quote:
“E.T.”: The 70mm Engagements
Compiled by Michael Coate
“He is afraid. He is alone. He is 3 million light years from home.”
The following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter presentations of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” in North America. The film’s 70mm prints consisted of pillarboxed imagery (approximately 1.85:1) blown up from spherical 35mm photography. The audio was Six-Track Dolby Stereo (“A” encoded “baby boom” format).
“E.T.” was among eighteen first-run films released in 1982 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. The Universal release — directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote and Henry Thomas — opened June 11th.
The premiere of “E.T.” was held May 26th as the closing night feature of the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. The film’s U.S. premiere was held June 10th at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles.
The 70mm prints of “E.T.” screened in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were reportedly struck off the original negative, with the balance of the 70mm print run struck off an inter-negative.
A trailer for “The Dark Crystal” was suggested by Universal to be played with the “E.T.” presentations.
The duration of the engagements, measured in weeks played, has been included for some entries in parenthesis following the cinema name.
Note that some of the presentations included in this listing were presented in 35mm during the latter weeks of engagement due to print damage and the distributor’s unwillingness to supply a 70mm replacement print or because the booking was moved to a smaller, 35mm-only auditorium within a multiplex. As well, the reverse may have been true in some cases whereas a booking began with a 35mm print because the lab was unable to complete the 70mm print order in time for an opening-day delivery or the exhibitor negotiated a mid-run format switch to 70mm. In these cases, the 35mm portion of the engagement has been included in the duration figure.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver — Odeon’s Park (45)
CALIFORNIA
Costa Mesa — Edwards’ Town Center 4-plex (28)
Los Angeles — Pacific’s Cinerama Dome (5)
Oakland — Renaissance Rialto’s Grand Lake 4-plex
Orange — Syufy’s City Center Twin (27)
Sacramento — Syufy’s Capitol Twin
San Diego — Mann’s Loma (52)
San Francisco — Blumenfeld’s Regency II
San Jose — Syufy’s Century 21 (1)
Westminster — UA’s Westminster Mall Twin (27)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington — K-B’s Cinema (26)
HAWAII
Honolulu — Consolidated’s Waikiki Twin (27)
ILLINOIS
Calumet City — Plitt’s River Oaks 6-plex (27)
Chicago — General Cinema’s Ford City Triplex (27)
Orland Park — Plitt’s Orland Square 4-plex (28)
Schaumburg — Plitt’s Woodfield 4-plex (27)
Skokie — M&R’s Old Orchard Triplex (21)
LOUISIANA
Metairie — Cobb’s Lakeside 4-plex (52) [70mm from Week #28]
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis — Plitt’s Skyway 4-plex (23)
NEW YORK
New York — Loews’ New York Twin (27)
New York — Moss’ Movieland
New York — Reade’s Bay (26)
ONTARIO
Toronto — Odeon’s Hyland Twin (44)
OREGON
Beaverton — Luxury Theatres’ Westgate Triplex (43)
Portland — Luxury Theatres’ Eastgate Triplex (43)
TEXAS
Dallas — General Cinema’s Northpark West Twin (27)
Houston — General Cinema’s Galleria 4-plex
UTAH
Salt Lake City — Plitt’s Crossroads Triplex (48)
South Salt Lake — Syufy’s Century 5-plex (51)
SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS
1982-06-17 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 23 Twin (2)
1982-07-02 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 22 Triplex (3)
1982-07-16 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (27)
1982-07-16 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Picwood (22)
1982-07-16 … Newport Beach, CA — Edwards’ Newport Twin (19)
1982-07-16 … Riverside, CA — Sanborn’s Canyon Crest 5-plex (39)
1982-07-16 … Seattle, WA — UA’s Cinema 150 (22) [70mm from Week #2]
1982-07-23 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 23 Twin (43)
1982-10-22 … West St. Paul, MN — Engler’s Signal Hills 4-plex
1982-11-12 … Nashville, TN — Martin’s Belle Meade (5)
1982-12-17 … Colorado Springs, CO — Commonwealth’s Ute 70 (14)
1982-12-17 … Dallas, TX — Plitt’s Caruth Plaza Twin (9)
1982-12-17 … Philadelphia, PA — Budco’s Regency Twin (17) [70mm from Week #7]
1982-??-?? … Atlanta, GA — Columbia
1983-02-18 … Cedar Grove, NJ — Cinema 23
1983-02-18 … East Meadow, NY — UA’s Meadowbrook 4-plex
1983-02-18 … Hicksville, NY — RKO Century’s Mid-Island Plaza Twin
1983-02-18 … Nanuet, NY — UA’s Route 59 (3)
1983-02-18 … New York, NY — Loews’ New York Twin
1983-02-18 … New York, NY — Walter Reade’s Bay
1983-02-18 … Secaucus, NJ — Loews’ Meadow 6-plex
1983-02-18 … Wayne, NJ — Loews’ Wayne 6-plex (3)
1983-02-18 … White Plains, NY — UA’s Cinema
