Goodbye Ziggy

I've lived in New York City for going on 25 years. I've seen lots of changes. I've seen the great 90's dance clubs turned into shopping malls. I've seen Chelsea turned into a daycare center. I've seen Times Square turned into- well, another daycare center. But with all the losses of favorite restaurants, bars, and assorted other institutions, nothing makes me sadder than learning that the grand old dame of one-screen theaters, The Ziegfeld, is closing. Over the last couple of years the rumors have run thick that the historical movie theater was hemorrhaging money- and any time I went to see a movie with an audience that was smaller than some of my birthday parties, I always figured this grand movie house's time was limited.

But to actually hear that this great cinema relic is closing is disheartening. Nowhere else in this city does a space invoke the reverence for movies that the Ziegfeld does. With it's 1100 red velvet seats, wide screen, and old-school lobby, the Ziegfeld conjured the feeling of a movie palace that pre-dated its 1969 opening. You almost expected to see a red-capped usher with a flashlight help you to your seat. When a film opened at the Ziegfeld- it was an event! Lines wrapped around the block- but the place never felt crowded. Movies felt like movies at the Ziegfeld- even when they were not necessarily the best movies.

So in honor of the passing of this great institution, here are some of the movies I remember seeing at The Ziegfeld.

In no particular order:

Jurassic Park (1993)
I went alone close to opening day after my shift as a soda jerk  finished at the diner cum Chess King fashion store known as Boogie's Diner. I arrived late and found the only available seat at the end of the very first row. Grumpy at the neck-straining view, I sat down anyway and found myself transported to a world where dinosaurs had been resurrected, and a movie franchise was born.

Death Becomes Her (1992)
I saw this under-appreciated comedy with one of my roommates. This satire on youth and beauty in Hollywood is still one of my favorites. How can you not love a movie that contains a failed musical based on Sweet Bird of Youth that features Meryl Streep cavorting around the stage singing the song "That's Not Me" into a mirror? Director Robert Zemeckis seems to have peaked with his 1994 Oscar-winner Forrest Gump, but the fun of movies like Death and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) give me hope that we may yet see another great Zemeckis flick. Why isn't Death Becomes Her out in a widescreen format??!!

Independence Day (1996)
This movie is pure popcorn dreck. But there's nothing quite like introducing your younger brother to The Ziegfeld on his first visit to the big city. The giant, alien ships darkening the sky and the White House blowing up seemed scarier there than in any other theater in New York City. Now there's a sequel with even bigger ships- but no Will Smith.

Chicago (2002)
I loved the stage revival and went to this one drunk. I did the unthinkable and hung my feet over the empty seatback in front of me and did all the Fosse moves I could. I'm surprised I wasn't thrown out.

The re-release of the Star Wars trilogy
The line for A New Hope (1977) wrapped around the block. The lines for Empire Strikes Back (1980) went down the street. We just walked into Return of the Jedi (1983). I guess the Ewoks weren't crowdpleasers- but seeing these films at the Ziegfeld reignited all those happy childhood moments. I probably saw all the prequels at The Ziegfeld- but I don't remember... as I shouldn't. I closed the circle by seeing The Force Awakens a couple weeks ago at the Ziegfeld with a Perrier in hand.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)
I saw this David Lean epic with a guy I was dating, hoping that the romantic film would spark love between the two of us just like it did Yuri and Laura. It didn't. I spent most of the time trying to wriggle away from my date's hand.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
If you ever get the chance to see Lawrence of Arabia on a huge, wide screen- do it. It's how this stunning historical epic was meant to be seen. Peter O'Toole's eyes blaze like blue fire and Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn's false noses jut off the screen. With set design by the gods of the desert, we found ourselves emptying our water bottles before intermission.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
This film is so much fun. There was a time when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas working on an Indiana Jones movie together meant a guaranteed good time.  After Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), nothing is certain. Zieg Heil monkey indeed!

The Godfather (1972)
I actually waited to see this movie at The Ziegfeld. It's operatic scope could only be revealed on a screen the size of the Ziegfeld's, I thought. I was right. Having my Godfather cherry popped at the Ziegfeld is one of my proudest cinematic moments. Now where will I watch The Godfather: Part II (1974)?

Chinatown (1974)
Roman Polanski's twisted noir about murder and water rights is a classic. Favorite moment- when Noah Cross (John Huston) asks J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) if he's, "Fucking his daughter?" He was- on screen and in real life. Nicholson was seeing (and by default, fucking) Huston's daughter Anjelica.

