New York City Repertory Cinema

[rrenault]

I suppose it is a case-by-case basis. I once watched a DCP of Love Streams, another Cassavetes film, at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, and I would have sworn I was watching an actual print. That's how stunning it looked. It didn't have the sterility one often associates with DCPs. On the other hand, I've watched Licorice Pizza three times, once in 70mm blow up, once via DCP, and once at home in 4K via Apple TV, and the DCP was probably the least of the three viewing experiences.

Cassavetes and PTA titles are definitely among those where enhanced the materiality and flicker of film are important I think, or at least some PTA titles, not all.

My experiences with analog projection since 2010 have been all over the map though. It's ranged from putrid to stellar. However, my best celluloid experiences over the past decade or so have admittedly been first-runs. Watching a faded print of Godard's Weekend at MOMA where everything was pink was a low point.

But I guess DCPs explain why often in the earlier part of the 2010s when I was less privy to some of the technological aspects of theatrical projection "finally seeing one of my favorite films on the big screen" often felt anticlimactic.

[aurevoir]

I'd say the gulf between good and bad digital projection is larger than that between good and bad prints, extreme fading possibly excepted.

Speaking of MoMA: what's going on with the programming there right now? Nothing against the horror megaseries taking place this summer (though teasing a nonexistent screening of Amer in one of the write-ups was cruel). But there are two screens and, with rare exception, they're only using one of them at a time.

[Roscoe]

A new wrinkle at Film Forum -- they need to raise the screen about a foot and a half. The subtitles in the recent screening of THE HIDDEN FORTRESS were riding very very very low in the image, hugging the very bottom of the frame, and I kept having to move around in my seat to see around the head of the poor average heighted guy sitting in front of me. This happened in the earlier Kurosawa/Mifune series as well. I brought the issue to the attention of the staff, and they said they knew about the problem, and agreed.

[hearthesilence]

I notice they're screening a DCP of Hud. A shame because I just saw a 35mm print at MoMI as part of the James Wong Howe retrospective that wrapped up, and it looked BEAUTIFUL. The film won an Oscar for cinematography, so it's possible they took extra care in creating the DCP. (I'm sorry to say that the film remains a mixed bag for me. There's a lot I like about it, but it can also feel heavy handed. Melvyn Douglas is marvelous but there were too many times where his open moralizing felt forced and unnecessary.)

[aurevoir]

A new wrinkle at Film Forum -- they need to raise the screen about a foot and a half. The subtitles in the recent screening of THE HIDDEN FORTRESS were riding very very very low in the image, hugging the very bottom of the frame, and I kept having to move around in my seat to see around the head of the poor average heighted guy sitting in front of me. This happened in the earlier Kurosawa/Mifune series as well. I brought the issue to the attention of the staff, and they said they knew about the problem, and agreed.

Which screen was this? I'd say the lack of raked seating is also to blame.

Another issue there is light pollution, both from the aisle lights and sometimes from the booth (or an adjoining office).

[Roscoe]

The sightline issue was in the larger theater off to the left as you enter (sorry, can't remember the name or the number) where screenings of HIGH AND LOW and HIDDEN FORTRESS were problematic during the Mifune Centennial series. The most recent issue with HIDDEN FORTRESS was in, I believe, Theatre #3, the one on the immediate right as you enter, you basically do a U-Turn. Both cinemas have rakes, but not quite enough of a rake, and the simple solution would be to raise the bottom edge of the screen a foot or so.

And yes, the light pollution from the floor lights is pretty bad. HIDDEN FORTRESS in Theatre 3 had a visible red tinge on the left side of the screen.

[hearthesilence]

Yeah, the aisle lights are a drag, but given some of the clientele, it's probably a necessity to avoid a lawsuit.

[aurevoir]

I think it's Theatre 3 where there's a proper rake in the back, which is so far from the screen I don't know why anyone would sit there.

I get the sense that the bright lights wouldn't be as much of a problem if the aisles themselves weren't so wide.

[Black Hat]

The DCP of Millennium Mambo, for example, was lacking something; I remember there were certain shots that began on an out-of-focus background, and the image was flat when it should have pulsed. (The famous opening was similarly marred.)

When/where did this screen?

