“The Last Emperor”: The North American 70mm Engagements |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 05.06.2022 |
 The
following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter
presentations of “The Last Emperor” in North America. These were the cinemas
worth seeking out to experience this motion picture. “The Last Emperor” was among seventeen confirmed first-run films released in 1987 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. The Hemdale production and Columbia release — directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (“The Sheltering Sky,” “Little Buddha”) and starring John Lone, Joan Chen and Peter O’Toole — opened in limited release November 20th, and expanded during the weeks that followed. For the release of “The Last Emperor,” Columbia employed the services of Lucasfilm’s Theatre Alignment Program (TAP) to evaluate and approve the cinemas selected to book a 70mm print. The 70mm prints of “The Last Emperor” featured Six-Track Dolby Stereo (“A” encoded “baby boom” format) and full-frame imagery blown up from anamorphic 35mm. Columbia circulated 70mm Six-Track Dolby coming-attraction trailers for “Hope and Glory,” “Leonard Part 6,” “Little Nikita,” “School Daze,” “A Time of Destiny,” “Vice Versa” and “White Mischief” during the release of “The Last Emperor.” Other studios circulated 70mm trailers during this period, as well. Ultimately, any 70mm trailers screened during 70mm presentations of “The Last Emperor” varied by venue and screening. Opening date YYYY-MM-DD … locale — venue (duration in weeks) [notes] 1987-11-20 … Costa Mesa, CA — Edwards’ Town Center 4 (17) 1987-11-20 … Los Angeles, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Century Plaza 4 (36) [HPS-4000] 1987-11-20 … New York, NY — City Cinemas’ Cinema 1 (4) 1987-11-20 … Santa Ana, CA — AMC’s MainPlace 6 (29) [THX] 1987-11-20 … Toronto, ON — Cineplex Odeon’s Showcase (30) [THX] 1987-11-25 … Universal City, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Universal City 18 (26) [THX] 1987-12-09 … Honolulu, HI — Consolidated’s Cinerama (16) 1987-12-09 … San Diego, CA — Mann’s Cinema 21 (18) 1987-12-09 … San Francisco, CA — Cineplex Odeon/Plitt’s Northpoint (16) 1987-12-09 … Vancouver, BC — Cineplex Odeon’s Park (32) 1987-12-18 … Boston, MA — USA’s Charles Triplex (12) 1987-12-18 … Montreal, QC — Cineplex Odeon’s Place du Canada (26) 1987-12-18 … Seattle, WA — Cineplex Odeon/SRO’s Cinerama (10) 1987-12-18 … Washington, DC — GCC’s Jenifer Twin (1) 1987-12-25 … Washington, DC — Circle’s Uptown (21) [ownership change to Cineplex Odeon during run] 1987-12-30 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Chinese Triplex (6) [THX] 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 contractual terms or print damage and the distributor’s 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 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 (or movement out of a branded auditorium) has been included in the duration figure. SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS 1987-12-17 … New York, NY — City Cinemas’ 57th Street Playhouse (28) 1988-02-12 … Los Angeles, CA — Mann’s Vogue (4) 1988-04-08 … Costa Mesa, CA — Edwards’ South Coast Plaza Triplex (1) 1988-04-08 … Sacramento, CA — Landmark’s Tower Triplex (9) 1988-04-13 … Newport Beach, CA — Edwards’ Newport Twin (6) 1988-04-15 … Los Angeles, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Beverly Center 13 (7) [THX] 1988-04-15 … Tucson, AZ — Mann’s Galleria 6 (7) [THX] 1988-05-06 … Santa Barbara, CA — Metropolitan’s Arlington (3) 1988-06-03 … San Francisco, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Northpoint (2) 1988-06-10 … Palm Springs, CA — Metropolitan’s Camelot Triplex (1) 1988-08-12 … Cleveland, OH — Colony (2) 1989-01-14 … Toronto, ON — Cinesphere (2 days) [70mm festival] 1992-07-18 … Los Angeles, CA – LACMA’s Bing [70mm festival] 1992-03-01 … Vancouver, BC – Cineplex Odeon’s Park [70mm festival] 1994-06-11 … Seattle, WA – Landmark’s Egyptian [SIFF/Bertolucci retrospective] 1996-11-01 … San Francisco, CA — Cineplex Odeon’s Northpoint (1) [70mm festival] 1997-07-30 … Brookline, MA — Coolidge Corner [Summer 70mm Film Series] 1998-03-18 … Sacramento, CA — Landmark’s Tower Triplex (2 days) [70mm series] 2000-07-09 … Austin, TX — Paramount [70mm festival] 2000-07-10 … Austin, TX — Paramount [70mm festival] 2000-12-09 … Los Angeles, CA — American Cinematheque’s Egyptian [70mm festival] The information included in this article was principally referenced from film industry trade publications, regional newspaper promotion, print enclosures, TAP records, and Dolby records. Special thanks to Bill Kallay and Bill Kretzel. 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. |
More in 70mm reading: 70mm Cinemas in North America in70mm.com's list of films blown up to 70mm 70mm Engagements by Title 35mm to 70mm Engagements by Year Large Format 7OMM Engagements Month by month premiere list of wide gauge and 3-strip films Chronological premiere list of major 70mm films 70mm Blow Up List Dolby Stereo |
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