New York City Repertory Cinema

[senseabove]

I would assume that happens after a problem with the print is discovered during the protectionist’s inspection, which might occur too close to the screening to update the listing.

[Drucker]

I'm planning on catching Blow-Up next weekend to kick off my 2026 quest to get into Antonioni. It's advertised as 35mm but I have my doubts. We'll see!

Why do you have your doubts? Is this a common occurrence with Metrograph that screenings are falsely advertised as 35mm? I did encounter this issue at a Paris rep cinema once with a screening of Blow-Up no less , so who knows...

P.S. A few minutes ago, I purchased a ticket for their 35mm screening of Mouchette happening that same day.

Yes a few months ago Children of Paradise was advertised as 35mm but screened a DCP. And for many years my friend warned me they had a habit of doing this.

[beamish14]

I'm planning on catching Blow-Up next weekend to kick off my 2026 quest to get into Antonioni. It's advertised as 35mm but I have my doubts. We'll see!

Why do you have your doubts? Is this a common occurrence with Metrograph that screenings are falsely advertised as 35mm? I did encounter this issue at a Paris rep cinema once with a screening of Blow-Up no less , so who knows...

P.S. A few minutes ago, I purchased a ticket for their 35mm screening of Mouchette happening that same day.

Yes a few months ago Children of Paradise was advertised as 35mm but screened a DCP. And for many years my friend warned me they had a habit of doing this.

The American Cinematheque will now tell you if there is a format change on social or at least before you walk into a screening. I was beyond pissed some years back when Loves of a Blonde (which was even introduced by Ivan Passer not too long before he passed away) was a goddamn Blu-Ray. I stopped going to Laemmle screenings after the second or third Blu-Ray they screened, which is just unacceptable

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Why do you have your doubts? Is this a common occurrence with Metrograph that screenings are falsely advertised as 35mm? I did encounter this issue at a Paris rep cinema once with a screening of Blow-Up no less , so who knows...

P.S. A few minutes ago, I purchased a ticket for their 35mm screening of Mouchette happening that same day.

Yes a few months ago Children of Paradise was advertised as 35mm but screened a DCP. And for many years my friend warned me they had a habit of doing this.

The American Cinematheque will now tell you if there is a format change on social or at least before you walk into a screening. I was beyond pissed some years back when Loves of a Blonde (which was even introduced by Ivan Passer not too long before he passed away) was a goddamn Blu-Ray. I stopped going to Laemmle screenings after the second or third Blu-Ray they screened, which is just unacceptable

The Cinematheque did not send me a notice when I went to see Ken Russell’s Whore on 35mm, only to have it replaced by a bad DVD quality DCP.

[hearthesilence]

FWIW, Metrograph's screening of Platform was supposed to be in 35mm courtesy of Curzon Films, but they were able to post this update days in advance:

Unfortunately, due to the 35mm print being held up in customs, this program will be presented on DCP.

I don't think this is unusual nowadays. I went to see an advertised 35mm screening of Videodrome at MoMA recently (the second of two screenings), and it was clearly a DCP.

[beamish14]

Yes a few months ago Children of Paradise was advertised as 35mm but screened a DCP. And for many years my friend warned me they had a habit of doing this.

The American Cinematheque will now tell you if there is a format change on social or at least before you walk into a screening. I was beyond pissed some years back when Loves of a Blonde (which was even introduced by Ivan Passer not too long before he passed away) was a goddamn Blu-Ray. I stopped going to Laemmle screenings after the second or third Blu-Ray they screened, which is just unacceptable

The Cinematheque did not send me a notice when I went to see Ken Russell’s Whore on 35mm, only to have it replaced by a bad DVD quality DCP.

Oh, god, I went to that as well. So pissed. They told me that Rocco and His Brothers would be a DCP at the Egyptian just as I was about to go through the gate, so I did a U-turn and went home.

Cinefamily gave me a refund when Velvet Goldmine was a DCP because their projector broke. I don’t think I’ve ever asked for a refund before, and they were actually very accommodating

[Drucker]

Format being wrong definitely is (Elaine-voice) refund-worthy.

[Peacock]

I remember many years ago, long before any of the Blu-rays came out, Sayat Nova was announced for a one-off screening in Edinburgh. I was stunned and went to the venue to ask if it was a print that would be showing, the staff all stared at me and said “Yes it will be”, I instantly bought my ticket in advance and came back a week or so later for the sold out screening. Unfortunately it was truly awful quality, pixelated and soft and at the very end of the film the terrible French DVD menu popped up on screen before they could fade out the projector.