[Black Hat]

A new wrinkle at Film Forum -- they need to raise the screen about a foot and a half. The subtitles in the recent screening of THE HIDDEN FORTRESS were riding very very very low in the image, hugging the very bottom of the frame,

There were a couple of films during the French New Wave series at MoMA where the subtitles were off the screen entirely.

[aurevoir]

The DCP of Millennium Mambo, for example, was lacking something; I remember there were certain shots that began on an out-of-focus background, and the image was flat when it should have pulsed. (The famous opening was similarly marred.)

When/where did this screen?

Metrograph last November. I think it was the new restoration but don't quote me on it.

[Black Hat]

That makes sense. Talk about a place where it's basically paying to watch blu rays...

[aurevoir]

Eh? They're certainly showing fewer prints than pre-pandemic, but the projection and overall theatrical experience are much better than those at most of the other places under discussion in this thread.

[Black Hat]

Maybe if you're under 5 feet tall. Not a fan of Metrograph. The place is a dump.

You guys have always whined way too much about Film Forum, it's a true diamond and will be terribly missed when it's gone.

[aurevoir]

This must be about the seats.

[rrenault]

Maybe if you're under 5 feet tall. Not a fan of Metrograph. The place is a dump.

You guys have always whined way too much about Film Forum, it's a true diamond and will be terribly missed when it's gone.

There aren't any murmurings that Film Forum is closing, are there? I haven't lived in NYC for over a decade, but still...

[rrenault]

Just for reference:

https://www.sprocketschool.org/wiki/Lis ... exhibitors

[Roscoe]

Not really whining about FIlm Forum to point out some areas in need of improvement. I've been a member for nearly thirty years. I would indeed miss it badly if it was gone. But yeah, they screw up sometimes. They're only human.

[hearthesilence]

Film Forum isn't perfect, but there's a lot I like about it - like I get the feeling they're trying their best and that they care. Metrograph had problems from the start, but they had great programmers - unfortunately that's no longer the case. Even their social media team left, and their current one is much less active on there now. At $17 a pop, they're also more expensive than any other repertory theater in NY. I'd highly recommend getting a membership, at least it's much cheaper now and besides the $7/film discount it comes with streaming so it won't take that many screenings to make back your money.

[Lemmy Caution]

As the founder and sole employee of Film Noir Cinema, Will Malitek appears to be the final movie rental clerk left in New York City.

While his industry collapsed, Mr. Malitek flourished. Film Noir began in 2005 as a walk-in closet of recondite DVDs angled into a Brooklyn commercial drag. In 2017, it became a spacious den of films and film memorabilia attached to a 54-seat cinema ... in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

[movielocke]

The sightline issue was in the larger theater off to the left as you enter (sorry, can't remember the name or the number) where screenings of HIGH AND LOW and HIDDEN FORTRESS were problematic during the Mifune Centennial series. The most recent issue with HIDDEN FORTRESS was in, I believe, Theatre #3, the one on the immediate right as you enter, you basically do a U-Turn. Both cinemas have rakes, but not quite enough of a rake, and the simple solution would be to raise the bottom edge of the screen a foot or so.

And yes, the light pollution from the floor lights is pretty bad. HIDDEN FORTRESS in Theatre 3 had a visible red tinge on the left side of the screen.

Why would you raise the screen to fix what sounds like it could be as simple as a projector alignment issue or a poor projector keystone plate issue. Replace the keystone plate might fix it.

[Roscoe]

The screens at Film Forum are on what looks like a masking system -- they can raise or lower or change the borders of the screen to accommodate different aspect ratios. I've seen them in action. Or maybe not, maybe it's the keystone plate -- I don't know. It's their job to project the films so that we can see the damned subtitles without having to duck around the heads of the people sitting in front of us. As for why they would do it -- to make the viewing experience better for the patrons, of course.

[ianthemovie]

The Crowd is screening at Lincoln Center this weekend. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but perhaps the fact that Donald Sosin will be performing a (newly written?) score indicates that this could finally be coming out on disc?

https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-crowd/

[Drucker]

Well it's playing as part of a King Vidor retrospective and playing in 35. Perhaps if it was a new restoration I'd share your optimism...

[hearthesilence]

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