Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: "This is a cool theatre"

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Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 07-27-2018, 11:17 PM:

I've mentioned before that I try to use appropriate music before the shows.

I'm playing The First Purge this week and I overheard one guy tonight talking to his buddy.

"This is a cool theatre. Where else could you hear Slayer and Creed before the movie starts?"

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 07-28-2018, 12:22 PM:

Someone is doing it right!

Posted by Stephan Shelley (Member # 8587) on 07-28-2018, 01:04 PM:

It is always nice to hear that from customers. I think most of us that work or own independent theatres try hard to go a little extra to make the experience something better than one can get at the megaplex down the road. It shows the hard work is paying off when you hear something like that.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-28-2018, 01:27 PM:

I have a small collection of "previews of coming attractions" clips that I rotate in, depending on the movie and its intended audience. Right now we're playing the new Mission Impossible, so, since that originated in the 1960s I'm using my 1960s vintage PCA clip.

I don't know if anybody notices this kind of stuff but I think it's fun.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-28-2018, 02:19 PM:

Ok, semi-off topic, but looking for an opinion outside of my own bias.

Is there such a thing as a cool 70's or later era theatre?
Cool in the sense that the theatre is memorable and should be preserved. That is not like anything else. Has it's own character?

70's theatre are approaching the 50 year old mark. Are many left, and does anyone care?

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 07-28-2018, 03:12 PM:

quote: Martin McCaffery
Is there such a thing as a cool 70's or later era theatre?
Cool in the sense that the theatre is memorable and should be preserved. That is not like anything else. Has it's own character?

I would say that some of the auditoriums with large constant-height screens built in the past several decades are memorable and should be preserved. "Large" means anything in the 70'+ range... in other words a screen big enough to make it worthwhile to leave home.

Some of the Harkins Cine-Capri and Warren Grand auditoriums meet those requirements, and I'm sure there are others.

Geoff

Posted by Terry Monohan (Member # 8285) on 07-30-2018, 09:15 AM:

When my friend Jim was manager of the DelMar Theatre in Santa Cruz CA before Landmark took it over I gave him some of my Wultizer organ theatre CD's to play before the movie started. Sounded great at this art deco theatre by the beach. He even used a fanfare organ cut when the curtains came up a second time after the previews before the main feature. Jim and his helper Scott picked out some great movie palace pipe organ selections to play. No church type organ music but up tempo show tunes ect. Now that Landmark has taken over the DelMar all the organ music has ended along with even raising the curtain. Young people and the older movie crowd loved the organ music, showmanship and presantation was brought back to the DelMar for a brief time.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-30-2018, 11:24 AM:

The place that I have been that always got the most oohs and aahs (especially from young people) is the Byrd Theatre in Richmond, VA. I haven't been there in a number of years, but they had (and still have) an organist who performs before the shows on Saturday nights. The organ rises out of the orchestra pit, he plays for a bit, then the organ lowers and the film starts. In the summer, they do a brief sing-a-long before the show.

The Byrd is pretty much completely original from the 1920s, and is (or was, when I was last there) in terrific condition. Anyway, they put on a good show and audiences seem to appreciate that, especially those of us too young to remember when every theatre was like that.

The only remotely close modern equivalent would be a real Imax house, which is more impressive for the screen size than for the theatre itself. "Normal" theatres built after the 1960s are a dime a dozen. They might be notable for their programming or their staff or their location, but there isn't much about the buildings themselves that is memorable.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-30-2018, 07:08 PM:

What's funny to me is, when I first bought my theater people were still used to "movie palace" type theaters, so when they came inside they'd say "Oh, this is cute!" when they got to the auditorium. Then they got used to shoebox auditoriums, so they started saying "Wow, this is big!"

Then the PLF gigantic screen trend started happening, although not so much in Montana yet, so we'll probably eventually start to hear "cute" comments again.

Posted by James Wyrembelski (Member # 9037) on 08-01-2018, 05:34 PM:

Good to hear!

This is why I've always liked independents vs chain/corp. Doesn't matter if we are talking theatres, restaurants, or anything else. Its nice to see the owners own personal touches and flavor.

Before our theater's renovation it had little character left to it after years of changes (and lots of neglect). Most of the original touches had long been torn out, leaving much to be desired. About the only thing it had left going was its age. (1940)

That's why I made sure to keep the original auditorium sconces. I also kept the stage curtain and we ended up spicing the stage up with some real organ pipes on either side. There's no organ, but its a throwback to the old palace days. We did find a nice chapel reed organ from 1885 with a very ornate case to sit down front.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 08-01-2018, 07:09 PM:

Hello James,
How about a picture of the non-organ organ?

Love to see it.

KEN