the movie palace to beat them all

Out of all the movie palaces in all the world there was only one destination that beat them all. The opulent, amazing Radio City Music Hall. Located in midtown Manhattan this art deco movie palace opened in 1932 and showed first run films up until 1979. It focused on family friendly films for the most part and always featured a stage slow with the film. At Christmas and Easter there were special shows.

I saw two films here. Both were rewards I earned by selling newspaper subscriptions. The first and one of my favorite films "1776" I saw in 1972 and the following year we saw "Tom Sawyer". Both movies were followed with a trip to Tad's Steakouse.

I'll talk about 1776 at a later date. Tom Sawyer was a musical produced by the Reader's Digest company and is still popular with kids today. It featured TV sitcom star Johnyy Whitaker (Family Affair) as Tom and a young Jodi Foster as Becky Thatcher. It was followed the following year with a sequel, "Huckleberry Finn".

In 1989 MGM held a 50th Anniversary screening of "Gone With The Wind" at Radio City. I went with my sister and it was an unforgettable event to see this magnificent film on the big screen at the most opulent movie house in the country. It was a wonderful experience.

In the early 90's I returned to Radio City to see a number of feature films shown by Warner Bros. they had a summer long film festival featuring some of their greatest pictures including My Fair Lady, Blade Runner, Superman and The Shining. Seeing them at the music hall seemed to make them better.

movie recommendations

Because I watch so many movies I am frequently asked to recommend films to others. When recommending a film I try to keep the taste of the person whose asking in mind. For instance I would not recommend "Pulp Fiction" to my mom. But sometimes my recommendations don't go over so well and I find myself in a heated debate about why the movie I recommended sucked.

Speaking of movies I recommend to my mom, I am always on the lookout for entertaining films that don't overflow with violence and vulgarity and these days that is pretty hard to come by. The simple art of telling a story through film is being lost in an orgy of special effects. One recent movie I did recommend was the romantic comedy "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day"

This British charmer about the reserved and down on her luck Miss Pettigrew and the 24 hours she spends in the presence of the glowing and slightly daffy actress Delysia Lafosse. The film is reminiscent of the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's with solid performances from all it's stars.

If you haven't seen it you should. Mom gave it two thumbs up.

very special memory

Living in Brooklyn, New York City, or the city, was a special and magical place, nearby, yet very far away. I do not have many distinct memories of going there before the age of 10, except for one.

And that memory is of me and my grandmother going to see the movie "Oliver". It was a special outing for just the two of us, which meant I was probably visiting with her. We took the subway and we went to Times Square. I still have the movie program book, which is something they did for big films back then.

By researching old ads I have determined the theatre we would have gone to was the Loews State at 1540 Broadway. This was a first run 70mm theatre known for big premieres. It closed in 1968 for remodeling and conversion to a twin theatre. The first movies shown for the grand re-opening were Oliver and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". The theatre closed for good in 1987 and in the 90's the theatre and the building above (headquarters for the old Loews Theatre company) were demolished to make way for the Virgin Mega store

I also remember that I was allowed to stay up late and watch the Academy Awards that spring and when Oliver won best picture I was so excited. It was a personal victory that a movie I had seen was declared the best picture of the year. It's still a perennial favorite of mine and I like to watch it around the holidays.

Ice Station Zebra correction

My brother informs we saw Ice Station Zebra at the Avalon Theatre which was on Kings Highway. I am sure he is correct, because my memory is very vague. I am not even sure why an 8 year old went to see a cold war spy drama, but I remember thinking it was cool. In fact I think I liked it better when I was a kid than I do now.

The Avalon is closed. It showed it's last film in 1980. It was never converted into a multi-plex, nor did it fall to the fate of showing XXX movies, like many first run houses did in the 70's and 80's. The building still stands with retail on the first level and office space on the second level.

I am not sure what I saw at the Graham...may have been those Batman serials I mentioned.

The Great Waldo Pepper

Tonight I watched "The Great Waldo Pepper" Released in 1975 this was a personal project of director George Roy Hill. He could basically make any movie he wanted for Universal after the success of "The Sting". It starred Robert Redford who had worked with Hill on The Sting and on "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid". Not only did Hill direct the film, he also wrote it and produced it.

Hill's love of early aviation shows in every frame. The aerial sequences are fantastic and I can only imagine what they would have looked like on the big screen.

