Great post ,brings back a load of memories when I worked as a projectionist at the Gaumont and the Savoy in South Shields druring the 80's,Nothing beats the auditorium sound!
'Asteroid' composed by British arranger Pete Moore. I'm back in the cinema in the 60s. Great. Even the sound is authentic. I must have seen that Lyons Maid ad with Jenny Hanley over a dozen times this week. The 'Zoom' ads are always great to see. Great stuff. Thanks.
I remember starting as a Projectionist at the Gaumont cinema in South Shields,Brent Walker had it in the early 80's and we had Carbon Arc then,it ran with twin projectors and every twenty mins we swapped at the cue dots.The tower system and xenon lamp made it much easier!Then I worked at the ABC also which had the platter system.Good post,brings back memories!
I never got the chance to experience this considering that I am born on 2000 and I didn't go to cinemas up until I was 10. These cinema ads seem to really have sentimental value to those who would watch movies during this era. I hope to see more of these amazing cinema ads along the way. :D
Totally agree with you both. I remember queuing for three hours to see Jaws and I would do it again to see it on the real BIG screen with a choc Ice in the interval from the Ice Cream lady. The Fish n Chip shops made a fortune when Jaws was out in 75. Their slogan was "Get yer own back on Jaws EAT FISH! Keep your Blue Ray give me the cinema any day! Thanks Ampex196.
really great stuff there , loads of memories . i remember the ice lollies , the cornish tubs and kia ora juice in the interval .mmmmm . the best thing was though there would still be enough change for the bus , and fish ' n chips on the way home . you could'nt do it now , it costs an absolute arm and a leg for a night out these days.
Many thanks for your comment. I've twice left copies at Seaton Valley co-op but they've so far not had the courtesy to reply or acknowledge in any way. Ivanhoe Forge are still in business too but I've not contacted them as yet.
you're going back some there fella . although very young at the time , i can remember being taken to stuff like sound of music , dr zhivago, jungle book . the best film i ever saw at the cinemas as a child , was diamonds are forever . james 007 bond . super stuff wonderful times . having welsh parents we used to go and stop with my nain and taid ( welsh for grandmother and grand father) up near pwllheli in north wales. i remember there being a brilliant cinema in porthmadoc . great times !
Thanks jeanniedee. Kalee 8's were pre-war mechs (and they were built like the proverbial 'brick outhouse'). I do know of a pair that ran into the 1990s along with Vulcan carbon-arcs.
Saw Fast & Furious at a Cineworld cinema a few weeks back. There were no tabs to open and close, the masking plates were wonky during the trailers, and the no-one sat up front because the seats were too close to the screens. Going to the flicks was special in the '70s and '80s.
@gogsy Many thanks, I did'nt know the Gaumont, South Shields at all but I do know that my old friend and colleague, the late Derek Brew began his career there (he could recall motor-generators provding DC for the arcs). Derek later worked at the Queen's for many years before moving to TC. Sadly - he died in 1995 at the age of 63.
Quite amazing! What a piece of luck to find these films. How on earth did you manage to transfer them to video? Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember the ice lolly ads. Jenny Hanley! I always remember her from Magpie. She would have been about 20 when the Lyons ice cream ad was made. One of my friends played the Pearl & Dean music on her phone tonight so that's how I ended up searching for it. II know that the tune was called Asteroid and covered by a pop group in the 90s. Timeless!
@ThePaperboy1973 Thanks - I'd be interested to know which others you have. It would be great to see them on you tube. When I rescued these in 1994 (19 years after the cinema closed) they were all separate so I had to assemble them. They were tightly wound up just lying loose in the rewind room. It was a pleasant surprise to unroll them and discover what they were. Its a miracle they survived as well as they did.
Many thanks, I'm glad you like it! I'm happy to think I may have captured just a bit of the atmosphere of a 'real' cinema. You Tube is great, though it's still not the same as viewing them in the auditorium. Most of this material is now over 40 years old and has survived remarkably well. In particular; the Lyons Maid adverts (in Technicolor dye transfer) still look absolutely stunning when projected on the big screen!!
+Redcoat66 Indeed, KiaOra were of much lower quality than everyone expects nowadays. It is now a different World. Traditional Usherettes (leading lights) and the ice-cream tray are history.
