70mm Presentations in Birmingham |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 01.04.2023 |
 What follows is a chronology of 70mm six-track stereophonic sound
feature-film presentations in the Birmingham region of Alabama, USA.The focus of this work is 5-perf 70mm feature films and the cinemas in which they were exhibited. Short subjects, 8-perf and 15-perf (IMAX, Iwerks, etc.) and Special Venue presentations have not been included (but consideration will be given to adding them in a revision). The emphasis here is on the titles that received publicly-promoted, commercial exhibition in 70mm and their playdates. To facilitate an easy-to-reference title- and date-based layout, no details have been provided pertaining to the brand of 70mm (i.e. Todd-AO, Super Panavision, Ultra Panavision, Cinerama, D-150, etc.) or technical particulars of each presentation (i.e. O-neg source, inter-neg source, blow-up, pillarboxed, letterboxed, Dolby A, Dolby SR, five screen channels vs. three, baby boom, split surround, digital sound, etc.). Part 1: The 70mm-Equipped Cinemas BIRMINGHAM Alabama / Alabama Theatre for the Performing Arts Eastwood / Eastwood Mall Cinema / 5 Points West Ritz Village East HOOVER Galleria Patton Creek MIDFIELD Midfield An overview of each cinema will be provided in a forthcoming revision. Part 2: The 70mm Presentations Opening date YYYY-MM-DD TITLE cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] * Reserved-seat engagement (i.e. roadshow) 1959-12-15 Todd-AO demonstration Ritz (2 days) 1959-12-25 THE BIG FISHERMAN Ritz (4) 1960-06-09 BEN-HUR* Ritz (16) 1960-09-30 CAN-CAN* Ritz (6) 1961-12-22 KING OF KINGS Ritz (6) 1965-04-09 MY FAIR LADY Ritz (20) 1965-04-29 CIRCUS WORLD* Eastwood (2) 1965-08-20 THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES Ritz (8) 1966-02-16 BATTLE OF THE BULGE* Eastwood (8) 1966-06-29 KHARTOUM* Eastwood (5) 1967-05-31 GRAND PRIX* Eastwood (9) 1967-09-06 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Midfield (2) 1967-11-17 GRAND PRIX Ritz (2) 1967-12-21 GONE WITH THE WIND* Ritz (27) 1968-06-12 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY* Eastwood (8) 1968-06-27 DOCTOR DOLITTLE* Ritz (9) 1968-08-22 GRAND PRIX Midfield (1) 1968-08-29 CAMELOT* Ritz (8) 1968-09-12 FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD Midfield (1) 1968-12-18 ICE STATION ZEBRA* Eastwood (6) 1969-02-12 STAR!* Ritz (6) 1969-06-05 GONE WITH THE WIND Midfield (3) 1969-06-13 SWEET CHARITY Ritz (7) 1969-06-17 Westrex mobile 70mm demonstration 1969-07-02 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Midfield (2) 1969-07-23 KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA Cinema (4) 1969-07-30 ICE STATION ZEBRA Midfield (1) 1970-01-28 PAINT YOUR WAGON* Eastwood (11) 1970-02-06 HELLO, DOLLY!* Ritz (19) 1970-06-19 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Ritz (1) 1970-09-25 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Ritz (1) 1970-12-23 SONG OF NORWAY* Eastwood (8) 1971-04-02 RYANS DAUGHTER Ritz (9) 1971-06-04 GONE WITH THE WIND Ritz (1) 1971-10-27 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Ritz (1) 1971-11-03 GONE WITH THE WIND Ritz (1) 1973-08-17 THIS IS CINERAMA Eastwood (2) 1982-06-18 ANNIE Village East (11) 1982-09-03 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Village East (1) 1982-09-10 STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN Village East (2) 1982-09-24 DELIVERANCE Village East (1) 1982-10-29 POLTERGEIST Village East (1) 1983-05-25 RETURN OF THE JEDI Village East (21) 1985-07-10 SILVERADO Village East (4) 1986-09-12 TOP GUN Village East (4) 1989-05-24 INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE Galleria (18) 1989-09-08 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Galleria (5) 1991-07-19 WEST SIDE STORY Alabama 1991-07-20 WEST SIDE STORY Alabama 1991-07-22 WEST SIDE STORY Alabama 1992-05-16 FAR AND AWAY Galleria [sneak preview] 1992-05-22 FAR AND AWAY Galleria (11) 1992-07-10 EMPIRE OF THE SUN Alabama (4 days) 2015-12-25 THE HATEFUL EIGHT Patton Creek (1+) 2023-07-20 OPPENHEIMER Patton Creek (6) Note that some of the titles included in this chronology may have been presented in 35mm during the latter week(s) of their engagement due to contractual terms or print damage (and the distributors unwillingness to supply a 70mm replacement print) or because the booking was moved to a non-70mm-equipped auditorium within a multiplex. As well, the reverse may have been true in some cases whereas a booking began with a 35mm print because the lab was unable to complete a 70mm print order in time for an opening-day delivery or the exhibitor negotiated a mid-run switch to 70mm. In such cases, any 35mm portion of the engagement has been included in the duration figure. References: Various issues of The Birmingham News, Birmingham Post-Herald, Boxoffice, Motion Picture Exhibitor, and Variety; plus projection and sound system trade advertisements and installation records. Special Thanks: Birmingham Public Library and Stan Malone. If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider emailing the author or editor. |
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