The story is about the fading days of stunt flying in the late 1920's. Redford plays Waldo Pepper a man who feels he missed out on the most important moments in his life by not being a fighter pilot in WWI.

I was surprised by the tone of the movie. I was expecting an adventure film with comic overtones, but there are serious dramatic and dark elements to the film. The film has an ambiguous ending that would never happen in a Hollywood film today.

Everything about the film is well done. The acting is excellent throughout. The recreation of the 1920's mid west and Hollywood is excellent. Henry Mancini's score is rousing with out being over bearing and as I said earlier the camera work, especially in the air is great.

Movie House rating ***1/2

Journey To The Beginning Of Time - Pt 1

Here is Part 1 of Journey To The Beginning Of Time. You can find parts 2 thru 11 if you want to watch the whole film. The englisg dubbing in the main body of the film is a little flawed, but overall a good kid's adventure movie from the 1960's. It's very clever how the American producer used voice-over and back shots to add the US actors into the Czech film.

first impressions

Movies have a huge impact on us when we are kids. The memories stay with us for years afterwards even after a film is long forgotten. I remember going to see a movie about 4 boys that visit the Museum Of Natural History and then go boating in Central Park and journey back to prehistoric times. I remember loving the film as a kid and developing a big thing for dinosaurs. I lived in Brooklyn and Central Park was "in the city" so far away and so mysterious. Yet I knew I could get there by subway. Were dinosaurs just a subway ride away?

For years the vague memories of that film stayed with me but I could not find out anything about it. Some people remembered something like it as a TV serial, others say I am thinking of "Land of the Lost" from the 70's. But I knew it was a movie I had seen in a theatre. I don't think I was more than 6 or 7 at the time.

In the days before the internet I researched the film through guide books and video distrubtors. I finally learned the movie was called "The Journey to the Beginning of Time". It was actualy a Chzech film made in late 1950's. In the mid '60's an American distributor released the film with an additional beginning and ending featuring the four boys in NYC. In 1994 Goodtimes video released a VHS copy of the movie and I watched it again. It was amazing that almost 30 years later the memories of watching this movie came rushing back.

Now in the age of the internet it's easy to find out information about the film. I learned that people who remembered it as TV show were correct. In the late 60's the movie was cut up and shown on kids shows as a serial. Even better I found the full movie (cut up into 11 parts) on YouTube

The Batman

My first exposure to Batman in the movies wasn't in 1989 when Warner's released the Tim Burton blockbuster. It was in the late 60's when Columbia pictures re-released the 13 part Batman serial to tie-in to the Batman craze sweeping the country. The serial was shown over two days (or two weekends I don't recall) and I got in trouble for something and was not allowed to go see the the second days installments. Later on the films were released to 8mm and Super 8 home movies and I was able to see how it turned out.

The theatres of my youth - the Brooklyn Years

I already mentioned the Brook Theatre where I saw Mary Poppins. The other theatre I would go to when I was a kid was the Marine. It was located directly around the corner from the Brook on Flatbush Avenue. I can not recall most of the movies I saw in these theatres but I do remember two of them. One was Planet of the Apes and the other was Around The World in 80 Days.

Both theatres closed in 1980 and the Marine was demolished while the Brook was gutted and converted for office use. The building currently stands empty on Flatlands Avenue.

The Brook Theatre building - March 2010

The only other movie experience I distinctly remember from Brooklyn was walking to the Graham Theatre in Gerritsen Beach to see Ice Station Zebra. I went with my brother and his friends. I was 8 years old and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Grandest of movie houses

This blog isn't just about movies. It's about the places that show them. Everyone has fond memories of going to the movies. My mom talks about going to double features for a quarter. I remember going to Radio City Music Hall when I was 12. Every teenager today remembers where they saw their first Harry Potter film.

For anyone who went to the movies in the '80s, we saw the economies of scale change the theatre going experience. Single theater screen houses were divided up into bazaar multi-plex configurations. And theatre companies like United Artists built small "shoe-box" sized multi-plexes instead of single screen houses.

Common sense dawned in the 90's with the age of the new multi-plex, and companies like AMC, Sony-Lowes, National Amusements, Cinemark and Cineplex-Odeon built modern theaters with some of the best projectors and sound equipment available. Showing movies became big bucks again.

