“Gandhi”: The North American 70mm Engagements |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 26.10.2019 |
 The following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter
engagements of “Gandhi” in North America. These were the best cinemas in which
to experience this motion picture.“Gandhi” was among eighteen confirmed first-run films released in 1982 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. Approximately fifty 70mm prints of the film were struck for distribution in North America. The Goldcrest and Indo-British Films presentation and Columbia release — directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Ben Kingsley — opened in limited release December 8th. Pre-release screenings included the U.S. premiere held December 6th at the Ziegfeld in New York and the west coast premiere December 7th at Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (The film’s world premiere was held November 30th in New Delhi, India, and a Royal Premiere was held December 2nd in London.) Note that many of the other engagements included here had a local/regional premiere or benefit preview within a few days of the stated opening date. Typically these screenings were held in the same venue as the subsequent commercial booking, though in some instances they were held in a separate, neutral venue. The 70mm prints of “Gandhi” featured full-frame imagery blown up from anamorphic 35mm and Six-Track Dolby Stereo (“A” encoded). Conflicting information exists as to whether the audio format was Dolby processor setting 41 (5-screen/1-surround layout) or 42 (3-screen + 1-surround + Baby Boom layout) or if it was released multi inventory. Seventy-millimeter trailers for Columbia’s “Blue Thunder,” “Educating Rita,” “Krull,” “Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone,” “Spring Break,” The Survivors” and “Tootsie” circulated during the release of “Gandhi” and which the distributor recommended be screened with the presentation. Additional 70mm trailers from other studios circulated during this period as well. Which trailers, if any, seen during the “Gandhi” presentations varied by venue and screening. Note that some of the presentations included in this listing may have been presented in 35mm during the latter week(s) of engagement due to print damage and the distributor’s unwillingness to supply a 70mm replacement print or because the booking was moved to a non-70mm-equipped screening room 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 the 70mm print order in time for an opening-day delivery or the exhibitor negotiated a mid-run switch to 70mm. In these cases, any 35mm portion of the engagement has been included in the duration figure. Opening date YYYY-MM-DD … City — Cinema (duration in weeks) 1982-12-08 … Los Angeles, CA — Plitt’s Century Plaza Twin (23) 1982-12-08 … New York, NY — Reade’s Ziegfeld (31) 1982-12-08 … Toronto, ON — Odeon’s York Twin (22) 1982-12-08 … Washington, DC — Circle’s Uptown (27) 1982-12-22 … Costa Mesa, CA — Edwards’ South Coast Plaza Triplex (21) 1982-12-25 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Vogue (20) 1982-12-29 … Orange, CA — Syufy’s Cinedome 6-plex (22) 1982-12-29 … San Francisco, CA — Plitt’s Northpoint (19) 1983-01-14 … Corte Madera, CA — Marin’s Cinema (19) 1983-01-14 … Oakland, CA — Cinerama’s Piedmont (19) 1983-01-14 … Pleasant Hill, CA — Syufy’s Century 5-plex (20) 1983-01-14 … San Jose, CA — Syufy’s Century 24 Twin (21) 1983-01-21 … Addison, TX — UA’s Prestonwood Creek 5-plex (22) 1983-01-21 … Atlanta, GA — Columbia (19) 1983-01-21 … Atlanta, GA — Plitt’s Phipps Plaza Triplex (18) 1983-01-21 … Bay Harbor Islands, FL — Loews’ Bay Harbor Twin (19) 1983-01-21 … Bloomingdale, IL — Plitt’s Stratford Square 4-Plex (9) 1983-01-21 … Boston, MA — Sack’s Charles Triplex (21) 1983-01-21 … Cerritos, CA — UA’s Cerritos Mall Twin (16) [70mm from Week 2] 1983-01-21 … Chicago, IL — Essaness’ Lincoln Village (9) 1983-01-21 … Chicago, IL — GCC’s Ford City Triplex (8) 1983-01-21 … Chicago, IL — Plitt’s Esquire (8) 1983-01-21 … Creve Coeur, MO — Wehrenberg’s Creve Coeur (16) 1983-01-21 … Dallas, TX — GCC’s Northpark West Twin (19) 1983-01-21 … Edison, NJ — GCC’s Menlo Park Twin (18) 1983-01-21 … Fort Worth, TX — Plitt’s Ridglea (19) 1983-01-21 … Hillside, IL — M&R’s Hillside Square 4-Plex (9) 1983-01-21 … Hoffman