Comments from Jim Barg

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Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Marketplace Mall Cinema 7 on Nov 3, 2013 at 10:54 pm

The building opened in the summer of 1986.

The first film I saw there was Transformers: The Movie in August of that year. The last was the 2001 reissue of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in October ‘01.

For a kid who grew up in the 1980s in the 19th Ward of Rochester, that theatre was it. Kind of sad that it opened when I was 7, and closed for good a few months after I graduated college.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about REMEMBERING CINERAMA (Part 55: Buffalo) on Jan 13, 2013 at 12:10 pm

Great work, Mike and Vince!

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Panorama Theatre on Jun 4, 2012 at 2:48 pm

The theater was always referred to as Panorama Plaza, right up until it closed. I can’t comment on the actual location compared to the strip mall (which is still in use) because I live on the other side of Rochester and am unfamiliar with the Penfield area.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about REMEMBERING CINERAMA (Part 51: Rochester) on Jun 4, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Thanks for reading!

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Loew's Pittsford Triplex on Sep 5, 2011 at 7:59 pm

Thanks, RJ.

Even up til the release of Far and Away, most still considered the 70mm-capable screen here the best in the city.

The projectors are in storage at the Eastman House, if I’m not mistaken. They’d like to eventually use them, but they need money to build a better screen (I think). It’s one of the things they continually mention with fundraisers.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Pittsford Plaza Cinema 9 on Sep 2, 2011 at 6:49 pm

That is kind of sad, but I’m sure it provides a nice contrast to the Regal/Cinemark dominated local market. Not that I hate Cinemark, Tinseltown is my favorite local theatre by far!

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Pittsford Plaza Cinema 9 on Jun 17, 2011 at 4:17 pm

I remember that supermarket! Mom used to work at the KMart nearby, so we ended up going there once in a while.

Haven’t been in the theatre since Phantom Menace in 1999 (which was on their THX-certified screen).

When the theatre opened on June 3, 1988, they advertised 70mm capability in the local paper. Don’t believe they ever had any 70mm runs, however.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about 70mm in Rochester, NY? on Jun 16, 2011 at 8:34 am

Pretty much. What’s 63mm?

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Loew's Pittsford Triplex on Jun 15, 2011 at 5:18 am

Sadly, I was too young to enjoy the 70mm runs that were there (last one: Far and Away). The last film I saw there was Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy with my brother in the spring of 1996.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about Happy 30th, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on Jun 12, 2011 at 7:21 pm

Great job, Mike. Thanks for the hat-tip!

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about 70mm in Rochester, NY? on Mar 23, 2011 at 10:29 pm

West Side Story played as a 70mm roadshow from April 1962 to October 1962 at the Riviera.

Most of the major roadshows would play either the Monroe or the Riviera.

Jim Barg
Jim Barg commented about 70mm in Rochester, NY? on Mar 21, 2011 at 11:16 am

I’ve researched most of the 60s runs (my info goes up until 1970, which is as far as I’ve gotten with the Democrat & Chronicle’s microfilm), and a handful of the ‘80s blow-up runs (picking favorite titles from childhood). But some of the other titles that haven’t been mentioned (either here, or on the other 70mm sites) are:

Grand Prix
Khartoum
Ice Station Zebra
Far From The Madding Crowd
Krakatoa, East of Java
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Annie
Gandhi
Pink Floyd The Wall
Aliens
Dune

Why do this? Well, I saw Coate/Kallay’s work and was interested in doing the same for Rochester. (It always fascinated me that a theatre I knew as a porno house – the Monroe – was once a place for first-run roadshows.)

Plus I'e been a loyal reader here, and figured it was the best way to contribute.