By that point it was pointless going to the desk and asking if they remembered our conversation from a week ago etc and I had sat there for the entire screening to be fair as I thought it was just me being picky. But yeah, very disappointing when these things happen!

[rrenault]

Why are people this stringently anti-DCP? If it's a new 4K restoration you'll still be getting an A/V experience you can't quite get at home unless you're wealthy enough to have a home theater of the caliber someone like Tarantino can afford.

I suppose in NYC where tickets are $17-18 it's hard to justify spending money on a DCP screening.

At least in Paris there's the UGC Illimité, which is like 23 euros a month and allows you to go to an unlimited number of screenings, so it's easier to justify watching a DCP of (insert random film you've never actually managed to see, such as say Children of Paradise), so you can check it off your list.

[MichaelB]

I’m not at all fazed by a proper cinema-spec DCP, but projection from DVD should be an absolute no-no. Even projected BDs don’t look great on a cinema-sized screen.

[yoloswegmaster]

I remember going to a DCP screening of Buster Keaton's The General, thinking that the 4K restoration was going to be screened and then being thoroughly disappointed when the main menu for the Kino bluray appearing on screen.

[beamish14]

Why are people this stringently anti-DCP? If it's a new 4K restoration you'll still be getting an A/V experience you can't quite get at home unless you're wealthy enough to have a home theater of the caliber someone like Tarantino can afford.

I suppose in NYC where tickets are $17-18 it's hard to justify spending money on a DCP screening.

At least in Paris there's the UGC Illimité, which is like 23 euros a month and allows you to go to an unlimited number of screenings, so it's easier to justify watching a DCP of (insert random film you've never actually managed to see, such as say Children of Paradise), so you can check it off your list.

I’ve found most DCPs to have a waxy, plastic look that I just don’t enjoy. I’m very much an analogue snob, I guess, but I think of filmgoing experiences like Black Narcissus in nitrate and The Agony and the Ecstasy in 70mm, and I just don’t think digital can ever approach those

[MichaelB]

Of course, but a modern DCP wipes the floor with the vast majority of battered, splice-riddled prints that were very much the norm in 1980s/90s rep cinemas.

[Drucker]

Why are people this stringently anti-DCP? If it's a new 4K restoration you'll still be getting an A/V experience you can't quite get at home unless you're wealthy enough to have a home theater of the caliber someone like Tarantino can afford.

I suppose in NYC where tickets are $17-18 it's hard to justify spending money on a DCP screening.

At least in Paris there's the UGC Illimité, which is like 23 euros a month and allows you to go to an unlimited number of screenings, so it's easier to justify watching a DCP of (insert random film you've never actually managed to see, such as say Children of Paradise), so you can check it off your list.

I'm not anti-DCP. I'm anti falseness in advertising. So many films have questionable color timing or audio on their new restorations, I enjoy seeking out prints to see how they are displayed (knowing that they may not also be accurate or faded, or whatever). I also have vanishingly little opportunities to see movies in a cinema anymore with a toddler at home. If I'm going to go out, I'd rather see something I can only see in a theater, and not the identical restoration that I can get on a disc. I still see showings in DCP if I want to see the film badly enough. I know that supporting indie cinemas realistically means going to some digital screenings in this day and age as well. But I live in NYC and I like seeing prints and that's how I'm going to spend my hard earned dollars!

[Black Hat]

Why are people this stringently anti-DCP?

My theory on this is film twitter, letterboxd, and the social aspect of groupthink, follow the leader. The first part is that a few people in middling positions of tenuous employment are loudly obnoxious about this topic. As the younger crowd looks up to these silly individuals, they think beating this drum scores points, which, to be fair, it does as nobody in human history does low self esteem like a millennial cinephile. The way these freaks behave reminds you of stories you hear about collective masturbation at all boys boarding schools. Nothing beats the thrill of a crackling print of a Renoir film in shambles.

[hearthesilence]

Of course, but a modern DCP wipes the floor with the vast majority of battered, splice-riddled prints that were very much the norm in 1980s/90s rep cinemas.

I should've added this detail before, but I have far, far more experiences with bad 35mm prints than scheduled 35mm screenings that turned out to be DCP projections.

