There's really no place to see any classic films in NYC on an on-going basis. At least in Hollywood, the Egyptian is dedicated to preserving some of the history of the town. FRANC
Franc, Have you checked out The Film Forum on Houston Street? http://www.filmforum.org/month.html They have lots of films running seven days a week and just recently ran a Tod Browning Festival on Monday nights for 6 weeks with two different films each Monday. They ran 35mm prints of THE DEVIL DOLL, FREAKS, DRACULA, MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, THE UNHOLY THREE and many Lon Chaney silent films. Not in New York City but just a 5 minute path ride to Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey is THE LOEW'S JERSEY, an 80 year old movie palace which doesn't run consistently like THE FILM FORUM but does run classic films several times a month, has some great stuff running on their 50 foot screen with carbon arc projection. They just had a 1000 people attend Universal's brand new print of THE UNINVITED and Hitchcock's REBECCA. Very recently they ran Fox's Vault Prints of NIAGARA, THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1959 version, of course) with actress, Arlene Dahl, star of the film, in attendance. These are all gorgeous new MINT prints with the color ones looking like Technicolor. They've run a lot of great rare films including the Library of Congress print of THE OLD DARK HOUSE, which is hardly ever shown anywhere and makes the Kino DVD which is what TCM runs, look like crap. They recently ran IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, a bunch of Roger Moore James Bond films, etc. etc. Here's their website, but they are now off for the Summer and will start again in September. Since it's extremely easy to get there from NYC, there are a ton of people at each show coming from the City. http://loewsjersey.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/ Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:43:18 -0400 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 To: [email protected] You may be talking about the Phoenix or the Variety which are both gone or the Theatre St. Mark's which is also gone. Gone also are the New Yorker and the Thalia uptown, which sucked as a theater because it had rear-screen projection, but was a revival house nonetheless. Leonard Nimoy funded a Thalia screening room at Symphony Space but it's selection of films leaves something to be desired. I stopped going to MOMA to see films but the museum staff ran the film program so unprofessionally and their house prints were the pits. There's really no place to see any classic films in NYC on an on-going basis. At least in Hollywood, the Egyptian is dedicated to preserving some of the history of the town. FRANC -----Original Message----- From: Richard Halegua Comic Art [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:30 PM To: Franc; [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 I'm sad to hear that Franc.. It's one of the things I miss about "back home" in NYC that we had all those little theatres that showed French movies and such. there used to be a theatre on - I want to say 13th street - about 1st/2nd ave that showed that stuff (it was to be sure between 8th st & 14th street area).. Of course I'm talking 30 years ago. I used to see one of my favorite films "A Film About Jimi Hendrix" - once or twice a year at that theatre..it was very small, maybe 300-400 seats. I also saw Claire's Knee there with my first girlfriend back when I was 17 or so.. I have no illusions that it's still there At 03:19 PM 6/18/2009, Franc wrote: There used to be a lot of really good revival houses in NY that showed the classics as well as lesser known titles. Do you know how many are around today? NONE. There's the Film Society of Lincoln Center but their choice of films has gotten extremely precious and eclectic, I suspect because nobody was going to see titles they could watch on DVD. It's too bad because watching films on television is just a different experience from watching films on big screens such as the one at Radio City Music Hall, which also does not show movies anymore. Too bad. Generation X doesn't have any idea what they're missing. FRANC -----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [ mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Kusumoto Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 5:09 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 ** Interesting theory, but I'm not quite buying it, unless it's an east vs. west coast cultural thing. Last year I went to a Bette Davis centennial tribute hosted by AMPAS and Olivia de Havilland made a surprise visit, flying all the way from Paris to answer questions about her relationship with Bette -- and the place was packed even though there was no film to show, just a bunch of primo Bette clips; I also remember a screening of "The Graduate" that had lines snaking around the block at the AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills (not to be confused with the Kodak Theater in Hollywood), even though the event sold out weeks in advance. The stand-by line was ridiculous; that picture has been re-cycled on DVD many times and the audience was a mix of young and old; of course, for film buffs, the presence of theater director Mike Nichols and co-star Katherine Ross could've been a draw, but I remember being a little disappointed that Dustin Hoffman didn't show. ** No, there's gotta be something else at play especially when L.A., which is hardly a mecca for high culture -- can outdraw NY for these vintage film beauties screened in an high quality environment. The Goldwyn Theater is massive and everytime I go to these things, nearly every seat is filled; the sound system is great and people are polite. This theater has magnificent one-sheets of the Best Picture winners on display, some linen-backed, and some not. And there's always a roped off section for celebrities who show up -- upper middle center of the theater. Probably the same set-up in NY, which I have to think is a superior experience to L.A. with its traffic problems and lack of live theater etiquette already prevalent mid-town. ** With Robert Osbourne of TCM hosting the 1939 series in NY, I'm flummoxed. I don't pay much attention to the present-day interests of