Star!: The North American Roadshow and 70mm
Engagements |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 10.08.2022 |
 The
following is a reference / historical listing of the roadshow presentations
of Star! in the United States and Canada. These were the first and best
cinemas in which to experience this motion picture.The presentations cited in the main section of this work were hard ticket roadshow engagements (i.e. special, long-running, showcase presentations in major cities prior to the film being exhibited as a general release). Much like a stage production, these typically featured an average of only ten scheduled screenings per week, advanced admission pricing, reserved seating, and an overture/intermission/entracte/exit music. (The overture in Star! is visual and features the orchestra playing; most overtures played with curtains closed.) Souvenir program booklet were sold, as well, and, in some locales, the films soundtrack album. The print types utilized during the films roadshow release were, depending on the booking, 70-millimeter with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound or 35-millimeter with discrete magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound or 35mm with optical monaural sound. (Technically, the four-channel magnetic prints were mag-optical whereby they contained both a 4-channel magnetic track and an optical mono track and cinemas sent such a print had the option of presenting in either format.) The Twentieth Century-Fox release was directed by Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound of Music) and starred Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, Michael Craig and Daniel Massey. The films world premiere was held July 18th, 1968, at the Dominion in London, and the North American premiere being held October 22nd at the Rivoli in New York. Out of the hundreds of first-run films released in North America during 1968, Star! was among only fourteen given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only eleven issued with 70mm prints (seven, including Star!, from large format or large aperture origination plus four blow-ups). PART 1: THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved seat policy and [believed to be] 70mm except where noted) Premiere date YYYY-MM-DD locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1968-05-03 Cleveland Ohio [sneak preview] 1968-05-04 Denver Aladdin [sneak preview] 1968-10-22 New York Rivoli (22) 1968-10-31 Los Angeles (Beverly Hills) Fox Wilshire (21) 1968-11-06 Boston Gary (8) 1968-11-06 Chicago Michael Todd (16) 1968-11-06 Philadelphia Boyd (14) 1968-11-06 Toronto University (21) 1968-11-07 Atlanta Grand (13) 1968-11-07 Dallas Inwood (12) 1968-11-07 San Francisco United Artists (14) 1968-11-07 Washington Warner (13) 1968-11-12 Kansas City (Overland Park) Glenwood 1 (29) 1968-11-12 Miami (Miami Beach) Lincoln (15) 1968-11-12 Minneapolis Mann (11) 1968-11-12 New Orleans Saenger-Orleans (12) 1968-11-13 Cincinnati Valley (14) 1968-11-13 Detroit Madison (10) 1968-11-13 Houston Alabama (11) 1968-12-18 Baltimore Hippodrome (7) 1968-12-18 Charlotte Carolina (8) 1968-12-18 Denver Aladdin (13) 1968-12-18 Milwaukee Strand (7) 1968-12-18 Oklahoma City Tower (11) 1968-12-18 Orlando Park East (9) 1968-12-18 Pittsburgh Manor (9) 1968-12-18 St. Louis Cinerama (15) 1968-12-18 San Diego Loma (12) 1968-12-19 Buffalo Teck (6) 1968-12-19 Cleveland Ohio (8) 1968-12-19 Columbus Northland (9) 1968-12-19 Dayton Fox Northwest Plaza (12) 1968-12-19 Des Moines Ingersoll (10) 1968-12-19 Honolulu Varsity (9) 1968-12-19 Indianapolis Lyric (8) 1968-12-19 Jacksonville Cedar Hills (1+) 1968-12-19 Long Island (Syosset) Syosset (10) 1968-12-19 Louisville United Artists (6) 1968-12-19 Memphis Crosstown (11) 1968-12-19 New Haven (Hamden) Cinemart (10) 1968-12-19 Newark (Upper Montclair) Bellevue (8) 1968-12-19 Norfolk Riverview (9) 1968-12-19 Omaha Cooper 70 (10) 1968-12-19 Portland Fox (6) 1968-12-19 Rochester Riviera (8) 1968-12-19 St. Petersburg (Pinellas Park) Palms (13) 1968-12-19 Salt Lake City Centre (10) 1968-12-19 Seattle 5th Avenue (6) 1968-12-25 Vancouver Stanley (9) 1968-12-26 Montreal (Westmount) Westmount Square (14) 1968-12-26 Syracuse (DeWitt) Shoppingtown II (7) 1969-01-15 Winnipeg Polo Park (9) [35mm] 1969-01-29 Albany Hellman (6) 1969-01-29 Richmond Westhampton (8) [35mm] 1969-01-29 Wichita Boulevard (8) [35mm] 1969-02-05 Akron (Fairlawn) Fairlawn (6) 1969-02-05 Fort Worth Ridglea (4) [35mm] 1969-02-05 Hartford (West Hartford) Elm (7) 1969-02-05 Youngstown Newport (4) [35mm] 1969-02-06 Calgary Chinook (6) 1969-02-06 Edmonton Westmount (5) [35mm] 1969-02-06 Ottawa Nelson (8) 1969-02-12 Birmingham Ritz (6) 1969-02-12 Davenport Coronet (10) 1969-02-19 Las Vegas Boulevard (5) [35mm] 1969-02-19 Phoenix Vista (6) 1969-02-20 Nashville Belle Meade (6) 1969-02-20 San Antonio Broadway (4) 1969-02-26 Springfield (West Springfield) Showcase 1 (4) 1969-03-05 Toledo Showcase 1 (6) 1969-03-12 Hamilton Centre Twin West (5) 1969-03-12 Tucson Catalina (3) [35mm] 1969-03-26 Fresno Warnor (6) 1969-04-02 Oakland Century 21 (2) 1969-04-02 Sacramento Crest (4) 1969-05-20 San Jose Century 22 (5) 1969-??-?? Providence Elmwood 1969-??-?? Reading Fox 1969-??-?? Tulsa Continental The reserved-seat policy, in some instances, was relaxed during the latter weeks of the run. Any non-roadshow portion of such an engagement is included in the duration figure. PART 2: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (unreserved seating / general-release policy) 1969-04-23 St. Cloud, MN Cinema 70 (1) 1969-04-23 Springfield, IL Fox Town & Country (1) 1969-05-21 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine (3) 1971-06-10 Riverdale, UT Cinedome 70 South (1) 1975-10-08 Bloomington, MN Southtown* (1) [70mm musical festival] 1975-12-04 Toronto, ON Science Centre/Ontario Film Theatre 1977-10-21 Knoxville, TN Capri 70 (1) [The Fabulous Five series] *Promoted under the alternative title of Those Were the Happy Times PART 3: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (New 70mm print / DTS audio) 2008-09-05 Los Angeles, CA American Cinematheque Egyptian 2009-05-31 Santa Monica, CA American Cinematheque Aero [70mm series] 2009-08-29 Austin, TX Paramount [Summer Classic Film Series] 2009-08-30 Austin, TX Paramount [Summer Classic Film Series] 2012-12-23 New York, NY Film Society of Lincoln Center Walter Reade [70mm festival] 2013-07-14 Silver Spring, MD AFI Silver [70mm festival] 2016-08-27 New York, NY Museum of the Moving Image [festival] 2016-08-28 New York, NY Museum of the Moving Image [festival] 2022-09-03 Silver Spring, MD AFI Silver [Julie Andrews tribute] 2022-09-04 Silver Spring, MD AFI Silver [Julie Andrews tribute] This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Ray Bentley, Jim Cobb, Sheldon Hall, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Mike Matessino and W.R. Miller. International 70mm engagements of this title have not been accounted for in this article (except for the brief mention of the London world premiere). 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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