What's the best movie theatre in your city/area?

Back in Monterey we had a little art house called the Osio, it had about five little screens or so and was right downtown, you could walk to it, see a film, go to a bar and kill a few import drafts, then see another flick in the old movie house a little ways down the street. Monterey CA is the best place on earth. I was so lucky. God dammit.

Oh, and I didn't mention another loss, the Egyptien, which was decorated in a motif befitting its name, one of the best mall theatres ever.

I miss some of the old theaters, (wouldn't want to lose the Grand Lake in Oakland) and think that some should be renovated, but when it comes down to it, all the beautiful molding is somewhat lost in a movie house (which should be dark during the show, right?). In fact, I sometimes walk out of a theater if the screen is too small and ask for a refund.

I heart the Astor!

I really hate this chain, because a couple years ago they closed the Avalon, a smaller but very nice 2-screen theater up near the DC-Chevy Chase border, and made a point of ripping out the chairs and projection equipment to make it even harder for someone else to set up shop in there. A group is trying to make over the place as a arts center, but I'm not holding my breath. Loews has been closing its older theaters in DC at an annoying clip, to transfer the business to their new megaplex in Georgetown. It's nice as megaplexes go, but its programming is targeted right to the lowest common denominator, while the older theaters often played smaller films.

A few remain as chain theaters (Biograph--recently reopened, Highland Park) and then there's the Music Box. The Esquire on the near north side still has it's old marquee and looks nice from the outside, but on the inside it's been totally gutted and looks like any old googleplex. A few old crappy second-run theaters have gone a bit upscale (Village North, Davis).

Lots of megaplexes have opened in the past 6-7 years, some better than others. The Landmark chain out of SF stuck a multiplex arthouse on top of a mall (which ironically itself used to be a theater, the Century), and a huge multiplex arthouse/nonarthouse combo fell on top of downtown Evanston, confusingly owned by a company named Century. A brand new one opened up in the fancy River North area, and then there's the General Cinema (shades of the Eastern Bloc) near Western.

What else? The Copernicus Center (a Polish-American hall) houses the old Gateway Theater where they have a silent film festival ever summer. It's huge and great, one of the only such places left (what the Music Box probably looked like before it was renovated to add the second room). Apparently they show (unsubtitled) Indian and Polish films there on occasion, but I haven't found anyone who's seen a schedule.

This page tells part of the story. Check out the A-Z listings and weep in sorrow.

Nabisco, Felicity et al: tell me what I've forgot (and there's probably lots more in the distant 'burbs). I know I'm forgetting something.

I don't really feel affection for any movie theaters in Chicago, because they've all shown disrepect to their customers at one time or another. The Music Box frequently shows things out of focus, or turns on the house lights just before the credits, or has that godawful organist begin playing during the credits. The major chain theaters, it should go without saying, commit sins of bad projection as a matter of course. (And the nonchains too: the Village North has a terribly keystoning problem.)

My favorite place to see movies used to the be the old Film Center, in the back of the School of the Art Institute. When it was right beside the classrooms. Now it's in its own building and feels a bit...cold to me, especially since it's right there on Lake Ave downtown. Facets stinks nowadays, although I don't doubt their good intentions. I guess the only place I have any kind of affection for is Doc Films at the University of Chicago, because it has that student-film-series amateur enthusiasm and the schedule is often very interesting. And they play good music over the PA before shows start. But because I don't have a car, I don't get down there very often.

I was in Boston for a year recently, and I have to say that the Coolidge Corner is a very mixed bag. I grew to hate it...for advertising screenings and then projection horrible-looking VHS, for not informing audiences when there was a projection problem, for never starting the midnight movies on time, etc. Although the place has an undeniable crumbling-antique charm. The Brattle however rocks and is my favorite theater ever. (There's a theater--maybe it's called the Palace, or the Paris--not far from Lincoln Center in NY that has a huge balcony and a gorgeous red curtain. I saw Topsy-Turvy there three years ago. What's the name?)

