I went to the Ziegfeld for “Rear Window” and am curious about the print. It didn’t seem to be all that sharp and I was a little surprised to see after the credits, information regarding the film’s restoration. Was the the film in horrible shape before restoration? Comparatively, the restored “Lawrence of Arabia” looked really great, for the most part?
LOL, Bill, I’m sure I’ll be doing the same thing at MI:3 (PSH was excellent in Capote). It would be great to see Superman Returns at the Ziegfeld (would be cool to see Superman I and II there as well!).
The first showing of MI:3 is scheduled for 12:01 May 4. I’m thinking of relaxing my “no Tom Cruise movie” rule, as I admire JJ Abrams' TV writing. I hope this film generates a lot of business for the theater.
I just checked to see which movies will be playing at the Ziegfeld after Ice Age 2 and while I’d cough up the dollars for something I normally wouldn’t see at any other theater, I’m disappointed to learn that I have zero interest in seeing these two: Scary Movie 4 and Mission Impossible 3 (I will not support Tom Cruise in any way, the jerk). However, these films will probably do pretty well with ticket sales, which is a good thing for the theater.
Muskegon hosts the annual Buster Keaton Convention each year (Keaton and his family stayed at the artist colony on the lake in the ‘teens). The Frauenthal is the setting for the Saturday night Keaton film screening for the convention as well as the public at large. You can’t find a better place to see silent films, accompanied by the organ. It’s a true jewel of a theater.
A couple of other films, probably less accesible but a lot of fun:
Any of BUSTER KEATON’s silent films – THE CAMERAMAN in particular would be a good film for a general crowd and a couple of scenes were shot on location in NYC. THE GENERAL is his most famous but a lot of his shorts would be great, too, like COPS, ONE WEEK, THE BOAT
The HAROLD LLOYD Trust just released a boxed set of the majority of Harold’s silent work. SAFETY LAST would be a good one. Several extended scenes from SPEEDY were shot on location in NYC and in Coney Island.
Hey Gary, I thought of a few more films to suggest (my apologies for any repeats and lack of knowledge concerning rights availability, etc…):
A week of gangster films, featuring the the tough guys Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart
For Halloween, the EVIL DEAD trilogy (not classics in the literal sense, but it’ll draw out the Sam Raimi geeks for repeat viewings; they’re rabid about their Evil Dead). Also classics like THE HAUNTING, THE INNOCENTS, THE OLD DARK HOUSE, the Universal FRANKENSTEINs, DRACULA, THE MUMMY, etc. They could even show the silly Abbott and Costello MEET THE… Another fun A&C film concerning ghosts is THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (my favorite A&C)
Films by Michael Powell, such as BLACK NARCISSUS, THE RED SHOES, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH aka STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (these would look great on the Ziegfeld’s large screen)
Ealing films: THE LADYKILLERS, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, etc.
Musicals: KISS ME KATE, GUYS AND DOLLS, Busby Berkeley films, almost any Fred and Ginger films – GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, FOLLOW THE FLEET, SWINGTIME
More Hitchcock: NOTORIOUS, 39 STEPS, etc.
Ed, I second your “Superman” double feature idea. The film that sprang to mind when I was at the Ziegfeld recently was “Superman.” How great would it be to see the trial at the beginning and the rotation of the dome, opening that column of light into space? Gary’s suggestion of “Mary Poppins” is another good one. “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” would be my pick of a classic musical. It’s one of my favorites (has Tommy Rall in it!) and I’ve never seen it on a big screen. Does anyone know if the 1956 version of “My Sister Eileen” is a possiblity to be screened? It’s not the greatest musical but still underrated, in my opinion.
Pete, thanks for the info. I don’t know much about the restoration of this film, so it’s interesting to hear tidbits like this. I’m glad this scene was put back in the film – it was important to see more of Faisal’s motives regarding Lawrence.
Bill, I have tried many, many times to sit through Space Odyssey on TV and was never successful. Seeing it at the Ziegfeld was a completely different situation. I had no problems at all with the length or the pacing. In fact, I was so taken by this film, it stuck with me for another couple of days afterward.
P.S. Pete, great job in presenting one of my favorite films, Kiss Me Kate, in 3D at the Lafayette a couple of weeks ago. It was a classy show, as usual.
Thanks to reading this entire thread yesterday, I changed my mind about skipping Lawrence of Arabia and decided to see it at the last minute last night; I’m glad I did. Seeing a film, particularly of this magnitude, at a place like the Ziegfeld is one of the joys of living in this city. I can’t say LOA is one of my favorites, but I did quite enjoy the experience. To my inexpert eye, I thought the quality of the film for the most part was fine, the sound was, to quote Lina Lamont “nice and loud,” and the audience, at least toward the front of the theater, was respectful and quiet (I did not experience the ringing cell phone that Bill mentioned). I did notice an odd dubbing situation when the reporter spoke for the first time with Prince Faisal. The volume and synch of their voices was different. This was very brief, though, maybe less than five minutes. Did anyone else notice this?
All in all, I’ll add my positive vote to those who have said that this was a great couple of months at the Ziegfeld. I’m sorry was I only able to see North By Northwest, Space Odyssey: 2001 and the aforementioned LOA, but I’m glad I saw that much. My experience seeing Space Odyssey at this theater changed my opinion drastically toward the positive, so for that, at the very least I’m grateful.
Gary, I took your advice and sent feedback via the Clearview website and already received a reply from Craig, who said they will repeat this series some time in the future. It’s gratifying to know that your opinion has actually been read by someone.
