The following is a reference / historical listing of the 70-millimeter presentations of “Hamlet” in North America. These were the best cinemas in which to experience the film.
The Castle Rock presentation and Columbia release — directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon, Rufus Sewell, Robin Williams, and Kate Winslet — opened Christmas Day in limited release and expanded one month later.
“Hamlet” was the lone first-run film released in 1996 with 70mm prints for selected engagements. Thirty-one large-format prints of the film were reportedly struck for worldwide distribution with fourteen of them booked in North America. (Five of the 70mm prints were reportedly struck from the film’s original negative with the balance being printed from an inter-negative.)
The 70mm prints of “Hamlet” featured full-frame imagery sourced from 65mm photography (Panavision Super 70) and Six-Track Dolby Stereo (SR-encoded “baby boom” format with a slit-surround playback option).
For the release of “Hamlet”, Columbia employed the services of Lucasfilm’s Theatre Alignment Program (TAP) to evaluate and approve the cinemas selected to book a 70mm print.
The duration of the engagements (measured in weeks) has been included in parenthesis following the cinema name.
Note that some of the presentations included in this listing were presented in 35mm during the latter week(s) of engagement because the booking was moved to a smaller, non-70mm-equipped auditorium within a multiplex or due to print damage and the distributor’s unwillingness to supply a 70mm replacement print. In such cases, any 35mm portion of the engagement (or movement in or out of an HPS-4000 or THX-certified auditorium) has been included in the duration figure.
1996-12-25 … Los Angeles, CA — Laemmle’s Royal (11) 1996-12-25 … New York, NY — Sony’s Paris (14) 1996-12-25 … Toronto, ON — Cineplex Odeon’s York Twin (8) [THX]
1997-01-24 … Atlanta, GA — UA’s Tara 4-plex (8) 1997-01-24 … Boston, MA — Landmark’s Kendall Square 9-plex (12) 1997-01-24 … Chicago, IL — Sony’s Fine Arts 4-plex (11) 1997-01-24 … Denver, CO — Landmark’s Esquire Twin (?) 1997-01-24 … Newport Beach, CA — Edwards’ Newport Triplex (6) 1997-01-24 … Royal Oak, MI — Landmark’s Main Art Triplex (8) 1997-01-24 … Sacramento, CA — Landmark’s Tower Triplex (?) 1997-01-24 … Scottsdale, AZ — Harkins’ Camelview 5-plex (8) [THX] 1997-01-24 … Seattle, WA — Landmark’s Guild 45th Twin (?) 1997-01-24 … Vancouver, BC — Varsity (6) 1997-01-24 … Washington, DC — Cineplex Odeon’s Avalon Twin (?) [HPS-4000]
SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS & SCREENINGS
1997-04-25 … Dayton, OH — New Neon Movies (4) 1997-04-27 … Hartford, CT — Cinestudio (3 days) 1997-07-01 … San Francisco, CA — Castro 1997-09-19 … Riverside, OH — Telkamp’s Page Manor Twin (1)
1999-08-22 … Austin, TX — Paramount*
2001-11-10 … Columbia Heights, MN — Heights**
2006-08-20 … San Francisco, CA — Castro***
2008-04-23 … Champaign, IL — Virginia****
2011-05-05 … Santa Monica, CA — American Cinematheque’s Aero*****
2013-02-24 … Chicago, IL — Music Box****** 2013-02-26 … Chicago, IL — Music Box****** 2013-06-02 … Santa Monica, CA — American Cinematheque’s Aero******* 2013-09-17 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama******** 2013-09-22 … Seattle, WA — Cinerama********
2014-08-03 … Silver Spring, MD — AFI’s Silver Triplex*********
2016-02-20 … Columbus, OH — Gateway Film Center 8-plex********** 2016-09-02 … New York, NY — Museum of the Moving Image’s Redstone*********** 2016-09-02 … New York, NY — Museum of the Moving Image’s Redstone***********
*Screened during the Summer Film Classics series **Screened during the 70mm Festival ***Screened during the 70mm Film Fest ****Screened during EbertFest *****Screened during the Resurrecting the Bard: An In-Person Tribute to Kenneth Branagh festival ******Screened during the Music Box Theatre 70mm Festival *******Screened during the Much Ado about Shakespeare: The Bard on the Big Screen festival ********Screened during the Big Screen 70mm Festival *********Screened during 70mm Spectacular, Part 3 **********Screened during Brunch with the Bard ***********Screened during the See it Big! festival
The information included in this article has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Eric Carter 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:
Kenneth Branagh's "HAMLET" on 65mm
2013: A Danish Summer of 70mm
"Hamlet" to be filmed in 70mm
Release of "Hamlet" in 70mm
Readers Reviews of "Hamlet"
”Hamlet” in 70mm at Kronborg Castle
70MM "Hamlet" in Ireland
70mm Engagements
70mm Blow Up List
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