@ThePaperboy1973 -Someone here will know this one - what was the 1970s / 80s alcoholic drink ad that was very dark, seem to remember flashes of blue lightning-y kind of light, instrumental music that sounded a little like "Champagne Supernova," towards the end had a naked woman swimming underwater across the screen (of course the ripples carefully masked anything too naughty) - very few, if any words. One of those "sophisticated evening drink" kind of ads - exotic... can't remember the drink!!
I have just watched that ad reel and I was initially a little puzzled, to say the least, about 1972 P & D titles with 1967 Local and National ads together with a 1973 trailer for 'Live and Let Die'! That festoon looks remarkably like the one at the Tyneside Cinema and the 1.75:1 screen dimensions stated in the accompanying narrative are about right for there too! I wonder where the DP75 came from?
Thanks for your comment Terry, They're not mean't to be chronologically correct - just a collection of interesting footage I had lying around to make up a short reel. Yes it was shot direct from the screen at the Tyneside (as it was before conversion 11/06) replete with DP75s and Peerless Magnarc carbon arcs. - a real cinema !
It was projected with a Philips DP75 (35/70mm), at approx. 17ft wide and exactly 9ft high (fixed height and masked sides). I've put 16mm on the same screen with Fumeo equipment. A good quality, clean 16mm print can be almost acceptable. For presentation purposes though; I think we can now regard 16mm as a dead duck!
@mistofoles Thanks for your comment. The idea was to capture (at least in part) the experience of being in a traditional 450 seat auditorium. The footlit screen at the start was included to show that this indeed a real cinema.
Thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right - this is 24fps straight off the screen. Sadly, I don't have access to TK. I decided on a 'theatrical' start (with tabs closed). My print is partly missing the sting so I opened up slightly late. Its a pity that the camera's autofocus started to hunt. 'geekraver' has some excellent posts - well worth a look!
I'm impressed with the brits and thier intermission ads we try to do it here in the states and some one want sue to stop because they want to see the movie only.
@midsaint776 You're absolutely right. Nowadays it's all about getting the 'punters' (a term that I hate) to spend large amounts of money on junk food for the kids, along with a second rate film presentation. I'm pleased that I belong to a generation who appreciated that a vist to the cinema or theatre was a special event to be savoured. Watching 'The Sound Of Music' or '2001 A Space Odyssey' in 70mm on an 80 feet wide curved screen is something you never forget.
You've made some good points. I agree that video can never (or ever will) match the 'look' of film. Film grain has a random structure that is different for every consecutive frame (be it 24/25 fps or whatever) whereas electronic media is based upon a fixed array of pixels. While 16mm is more than adequate for television at 720x576 you're pushing the boundaries for any kind of HDTV. Theatrical presentation in 16mm is another matter. A 12ft screen is a sensible limit.
Ampex, great post looks like the Tyneside Cinema if I am not mistaken, do you by any chance have the Rank Screen Advertising openning and closing the version with clouds
I have created cinema-style playlists which - certainly the early ones I compiled - are presented in a style which roughly approximates the cinemas of the 70s and 80s - using the resources available on UA-cam - there are two movies on most of the playlists, plus lots of pre-programme and intermission stuff - to keep both British and American cinema goers happy, I have mixed the best of both in the mix - some stuff from the Odeon and ABC cinemas I went to in the early 80s in Middlesbrough, plus a few American-style drive-in intermissions - due to how they were shot or encoded for UA-cam, the picture and sound quality of each individual thing may vary - blame it on either UA-cam itself or the equipment of the uploader - I tried to get the best quality version possible! With regard to earlier comments, there are some full Rank advertising reels dotted all over UA-cam - some of which are in my playlists - these are freely available to users who have a home cinema - just project them on to your screen. Should look pretty cool - the intermissions help to pad out the evening - just use that to go to the loo or pass round popcorn and hot dogs. As to those people who believe that anything outside of the movie is "superfluous" - even the opening and closing credits - those who leave the cinema the moment the closing credits come on - such people even fast-forward videos through the trailers and don't stop until the opening credits have stopped - the fact that the credits explain the concept of the movie is immaterial - people even did that on rented videos - which, over time, ruins the tape - then the last person to hire it - despite playing the whole tape right through from start to finish - it snaps and Blockbuster Video made them foot the bill, as the last hirer!