I went to the Ziegfeld for “Rear Window” and am curious about the print. It didn’t seem to be all that sharp and I was a little surprised to see after the credits, information regarding the film’s restoration. Was the the film in horrible shape before restoration? Comparatively, the restored “Lawrence of Arabia” looked really great, for the most part?
LOL, Bill, I’m sure I’ll be doing the same thing at MI:3 (PSH was excellent in Capote). It would be great to see Superman Returns at the Ziegfeld (would be cool to see Superman I and II there as well!).
The first showing of MI:3 is scheduled for 12:01 May 4. I’m thinking of relaxing my “no Tom Cruise movie” rule, as I admire JJ Abrams' TV writing. I hope this film generates a lot of business for the theater.
I just checked to see which movies will be playing at the Ziegfeld after Ice Age 2 and while I’d cough up the dollars for something I normally wouldn’t see at any other theater, I’m disappointed to learn that I have zero interest in seeing these two: Scary Movie 4 and Mission Impossible 3 (I will not support Tom Cruise in any way, the jerk). However, these films will probably do pretty well with ticket sales, which is a good thing for the theater.
Gary, could you please send me an e-mail via the address on the main page of my website: www.geocities.com/crazyforcinema?
Thanks!
Muskegon hosts the annual Buster Keaton Convention each year (Keaton and his family stayed at the artist colony on the lake in the ‘teens). The Frauenthal is the setting for the Saturday night Keaton film screening for the convention as well as the public at large. You can’t find a better place to see silent films, accompanied by the organ. It’s a true jewel of a theater.
A couple of other films, probably less accesible but a lot of fun:
Any of BUSTER KEATON’s silent films – THE CAMERAMAN in particular would be a good film for a general crowd and a couple of scenes were shot on location in NYC. THE GENERAL is his most famous but a lot of his shorts would be great, too, like COPS, ONE WEEK, THE BOAT
The HAROLD LLOYD Trust just released a boxed set of the majority of Harold’s silent work. SAFETY LAST would be a good one. Several extended scenes from SPEEDY were shot on location in NYC and in Coney Island.
Hey Gary, I thought of a few more films to suggest (my apologies for any repeats and lack of knowledge concerning rights availability, etc…):
A week of gangster films, featuring the the tough guys Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart
For Halloween, the EVIL DEAD trilogy (not classics in the literal sense, but it’ll draw out the Sam Raimi geeks for repeat viewings; they’re rabid about their Evil Dead). Also classics like THE HAUNTING, THE INNOCENTS, THE OLD DARK HOUSE, the Universal FRANKENSTEINs, DRACULA, THE MUMMY, etc. They could even show the silly Abbott and Costello MEET THE… Another fun A&C film concerning ghosts is THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (my favorite A&C)
Films by Michael Powell, such as BLACK NARCISSUS, THE RED SHOES, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH aka STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (these would look great on the Ziegfeld’s large screen)
Ealing films: THE LADYKILLERS, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, etc.
Musicals: KISS ME KATE, GUYS AND DOLLS, Busby Berkeley films, almost any Fred and Ginger films – GAY DIVORCEE, TOP HAT, FOLLOW THE FLEET, SWINGTIME
More Hitchcock: NOTORIOUS, 39 STEPS, etc.
Ed, I second your “Superman” double feature idea. The film that sprang to mind when I was at the Ziegfeld recently was “Superman.” How great would it be to see the trial at the beginning and the rotation of the dome, opening that column of light into space? Gary’s suggestion of “Mary Poppins” is another good one. “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” would be my pick of a classic musical. It’s one of my favorites (has Tommy Rall in it!) and I’ve never seen it on a big screen. Does anyone know if the 1956 version of “My Sister Eileen” is a possiblity to be screened? It’s not the greatest musical but still underrated, in my opinion.
Pete, thanks for the info. I don’t know much about the restoration of this film, so it’s interesting to hear tidbits like this. I’m glad this scene was put back in the film – it was important to see more of Faisal’s motives regarding Lawrence.
Bill, I have tried many, many times to sit through Space Odyssey on TV and was never successful. Seeing it at the Ziegfeld was a completely different situation. I had no problems at all with the length or the pacing. In fact, I was so taken by this film, it stuck with me for another couple of days afterward.
P.S. Pete, great job in presenting one of my favorite films, Kiss Me Kate, in 3D at the Lafayette a couple of weeks ago. It was a classy show, as usual.
Thanks to reading this entire thread yesterday, I changed my mind about skipping Lawrence of Arabia and decided to see it at the last minute last night; I’m glad I did. Seeing a film, particularly of this magnitude, at a place like the Ziegfeld is one of the joys of living in this city. I can’t say LOA is one of my favorites, but I did quite enjoy the experience. To my inexpert eye, I thought the quality of the film for the most part was fine, the sound was, to quote Lina Lamont “nice and loud,” and the audience, at least toward the front of the theater, was respectful and quiet (I did not experience the ringing cell phone that Bill mentioned). I did notice an odd dubbing situation when the reporter spoke for the first time with Prince Faisal. The volume and synch of their voices was different. This was very brief, though, maybe less than five minutes. Did anyone else notice this?
All in all, I’ll add my positive vote to those who have said that this was a great couple of months at the Ziegfeld. I’m sorry was I only able to see North By Northwest, Space Odyssey: 2001 and the aforementioned LOA, but I’m glad I saw that much. My experience seeing Space Odyssey at this theater changed my opinion drastically toward the positive, so for that, at the very least I’m grateful.
Gary, I took your advice and sent feedback via the Clearview website and already received a reply from Craig, who said they will repeat this series some time in the future. It’s gratifying to know that your opinion has actually been read by someone.