Well Kino also put out Sweet Charity. Let’s hope they manage to not make the same mistake they made with that one with TMM. Remember these people who are doing the work probably weren’t even alive during the roadshow era so they don’t know what the experience was like.
Columbia gave two huge hits like BBB and Oliver! to Twilight Time. Who can figure out why these decisions are made?
Did you go to the Astor Plaza Aids benefit of TMM where Andrews was supposed to appear but canceled due to ill health? Channing did appear of course. Letters were read from the other cast members including Moore, Fox and Gavin. Joel Siegel introduced the film and for some idiotic reason went on to trash it. Channing then in the most charming way imaginable as the experienced pro she was went on to trash him.
Who knows what the hell he was thinking when he was speaking to an audience of TMM fans.
Yes the 4 hour Cleopatra after its restoration had a couple of theatrical showings on its 50th anniversary. I went twice and thought it was wonderful. The 4 hours flew by. What I would give to see the Mankiewicz 6 hour original cut.
I have the bluray of SOM but haven’t watched it. A number of people are saying the shades of the colors are wrong. I’m surprised the 4k version hasn’t come out. It’s a prime candidate. Who knows? I thought the American in Paris bluray was terrific and I saw beautiful Technicolor prints of it back at the Regency in the 70s yet people complain about it.
I understand that The King and I’s bluray is very disappointing and projectionists who ran SOM in roadshow say the bluray got the colors wrong. Sometimes I think the people doing these blurays are too young to know or don’t know where to look for elements.
None of them were around to see original presentations or at this point even going to revival houses during their heyday.
Do you have the MFL 4k? Except for the flower images(sadly) during the titles it is spectacular.
But it was a Todd AO print. So it was not a general release print. How could it be? They would have had to have cut down the roadshow prints which makes little sense.
I’m think that by the time Fox video prepared the bluray no roadshow prints survived including the one I saw. Strange that Oklahoma survived beautifully and that two monster hits like 80 Days and South Pacific did not. Or did you or someone else say you actually saw an 80 Days 70mm print? If so why hasn’t it been released on bluray?
When I saw South Pacific in Todd AO at the Warner Cinerama in ‘78 I doubt that was cut. I’m sure it was an original 70mm print from the late 50s. It looked it. But it was still utterly magnificent and I never liked the film on TV. And I still don’t like the color filters. Still Todd AO and 6 track stereo is there anything better?
Unless that print was tossed these people did not do their job. But then people today don’t know.
I believe the decline of midtown and Times Square began with the destruction of all the great buildings that were its anchor. Starting with the Roxy but really accelerating in the mid 60s.You had Penn Station, the old Met, the Paramount, the Astor, the Claridge, and the Capitol. People were avoiding the area because there was bleak construction going on seemingly on every other block, the streets were getting darker because of the skyscrapers going up and the middle class had no reason to go to midtown any more for entertainment bringing in the criminals and sleaze that the 70s an 80s were famous for. Of course the Disneyfication of the area that was to follow was even far worse than that. I was stunned that anything could be worse, but it was.
I remember as a boy going through the Bergen Record and seeing My Fair Lady playing a reserved seat engagement at the Claridge. Did it play on the Cinerama screen in 70mm? Was anybody in it during this period? Montclair had 3 hard ticket houses. The Bellevue, the Claridge and the Wellmont. That’s a lot for a suburban town when New York city was not that far from it. I wonder how well these reserved seat engagements did. SOM obviously did very well as it played longer there than at Manhattan’s Rivoli.
Oops sorry. I left out ‘summer.’ Variety said it would be Broadway’s first summer without a roadshow playing in many years. When I mentioned Fiddler I meant that there was only one more summer with a Broadway roadshow.
When Variety announced that Hello Dolly was closing at the Rivoli it said that this would be the first time in 15 or 18 years(I don’t remember which because there were the Cinerama films) Broadway would be without a roadshow film. There would only be one more Fiddler in ‘72.
The failure of Man of La Mancha (I couldn’t figure why they gave it the roadshow treatment when nobody was clamoring for it, and it probably was why SOM opened its re-release at the National and not the Rivoli, such a missed opportunity for me, even though La Mancha ended its run there before the re-release) finally finished off the Hollywood roadshow. It should have opened continuous run or at Radio City where it would have had some sort of success.
Good to hear. I’ve only watched bits and pieces of it on TV and have never had it in any video format. The only time I saw it in its entirety was when I saw it at the Embassy in Times Square. It had a full audience(which surprised me as this was the 80s) and was a lot of fun.
I thought with a 4k release it was about time to have it and watch it again.
Now when do we get Ben Hur in 4k? I’m a big Chuck, DeMille and Wyler fan.
