The following is a reference / historical listing of the roadshow presentations
of “Lord Jim” in the United States and Canada. These were the earliest and
arguably best cinemas in which to experience this motion picture.
The presentations cited in this work were “hard ticket” roadshow engagements and
were special, long-running, showcase presentations in major cities prior to the
film being exhibited as a general release. Much like a stage production, these
featured advanced admission pricing, reserved seating, an
overture/intermission/entr’acte/exit music, and an average of only ten scheduled
screenings per week. Souvenir program booklet were sold, as well. The print type
utilized during the film’s roadshow release was 70-millimeter with discrete
magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound.
The Columbia Pictures release was directed by Richard Brooks (“The
Professionals”) and starred Peter O’Toole, James Mason, Curt Jurgens, Eli
Wallach, Jack Hawkins, and Payul Lukas. The United States premiere was held
February 25th, 1965 at Loew’s State in New York. (The film’s world premiere was
held February 15th, 1965 at Odeon Leicester Square in London.)
Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1965, “Lord Jim”
was among only nine given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only ten released
with 70mm prints (seven from 65mm origination plus three blow-ups).
The reserved-seat policy, in some instances, was relaxed during the latter weeks
of the run. Any non-roadshow portion of such an engagement has been included in
the duration figure.
Opening date YYYY-MM-DD … Locale — Cinema (duration in weeks)
1965-02-25 … New York, NY — State (17)
1965-03-04 … Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), CA — Stanley-Warner (16)
1965-03-10 … Toronto, ON — Fairlawn (16)
1965-03-11 … Vancouver, BC — Odeon (10)
1965-03-11 … Washington, DC — Apex (12)
1965-03-25 … Chicago, IL — Cinestage (13)
Following poor reviews and low attendance for the initial roadshow engagements,
Columbia revised their release strategy on “Lord Jim” and continued its release
as a continuous-performance general release.
SUBSEQUENT 70MM SCREENINGS (non-reserved seating / new print / DTS audio)
2002-09-26 … Los Angeles, CA — Egyptian [70mm festival]
2003-08-29 … Austin, TX — Paramount [70mm festival]
2005-01-23 … Los Angeles, CA — Egyptian [70mm festival]
2005-02-02 … Santa Monica, CA — Aero [70mm festival]
2006-11-30 … Los Angeles, CA — Egyptian [70mm festival]
2007-09-19 … San Francisco, CA — Castro [70mm festival]
2011-05-16 … Los Angeles, CA — Hammer Museum/Billy Wilder
2011-10-11 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama [70mm and Cinerama festival]
2012-08-26 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [70mm festival]
2012-08-27 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [70mm festival]
2012-08-29 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI Silver [70mm festival]
2013-02-16 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2013-02-18 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2016-09-17 … Somerville, MA — Somerville [70mm festival]
2017-07-09 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
2017-07-10 … Chicago, IL — Music Box [70mm festival]
This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade
publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Bill Kallay and
Bill Kretzel.
The film’s international roadshow engagements 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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More in 70mm reading:
Motion pictures photographed in Super Panavision 70 & Panavision System
65
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
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