Blade Runner (1982)
I don't remember which director's cut I saw at The Ziegfeld, and I don't care. This sci-fi noir is a seminal film and in my opinion, I don't think Ridley Scott has made a film as exciting and visually innovative since. It also means the actor I've seen most at the Ziegfeld is without a doubt, Harrison Ford.

So dear, Ziegfeld, even though you're going to be turned into a corporate event space where the elite will get drunk on Piper Heidsieck, shove canapes into their maws, and thrash about badly on a dance floor, for me, you will always be a place where movies are respected and loved.

Go in peace.

What films do you remember seeing at The Ziegfeld?

In a Blog Posting Far, Far Away...

I love Star Wars. Anytime I see the original three movies, I am transported back in time to a golden childhood era when my bedsheets, lunchbox, and underoos were covered with Luke, Han, and Leia.  

 I would gather together the neighborhood kids to act out Star Wars adventures- taking the part of C3PO whenever possible- Leia if we couldn't find any girls game enough to join. I built a Dagobah set in my bookshelf with Play Doh, a crayon box, and some green toilet paper. I even wrote a letter to the main office of the toy company, Kenner, requesting replacement guns, lightsabers, and capes for my action figures who had lost theirs in the dirtpile out back of the house. I was swept up in the cultural lovefest for the franchise and felt part of something bigger than my Kansas backyard. The Force was with me. I love Star Wars.

I preface this post with that backstory because when I say I love Star Wars, I mean I love it with that corner of my heart that will always retain my first experience of sheer glee at seeing the film at age 5. I am not saying these movies are good from a critical standpoint.

Case in point- the prequels. Maybe the kids who saw The Phantom Menace, The Clone Wars, and The Revenge of the Sith have CGI halcyon memories of these movies like I had of the originals. But when I saw them, I felt like George Lucas had opened up my childhood Darth Vader action figure case and taken a dump in it. There was a dour, seriousness to the prequels that no matter how many new weird-faced aliens, Architectural Digest rip-off worlds, or Yoda lightsaber battles got thrown in, I was exhausted by the effort, and unimpressed with the bloated results. We needed three epic-length movies to tell how Darth Vader became Darth Vader? I prefer thinking he was just an a**hole from the Dark Side with some skin irritation and a fetish for face grills. Not even fine actors like Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor or Samuel L. Jackson could breathe life into the turgid scripts. The magic I'd idolized was squandered.

So when it was announced that JJ Abrams was going to do the next chapter in the Star Wars saga, I was at the very least, skeptical. Abrams did a nice job re-booting the Star Trek movie series, but was he the guy to do Star Wars? Should anyone be the guy to re-do Star Wars? Would the fact that George Lucas had nothing to do with it help? Since the entire world went to see the movie opening weekend (and kept going back), I put off seeing the film in the hopes that I wouldn't have to run into anyone dressed as Jar-Jar Binks. I did my best to avoid every Star Wars Facebook post so as not to accidentally ingest a spoiler and finally went to the majestic Ziegfeld Theater last Friday. I sat back with a couple good friends (friends who knew that C3PO was my spirit robot), my 3D glasses, some popcorn, and Perrier (my childhood self would have loved the fanciness of Perrier) and waited to see if the Star Wars film empire could strike back. It did.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is something quite astonishing. It feels like a Star Wars movie. Maybe it's the inclusion of the original cast in meaningful parts (I literally squealed aloud when C3PO made his appearance). Maybe it's the John Williams score that weaves in the musical themes intrinsic to the originals.

Maybe it's the use of models instead of faster than light CGI so we feel like craftsmen put real sweat and tears into the film instead of into green screens and Macbooks. Maybe it's the color palette that seems so familiar- with the sands of Jakku filling in for Tatooine and the jungle outpost of Maz Kanata a soft, green counterpart to the forests of Yavin.  Maybe it's the plot that while jumpstarting a saga of its own, feels so familiar with all sorts of parallels that I won't go into so no one will accuse me of being a spoiler queen. The plot similarities have caused some to decry the movie- but honestly- maybe it's my PTSD from the prequels- I welcomed a return to form, even if the form was very similar. Whatever it is, there is the feeling that the transition from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens is seamless.

The new stars of the film (Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Adam Driver) are all really engaging. One of my friends thinks Driver's petulantly villainous Kylo Ren should get an Oscar nom. (Not gonna happen.) Even the new robot BB-8 rolls and bleeps into our hearts much like his predecessor R2D2 did almost forty years ago. Abrams has brought this Star Wars into our more multi-cultural world by showing that women and African-Americans can be part of this worldwide touchstone and I applaud that. Now if Poe Dameron is really as gay as rumored, we'll be good to go.

The Force Awakens feels like a visit from an old friend.
An old friend I haven't seen for awhile.
A friend I've missed.