I work at an ex Odeon-cum-Classic cinema now kept by the council that still has tabs and masking, etc. The showmanship is going, and being replaced by a bland money making service. A projectionist is no longer a skilled showman, but a glorified IT worker. Out of curiosity, was it normal back then to place the cinema's personal policy trailers (i.e. Xmas greetings) within the Pearl and Dean reel? Thought nothing but their commercials could go there...
10 years in and it's even worse now. People getting up to buy more snacks and drinks all the time, and chatting to their mates as if they're in the pub, not the cinema.
The commercial at 3:00, funny they have a woman in it, what does she have to do with the product. I know it would not work if they had a guy in there instead. Women are the far more attractive sex.
But women are the more attractive sex because men are more visual than women so nature makes women the more attractive sex. Physical beauty is higher on a man's desirability than for a woman.
Great post ,brings back a load of memories when I worked as a projectionist at the Gaumont and the Savoy in South Shields druring the 80's,Nothing beats the auditorium sound!
'Asteroid' composed by British arranger Pete Moore. I'm back in the cinema in the 60s. Great. Even the sound is authentic.
I must have seen that Lyons Maid ad with Jenny Hanley over a dozen times this week. The 'Zoom' ads are always great to see. Great stuff. Thanks.
Thank you for the info. re. Pete Moore.
Great job saving these old ads, and the quality is good. Now the younger generation can see how cinema used to be.
Great to see these again.
The opening shots of the cigarette ad were Cockington in Devon. A lovely place to visit.
Beautiful cinema and fun old ads! Much classier than most theatres. And oh how we miss seeing those curtains opening!
I remember starting as a Projectionist at the Gaumont cinema in South Shields,Brent Walker had it in the early 80's and we had Carbon Arc then,it ran with twin projectors and every twenty mins we swapped at the cue dots.The tower system and xenon lamp made it much easier!Then I worked at the ABC also which had the platter system.Good post,brings back memories!
What a wonderful piece of film history. Many thanks. Stealing this for my wedding video!
I never got the chance to experience this considering that I am born on 2000 and I didn't go to cinemas up until I was 10. These cinema ads seem to really have sentimental value to those who would watch movies during this era. I hope to see more of these amazing cinema ads along the way. :D
Loved this it brought back so many great memories!
I'm building a home cinema. This gives me lots of ideas. Thanks for posting.
Cheers. It's made for a very amusing wedding video and great fun! Thanks for posting and writing.
Tony
Totally agree with you both. I remember queuing for three hours to see Jaws and I would do it again to see it on the real BIG screen with a choc Ice in the interval from the Ice Cream lady. The Fish n Chip shops made a fortune when Jaws was out in 75. Their slogan was "Get yer own back on Jaws EAT FISH! Keep your Blue Ray give me the cinema any day! Thanks Ampex196.
really great stuff there , loads of memories . i remember the ice lollies , the cornish tubs and kia ora juice in the interval .mmmmm . the best thing was though there would still be enough change for the bus , and fish ' n chips on the way home . you could'nt do it now , it costs an absolute arm and a leg for a night out these days.
Many thanks for your comment. I've twice left copies at Seaton Valley co-op but they've so far not had the courtesy to reply or acknowledge in any way. Ivanhoe Forge are still in business too but I've not contacted them as yet.
you're going back some there fella . although very young at the time , i can remember being taken to stuff like sound of music , dr zhivago, jungle book . the best film i ever saw at the cinemas as a child , was diamonds are forever . james 007 bond . super stuff wonderful times . having welsh parents we used to go and stop with my nain and taid ( welsh for grandmother and grand father) up near pwllheli in north wales. i remember there being a brilliant cinema in porthmadoc . great times !
Thanks jeanniedee. Kalee 8's were pre-war mechs (and they were built like the proverbial 'brick outhouse'). I do know of a pair that ran into the 1990s along with Vulcan carbon-arcs.
Saw Fast & Furious at a Cineworld cinema a few weeks back. There were no tabs to open and close, the masking plates were wonky during the trailers, and the no-one sat up front because the seats were too close to the screens.
Going to the flicks was special in the '70s and '80s.
I wasn’t alive for any of this, but god damn, how many freaking Lyon’s Maid ads were there back in the day??
The Lyon's Maud adverts are more likely to have survived because they were made by Gerry Anderson's studio, home of Thunderbirds.
It's the theatrical trailer for 'Live And Let Die', the 1973 Bond film. An original 35mm print in nice condition!
Thanks for your kind comments. I'm glad you like it !