1983-03-04 … Los Angeles, CA — UA’s Egyptian Triplex (3)
1983-03-25 … Chicago, IL — Plitt’s State Lake (1)
1983-03-25 … Evergreen Park, IL — M&R’s Evergreen Triplex (1)
1983-03-25 … Forest Park, IL — Essaness’ Forest Park Triplex (1)
1983-03-25 … Norridge, IL — M&R’s Norridge 4-plex (1)
1983-03-25 … Schaumburg, IL — Plitt’s Woodfield 4-plex (1)
1983-04-01 … Little Rock, AR — UA’s Heights (2)
1983-04-15 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Palace Triplex (3)
1983-05-20 … Cleveland, OH — Colony (1)
1983-05-20 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 21 (3)
1985-07-19 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Plaza (2)
1985-07-19 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (4)
1985-07-19 … Montreal, QC — Cineplex Odeon’s Champlain Twin (5) [Version Francaise]
1985-07-19 … New York, NY — Loews’ Orpheum Twin
1985-07-19 … New York, NY — Loews’ State Twin
1985-07-19 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 22 Triplex (3)
1985-07-19 … San Francisco, CA — Blumenfeld’s Royal
1985-07-19 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Hyland Twin (5)
1985-08-09 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 24 Twin (1)
1985-12-26 … Toronto, ON — Cinesphere* (11 days)
1986-06-06 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (1) [w/“Back to the Future”]
1987-06-30 … Universal City, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Universal City 18-plex**
1990-07-22 … Los Angeles, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Fairfax Triplex***
2017-06-18 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian****
2017-06-23 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian****
* Screened during the (annual) “Ford 70mm Film Festival”
** Screened during the “Magnificent Movie Poll” grand-opening event
*** Screened during the “Classic Film Festival”
**** Screened during the “82 Blowup! Series”
The information in this article was principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Bill Kretzel, Monty Marin and Vince Young.
Additional 70mm prints were screened internationally (but have not been accounted for in this article).
If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider contacting the author or editor.
quote: Michael Coate...and struck internationally, too. Back in January I inspected one that Universal had just repatriated from the UK. The edge code indicated that the print stock was made in Britain. The year was 1982, and so thankfully, it was on 5384 (lo-fade) stock; probably one of the first lo-fade 70mm release prints to have been made there.
Additional 70mm prints were screened internationally...
It has been 837 days since the last post.
quote: Michael Coate
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver — Odeon’s Park (45)
CALIFORNIA
Costa Mesa — Edwards’ Town Center 4-plex (28)
Los Angeles — Pacific’s Cinerama Dome (5)
Los Angeles — Pacific’s Picwood (22) [opened July 16th]
Newport Beach — Edwards’ Newport Twin (19) [opened July 16th]
Oakland — Renaissance Rialto’s Grand Lake Twin (36)
Orange — Syufy’s City Center Twin (27)
Riverside — Sanborn’s Canyon Crest 5-plex (39) [opened July 16th]
Sacramento — Syufy’s Capitol Twin (39)
San Diego — Mann’s Loma (52)
San Francisco — Blumenfeld’s Regency II (5)
San Jose — Syufy’s Century 21 (1)
Westminster — UA’s Westminster Mall Twin (27)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington — K-B’s Cinema (26)
GEORGIA
Atlanta — Columbia (17) [opened Aug. 20th]
HAWAII
Honolulu — Consolidated’s Waikiki Twin (27)
ILLINOIS
Calumet City — Plitt’s River Oaks 6-plex (27)
Chicago — GCC’s Ford City Triplex (27)
Orland Park — Plitt’s Orland Square 4-plex (28)
Schaumburg — Plitt’s Woodfield 4-plex (27)
Skokie — M&R’s Old Orchard Triplex (21)
LOUISIANA
Metairie — Cobb’s Lakeside 4-plex (52) [70mm from Week 28]
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis — Plitt’s Skyway 4-plex (23)
NEW YORK
New York — Loews’ New York Twin (27)
New York — Moss’ Movieland (52)
New York — Reade’s Bay (26)
ONTARIO
Toronto — Odeon’s Hyland Twin (44)
OREGON
Beaverton — LT’s Westgate Triplex (43)
Portland — LT’s Eastgate Triplex (43)
TEXAS
Dallas — GCC’s Northpark West Twin (27)
Houston — GCC’s Galleria 4-plex (32)
UTAH
Salt Lake City — Plitt’s Crossroads Triplex (48)
South Salt Lake — Syufy’s Century 5-plex (51)
WASHINGTON
Seattle — UA’s Cinema 150 (22) [opened July 16th]
SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS
1982-06-17 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 23 Twin (2)
1982-07-02 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 22 Triplex (3)
1982-07-16 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (27)
1982-07-16 … San Francisco, CA — Blumenfeld’s Regency I (22)
1982-07-23 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 23 Twin (43)
1982-10-22 … West St. Paul, MN — Engler’s Signal Hills 4-plex (?)
