IMHO, there is an untapped "goldmine" in playing older movies, especially if new prints are available. "The Exorcist" is doing great business. In Los Angeles, a new 35 mm print of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at the Egyptian theatre got rave reviews for presentation quality. I would travel to another city to see a good 70 mm presentation of "Sound of Music", "Lawrence of Arabia" or "My Fair Lady".
If you book a really good print of one of these timeless gems, PROMOTE it. Point out how much better seeing a great print in a good theatre is than watching it on TV. If you have 70 mm or digital sound, let your audience know about it, and why it is far better than anything they can get at home. Get your local movie critic involved in promoting the big screen theatre experience.
Even a moderate sized circuit could probably guarantee enough bookings and business to convince a distributor to make some new prints. Some European theatres actually negotiate to share part of the additional print costs for 70 mm.
BTW, it is very important to show these older films as they should be shown. Use the correct aspect ratio, and be sure your projection and sound is everything it should be.
Any color print made on Kodak print film since about 1982 should have negligible fading. Except for dye-transfer Technicolor, prints made before 1982 may have some fading, depending on how they were processed and stored. Even older negatives can usually offer good color quality when new prints are made.
John P. Pytlak
Senior Technical Specialist
EI Worldwide Technical Services
Research Labs, Building 69
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325
Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail:
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