I remember around 20 or more years ago, encouraged by the success of Napoleon's restoration, someone had a group of silent classics beautifully restored and shown with orchestra's performing new scores in a giant theater in New York City. It was wonderful in every way, except hardly anyone showed up, and as I recall it was a real dud, with very poor attendance.
No one ever went broke under-estimating the taste of the public, and in this case they vastly over-estimated it. Maybe someone will someday figure out a way to get the general public to want to watch classic movies in theaters. Bruce On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 4:08 PM, David Kusumoto <[email protected]>wrote: > *** 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.