1982-11-12 … Nashville, TN — Martin’s Belle Meade (5)
1982-12-17 … Colorado Springs, CO — Commonwealth’s Ute 70 (14)
1982-12-17 … Dallas, TX — Plitt’s Cinema Twin (9)
1982-12-17 … Philadelphia, PA — Budco’s Regency Twin (17) [70mm from Week 7]
1982-12-22 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Valley West 6-plex (9)
1983-02-18 … Cedar Grove, NJ — Cinema 23 (3)
1983-02-18 … East Meadow, NY — UA’s Meadowbrook 4-plex (3)
1983-02-18 … Hicksville, NY — RKO Century’s Mid-Island Plaza Twin (3)
1983-02-18 … Nanuet, NY — UA’s Route 59 (3)
1983-02-18 … New York, NY — Loews’ New York Twin (3)
1983-02-18 … New York, NY — Reade’s Bay (2)
1983-02-18 … Secaucus, NJ — Loews’ Meadow 6-plex (3)
1983-02-18 … Wayne, NJ — Loews’ Wayne 6-plex (3)
1983-02-18 … White Plains, NY — UA’s Cinema (3)
1983-03-04 … Los Angeles, CA — UA’s Egyptian Triplex (3)
1983-03-25 … Chicago, IL — Plitt’s State Lake (1)
1983-03-25 … Evergreen Park, IL — M&R’s Evergreen Triplex (1)
1983-03-25 … Forest Park, IL — Essaness’ Forest Park Triplex (1)
1983-03-25 … Norridge, IL — M&R’s Norridge 4-plex (1)
1983-03-25 … Schaumburg, IL — Plitt’s Woodfield 4-plex (1)
1983-04-01 … Little Rock, AR — UA’s Heights (2)
1983-04-08 … Oklahoma City, OK — Westwood (6)
1983-04-13 … Greenfield, WI — Marcus’ Spring Mall Triplex (1)
1983-04-15 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Palace Triplex (3)
1983-05-06 … Tacoma, WA — Galaxy’s Temple (5) [w/ “The Dark Crystal”]
1983-05-20 … Cleveland, OH — Colony (1)
1983-05-20 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 21 (3)
1983-05-20 … Southfield, MI — SDT’s Northland Twin (2)
1983-05-27 … Huntsville, AL — United Amusement’s Madison Twin (2)
1985-07-19 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Plaza (2)
1985-07-19 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (4)
1985-07-19 … Montreal, QC — Cineplex Odeon’s Champlain Twin (5) [Version Francaise]
1985-07-19 … New York, NY — Loews’ Orpheum Twin (4)
1985-07-19 … New York, NY — Loews’ State Twin (3)
1985-07-19 … San Francisco, CA — Blumenfeld’s Royal (2)
1985-07-19 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 22 Triplex (3)
1985-07-19 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Hyland Twin (5)
1985-07-19 … Washington, DC — Circle’s MacArthur Triplex (4)
1985-08-09 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 24 Twin (1)
1985-08-16 … Corte Madera, CA — Marin’s Cinema (1)
1985-08-23 … Los Angeles, CA — Four Star (1)
1985-08-30 … Mesa, AZ — Mann’s Superstition 5-plex (3) [w/ “The Black Cauldron”]
1985-12-26 … Toronto, ON — Cinesphere* (11 days)
1986-06-06 … Los Angeles, CA — Pacific’s Hollywood Pacific Triplex (1) [w/ “Back to the Future”]
1987-06-30 … Universal City, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Universal City 18-plex**
1990-07-22 … Los Angeles, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Fairfax Triplex***
2017-06-18 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian*
2017-06-23 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian*
2017-08-20 … Santa Monica, CA — American Cinematheque’s Aero*
2017-12-23 … Toronto, ON — TIFF Bell Lightbox*
2017-12-25 … Toronto, ON — TIFF Bell Lightbox*
2017-12-30 … Toronto, ON — TIFF Bell Lightbox (2 days)*
2018-01-06 … Toronto, ON — TIFF Bell Lightbox*
2018-09-?? … Seattle, WA — Cinerama*
2019-08-03 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian*
2019-09-28 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama*
* Screened during a 70mm series/festival
** Screened during the Magnificent Movie Poll grand-opening event
*** Screened during the Classic Film Festival
quote:Call me dense if you want, but how would the "premiere" 70mm prints be "original negative" and the rest interneg if the original camera elements were 35mm? I mean, a blowup is already by definition an interneg, right, and can't be original? Does that mean the rest of the 70mm run was two generations worse? Making a second blowup to replace a worn blowup neg couldn't have been THAT difficult...
The 70mm prints of “E.T.” screened in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were reportedly struck off the original negative, with the balance of the 70mm print run struck off an inter-negative.
quote: Michael Coate
The 70mm prints of “E.T.” screened in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were reportedly struck off the original negative, with the balance of the 70mm print run struck off an inter-negative.
quote: Bill BrandensteinThe implication of the claim in my piece is that a small quantity of 70mm prints for “E.T.” were direct blow-ups from the original negative bypassing any use of intermediates, whereas the majority of the movie’s 70mm prints were struck in the more common manner (i.e. 35mm ON —> 35mm IP —> 65mm IN —> 70mm print).
...how would the "premiere" 70mm prints be "original negative" and the rest interneg if the original camera elements were 35mm?