegfeld. There are also new 70mm prints of “Cleopatra” and “Ryan’s Daughter” (still the Ziegfeld’s longest-running original engagement) that were shown in L.A. a few years ago.
Why should L.A. have all the 70mm fun? New York’s got the Ziegfeld!
Here’s Robert Osborne’s Hollywood Reporter article about “Porgy and Bess”:
NEW YORK — It was a much-touted, much-seen and in some quarters much-admired motion picture in its time, with four Oscar nominations (and one win) to its credit and a cast filled with talented people who, if not yet icons, certainly became so in the years after: Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr. and Diahann Carroll. We’re talking Samuel Goldwyn’s mammoth 1959 musical “Porgy and Bess,” a film that has not — except in a few rare instances — rolled through a projector in decades but will again Sept. 26-27 at the Ziegfeld in Manhattan amid much hoopla, all in conjunction with the publication of an extensive new biography on the film’s director titled “Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King,” written by Foster Hirsch, published by Knopf and headed for bookstores Oct. 21. … There are reasons the film version of George Gershwin’s famed folk opera has been unseen for the past 40-plus years. After a complicated birth (its original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was fired during production, with Preminger taking over; there also was a mysterious fire that destroyed much of the set and delayed production), the finished film drew some negative criticism for its “unrealistic, soundstage look,” while there also was strong opposition from several civil rights groups that felt “Porgy” in any form gave a slanted, unfavorable view of black American life. (The original stage version was similarly roasted when it premiered in 1935.) The movie opened as a roadshow attraction at New York’s Warner Theatre, with the New York Times' Bosley Crowther hailing it as “a stunning, exciting and moving film, packed with human emotions and cheerful and mournful melodies (that) bids to be as much a classic on the screen as it is on the stage.” Others disagreed, stunning Goldwyn. The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and “Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.) At the moment, whatever kept this movie under wraps seems to have if not evaporated at least mellowed, and one holds a hope that, if there’s not a theatrical reissue in the future, at least a DVD edition might be forthcoming. As Hirsch says in his Preminger book, “Whatever their objections, the estate has a moral responsibility to ensure that viewers have the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about this still contested work.” At least this two-day theatrical screening is a step in the right direction. It’s a particular gift for those who’ve always been eager to get a look at this piece of film ghostory, not only those in the black community but also curious historians and eager cinemaniacs who are devotees of Gershwin, Preminger, Poitier and Dandridge, all of who have been the subjects of an interest that’s grown a great deal since the film was launched 48 years ago. … That Sept. 26 date is a significant one for another reason: It’s Gershwin’s birthday, his 109th. “Porgy” is also the last film made by Goldwyn, whose career in film dated back to 1913.
“Porgy and Bess” was in Todd-AO. I wonder if the Ziegfeld will be showing it in 70mm. I must investigate this … I’ve only seen it on TV, and that was about 40 years ago.
Chris: I also think “The Sound of Music” has a good shot at playing the Dome, along with the other two you mentioned. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when the tickets go on sale. If only I didn’t live 3,000 miles away …
There’s also a gift shop like the one Terry mentioned at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, in the forecourt, and it gets a LOT of tourist traffic as you’d expect. The book would most likely sell really well there too.
Warren: The ads were explained a couple of days ago on the homepage:
In a few weeks, Cinema Treasures will have been online for seven years.
As many of you know, a few months ago we moved this website to a much more powerful (and expensive) server. The new server has been fantastic, and has really helped us keep up with the growth of this website and our traffic.
However, the monthly cost of maintaining this project has become more than either of us can support without additional funding. After seven years, we’ve definitely reached a point where we need your support.
Starting next week, we will begin accepting donations. As well, we’ll be including some tasteful, text-based advertisements on our pages to help offset costs. (Don’t worry… they won’t be annoying.)
And they aren’t annoying. I didn’t even notice them until you pointed them out.