The new-ish Block Gallery series at Northwestern is very good, if extremely cineaste-esque (thus totally up my alley), but so far screenings there haven't been too well-attended so it can be kind of lonely.

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Hey, is the Silent Movie Theater in L.A. open again? It was showing some Chaplin films when I was last out there, summer 2002.

That reminds me of the Bethesda Theater Cafe, an Art Deco gem. They closed the theater, but the architecture will be preserved...as the lobby of an upscale condo development.
:^P

There was one huge fleamarket in one of the big Latino neighborhoods (sorry I forget the name). I guy making duplicate keys set up shop in the box office and if you looked upward you could see the beautifully designed balcony and boxes and the elaborate fire curtain.

Interesting I didn't see many theaters, abandoned or otherwise, in Watts.

Music Box

Gene Siskel Film Center

Facets Cinematheque

Doc Films (University of CHicago)

Block Cinema (Northwestern University)

And I forgot about the LaSalle Theater in the bank of the LaSalle Bank branch way west on Irving Park. They've been showing an old Hollywood film series, including some serious obscurities for about 25 years I think. Some serious neighborhood old-timers attend it every Saturday night. They always show shorts (cartoons or Little Rascals episodes, and sometimes serials) before the main event. Actually a good place to take a date hint hint.

my old hometown had a great theatre called the Oak Bay cinema where i saw the first fillums i remember: a Strangers On A Train/The Lady Vanishes double feature (no, not first run, i am not quite that old-fangled). i was 9 or 10 when it closed - they auctioned off the seats and i sulked for weeks because i hadn't saved up enough to buy one.

Montreal used to have what seemed to be millions of grindhouse type cinemas (the link I supplied above has a huge list). A lot of them are still around as bingo halls etc. My favourite is a place on Ste-Catherine E. that's now a church--the only church I've ever seen with a marquee and box office.

On Papineau there's a Rosicrucian hall that used to be a cinema, and a sign in the window indicates they're selling all their old seats to whoever makes them a good offer. I want those seats. Wonder if they'll accept $100, as that's all I think I can afford.

Paris is still full of beautiful little salles, as well as the abandoned hulks of picture palaces--there's an amazing one across from Barbès-Rochechouart metro I discovered last time I visited. I think I took a picture of it, which I can post if anyone's interested. Great big beautiful place covered in graffiti.

I'm afraid the Palace is probably completely devastated (though they did restore the bit above the marquee when Metaforia moved in). Probably littered with shorted-out VR goggles and malfunctioning holographic projectors now.

The unbelievable thing is the provincial government apparently tossed about $20M into each of those abominations.

My favorite in Chicago is the Pickwick in Park Ridge.

http://www.astor-theatre.com/images/astor/astor-present/astor-lobby-m.jpeg

They're working on getting a Wurlitzer!

paul allen restored our cinerama theater, which is one of only three left in the world and recently hosted some showings of original and new cinerama prints. having a few billionaires around town has some perks, but of course a downside as well. HOLLA AT YA SEAHAWKS STADIUM

none stand out to me as BEST, but i'm not really a movie theater person so maybe that's it. the older the better, i'd say

Regarding Paris, how about the Pagode? Haven't been there in many years, but it (literally a pagoda) had to be the greatest place on the planet to go to the movies stoned.

I had a chance to visit the Ziegfeld, much-praised by a friend of mine, very recently, and it was delightful.

Thanks for posting all the pretty pictures everyone.

I used to have a beautiful exterior shot of the Palace in its heyday, but I can't find the damn thing.

Speaking of new uses for old theatre space, the cinema in Montreal with probably the most authentic old decor is likely the Cinéma L'Amour, the porno house on St-Laurent. Porn has saved many a great theatre from destruction.