I get the appeal of 35mm and was pretty happy when virtually every repertory screening I went to in 2009 and 2010 was in 35mm, often in newly struck prints, but those days are over. Prints are much harder to come by and won't be replaced as they collect wear and tear. Doesn't help that fewer projectionists are as well trained or experienced with 35mm. (I posted about Memoria - the 35mm print I saw didn't have that many screenings and it was already beat to shit thanks to a previous venue that shall remain nameless.)

If you want to see how good DCP's can look, just go to MoMA's To Save and Project festival. I'm still waiting for the new 4K restoration of F for Fake to get a UHD release because it looked and sounded amazing, much better than what was used for the current Blu-ray. Even then, you should still see the DCP if you get a chance. To use other examples, the latest restorations of Olivier's Richard III and Lawrence of Arabia look much better projected from a 4K DCP than the physical discs that use them.

[rrenault]

I've noticed it's pretty common for rep screenings in NYC to sell out days in advance, which I find odd. This doesn't seem to be a thing in Paris, which has an arguably more extensive rep scene than NYC does. In Paris, there's more a culture of just stepping up to the box office to buy your ticket right before the show starts. The exception is if a well-known director or actor will be presenting the film in person. In that case, a screening can sell out in advance.

[Drucker]

I've noticed it's pretty common for rep screenings in NYC to sell out days in advance, which I find odd. This doesn't seem to be a thing in Paris, which has an arguably more extensive rep scene than NYC does. In Paris, there's more a culture of just stepping up to the box office to buy your ticket right before the show starts. The exception is if a well-known director or actor will be presenting the film in person. In that case, a screening can sell out in advance.

I've never been to Paris. But in NYC I think people are just looking for things to do. There are regular movie-goers but that doesn't explain how nearly every Visconti screening sold out in June of 2018 at Lincoln Center. There's a large amount of demand for culture in the city, and rep screenings are just a beneficiary of it. Just as a tourist in the city seeks out "going to a show" on Broadway for the sake of it, regular people around town attend these screenings.

[yoloswegmaster]

[Drucker]

Hey man, in only one of those places will a drink and a hot dog set you back $30.

[yoloswegmaster]

Lincoln Center charges THAT much for a drink and a hot dog?! Clearly some rich cinema goers in NYC.

[domino harvey]

Haute dog

[Beloved Aunt]

Why are all these four people the same person? Was this made by a TikToker? How curious

[beamish14]

I've noticed it's pretty common for rep screenings in NYC to sell out days in advance, which I find odd. This doesn't seem to be a thing in Paris, which has an arguably more extensive rep scene than NYC does. In Paris, there's more a culture of just stepping up to the box office to buy your ticket right before the show starts. The exception is if a well-known director or actor will be presenting the film in person. In that case, a screening can sell out in advance.

I've never been to Paris. But in NYC I think people are just looking for things to do. There are regular movie-goers but that doesn't explain how nearly every Visconti screening sold out in June of 2018 at Lincoln Center. There's a large amount of demand for culture in the city, and rep screenings are just a beneficiary of it. Just as a tourist in the city seeks out "going to a show" on Broadway for the sake of it, regular people around town attend these screenings.

Damn, there really wasn’t a huge turnout for Conversation Piece (despite Burt Lancaster’s daughter attending and giving some interesting insights) or The Innocent in Los Angeles. I think Ludwig had a robust turnout, and it is again screening in 35mm at the Academy Museum

[beamish14]

Why are people this stringently anti-DCP?

My theory on this is film twitter, letterboxd, and the social aspect of groupthink, follow the leader. The first part is that a few people in middling positions of tenuous employment are loudly obnoxious about this topic. As the younger crowd looks up to these silly individuals, they think beating this drum scores points, which, to be fair, it does as nobody in human history does low self esteem like a millennial cinephile. The way these freaks behave reminds you of stories you hear about collective masturbation at all boys boarding schools. Nothing beats the thrill of a crackling print of a Renoir film in shambles.

There is absolutely a specialness and sense of collective appreciation for seeing a pristine print, even if that hails from a digital source. I love it when we send gratitude to the projectionist (who is often no longer anonymous as in days past). You’re in the company of people who seem to have more discerning taste, and they treat the experience as something sacred; they’re probably not going to use their smartphones or ruffle plastic bags. Prints are what helped make me a cinephile for sure