Wow. CCI What do you think of the recent 4k of Commandments? I got it but I haven’t seen it yet. Was it a mistake?
And do you think that test reel shown in ‘67 is in anyone’s archive? The only classic films blown up for 70mm release that I’ve known of was the very successful roadshow release of GWTW in '67 and then the very odd choice of The Jolson Story released at the Ziegfeld where I assume a third of the visual information went missing.
GWTW doesn’t bother me so much because that is how I got to know the film when it came to the suburbs in ‘68 where I assume it was show in Panavision. And then in 70mm at the Rivoli in '74 and the Bellevue in Monclair. As wrong as it is it’s stuck in my head as a wide screen movie. I wonder what my reaction would be to it now if a print still existed which I doubt.
Maybe you know this CCI. Why didn’t Lean film Zhivago in 70mm? Because Ponti wanted to save money? Didn’t Lean have the clout at this point to say it has to be in 70mm? Most major roadshow films were still being filmed in 70mm at this point. It seems unusual to me.
Well I saw a few 70mm films on the Rivoli’s large curved screen and there were no focus problems. On the Warner Cinerama’s curved screen as well when they had their 70mm festival. I understand when Lean’s Lawrence was restored he wanted it on a flat screen in London. When Zhivago had its world premiere at the Capitol in NY did he not like the curved screen? Did anybody see it there.
The screen version of the famous stage show, which Twentieth Century-Fox has produced and which opened last night at the Criterion with a benefit showing for the Police Athletic League, is a tremendously big picture. It runs for close to three hours and fills a huge arcing panel that goes with its projection process, Todd-AO.
The Todd AO screen at the St James in Asbury Park where I saw Hello Dolly had a flat screen and so did Radio City when it showed the Todd AO Airport. It was just another 70mm format it seems.
When the Criterion showed South Pacific I believe I read in the initial reviews it was shown on a large curved screen. The Variety reviewer said the faces looked like Mt Rushmore.
I don’t have it but I read about it. They messed up something concerning the intermission like leaving out the entr'acte before the second half.
Well Kino also put out Sweet Charity. Let’s hope they manage to not make the same mistake they made with that one with TMM. Remember these people who are doing the work probably weren’t even alive during the roadshow era so they don’t know what the experience was like. Columbia gave two huge hits like BBB and Oliver! to Twilight Time. Who can figure out why these decisions are made?
Did you go to the Astor Plaza Aids benefit of TMM where Andrews was supposed to appear but canceled due to ill health? Channing did appear of course. Letters were read from the other cast members including Moore, Fox and Gavin. Joel Siegel introduced the film and for some idiotic reason went on to trash it. Channing then in the most charming way imaginable as the experienced pro she was went on to trash him. Who knows what the hell he was thinking when he was speaking to an audience of TMM fans.
Concerning SOM people say the colors on the laserdisc are correct and that had Wise’s blessing.
Yes the 4 hour Cleopatra after its restoration had a couple of theatrical showings on its 50th anniversary. I went twice and thought it was wonderful. The 4 hours flew by. What I would give to see the Mankiewicz 6 hour original cut.
I have the bluray of SOM but haven’t watched it. A number of people are saying the shades of the colors are wrong. I’m surprised the 4k version hasn’t come out. It’s a prime candidate. Who knows? I thought the American in Paris bluray was terrific and I saw beautiful Technicolor prints of it back at the Regency in the 70s yet people complain about it.
I understand that The King and I’s bluray is very disappointing and projectionists who ran SOM in roadshow say the bluray got the colors wrong. Sometimes I think the people doing these blurays are too young to know or don’t know where to look for elements. None of them were around to see original presentations or at this point even going to revival houses during their heyday. Do you have the MFL 4k? Except for the flower images(sadly) during the titles it is spectacular.
But it was a Todd AO print. So it was not a general release print. How could it be? They would have had to have cut down the roadshow prints which makes little sense.
I’m think that by the time Fox video prepared the bluray no roadshow prints survived including the one I saw. Strange that Oklahoma survived beautifully and that two monster hits like 80 Days and South Pacific did not. Or did you or someone else say you actually saw an 80 Days 70mm print? If so why hasn’t it been released on bluray?
When I saw South Pacific in Todd AO at the Warner Cinerama in ‘78 I doubt that was cut. I’m sure it was an original 70mm print from the late 50s. It looked it. But it was still utterly magnificent and I never liked the film on TV. And I still don’t like the color filters. Still Todd AO and 6 track stereo is there anything better?
Unless that print was tossed these people did not do their job. But then people today don’t know.
Thoroughly Modern Millie (Special Roadshow Edition) [Blu-ray] To be released August 24th.