From the web site: "Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Gladys Knight, Fleetwood Mac, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Buffet, and the Go Gos played at the Raymond. It has been the site of many films, such as Spinal Tap and The Bodyguard. In the 1980s it hosted the NBC television series "Rock and Roll Tonight: Live from Perkins Palace." Public Image also played there.

biggest screen i've seen a film on is The Filmworks in Greenwich

best one in my area though would be Odeon Uxbridge - just yer typical 8-10 screen Odeon basically

What's most worrisome is that audiences either don't notice or have just come to expect this sort of thing, so often even after 15 minutes I'm the first one to have complained to an employee.

I like any theater where, if there's a problem with the print and/or the projector, the projectionist will come out into the theater and explain what's happening, and thank the audience for their patience. The fellow at the Havard Film Archive was a saint in that regard.

That said I'd like to hear from older folks re. projection in different eras. Our complaints seem to presume there was a golden age of movie projection, and perhaps during the era of one-large-screen-per-theater and union projectionists there was. But certainly during the silent and early sound eras projection was supposed to have been a mess. Reviews of films in major papers from the 1920s often go out of their way to praise the film being in focus. Then there's the whole issue of nonstandard projection speed.

But although I doubt the existence of a real golden age of projectionists, it certainly couldn't have hurt to have had a dedicated one for every screen. Nowadays it's quite obvious that no one checks up on this shit (maybe they watch the first five minutes to make sure everything's okay, but even this is doubtful). And you're right, no one complains. The worst is when you have to run out and accost some poor concession stand clerk who clearly has no idea what you're talking about. You'd think the Directors' Guild would be a little annoyed about this... (the problem in general, not the ignorant concession workers, that is).

With ticket prices ever-rocketing upwards, with commercials playing for 20 minutes before the feature, I think I have the right to demand at least a movie shown in focus. Do you really think that's unreasonable? Would you complain if a CD you bought was damaged and virtually unlistenable? Or if a book was missing a chapter? Same diff.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-05-23/screens_set2.html

Tonight we're going to see His Girl Friday, with Cary Grant. And this is the perfect opportunity to make my girlfriend watch Bridge on the River Kwai, and The Third Man, and a Marx Brothers double feature, and so on and so forth.

And the Austin Film society is screening two by Fritz Lang that I haven't seen.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-05-23/screens_set4.html

It's gonna be a good summer.

Now let's see if my first attempt to post a pic works:
http://www.dukeofyorkscinema.com/postcard2.html

“http://www.dukeofyorkscinema.com/postcard2.html”

http://www.dukeofyorkscinema.com/postcard2.html”

http://web.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/2001trip/Photos/Aug6-8/mayan-t.jpg

And some others like the Bluebird, Gothic, and Paramount have been turned into good music venues. Paramount recently built a brand new googleplex on 16th Street, and Starz (cable movie channel based here)is keeping the Tivoli open as an art house and uses it for the Denver film festival.

favourite 'local' cinema: UCI Filmworks, Greenwich (totally devoid of character tho), i class this as my local despite it being the complete other side of the city from me as i go here more often than anywhere else

http://www.soulofamerica.com/images/photosca/ParamountTheatre_int.jpg

The Paramount, Oakland

http://www.soulofamerica.com/images/photosca/ParamountTheatre_int.jpg

The Paramount, Oakland

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/aboutberkeley/images/wpe99367.jpg

This still holds true. It hasn't even made it off hte "Endangered Buildins" list yet. The website Amateurist originally linked to is gone. One can only assume the renovation effort is not picking up speed. But then again, with a big new influx of retail space around that corner and "revitalization" efforts in full swing, who knows?

http://www.uptowntheatre.com/

http://www.luna.com.au/

Ugh--one of the two reps that is within an hour of me looks doomed.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/final-curtain-could-be-near-for-the-hyland-cinema-without-support-1.6662953

It's not strictly a rep; half of what they show is smaller films like Past Lives, or something like Killers of the Flower Moon right after it finishes its Cineplex run.