Estates, IL — Essaness’ Century Triplex (9) 1983-01-21 … Homewood, IL — Essaness’ Diana Triplex (8) 1983-01-21 … Honolulu, HI — Consolidated’s Waikiki Twin (9) 1983-01-21 … Independence, MO — Mid-America’s Blue Ridge East 5-plex (18) 1983-01-21 … La Mesa, CA — Pacific’s Cinema Grossmont (20) 1983-01-21 … La Mirada, CA — Pacific’s La Mirada Mall 6-plex (15) [70mm from Week 13] 1983-01-21 … Levittown, NY — Loews’ Nassau 4-plex (16) 1983-01-21 … Lombard, IL — GCC’s Yorktown 4-Plex (14) 1983-01-21 … Niles, IL — Essaness’ Golf Mill Triplex (14) 1983-01-21 … Norridge, IL — M&R’s Norridge 4-Plex (6) 1983-01-21 … Orland Park, IL — Plitt’s Orland Square 4-Plex (9) 1983-01-21 … Overland Park, KS — Dickinson’s Glenwood Twin (22) 1983-01-21 … Paramus, NJ — RKO Century’s Route Four 7-plex (15) 1983-01-21 … Pittsford, NY — Loews’ Pittsford Triplex (18) 1983-01-21 … Riverside, CA — Sanborn’s Canyon Crest 5-plex (18) [70mm from Week 16] 1983-01-21 … Sacramento, CA — Syufy’s Century 6-plex (16) 1983-01-21 … Seattle, WA — SRO’s Music Box (16) 1983-01-21 … Valley Stream, NY — RKO Century’s Green Acres (19) 1983-01-21 … Wayne, NJ — Loews’ Wayne 6-plex (21) 1983-01-28 … Calgary, AB — Odeon’s North Hill (15) 1983-01-28 … Edmonton, AB — Odeon’s Meadowlark (15) 1983-01-28 … Montreal, QC — Odeon’s Place du Canada (15) 1983-01-28 … Salt Lake City, UT — Plitt’s Centre (17) 1983-01-28 … Vancouver, BC — Odeon’s Vogue (17) 1983-01-28 … Winnipeg, MB — Odeon’s Grant Park (17) 1983-01-29 … Ottawa, ON — Odeon’s Somerset (17) SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS 1983-03-18 … Chicago, IL — Plitt’s Carnegie (6) 1983-03-18 … Chicago Ridge, IL — Chicago Ridge Mall Triplex (1) 1983-04-01 … Evergreen Park, IL — M&R’s Evergreen Triplex (4) 1983-04-01 … Schaumburg, IL — Plitt’s Woodfield 4-plex (6) 1983-04-08 … Calgary, AB — Odeon’s Southland 4-plex (11) [70mm from Week 6] 1983-04-08 … Skokie, IL — M&R’s Old Orchard Triplex (2) 1983-04-15 … Homewood, IL — Essaness’ Diana Triplex (3) 1983-04-20 … Daly City, CA — Plitt’s Plaza Twin (3) 1983-05-13 … Bellevue, WA — SRO’s Factoria 5-plex (6) 1983-05-13 … Lynnwood, WA — SRO’s Grand Alderwood 5-plex (6) 1983-05-13 … Montreal, QC — Odeon’s Cote-des-Neiges Twin (5) 1983-05-13 … Sacramento, CA — Syufy’s Capitol Twin (6) 1983-05-13 … Toronto, ON — Odeon’s Fairlawn Twin (30) 1983-05-13 … Tukwila, WA — SRO’s Lewis & Clark 7-plex (9) 1983-05-20 … Chattanooga, TN — Choo Choo (1+) 1983-05-20 … Houston, TX — GCC’s Galleria 4-plex (4) 1983-05-20 … Vancouver, BC — Odeon’s Varsity (17) [70mm from Week 10] 1983-05-25 … Salt Lake City, UT — Plitt’s Crossroads Triplex (1) 1983-06-17 … Montreal, QC — Odeon’s Place du Canada (6) 1983-07-01 … Huntsville, AL — United Amusement’s Madison Twin (1) 1983-07-01 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Fox (1) 1983-07-08 … San Francisco, CA — Plitt’s Northpoint (1) 1983-07-29 … Seattle, WA — Seven Gables’ Crest 4-plex (1) 1983-08-05 … Phoenix, AZ — Plitt’s Cine Capri (2) 1983-08-29 … Atlanta, GA — Fox (6th Annual Summer Film Festival) 1983-09-02 … New York, NY — Loews’ Paramount (4) 1983-09-02 … New York, NY — Loews’ Tower East (3) 1983-09-09 … Los Angeles, CA — Plitt’s Century Plaza Twin (1) 1983-09-21 … San Diego, CA — Mann’s Valley Circle (1) 1983-09-23 … Baltimore, MD — Durkee’s Senator (1) 1983-12-02 … Indianapolis, IN — Y&W’s Eastwood (1) 1984-02-27 … Ottawa, ON — National Arts Centre’s Opera 1984-06-22 … Seattle, WA — GCC’s King (1) 1984-11-23 … Montreal, QC — United’s Imperial (1) 1984-11-23 … Newmarket, ON — Famous Players’ Glenway 5-plex (1) 1984-11-23 … Scarborough, ON — Famous Players’ Cedarbrae 6-plex (1) 1984-11-23 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Runnymede Twin (1) 1984-11-23 … Toronto, ON — Famous Players’ Cumberland 4-plex (1) 1992-02-09 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Park [70mm series] 1992-07-10 … Los Angeles, CA — LACMA’s Bing [70mm series] 1999-07-25 … Austin, TX — Paramount [70mm series] The information in this article was principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Bill Kretzel and Ronald A. Lee. International 70mm engagements of this title have not been accounted for in this article. If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider emailing the author or editor. |
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