Napoleon's restored print opened at Radio City Music Hall and I thought it was successful but I don't remember exactly. I seem to remember someone showing a restored print of City Lights with orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall a year or so later but the admission price was $100 a ticket and I think that sunk this endeavor. Paying the NY Philharmonic made the $100 ticket price necessary. I don't think they did any after that but I could be wrong. I frankly don't understand why the owners of Radio City don't try to get some concessions from the stage-hand union so that they can run classic movies on the large screen when the hall is not-in-use as a live-theatrical venue. (I've worked in this house on several TV productions and it's ridiculous that the stage hand union can demand that you hire 10 men just to open the auditorium doors with no activity on the stage whatsoever. Raise the curtain and you suddebly have a stagehand payroll of twenty five people.) But if the owners don't get the concessions, there is simply no way in hell to make ends meet in this house. Hence producing a series of classic films is not likely to happen ever again. FRANC -----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Hershenson Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 9:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] Never a bigger year for Hollywood than 1939
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.h tml ** 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 <http://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.
