Classic movies on the BIG SCREEN in the NJ/NY area! (1 Viewer)

My friend is the director of film programming for the Loews Jersey Theatre and asked me to pass this along as he thought the members would be interested. Let's get out there and support the classics on the Big Screen - the way they were meant to be seen!
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If you're in the New York City/Tri-State area, don't miss this unique opportunity to see rare prints of classic films on the big screen. All are presented in 35mm on the big Loews Jersey screen with beautiful carbon arc projection! The Loew's Jersey is a magnificent, ornate, 3100-seat Rapp & Rapp designed movie palace, built in 1929 and currently undergoing full restoration. It is one of the finest surviving theatres of its type in the New York area. The Friend's of the Loew's presents a weekend of film events in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. There will also be exhibits of original World War Two artifacts and memorabilia in the grand lobby and mezzanine.
Friday, December 7 - THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO, starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson. Screening begins at 7:30 PM; rare short subjects will also be presented, including the Bugs Bunny cartoon classic FALLING HARE.
Saturday, December 8 - CASABLANCA, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Two screenings, at 1:30 and 8 pm; rare shorts subjects include the classic Warner Bros. cartoon SWOONER CROONER as well as a Columbia piece entitled AMERICA SINGS WITH KATE SMITH (1942), a sing-a-long of patriotic songs.
Sunday, December 9 - BUCK PRIVATES, starring Abbott & Costello and The Andrews Sisters; Doors open at 1pm, movie starts at 3pm. There will be swing dancing exhibition in the lobby before the movie; that's why the doors will open 2 hours before the feature. It will give folks a chance to cut a rug, and enjoy some fine USO-style coffee and donuts while they check out the memorabilia displays. BUCK PRIVATES is scheduled to start at 3:00. Short subjects on the program include the Daffy Duck rarity DRAFTEE DAFFY as well as The Three Stooges in YOU NAZTY SPY.
Tickets for each event are $5.00 general admission, and $3.00 for senior citizens and children under 12. The Loews Jersey is easily reached from New York City via the PATH trains, and is just minutes from the Holland Tunnel and the New Jersey Turnpike. Ample parking is available in the lot behind the theatre, or on Journal Square.
Further info & directions: http://www.loewsjersey.org
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Hope to see some of you HTF'ers there - I plan on attending the Friday night and Saturday afternoon showings, Sunday is tied up (grrrr!).
Pete
(mods: I have no financial interest in this venue - I just want to alert the HTF membership to a rare & special event)

Pete
It's amazing that you started this thread! I grew up in Jersey City and practically lived at the Loews. I love that theater and actually stopped by a few weeks ago and checked up on it's restoration progess. I had no idea that it was ready to show films.
Peter is right that it is/was a beatiful theater. I can't wait to visit it again. It will bring back many, many fond memories. By all means, go if you can. I certainly will try.
Thanks again Peter and keep us updated on future events.

Tino, this will be my first chance to see a film at the Loews. They've run a few things in the past - at Halloween they ran Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein for some sort of J.C. school function and had something like 600-700 kids in there. They also ran The Time Machine earlier this year. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend either showing (you know, being married and having a child really cuts into my movie-going time ). I don't know how far along the restoration is, but I do know the projection booth is in good hands.
Bring some friends!

Living in new york city with no car, all i can so is I'm one jealous person. It's such a strange experience to see an old movie you've seen on tv a million times on the big screen for the first time.

I wish the zeigfeld or radio city would do this more often.

Ric
Which Casablanca showing are you going to? My fiance` and I are probably going to the Saturday night showing of Casablanca and the Sunday afternoon showing of Buck Privates.
I can't wait. The nostalgia factor will be in high gear for me.

