“Is Paris Burning?”: The North American Roadshow and
70mm Engagements |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 16.04.2023 |
 The following is a reference / historical
listing of the roadshow presentations of “Is Paris Burning?” 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 is believed to have been 70-millimeter (blow-up) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound (though the only booking explicitly promoted as such was Kansas City); it’s possible 35mm mag-optical and 35mm optical prints were utilized for some roadshow situations. The Paramount release (aka “Paris brule-t-il?”) was directed by René Clément (“Forbidden Games”) and starred an ensemble cast featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, George Chakiris, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Gert Fröbe, Yves Montand, Anthony Perkins, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, Marie Versini, Skip Ward and Orson Welles. The North American premiere was held simultaneously November 9th, 1966 in three locales: Boston, Los Angeles and New York. (The film’s world premiere was held October 26th, 1966 in Paris.) Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1966, “Is Paris Burning?” was among only nine given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only seven released with 70mm prints (three from 65mm origination, three blow-ups, and one converted from 3-panel Kinopanorama/Cinerama). Premiere/Opening date YYYY-MM-DD … city — cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1966-11-09 … Boston — Circle (14) 1966-11-09 … Los Angeles — Warner Hollywood (13) 1966-11-09 … New York — Criterion (12) 1966-11-10 … Chicago — Cinestage (11) 1966-11-10 … Montreal — York (12) 1966-11-10 … Philadelphia — Goldman (8) 1966-11-10 … Toronto — Glendale (11) 1966-11-16 … Salt Lake City — Villa (11) 1966-11-17 … Detroit — Music Hall (12) 1966-11-17 … Houston — Gaylynn (10) 1966-11-17 … New Orleans, LA — Saenger-Orleans (6) 1966-11-17 … Oklahoma City — Tower (5) 1966-11-22 … Dallas — Wilshire (9) 1966-11-22 … Kansas City (Overland Park) — Glenwood (8) 1966-11-22 … Washington — Apex (9) 1966-11-23 … Atlanta — Georgia (10) 1966-11-23 … Denver — Esquire (1+) 1966-11-23 … Memphis — Paramount (4) 1966-12-20 … Cleveland — Palace (4) 1966-12-20 … Louisville, KY — Showcase 1 (6) 1966-12-21 … San Diego — Cinema 21 (7) 1966-12-21 … San Francisco — Golden Gate Penthouse (7) 1966-12-22 … Cincinnati — International 70 (9) 1966-12-22 … Miami (Miami Beach), FL — Beach (10) 1966-12-22 … Portland — Broadway (6) 1967-01-17 … Minneapolis, MN — Mann (6) 1967-02-22 … Reno, NV — Century 21 (2) 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. This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel and Vince Young. The film’s international roadshow engagements (except for noting the film’s world premiere locale) have not been accounted for in this article. International roadshow/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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