4:23 It's Jeff Tracy From Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds The Original Series. What He's Doing Here. X
Just added this to my Night Of The Demons playlists - comes in early on!
@gogsy
Many thanks, I did'nt know the Gaumont, South Shields at all but I do know that my old friend and colleague, the late Derek Brew began his career there (he could recall motor-generators provding DC for the arcs). Derek later worked at the Queen's for many years before moving to TC. Sadly - he died in 1995 at the age of 63.
There's another cinema advert from 1972, by the second version of Rank's "sky bumper" titles, Ampex196 but soon!
Memories oh the Memories love it
Quite amazing! What a piece of luck to find these films. How on earth did you manage to transfer them to video? Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember the ice lolly ads. Jenny Hanley! I always remember her from Magpie. She would have been about 20 when the Lyons ice cream ad was made. One of my friends played the Pearl & Dean music on her phone tonight so that's how I ended up searching for it. II know that the tune was called Asteroid and covered by a pop group in the 90s. Timeless!
@ThePaperboy1973 Thanks - I'd be interested to know which others you have. It would be great to see them on you tube.
When I rescued these in 1994 (19 years after the cinema closed) they were all separate so I had to assemble them. They were tightly wound up just lying loose in the rewind room. It was a pleasant surprise to unroll them and discover what they were. Its a miracle they survived as well as they did.
Many thanks, I'm glad you like it! I'm happy to think I may have captured just a bit of the atmosphere of a 'real' cinema.
You Tube is great, though it's still not the same as viewing them in the auditorium. Most of this material is now over 40 years old and has survived remarkably well.
In particular; the Lyons Maid adverts (in Technicolor dye transfer) still look absolutely stunning when projected on the big screen!!
I remember those fucking Ki-ora drinks. It was like drinking a warm urine sample.
+Redcoat66 Indeed, KiaOra were of much lower quality than everyone expects nowadays.
It is now a different World. Traditional Usherettes (leading lights) and the ice-cream tray are history.
Great vid!
@ThePaperboy1973 -Someone here will know this one - what was the 1970s / 80s alcoholic drink ad that was very dark, seem to remember flashes of blue lightning-y kind of light, instrumental music that sounded a little like "Champagne Supernova," towards the end had a naked woman swimming underwater across the screen (of course the ripples carefully masked anything too naughty) - very few, if any words. One of those "sophisticated evening drink" kind of ads - exotic... can't remember the drink!!
That James Bond film looks good, can't wait until it's released.
I have just watched that ad reel and I was initially a little puzzled, to say the least, about 1972 P & D titles with 1967 Local and National ads together with a 1973 trailer for 'Live and Let Die'!
That festoon looks remarkably like the one at the Tyneside Cinema and the 1.75:1 screen dimensions stated in the accompanying narrative are about right for there too!
I wonder where the DP75 came from?
1:50 - three-figure phone numbers! Happy days, gone forever.
Thanks for your comment Terry,
They're not mean't to be chronologically correct - just a collection of interesting footage I had lying around to make up a short reel.
Yes it was shot direct from the screen at the Tyneside (as it was before conversion 11/06) replete with DP75s and Peerless Magnarc carbon arcs. - a real cinema !
It was projected with a Philips DP75 (35/70mm), at approx. 17ft wide and exactly 9ft high (fixed height and masked sides).
I've put 16mm on the same screen with Fumeo equipment. A good quality, clean 16mm print can be almost acceptable. For presentation purposes though; I think we can now regard 16mm as a dead duck!
@mistofoles Thanks for your comment. The idea was to capture (at least in part) the experience of being in a traditional 450 seat auditorium. The footlit screen at the start was included to show that this indeed a real cinema.
Thanks for your comment.
You're absolutely right - this is 24fps straight off the screen. Sadly, I don't have access to TK. I decided on a 'theatrical' start (with tabs closed). My print is partly missing the sting so I opened up slightly late. Its a pity that the camera's autofocus started to hunt.
'geekraver' has some excellent posts - well worth a look!
Thanks for posting these. Do you know if anyone has posted adverts with Rank Screen Advertising idents?
They would not have been screened together. The reel is assembled from separate ads found at the venue with the trailer added on the end.
I'm impressed with the brits and thier intermission ads we try to do it here in the states and some one want sue to stop because they want to see the movie only.
Wowsers!!!