Update:
We screened the three cartoons last night during our regular Wednesday night screening (not at the Loews). They are mint 35mm prints right out of the vault at Warner's and are stunning! In case nobody remembers, FALLING HARE stars Bugs Bunny and is the one where he fights off the Gremlin; SWOONER CROONER is one where Porky Pig runs the egg factory and enlists the aid of "Frankie" and "Bing" to help production along; DRAFTEE DAFFY is the wildest of the lot and features Daffy Duck trying to avoid delivery of his draft notice. (I also got advance word that the Buck Privates print is virtually brand-new!)
These are going to be a treat on the giant screen - hope some of you can make it!
Tino & Ric, glad to hear you guys will be there; please make sure to report back on here your thoughts on the show(s) so I can forward them to the people running the event.
Pete
Loews Jersey Website

That's an interesting line-up, Peter. Last November I had the pleasure of introducing and moderating discussions at a week-long series of films that was run in conjuntion with a WWII veterans convention. It was an amazing experience. Along with Casablanca and 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, we showed Air Force, Bataan, and Hail the Conquering Hero.

On the day we ran 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, a frail little man introduced himself to me and began to tell me about ol' Jimmy. It took me a minute or two before I noticed the Congressional Medal of Honor hanging from the man's neck and realized that he was talking about Col. James Doolittle, the man Spencer Tracy plays in the film.

There's something about seeing Casablanca on the big screen. I saw it again a few months ago at the beautiful Tennessee theater here in Knoxville. That film just works.

For similar stuff, you should check the Village Voice.

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Holadem

Darren, nice story .
I think the folks putting on the show at the Loews have done a great job selecting these three films - I just hope they get a good turnout so a regular film series can happen there. Rumor has it that there will be a Black History Month weekend in February and future plans include a tribute to dye-transfer Technicolor!
Holadem: They ran an ad for this series in the VV this week; let's hope that some New Yorkers hop on the PATH and get out to a show - there is no theater like this anywhere else in the NYC area.

Well, I ventured out of my home theatre last night to see a real movie theatre, and WOW, the Loew's Jersey is incredible. It is like stepping into the past. The theatre is one of the most ornate theatres I have ever been in, and the presentation was stunning. I highly recommend anyone who can, checking out the rest of this weekends shows.

/Mitchell

I enjoyed myself immensely at last night's showing of Casablanca last night. While the presentation wasn't flawless - they are in dire need of a new screen, anybody got a spare? - the entire "program" was perfect. The Kate Smith sing-along was a hoot and a great reminder of the simpler pleasures of yesterday. The newsreel showed how grim the WWII days were and I got a lump in my throat when the audience stood and sang with the National Anthem film. And seeing Cassablanca on a theatre screen - the first time since 1981 for me - shows just how lacking almost all modern films are. Great dialogue, great acting.

Mitchell's assesment of the theatre is accurate - I was blown away at the sheer size of the place. My wife remarked that was like seeing a movie in a cathedral. I told her that she was correct - it's a "Cathedral of Motion Pictures." I hope they do well enough with this weekend's shows to continue in 2002 - there appeared to be a couple of hundred people there last night.

Today's show of Buck Privates starts at 3pm - doors open at 1!

I just returned from seeing Buck Privates at the Loews Jersey Theater and it was a wonderful show and presentation.
Stepping into the lobby of this wonderful majestic theater, I felt as though I had travelled back in time, 21 years to be exact, since it's been that long since I saw a film there.
The theater itself is huge, approx, 3000 seats when it's finished and is a throwback to those spectacular movie palaces of yesteryear. Once the restoration is complete, I believe it will be the finest movie theater in the Metro NY City area.
Today's program was a blast. Before the film was shown, there was a Swing Troupe giving dance lessons to everyone there.
My fiance` and I even cut the rug a bit.
The film program began with a newsreel from the era with George and Gracie, Lana Turner and Abbott and Costello doing their "Who's On First" routine. Next was a Star Spangled banner sing along, followed by the Three Stooges in a War Spooof "You Nazti Spy" and a Daffy Duck cartoon Draftee Daffy.
Finally Buck Privates started and I can't tell you what a joy it waas seeing this on the big screen. Abbott and Costello are IMO the greatest comedy duo ever and the laughter that echoed throughout the theater confirmed that I wasn't alone in that sentiment. The print was in good shape as was the other shorts.
Everyone was super friendly and eager to talk about the restoration. I may even volunteer a few Saturdays since they can always use the help.
I look forward to future programs such as the upcoming Technicolor and Widescreen film events. I will try to make them all. If you live in the area, try to make a show. you'll be happy you did.
Once again, Thanks Peter. I would have missed this if you hadn't started this thread. Keep us posted.

