Film Forum

The Film Forum might have outbid those other theaters (or chains) for ‘Saraband’, may have made an initial deal with Sony Pictures Classics to run an exclusive engagement, only for that portion of the arrangement to have later been dropped, or there might have been some other sort of ‘gentleperson’s agreement’ or original arrangement made for it to have been booked there concurrently with the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

I beleve she came for the 6:30 showing of “Follow Thru” so the seats would have been roped off for that film also.

I was at the 8 PM screening of “June Moon” and the show was sold out. I bought my ticket 3 hours in advance and the stand-bye line went half way up the block. By the way in attendance at this show was former actress and “Game Show” legend Kitty Carlisle. She was sitting right behind me and she really looked great for her age.

File under ‘Huh?’ – today’s ad in the Arts & Leisure section of the NY Times makes mention of this week’s upcoming engagement of ‘East of Eden’… at the Film Forum AT 57 WATTS STREET… never mind that Film Forum moved out of that address in 1989/90 and that the building was torn down shortly thereafter…

So everyone go see the Haunting tomorrow night at the Loews Jersey and/or go see the great Jean Arthur tonight at the Film Forum. Not everyone’s got to have a gimmick.

They did have one, in the old Film Forum. I think it was 1987 or 1988. They called it “Gimmick-O-Rama” and they showed all the Castle gimmick movies with the gimmicks re-created (including “Mr. Sardonicus” and the Punishment Poll). There were other gimmick movies included too, like “Wicked, Wicked” in Duo-Vision. This festival went on for several weeks!

At the first night’s screening of “13 Ghosts” (in Illusion-O), William Castle’s wife and daughter were sitting in the row behind me.

… and “House on Haunted Hill” with the flying plastic skeleton, “Homicidal” with the Fright Break and the Coward’s Corner, etc. They even had to turn people away from a screening of “Queen of Outer Space” starring Zsa Zsa Gabor.

They’re missing a good bet if they don’t program these movies again someday. It’s been quite a few years since they were last shown.

Hardbop, I also wish FF would bring back the annual summer sci-fi and fantasy films, even if it’s just for one summer. They used to draw huge crowds to the old Film Forum – I remember a line going around the block for “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.”.

The programming at Film Forum can’t be beat. It’s the best in the country, rivaled perhaps only by Los Angeles’s American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater. The concurrence of new films with retrospective films is absolutely brilliant, keeping this as a first-run venue while declaring the immortal relevance of past cinema.

It’s not the greatest place in the world to watch a movie, though. Far from it. It’s great seeing stuff on 35mm, and Film Forum almost always gets great prints. But the theaters are so small, it’s hardly a cinematic experience, nor is it very intimate. Spaces are narrow and screenings usually sell out, so there’s no leg room — you have to sit with both legs together, feet on the ground — and it’s easy to knock elbows or shoulders with the patron seated next to you. Furthermore, during the winter, the only option for stashing your winter coats is under the seat.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to see pristine prints of “Days of Heaven” and “Bound For Glory” while I lived in NYC, but the cramped atmosphere of Film Forum also cramped the epic grandeur of these films.

Also, the projected image has a foamy-looking texture, for some reason. Perhaps it’s the screens themselves.

Also, films are occasionally out-of-focus and the floor staff and/or management will argue the point and refuse to fix the problem. This happened on a few occasions, notably with ‘The Hidden Fortress,’ which, to date, I have not seen but would have had Film Forum sharply focused it.

Now, the good stuff. Film Forum is one of the only venues to regularly program silent films (at least one retrospective per year will include silent films), and live piano accompaniment is usually provided. Sound is usually good, the best available prints are nearly always obtained, and the lobby is attractive, with some nice food behind the concession counter and some even nicer people.

It’s also quite a bargain, if you’re a member. If I recall correctly, as a member, I’d get two-films on a double-bill for only $5. That means, brilliant prints of ‘Imitation of Life’ and ‘Written on the Wind’ for only five dollars. You’ll pay about the same price at the New Beverly in Los Angeles for ratty old prints, creaky seats and even creakier sound, for the micro-luxury you get at Film Forum.

In summary, this is a New York City staple.

That Murnau show is going to be really something. I noticed that “The Last Laugh” was photographed by Karl Freund, later director of “The Mummy” and the camera man for “I Love Lucy.” I think his work on that TV series played as large a part in its success as anything else, including the writers and cast; that show shimmers and sparkles and glows. It’s so beautiful to look at, which immediately stops you from channel surfing when you happen across it. I saw a crossover “Make Room For Daddy” at the Museum of Televsion with Lucy and Ricky Ricardo visiting, not lit and photographed by Freund, and all the luminescent magic was missing from the look of the film.

Camden

Thanks, byranb, for the update on the Elgin !

I love the Film Forum’s programming. By the time I’d seen 99% of their Chaplin festival back in ‘97, I was dreaming that I was Chaplin. They ran out of film to show just in time to save my sanity. The remarks here really focused something I’d never really consciously paid that much attention to, which is that the theatres really are just small screening rooms, unfortunately. They should find a better theatre; with the backing of that foundation and the surfeit of closed theatres in New York City, that shouldn’t be too difficult to do. I’d suggest trying the Commodore Theatre in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Two huge screens with an impressive ceiling downstairs, it’s a truly magnificent theatre recently closed, and I imagine they could buy it for a song. It’s right at the JMZ subway line at Marcy Avenue, the very first stop going out of Manhattan, so it’s quite convenient to the usual clientele. It is a shame for the Film Forum’s superb screenings to be limited to such tiny screens and theatres when the situation could be fairly easily remedied, I think.

Camden