70mm Presentations in Fresno |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 02.10.2021 |
 The
Sound of Music Fresno premiere advert, The Fresno Bee, 25th December 1965What follows is a chronology of 70-millimeter six-track stereophonic sound feature-film presentations in the Fresno region of California, 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 focus 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 CLOVIS Clovis Movies / Clovis Towne Center Regency Cinemas FRESNO Festival Cinemas Sunnyside Drive-In Warner / Warnor 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) 1963-05-29 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA* Warner (8) 1964-05-27 ITS A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD* Warner (18) 1964-09-10 CIRCUS WORLD* Warner (10) 1964-12-16 MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY* Warner (10) 1965-04-07 MY FAIR LADY* Warner (16) 1965-05-26 CHEYENNE AUTUMN Sunnyside Drive-In (1) 1965-07-28 THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL* Warner (9) 1965-09-29 THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES* Warner (12) 1965-12-25 THE SOUND OF MUSIC* Warner (33) 1966-08-10 THE BATTLE FOR KHARTOUM* Warner (7) 1966-09-29 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO* Warner (24) 1967-03-15 THE SAND PEBBLES* Warnor (14) 1967-06-20 GRAND PRIX* Warnor (18) 1967-10-25 THE BIBLE* Warnor (14) 1968-01-31 GONE WITH THE WIND* Warnor (18) 1968-06-05 MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY* Warnor (3) 1968-06-26 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY* Warnor (17) 1968-10-23 RUSSIAN ADVENTURE* Warnor (6) 1968-12-19 ICE STATION ZEBRA* Warnor (8) 1969-02-11 THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN* Warnor (6) [70mm?] 1969-03-26 STAR!* Warnor (6) 1969-05-29 FUNNY GIRL* Warnor (13) [70mm?] 1969-08-27 BEN-HUR* Warnor (6) 1969-12-18 PAINT YOUR WAGON* Warnor (13) [70mm?] 1970-05-06 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Warnor (4) 1979-05-25 ALIEN Festival (16) 1979-09-21 CAMELOT Festival (1) 1979-09-28 THE DEER HUNTER Festival (2) 1979-10-10 DAYS OF HEAVEN Festival (1) 1979-10-19 THE SOUND OF MUSIC Festival (1) 1979-11-09 THE EXORCIST Festival (1) 1979-11-16 ALIEN Festival (1) 1980-01-23 GONE WITH THE WIND Festival (1) 1980-01-30 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Festival (1) 1980-02-06 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Festival (1) 1980-05-21 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Festival (38) 1981-05-22 OUTLAND Festival (6) 1983-07-15 STAYING ALIVE Festival (14) 1983-09-30 BRAINSTORM Festival (5) 1984-05-23 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM Festival (18) 1984-05-23 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM Regency (11) 1984-12-07 2010 Regency (6) 1985-12-03 RETURN OF THE JEDI Clovis Towne Center [venue grand opening] 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 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. During the roadshow era, the reserved-seat policy, in some instances, was relaxed during the summer and/or latter weeks of the run. Any non-roadshow portion of such an engagement has been included in the applicable duration figure. References: Various issues of Boxoffice, The Fresno Bee, Motion Picture Exhibitor, Variety, and projection and sound system trade advertisements and installation records. Special Thanks: California State Library and Melissa Scroggins (Fresno County Public Library). 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 Chronological premiere list of major 70mm films Month by month premiere list of wide gauge and 3-strip films 70mm Engagements 70mm Blow Up List Dolby Stereo Internet link: |
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