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Amsterdam 70mm Cinema History
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Read more
at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Jan-Hein Bal, Nederlands Filmmuseum | Date: 11.06.2008 |
 Exterior
of Du Midi cinema with announcement WEST SIDE STORY 2nd year, March 1963.Du Midi was Amsterdam’s first and most successful 70mm cinema and started 70mm projection in 1960 with "Porgy And Bess". Other long runs included "West Side Story" (1962, 93 weeks), "It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1964), "The Sound Of Music" (1966) and "Funny Girl" (blow-up 1969). Du Midi showed 70mm many years till about 1978 and closed 1982. Flora cinema bought 70mm projectors in 1961 for "Can-Can" en their greatest successes were "El Cid" (1961), "Cleopatra" (1963) and "My Fair Lady" (1964, 48 weeks). In later years no 70mm was shown anymore and Flora closed 1980. Noggerath cinema received 70mm projection in 1963 to continue "West Side Story" from Du Midi but had never 70mm releases and other revivals are uncertain. Many years Du Midi and Flora remained the two important 70mm road show cinemas in Amsterdam, till 1965 with two additional 70mm cinemas. From then many 70mm prints were released, starting with at least seven titles in 1965. |
More
in 70mm reading: Internet link: www.70mm.nl NEDERLANDS FILMMUSEUM Stills/posters-collection Jan-Hein Bal Postbox 74782 1070 BT Amsterdam Telephone 020-5891451, |
 Exterior
of Flora cinema with announcement CLEOPATRA, in 1963. Photograph George SchullerCalypso cinema started 70mm projection with "The Agony And The Ecstasy" in 1965 and had great success with "Play Time" in 1968 but was a less important 70mm cinema like all further commercial cinemas except Bellevue Cinerama. Calypso closed 2006. December 1965 Bellevue Cinerama opened as third and final 70mm road show cinema with (only) 70mm. "The Hallelujah Trail" was the first of many exclusive 70mm projections which were obligatory for Cinerama cinemas. Because of this and diminishing 70mm production Bellevue released the first 70mm blow-up in Amsterdam with "The Great Race" in 1966. This and blowups "Doctor Zhivago" (76 weeks) and "The Wild Bunch" were Bellevue’s greatest 70mm successes. |
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 Exterior
of Amsterdam cinemas Calypso (with announcement PLAYTIME 4th
week) and Bellevue Cinerama (with announcement DOCTOR ZHIVAGO 76th and last
week), May 1968. Photograph George SchullerThe opening of Bellevue marked a long period in which you could often choose between several 70mm titles at the same time in Amsterdam. 1968 had a peak of eleven releases including "Around The World In 80 Days" for the first time on 70mm in Amsterdam. A highlight was the Stanley Kubrick 70mm “double bill” from 10 October 1968 with the simultaneous release of "2001 A Space Odyssey" in Bellevue and revival of "Spartacus" in Flora. 1966 the Rembrandtpleintheater cinema opened, like Bellevue immediately with 70mm projection but not before 1969 "Hello, Dolly!" was the first 70mm release. Revivals are uncertain and the cinema already closed in 1986. The famous Tuschinski cinema even needed a longer period because after its 70mm installation about 1963 it lasted till 1969 for the first 70mm showing with the "Gone With The Wind" blow-up. Further only the 70mm release of "Far And Away" is certain. City cinema (once the largest in Amsterdam) received 70mm projection not before 1969. With the first 70mm screening of "Ben-Hur" in 1970 City started a series of 70mm revivals till "Patton" in 1977. |
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 Interior
of Bellevue Cinerama cinema with author Jan-Hein Bal and former Bellevue
projectionists George Schuller, Pim Hiddes, Freek Dozy, final evening before
closure December 2006. Photograph Merette DozyWith the demolishing of the Cinerama louvered screen in Bellevue in 1978, the closure of Flora in 1980 and Du Midi in 1982 and lack of 70mm productions the boom was over. After that mainly blowups were released and only non-commercial cinemas received further 70mm installations for revivals. Desmet cinema started in 1984 a long series of 70mm revivals and imported 70mm restorations like “Lawrence Of Arabia” in 1991 and "Spartacus" in 1993 (also shown during the cinema closure in 2000). In 1992 the Filmmuseum started its many 70mm projections with a "Heaven’s Gate" blow-up, sometimes together with Desmet like the ‘Size Matters’ festival in 2000. In 1989 "The Abyss" blow-up marked the end of regular 70mm projections in Bellevue. From 2003 the Fimmuseum moved its 70mm screenings temporarily to Bellevue during its last years, with annual ‘Widescreen Weekends’. Bellevue closed 2006. About 2004 Rialto cinema had briefly 70mm projection but without public screenings. Further there were some mobile (Cinema 180) and open air 70mm projections. The last 70mm development in Amsterdam is Pathe Arena cinema with many Imax blow-up releases since 2005 |
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