I believe the decline of midtown and Times Square began with the destruction of all the great buildings that were its anchor. Starting with the Roxy but really accelerating in the mid 60s.You had Penn Station, the old Met, the Paramount, the Astor, the Claridge, and the Capitol. People were avoiding the area because there was bleak construction going on seemingly on every other block, the streets were getting darker because of the skyscrapers going up and the middle class had no reason to go to midtown any more for entertainment bringing in the criminals and sleaze that the 70s an 80s were famous for. Of course the Disneyfication of the area that was to follow was even far worse than that. I was stunned that anything could be worse, but it was.
I remember as a boy going through the Bergen Record and seeing My Fair Lady playing a reserved seat engagement at the Claridge. Did it play on the Cinerama screen in 70mm? Was anybody in it during this period? Montclair had 3 hard ticket houses. The Bellevue, the Claridge and the Wellmont. That’s a lot for a suburban town when New York city was not that far from it. I wonder how well these reserved seat engagements did. SOM obviously did very well as it played longer there than at Manhattan’s Rivoli.
1:30? Was there a late afternoon showing? I never knew 2001 went the 3 a day roadshow route. I believe Sound of Music never did it.
Oops sorry. I left out ‘summer.’ Variety said it would be Broadway’s first summer without a roadshow playing in many years. When I mentioned Fiddler I meant that there was only one more summer with a Broadway roadshow.
When Variety announced that Hello Dolly was closing at the Rivoli it said that this would be the first time in 15 or 18 years(I don’t remember which because there were the Cinerama films) Broadway would be without a roadshow film. There would only be one more Fiddler in ‘72.
I think this may have been Russell Markert’s last show retiring after having been with the Music Hall since its opening.
The failure of Man of La Mancha (I couldn’t figure why they gave it the roadshow treatment when nobody was clamoring for it, and it probably was why SOM opened its re-release at the National and not the Rivoli, such a missed opportunity for me, even though La Mancha ended its run there before the re-release) finally finished off the Hollywood roadshow. It should have opened continuous run or at Radio City where it would have had some sort of success.
Yes after it was cleaned up I saw Bambi here. Seriously.
Good to hear. I’ve only watched bits and pieces of it on TV and have never had it in any video format. The only time I saw it in its entirety was when I saw it at the Embassy in Times Square. It had a full audience(which surprised me as this was the 80s) and was a lot of fun. I thought with a 4k release it was about time to have it and watch it again. Now when do we get Ben Hur in 4k? I’m a big Chuck, DeMille and Wyler fan.
Coming from Peter Apruzzese I feel better that I didn’t throw $20 away.
I based my purchase of Commandments 4k on the bluray.com review which was absolutely ecstatic.
Wow. CCI What do you think of the recent 4k of Commandments? I got it but I haven’t seen it yet. Was it a mistake?
And do you think that test reel shown in ‘67 is in anyone’s archive? The only classic films blown up for 70mm release that I’ve known of was the very successful roadshow release of GWTW in '67 and then the very odd choice of The Jolson Story released at the Ziegfeld where I assume a third of the visual information went missing.
GWTW doesn’t bother me so much because that is how I got to know the film when it came to the suburbs in ‘68 where I assume it was show in Panavision. And then in 70mm at the Rivoli in '74 and the Bellevue in Monclair. As wrong as it is it’s stuck in my head as a wide screen movie. I wonder what my reaction would be to it now if a print still existed which I doubt.
And wasn’t Ryan’s Daughter one of the very last films shot in 70mm for years?
Maybe you know this CCI. Why didn’t Lean film Zhivago in 70mm? Because Ponti wanted to save money? Didn’t Lean have the clout at this point to say it has to be in 70mm? Most major roadshow films were still being filmed in 70mm at this point. It seems unusual to me.
Well I saw a few 70mm films on the Rivoli’s large curved screen and there were no focus problems. On the Warner Cinerama’s curved screen as well when they had their 70mm festival. I understand when Lean’s Lawrence was restored he wanted it on a flat screen in London. When Zhivago had its world premiere at the Capitol in NY did he not like the curved screen? Did anybody see it there.
Crowther’s South Pacific review:
The screen version of the famous stage show, which Twentieth Century-Fox has produced and which opened last night at the Criterion with a benefit showing for the Police Athletic League, is a tremendously big picture. It runs for close to three hours and fills a huge arcing panel that goes with its projection process, Todd-AO.
The Todd AO screen at the St James in Asbury Park where I saw Hello Dolly had a flat screen and so did Radio City when it showed the Todd AO Airport. It was just another 70mm format it seems.
When the Criterion showed South Pacific I believe I read in the initial reviews it was shown on a large curved screen. The Variety reviewer said the faces looked like Mt Rushmore.