Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is a concert movie first released in 1974.It was filmed during 4 shows in Ft. Worth and Dallas, Texas during the band’s 1972 North American Tour in support of their classic 1972 album “Exile On Main St”.
“Ladies and Gentlemen…” utilized the four magnetic striped “Foxhole Perforation” 35 mm film format pioneered by Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1939.
However, unlike “Fantasia” the four magnetic tracks were used to create four discreet channels — two on either side of the screen, and two on either side of the rear of each theatre.
The purpose of the quadraphonic sound recording was to transform the 650 seat motion picture theatre auditorium into the auditory phenomenon of a 10,000 seat rock ‘n roll arena. The film began before most audience members even realized it: a black screen and quadraphonic audience noise fooled theatergoers into accepting the recorded ambience as coming from their own venue, intensifying the aural intimacy when the Stones began to play.
The film was sold by The Rolling Stones as a tax-incentive based venture capital investment. Nine (9) separate investment groups competed to acquire the film, and the winning group formed Dragonaire Ltd., a one-film distribution company that was formed to “four-wall” the film throughout the United States. Dragonaire Ltd. proceeded to rent theatres for limited engagements in major markets (commencing at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on 15 April, 1974) and sell tickets not only at the theatre but also through concert ticket vendors such as Ticketron for the limited engagements.
The Quadraphonic presentation of “Ladies and Gentlemen…” required a 44 JBL driver sound system (four were created for Dragonaire) capable of generating 3300 Watts RMS, carried to each venue in a 14 ft. bed truck. The film was played in limited engagements during which the word of mouth for the film increased attendance throughout the run. Limited engagements were conducted in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles before the picture was sold to Plitt Theatres which released the film in a “flat” screen monoaural version.
THE FOLLOWING ARE ARE PROMOTIONAL POSTERS, TICKETS AND ITEMS GIVEN AWAY AT THE PREMIERE.
There
were a variety of different colored silk scarves with a glitter tongue
and Easter 1974 on it given out at the premiere. I’ve have a dark blue
and a light blue, both shown here. I’ve also seen a pink and peach
colored one?garyrocks.wordpress.com
