ALL of the pictures mentioned from both years were great. Nothing today comes close to any of them. What I wouldn’t give to be able to project and watch all of them on the big screen again in a true cinema treasure palace.
My father had a saying years ago before he passed on to that giant movie palace in the sky…“what goes around, comes around”. Imax is killing itself with dietmax, this whole digital thing to me, and many others is going to be a passing fancy, and I still believe film will live on in many formats. What we need are people to build theatres like Jon Lidoit mentions above. Huge curved screens. Something that you wont find in your local AMC or Regal.
Enough said. This digital crap is going to put every last one of them out of business. Then we’ll be stuck with a country full of American Mutilation Cinemas, a.k.a. AMC.
Well RobertC, as one of the few remaining full-time union projectionists left, I can only only say, you really hit ALL points right on the money. And its so refreshing to hear someone else think this whole 3-D thing is just a passing fancy. I go around in circles with my owner, who totally thinks that digital is here to stay and 35mm ( or any other format, 70MM etc) is like that famous movie of yesteryear, “Gone With The Wind.”
On this date, Sept 3rd, 1977, this theatre would once again close after being open for 3 months, to be split in half by General Cinema. All of its beauty would forever be lost by the senseless twinning of this theatre. Of course today, one couldn’t even tell it ever was a theatre, with the Irish Pub and other small retail spaces that are now there. 1977 was a rough year for this building. First Walter Reade closed it, forgot to have the water shut off, it flooded, General Cinema opened it, closed it, twinned it, and re-opened it in Nov of that year.
Here in New Jersey, you NEVER see ads from individual theatre companies or indy’s anymore. All we get is a block studio ad that says type your zip code in on the web for theatres and showtimes. I remember back in the 70’s making up the weekly ads for GCC where we had 4 0r 5 of the area theatres in one ad with showtimes and price info. At the place I work, they wish more people would come, I say advertize, but they say its too expensive. Catch-22 all the way around.
I actually had the pleasure of running it at the split GCC Menlo Park Twin. 800 seats sold out every show day after day. The 70MM rocked. 10 years later, I had the pleasure to run the last 70MM film there in 1989, “The Abyss.”
Really awesome pictures. She needs to rescued soon or it may be too late. Looks to be heading down the same road as Loews Kings in Brooklyn N.Y. Hopefully someday she can see a rebirth.
I said years ago that TCM should try something like this at indoor venues. Not just any indoor venue, but real treasures, such as the Ziegfeld in New York, the Lafayette in Suffern N.Y., the Ritz in Elizabeth N.J. Big theatres, with big screens, the way movies should be shown. Perhaps someday this can become reality.
And those 18 shoeboxes are exactly the reason intermissions will never come back as Howard suggested. As my owner said, where do you put the people? Multiplexes have ruined everything, in this persons opinion.
Ra, ra, ra, so another one jumps on the digital bandwagon, big deal.
ALL of the pictures mentioned from both years were great. Nothing today comes close to any of them. What I wouldn’t give to be able to project and watch all of them on the big screen again in a true cinema treasure palace.
My father had a saying years ago before he passed on to that giant movie palace in the sky…“what goes around, comes around”. Imax is killing itself with dietmax, this whole digital thing to me, and many others is going to be a passing fancy, and I still believe film will live on in many formats. What we need are people to build theatres like Jon Lidoit mentions above. Huge curved screens. Something that you wont find in your local AMC or Regal.
I STILL say there’s nothing wrong with 35MM, or better yet, 70MM.
Great idea Al. Couldn’t agree with you more. BUT…never gonna happen. And that’s the sad part.
the end is near…..
Bring on the classics!!!!!
Enough said. This digital crap is going to put every last one of them out of business. Then we’ll be stuck with a country full of American Mutilation Cinemas, a.k.a. AMC.
Well RobertC, as one of the few remaining full-time union projectionists left, I can only only say, you really hit ALL points right on the money. And its so refreshing to hear someone else think this whole 3-D thing is just a passing fancy. I go around in circles with my owner, who totally thinks that digital is here to stay and 35mm ( or any other format, 70MM etc) is like that famous movie of yesteryear, “Gone With The Wind.”
I agree with ALL of the above.
Nice unique idea.
On this date, Sept 3rd, 1977, this theatre would once again close after being open for 3 months, to be split in half by General Cinema. All of its beauty would forever be lost by the senseless twinning of this theatre. Of course today, one couldn’t even tell it ever was a theatre, with the Irish Pub and other small retail spaces that are now there. 1977 was a rough year for this building. First Walter Reade closed it, forgot to have the water shut off, it flooded, General Cinema opened it, closed it, twinned it, and re-opened it in Nov of that year.
A ‘Casa-de-Fruitas’ farmers market occupies what was the lobby of this former theatre.
I agree with Love movies. Although I was never a big fan of his, Its gotten to the point where can we please just let the man rest in peace already.
Here in New Jersey, you NEVER see ads from individual theatre companies or indy’s anymore. All we get is a block studio ad that says type your zip code in on the web for theatres and showtimes. I remember back in the 70’s making up the weekly ads for GCC where we had 4 0r 5 of the area theatres in one ad with showtimes and price info. At the place I work, they wish more people would come, I say advertize, but they say its too expensive. Catch-22 all the way around.
I actually had the pleasure of running it at the split GCC Menlo Park Twin. 800 seats sold out every show day after day. The 70MM rocked. 10 years later, I had the pleasure to run the last 70MM film there in 1989, “The Abyss.”
9 months for renovation of a 4 screen theatre seems a little long. They can build a whole new complex from the ground up in less time.
I dont want to be a pessimist, but its awful hard to make money with anything that seats 200.
Beautiful story and photos.
Watch these 2 bite the dust soon.
Really awesome pictures. She needs to rescued soon or it may be too late. Looks to be heading down the same road as Loews Kings in Brooklyn N.Y. Hopefully someday she can see a rebirth.
I miss this theatre, as well as the Shore Twins a few blocks away. It just doesn’t seem the same in Wildwood anymore without them.
Yet another one bites the dust.
I said years ago that TCM should try something like this at indoor venues. Not just any indoor venue, but real treasures, such as the Ziegfeld in New York, the Lafayette in Suffern N.Y., the Ritz in Elizabeth N.J. Big theatres, with big screens, the way movies should be shown. Perhaps someday this can become reality.
And those 18 shoeboxes are exactly the reason intermissions will never come back as Howard suggested. As my owner said, where do you put the people? Multiplexes have ruined everything, in this persons opinion.