Generation X, Y or the New Millennials because I'm optimistic that if they like films at all, they'll eventually come around to appreciating the classics. I remember as a pre-teen somewhat detesting B/W films until I saw Casablanca -- and that got the ball rolling. $5 to see a pristine GWTW or Wizard of Oz print with big-time sound in a luxurious theater? Shoot, I'd pay $20 or more for the same experience. -d. -----Original Message----- Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:37:55 -0400 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 To: [email protected] I think it's more than the economy. It's the availability of these titles on DVD and Generation X. My father-in-law loves these movies but he'd just as soon watch them on his miniscule analog TV set at home and Generation X wouldn't know a good movie from StarTrek. FRANC -----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [ mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Toochis Morin Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 It's a sad state of affairs in NYC. The largest industry has been hit hard. Maybe that's the reason for the lack of enthusiasm. I wish I were there to watch it! Toochis -----Original Message----- From: David Kusumoto [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 11:56:07 AM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 Thanks to all who wrote private notes about my post last night re: Hollywood's Greatest Year, 1939. Honestly, I got the press release announcing the L.A. version of the 1939 series with clean prints and super sound -- and I thought I had a jump on everyone else -- but NO. The tickets for the most popular showings were sold out online within minutes; I would LOVE to see most of these films on a big screen, which include shorts, cartoons, newsreels and other period pieces; it's the best buy anywhere. I'm thinking that film buffs in in NY aren't interested in this thing because of traffic or whatever, I mean, some of the showings are on a weekday; but the public transit system can't be beat out there -- and the GWTW showing is on a Saturday afternoon with an intermission. I was just puzzled, that's all. -d. -----Original Message----- Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:16:04 -0700 From: [email protected] Subject: Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939 To: [email protected] ** Amazingly -- the AMPAS 1939 Best Picture series in New York is -- as of this moment -- just two days before opening -- NOT sold out! What's wrong with you guys back east? ** Here in Southern California, the two most popular pictures nominated for Best Picture sold out instantly (GWTW and Wizard of Oz). The tickets are dirt cheap, the accommodations are clean and spotless, the Academy screen is gigantic; the prints are the best -- with the only downside being no refreshments allowed inside (but that's always been a plus and THE policy at all AMPAS screenings; I prefer silence to to listening to tourists unwrapping candy bars or eating their smelly, nitrate-filled hot dogs). Anyone in the Tri-state area should get out of work early and treat themselves for a great night at the movies. For more info on the NYC screening at the Lighthouse International on 111 E. 59th St., visit: http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2009/mnwo-bestpics1939.html ** Like others out here, I've attended numerous AMPAS screenings -- and they are a spectacular value -- and they almost always have an extra bonus, e.g., surviving cast or crew members in a post-screening chat, sometimes autographs, etc. Well worth attending for only 5 bucks -- you can even order your tickets online. It's probably the only chance to see these 1939 beauties on a big screen with clean prints! ** Thinking out loud -- I can't think of another year (1939) that comes closest to boasting a list of films that at least have a "ringing familiarity" to MoPoers.... ** 1946 comes closest for me with The Postman Always Rings Twice, It's A Wonderful Life, Gilda, Best Years of Our Lives, The Killers, Notorious, The Razor's Edge, The Big Sleep, The Yearling, My Darling Clementime, Great Expectations, The Stranger, Brief Encounter (which had a 1946 release in the U.S.), Dark Corner, Somewhere in the Night, Diary of a Chambermaid, Bringing Up Father, To Each His Own, The Strange Love of Martha Hyers, and for Alan Ladd fans -- Two Years Before the Mast and the Blue Dahlia -- with Miracle on 34th Street sneaking under there but not really cuz it's a 1947 SUMMER release but I always lop it in there because 1946-1947 were great years for post-war Hollywood (where box-office attendance reached its peak, never to be topped again in America). ** I can think of these titles for 1939 alone; those listed in BOLD were nominated for Best Picture (back then there were 10 nominees in this category): The Women Young Mr. Lincoln Gulliver's Travels Wizard of Oz Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Gone With the Wind Beau Geste Dark Victory Destry Rides Again Goodbye Mr. Chips Drums Along the Mohawk Hunchback of Notre Dame Ninotchka Only Angels Have Wings Of Mice and Men Love Affair Stanley and Livingstone Roaring Twenties Wuthering Heights Alexander Graham Bell Stagecoach Gunga Din Hound of the Baskervilles On Borrowed Time That's a list would ordinarily cover several decades of greatness, let alone a single year. Some films released that year were of course way better than others, and some aren't even classics; but I bet most MoPoer's will recognize nearly every title above -- which I think is remarkable when you consider "nearly" NONE of us were alive in 1939. I'm an Oscar nut/amateur historian and I have to think really hard just to come up with the Best Picture nominees for 2005 -- off the top of my head are Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, Good Luck, Capote (my fave that year) and Crash and I come up one short; I could look it up at IMDB but that would be cheating. -d. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. _________________________________________________________________ Microsoft brings you a new way to search the web. Try Bing™ now http://www.bing.com?form=MFEHPG&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MFEHPG_Core_tagline_try bing_1x1 Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