Tino, I'm so glad you were able to attend one of the shows. I'm going to e-mail this thread to the director of film programming there, he'll be happy to see several members of the HTF went to the shows. I'll have to get a report back from him on attendance.

Pete

This is great news - unfortunately I wasn't able to go last weekend but I will be there for all future shows. I haven't seen a movie at the Loews since BEN-HUR in 1961. Can't wait to go back again!

--Bill

Wow, Bill, 1961? That's a long time ago... . Hope you get to future shows there, it's quite an experience. With the mods permission, I'll keep the group updated as I learn of more events.

Hello everybody, I'm the Director of Film Programming at the Loew's Jersey. Pete was nice enough to send me a link to this site.
Thank you very much for the kind words and the support of our restoration efforts. I'm very glad that you were able to come out and see some of the shows this past weekend. Unlike many other movie palace/performing arts centers around the country, we plan to have a very active program of classic film revivals. As you can see, the restoration is very much a work-in-progress. We have accomplished a lot with the volunteers, and this has been done with minimal funding. Keep in mind that the theatre came VERY close to demolition in the early nineties. The building sat vacant and un-heated for nearly ten years. The projection booth was stripped, and pigeons had moved in. It was not a pretty sight! However, after lots of work, we're finally at the point where we can start having events.
We do have a brand new fifty-foot screen, and it will be installed as soon as the restoration work is completed on the stage roof. This project is expected to be finished in the next few months. We are also putting a lot of effort into preparing the backstage/dressing room facilities for live events. The theatres huge stage has not seen active use since they changed to an all film program ("All the Show on the Screen") in the mid-thirties! There's two levels of dressing rooms back there, plus a large rehearsal hall. (The theatre originally had a 40 piece symphony orchestra, plus its own chorus line.) There will be a mix of live shows and film events in our future programming.
Once the new screen is in place, we will get brand new high quality Schneider lenses, and project all of our films with the largest possible picture. The new image for flat 1.37 will be much larger than what you saw this weekend. The Cinemascope image will be nearly 50 feet wide.
We'll also be upgrading the old sound systems, and expect to have full stereo capability by next summer. Right now we have 3 Voice of the Theatre Altec stage speakers, and approximately 24 surrounds throughout the auditorium and balcony.
Our ultimate goal is to be the finest showplace for classic films in the Tri-state area, presenting rare archival prints and restorations in the best possible quality. With a bit of luck (and a lot of funding) we hope to reach our goal within the next year.
Thanks again for your interest. Rest assured, film programming at the Loew's Jersey will keep getting better and better!
Bob Furmanek
www.loewsjersey.org

Bob
Kudos to you and all your staff for this amazing accomplishment. It sounds as though the Loews Jersey will indeed be a theatrical phoenix and rise from the ashes of near demolition.
It was evident that everyone I spoke to yesterday was completely dedicated to this restoration. As I mentioned, One of the kind volunteers Rene` said I and anyone for that matter, can volunteer on Saturdays with the restoration. I will definitely try and make some time to do just that.
The theater is coming along beautifully and already looks as though it's in better shape than the last time I was in it in 1980. The balcony was my favorite hangout (currently off limits) and I actually had my first date there (Star Trek: The Motion Picture!). To say it brings back fond memories is an understatement.
Rest assured I will spread the word of all events at the Loews Jersey that I hear about as I'm sure Pete and others here will to.
I can't wait till it's up and running at 100% capacity. Great days and nights ahead.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Regards
Tino

Thanks Tino, I'm glad that you had a good time. You know, you're not the first one who mentioned having "first dates" in the balcony. Apparently, that upper balcony was quite the romantic spot for young couples!
We actually have all the seats restored and plan to re-install them, but we can't open the balcony until the exterior fire escapes are repaired. It will happen eventually, but I don't know how soon.
Saturday is the best time to stop by and help out. They can always use volunteer power, whether it's cleaning, painting, or staffing an event. If you do stop by, ask for Patti. She is in charge of the volunteers at the theatre.
Thanks again for the kind words and support. Next time we do a film, please look me up and say hello. If you'd like to see the restored projection booth, I'll be happy to give you the tour.
Bob Furmanek