Amongst all this change some of the classic movie houses survived and one of them is right here in Oakland. Owned and operated by the brilliant entreprenuer Allen Michaan, this wonderful house has been restored to its classic beauty. When I first moved to the Bay area in 2004, I would see this beautiful structure, glowing in it's neon glory, from the 580 Interstate. It's allure was unmistakeable. I wanted to pull over, buy a ticket and lose myself in whatever films were being screened.

Over the years I did catch a few movies there and it is definetely worth the trip. It is a great movie palace that has been wonderfully maintained. And inside is a state of the art projection system, and according to some folks at Pixar, one of the best 3-D projection systems in the area. Coming this weekend the theater will have special 3-D screenings of Up, Avatar and Coraline, three of the best 3-D movies of 2009, to showcase its 3-D technology.

Under the marquee at the Grand Lake Theatre

The curtain at the Grand lake Theatre

My Favorite Movie

My favorite movie is Alfred Hitchcocks' Vertigo. By the age of 23 I was already a Hitchcok enthusiast and had seen Psycho, The Birds, To Catch a Thief, Dial M For Murder, Strangers on A Train, North By Northwest and other classics many times. But Vertigo, along with Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Trouble With Harry and Rope had been unvailable for years and they had become the Holy Grail for Hitchcock fans.The films had been out of distribution for because of legal problems. In 1983 the issues were resolved and the film was re-released to theatres and I had the opportunity to see it and fall in love with it.

When I first saw Vertigo I did not know it had been considered a failure upon it's initial release in 1958. It received mixed reviews from critics and audience reponse was tepid. This was one of Hitchcock's most personal films and he blamed the casting of Stewart at the age of 50, and new comer Kim Novack for the films failure.

Since it's release in the 80's the film has been viewed and hailed as a masterpiece and is considered Hitchcock's crowning achievement. It is regularly named in the Top 10 of all time best movies.

I saw the film at the Hicksville Fox Plaza North and South and then in 1984 I bought my first home video copy on RCA Videodisc. The film was not letterboxed (I didn't even know what letterboxing was). I have since watched the film many times and I always found something new.

It was a revelation in 1996 when a "restored" version of the film was released to theatres and then home video. I saw the restored version at the Ziegfeld Theatre (one of my favorites in NYC) and then purchased the laser-disc version. This new version was almost like seeing the film for the first time. Both the use of color and the musical score really seemed to come alive.

When I saw the film in '83 I fell in love with the city of San Francisco. Sadly you can no longer stand under the Golden Gate Bridge, the way Madeline does, but you can still visit most the locations used in the film.

I own a DVD copy of the restored version and I am sure I will purchase a Blu-ray when it comes out. I never grow tired of watching this movie. The haunting score is one of my favorite pieces of film music. Hitchcock's tale of love and obsession is a timeless classic and my all time favorite movie.

Vertigo (1958) Restored Trailer - Alfred Hitchcock

Here is the trailer for the restored 1996 re-release.

Vertigo (1958) Trailer - Alfred Hitchcock

Here is the trailer for the original 1958 release of Vertigo.

I Love Movies

I love movies. I love watching them and talking about them. I love going to the movies. I enjoy the entire movie going experience (except the jerks who talk and use their cell phones). I love the excitment and anticipation while waiting in line for a new release.

I have been in love with movies all my life and the purpose of this blog is to share that love, and celebrate the art of filmaking and the movie going experience from a lifelong, dedicated enthusiasts.

My earliest movie going memory is from 1964. My mom, my Aunt Anna and and Mrs. Lambkin took me, my brother, my cousins and my friends to see Mary Poppins, at the Brook Theatre in Brooklyn. The only part of the film I remembered as a kid was the animation sequence in the middle.

If you want to read more about the Brook go here:

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/3861/

To this day Mary Poppins is still one of my favorite films. I saw it for a second time, in 1972, at the Jerry Lewis Twin, in Masspaequa. I remember watching it with the sense that it was new, yet I had seen it all before.

Before home video movies were frequently released to theatres for years after their initial run.

Disney used to re-release their animated films to theatres every seven years or so. And in the past twenty years you could always count on a theatrical release before the home video release. Unfortunatelt they have discontinued that practice so most kids see Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella and other Disney classics on DVD instead of at a movie house.

Here is a movie ad from 1975 featuring the release of some Disney classics.

Mary Poppins began a life long love of movies that continues today. I hope you'll follow me as I discuss new films and reminice about movies of the past.