Thanks, Rory, for referring to me as an expert on “2001”. Even though William answered your question, I can’t think of a better thing for someone on this site to call me. You made my day!
Uh-oh – the streetcar was “named” Desire.
The Loew’s has announced their first shows of the season, with 5 Oscar-winning performances between them:
The Anti-Heroes
Friday October 5th, 8PM: “A Streetcar Naned Desire"
Saturday October 6th, 6 PM: "Bonnie and Clyde"
Saturday October 6th, 8:45 PM: "Cool Hand Luke”
Robert Osborne mentioned that in the Hollywood Reporter:
“The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and "Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.)"
I last saw it the same time you did, Ed. I mostly remember Sammy Davis Jr.’s scenes. But it was on a black and white TV, which is why I was so looking forward to seeing it right, at the Ziegfeld.
“The Great Escape” was the first movie I saw in a theater all by myself (October 1963, age 8), and I got to relive that experience on Saturday at the Lafayette. I found myself recoiling in my seat when Ives tried to jump the wire and when Henley and Blythe went down in their small plane, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen to everyone in the movie at all times. That’s what a big screen and a beautifully restored movie palace will do for you.
Thanks, Pete. I wonder if the potential cancellation has anything to do with the Gershwin estate. Didn’t they make sure the movie could not be shown for many, many years?
Saps: I saw “Pete’s Dragon” at the Music Hall and was so bored by it that I spent most of its running time daydreaming about what “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was going to be like. That was opening at the Ziegfeld later in the week.
Irv: “Porgy and Bess” is on the schedule at the Ziegfeld on movietickets.com. One show at 8 PM on 9/26 and three shows on 9/27. I expect these shows might sell out if the word gets out.
Someday Radio City will show movies to the public again, even if it’s only for one night. I just hope it’s in my lifetime :)
Rory: I had a similar reaction after seeing “Beneath”. My cousin and I went to see “The Out-of-Towners” at Radio City Music Hall later that day. When we got within sight of the theater my cousin said, “There’s Radio City – before the apes got to it!”
Rory: I too saw “Beneath” at the Loew’s State 2. What a comedown from the 1968 original, but it was good for a few laughs. More than a few, now that I look back on it. Even the closing credits were funny: Victor Buono was listed as “Fat Man” and black actor Don Pedro Colley was billed as “Negro”.
Now that the debate is over, all I can say is, I wish there was still a theater in New York that had three operational Cinerama booths, whether they were visible or not. Roadshow, you’re lucky to be living in a city that does still have such a theater. Even though they haven’t shown Cinerama for two years, they’re bound to do it again someday.
Back to the Ziegfeld, which is still a source of pride for New York even without the three booths: Movieguy, at one point I thought people in the audience were talking behind me during “Saturday Night Fever”. I soon realized that it was part of the surround soundtrack. Very impressive!
I think the Ziegfeld will be closed after “Saturday Night Fever” ends its run on 9/6, until “Porgy and Bess” comes in on 9/26 for two days only. The marquee currently has the Hollywood Classics display up, which gave me hope for a Classics series like we had last year at this time, but I guess not.
Actually, all of us in the New York area should patronize it. Sorry for the dopey statement.
Last night’s “Saturday Night Fever” show featured some of the best uses of the surround channels I’ve ever heard at the Ziegfeld. All the songs sounded amazing. I was surprised by the small turnout, though – less than half the people that were there for “Grease” last October. Maybe everyone’s away for the Labor Day weekend?
The original 1959 ads for “Porgy and Bess” outside the Ziegfeld say “Produced in Todd-AO”. Whatever format they show it in, 35mm or 70mm, that’s got to be one of the rarest classic movie engagements we’ve had in New York for many years. We should all patronize it!
Forrest136: I’d say the Ziegfeld’s screen is quite big enough for an impressive 70mm presentation, especially if you sit in the front half of the theater. I know some people here don’t agree with that, but I’ve had some fantastic 70mm experiences there over the years (“2001”, “Close Encounters”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Vertigo”, “That’s Entertainment”, “Gandhi”, “My Fair Lady”, “Apocalypse Now”).