5:14 That's A Trailer For Live And Let Die James Bond 007. X
@midsaint776 You're absolutely right. Nowadays it's all about getting the 'punters' (a term that I hate) to spend large amounts of money on junk food for the kids, along with a second rate film presentation.
I'm pleased that I belong to a generation who appreciated that a vist to the cinema or theatre was a special event to be savoured. Watching 'The Sound Of Music' or '2001 A Space Odyssey' in 70mm on an 80 feet wide curved screen is something you never forget.
You've made some good points. I agree that video can never (or ever will) match the 'look' of film. Film grain has a random structure that is different for every consecutive frame (be it 24/25 fps or whatever) whereas electronic media is based upon a fixed array of pixels.
While 16mm is more than adequate for television at 720x576 you're pushing the boundaries for any kind of HDTV.
Theatrical presentation in 16mm is another matter. A 12ft screen is a sensible limit.
Ampex, great post looks like the Tyneside Cinema if I am not mistaken, do you by any chance have the Rank Screen Advertising openning and closing the version with clouds
What a wonderful trip down memory lane - where's my ABC Minors badge...
3-digit phone numbers - wow!
@carrick63 Thank you, and congatulations. I'm pleased that you like it. Hope it went down well at your Wedding!
@Electron1944 Courtesy of ThePaperboy1973 you can now see the Pearl & Dean 'marble pillars' in my latest posts. Enjoy!
Hilarious then and side-splitting now.
3' 21'' Lyons Maid - The voiceover artist sounds suspiciously like Johnnie Walker - still going strong on BBC Radio Two!
redrover2 this 3:21
It isn't a barbecue without a parrot!
THUNDERBIRDS... ARE... GO!!!!!!
@LaughingPsycho
I try to go to the flicks in the morning or afternoon, so I can avoid the mobile pricks!
Thats Jenny Hanley at 3 :10
You mean 3:10
I have created cinema-style playlists which - certainly the early ones I compiled - are presented in a style which roughly approximates the cinemas of the 70s and 80s - using the resources available on UA-cam - there are two movies on most of the playlists, plus lots of pre-programme and intermission stuff - to keep both British and American cinema goers happy, I have mixed the best of both in the mix - some stuff from the Odeon and ABC cinemas I went to in the early 80s in Middlesbrough, plus a few American-style drive-in intermissions - due to how they were shot or encoded for UA-cam, the picture and sound quality of each individual thing may vary - blame it on either UA-cam itself or the equipment of the uploader - I tried to get the best quality version possible!
With regard to earlier comments, there are some full Rank advertising reels dotted all over UA-cam - some of which are in my playlists - these are freely available to users who have a home cinema - just project them on to your screen. Should look pretty cool - the intermissions help to pad out the evening - just use that to go to the loo or pass round popcorn and hot dogs.
As to those people who believe that anything outside of the movie is "superfluous" - even the opening and closing credits - those who leave the cinema the moment the closing credits come on - such people even fast-forward videos through the trailers and don't stop until the opening credits have stopped - the fact that the credits explain the concept of the movie is immaterial - people even did that on rented videos - which, over time, ruins the tape - then the last person to hire it - despite playing the whole tape right through from start to finish - it snaps and Blockbuster Video made them foot the bill, as the last hirer!
I work at an ex Odeon-cum-Classic cinema now kept by the council that still has tabs and masking, etc. The showmanship is going, and being replaced by a bland money making service. A projectionist is no longer a skilled showman, but a glorified IT worker. Out of curiosity, was it normal back then to place the cinema's personal policy trailers (i.e. Xmas greetings) within the Pearl and Dean reel? Thought nothing but their commercials could go there...
@agfagaevart And no folk texting and yapping on their mobiles either back then.
10 years in and it's even worse now. People getting up to buy more snacks and drinks all the time, and chatting to their mates as if they're in the pub, not the cinema.
@yogafan6500 Almost as good as American Drive-In ads!
The Live & Let Die footage is from the mid 70s - quality should be better....con !
6d zoom lol
The commercial at 3:00, funny they have a woman in it, what does she have to do with the product. I know it would not work if they had a guy in there instead. Women are the far more attractive sex.
+L Lance Fortunately, women find men the more attractive sex, or humanity would become extinct!
But women are the more attractive sex because men are more visual than women so nature makes women the more attractive sex. Physical beauty is higher on a man's desirability than for a woman.