"Spectacular Science Fiction" Film Festival in Suffern, New York (1 Viewer)

(Thanks to Ron & Parker for allowing me to post this message).

The SPECTACULAR SCIENCE FICTION Film Festival comes to the historic Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, New York with nine classic films to be screened on September 10-11-12, 2004.

The SPECTACULAR SCIENCE FICTION Film Festival at the historic 1000-seat Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, New York, presents nine unique and entertaining science fiction films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, all on the Lafayette Theatre's giant silver screen. Screening will be films from directors such as Stanley Kubrick & Robert Wise, special effects artists such as Ray Harryhausen & Douglas Trumbull, stars such as Charlton Heston, Patricia Neal, and even a family matinee with Abbott & Costello! All of these films are showing in the finest prints available from the studio vaults. There will also be a lobby display of rare original posters and advertising materials for the films.

Film Schedule
Friday, September 10
7:15 pm- THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
10:00 pm - INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) - in SuperScope!

Saturday, September 11
12:45 pm - FIRST MEN IN THE MOON - in Panavision & LunaColor!
3:30 pm - THEM
7:15 pm - FORBIDDEN PLANET - in CinemaScope, PerspectaSound & MetroColor!
10:00 pm - THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN

Sunday
12:45 pm - ABBOTT & COSTELLO GO TO MARS - Special Family Matinee also featuring short subjects and a pre-show organ concert!
3:30 pm - PLANET OF THE APES (1968) - in Panavision & DeLuxe Color!
7:15 pm - 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - in Panavision and Stereophonic Sound!

Appearances by cast members at several films will announced soon!

Individual tickets are $8.00 for each show and will be available at the Lafayette Theatre Box Office. Advance tickets and money-saving passes are now on sale via the Internet on the official website: BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

The Lafayette Theatre (celebrating its 80th Anniversary in 2004), located at 97 Lafayette Avenue in downtown Suffern, New York, is a renovated and restored 1000-seat 1924 vintage movie palace. Featuring comfortable seating, superb acoustics, clear sight lines, state-of-the-art projection equipment, and the Ben Hall Memorial Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ, the Lafayette Theatre is *the* premiere venue for viewing classic films in the tri-state area.

The official website for the festival is available at: SPECTACULAR SCIENCE FICTION FESTIVAL

I hope to see some Home Theater Forum members at these shows - I'll be the one pacing the lobby or obsessing over the projection! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them in this thread.

Thanks for reading,

Pete Apruzzese
Director of Film Programming
Big Screen Classics - "Spectacular Science Fiction"

Peter, why must you be living in New Jersey, man?

We need somebody like you here in Los Angeles. Here we are, the cinema capital of the world, and we have no commercial cinemas with programming directors like you. Darn!

I hope you sell out each screening. Magnificent program.

Thank you, Jack. Check out the description of "2001" on the "Films" page - there is a little tribute to you on there...

"The Film"!

Not only that, Peter, your copy for that descriptive blurb of The Film is terrific. And, of course, I could not agree more.

I would love to attend a festival with a line-up like that. I consider myself lucky if the local theatre puts an arthouse film on the screen, let alone a collection of Sci-Fi greats. I occasionally check your site for whats coming soon, Peter and it makes me jealous every time.

On of my favorite sci-fi films of all time.

The Lafayette is a fantastic place to see film done right. Pete and his crew are to be commended for preserving the lost art of showmanship.

If you're in the New York area, don't miss this unique event!

Im there for 2001!!

Jon, as I told Peter in another thread, one of the very best presentations of 2001 I've ever seen was a freshly minted 35mm stereophonic print. And the projectionist really cared, keeping that thing in focus all the time. It was glorious. It also was 1971.

A 35mm print ran here just three weeks ago at the New Beverly Cinema on Beverly Boulevard.

Awesome lineup, Peter. If I wasn't already going to the national meet in L.A. two weeks later...

That is one impressive line up Peter. Very cool web page also.

I would love to be able to attend that...

Oooohhh, perhaps a road trip is in order.

I've always wanted to see Invansion of the Body Snatchers on the big screen. That movie still gives me the chills.

Jack Briggs said:



You're right about how lucky we are in the Northeast to have Pete and the Lafayette, but at least you've still got the Chinese Theater and the Cinerama Dome. Imagine what would happen if Pete got to program the Cinerama Dome - it'd be the best of all possible worlds.

And the Dome does special screenings. Three HTFers joined me last year at a special screening of the first-ever widescreen film, This Is Cinerama. It was projected in the three-projector/three-panel, nonanamorphic widescreen format. And in stereo sound that had to have been glorious in 1952.

The projectors are meticulously maintained. That commercial cinema truly is a treasure. And the people at Arclight need to hire our friend Peter, and get him here where he belongs!

I think Pete would love to program on the west coast. I can't think of anyone better qualified. After all, he presents a consistently high level of quality programming, and his recent 3-D weekend was the greatest 3-D revival ever to play east of the Mississippi.

Of course, his very patient wife and son may not be too anxious for Pete to go west!

Thank you all for the kind comments regarding this and other events I've worked on. Bob Furmanek certainly knows the ins-and-outs of film programming on events such as these, I think he'd be a good choice to move west and program an all-Technicolor/PerspectaSound festival...

======

UPDATE! - Just confirmed today are a personal appearance on-stage by actors KEIR DULLEA & GARY LOCKWOOD at the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY showing. The pair will be there to introduce the film and do an audience Q & A following the feature. Hoping to announce more celebs soon...

Amazing!

Peter, tape record the Q&A, please. Hire a summer intern to transcribe it for you and then post it here! Oh, and I forgot to say "please." Please do this, sir!

Is it ok to take a few pics?