And I agree with you about “Hawaii” – an excellent movie that’s sadly underrated. Coming in at the end of the religious epic cycle, it was really Hollywood’s first (and only?) ANTI-religious epic.
I agree with Ed and Jeff: “Mad Mad World” looks incredible in 70mm and it’d be a knockout at the Ziegfeld. There are also new 70mm prints of “Cleopatra” and “Ryan’s Daughter” (still the Ziegfeld’s longest-running original engagement) that were shown in L.A. a few years ago.
Why should L.A. have all the 70mm fun? New York’s got the Ziegfeld!
Warren: I didn’t even know about the “War and Peace” screenings until I saw them mentioned here. I hope I don’t get turned away.
Here’s Robert Osborne’s Hollywood Reporter article about “Porgy and Bess”:
NEW YORK — It was a much-touted, much-seen and in some quarters much-admired motion picture in its time, with four Oscar nominations (and one win) to its credit and a cast filled with talented people who, if not yet icons, certainly became so in the years after: Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr. and Diahann Carroll. We’re talking Samuel Goldwyn’s mammoth 1959 musical “Porgy and Bess,” a film that has not — except in a few rare instances — rolled through a projector in decades but will again Sept. 26-27 at the Ziegfeld in Manhattan amid much hoopla, all in conjunction with the publication of an extensive new biography on the film’s director titled “Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King,” written by Foster Hirsch, published by Knopf and headed for bookstores Oct. 21. … There are reasons the film version of George Gershwin’s famed folk opera has been unseen for the past 40-plus years. After a complicated birth (its original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was fired during production, with Preminger taking over; there also was a mysterious fire that destroyed much of the set and delayed production), the finished film drew some negative criticism for its “unrealistic, soundstage look,” while there also was strong opposition from several civil rights groups that felt “Porgy” in any form gave a slanted, unfavorable view of black American life. (The original stage version was similarly roasted when it premiered in 1935.) The movie opened as a roadshow attraction at New York’s Warner Theatre, with the New York Times' Bosley Crowther hailing it as “a stunning, exciting and moving film, packed with human emotions and cheerful and mournful melodies (that) bids to be as much a classic on the screen as it is on the stage.” Others disagreed, stunning Goldwyn. The movie ran 30 weeks at the Warner, then played dates around the U.S., but thereafter, except for a few TV airings in the 1970s, it virtually disappeared. Goldwyn’s rights expired after 15 years; despite attempts to renew them, the Gershwin estate turned a deaf ear, and “Porgy” has been sitting in a vault ever since. (It also was said that Poitier and others preferred that it disappear.) At the moment, whatever kept this movie under wraps seems to have if not evaporated at least mellowed, and one holds a hope that, if there’s not a theatrical reissue in the future, at least a DVD edition might be forthcoming. As Hirsch says in his Preminger book, “Whatever their objections, the estate has a moral responsibility to ensure that viewers have the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about this still contested work.” At least this two-day theatrical screening is a step in the right direction. It’s a particular gift for those who’ve always been eager to get a look at this piece of film ghostory, not only those in the black community but also curious historians and eager cinemaniacs who are devotees of Gershwin, Preminger, Poitier and Dandridge, all of who have been the subjects of an interest that’s grown a great deal since the film was launched 48 years ago. … That Sept. 26 date is a significant one for another reason: It’s Gershwin’s birthday, his 109th. “Porgy” is also the last film made by Goldwyn, whose career in film dated back to 1913.
“Porgy and Bess” was in Todd-AO. I wonder if the Ziegfeld will be showing it in 70mm. I must investigate this … I’ve only seen it on TV, and that was about 40 years ago.
I’m glad I got my Cinerama Dome and Cinerama logo fridge magnets in 2003. They gave them away, too, for “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”.