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Cinemas showing old/classic movies

Started by Artemis, March 08, 2015, 11:47:10 AM

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Artemis

I've recently moved to Melbourne, Australia, and I've discovered that my local cinema (the Astor) is an absolute gem. It has one big fuck-off screen, a thousand seats, and a big neon sign on the outside:



It's run by people who love films but presumably they can't afford/don't get given the very latest, so they mainly show old films.

Here's their March line up:



Fantastic stuff. Not always top-drawer, but the kind of thing you don't see anywhere else really, and movies you may have always wanted to see (again) on the big screen.

I was disappointed to find that due to a disagreement between the cinema and the owners of the building, the place will close early next month, with a 70mm showing of 2001: A Space Odyssey. What a massive shame.

Does anyone else have a cinema near them that shows unusual films?

Nothing like that near me, but I'm glad I don't live near Leicester Square in London, otherwise I could see myself spending far too much time and money at the Prince Charles Cinema.

http://www.princecharlescinema.com/

Artemis

Ah, I'm aware of that one. Whenever I've passed by it, I've often been impressed by the films they're showing, but then the words SING-ALONG or QUOTE-ALONG sometimes appear next to them and I honestly can't think of anything I'd find more annoying than some cunt next to me shrieking out the line of dialogue I'm watching. Nor a cluster of cunts singing along like it's fucking Mama Mia or something.

I've always wanted to see The Sound Of Music on the big screen but can't find a version of it in which the audience isn't invited to warble along in unison, presumably looking around at each other with smug, congratulatory expressions about how they know all the words and they love film more than the chain-going lesser people.

Thankfully the Astor has a standard showing of that film coming up, and should any fucker even hum, I'll strangle them.


zomgmouse

I've been going to The Astor for many years and it looks like they're actually showing more newer stuff than they used to - partly because they've got a digital projector now (which also means they're showing more on digital, because some studios have junked prints and are rereleasing them as digital) and partly because their audience numbers are falling so they want to show the more popular stuff. Also they don't get given the new releases because they're a rep cinema but they do get new releases once they've stopped being shown in regular cinemas.
But yes, as BoC says, it's not due to survive past April. It's had its share of ownership-based turmoil in the past and it's overcome that by the skin of its teeth but this time it looks like it's the proper end, unfortunately.

monkfromhavana


Puce Moment


Shaky

It really is a shame most of these old places are closing down. Brisbane used to have a similar-ish theatre that's gone down the tubes fairly recently too. Occasionally some of the cheaper chain cinemas throw out an 80s flick or two but it's not quite the same.

Speaking of "The Holy Mountain," I was in Melbourne in August and a mate and I ended up in a bar which happened to be projecting that very film on a wall. Hadn't seen it before, but even with the sound down it was fucking stunning. Faces were agog that night and no mistake...

zomgmouse

BTW Artemis if you're planning on going to The Astor at all let me know! I'm planning a few trips over the next few weeks.

Head Gardener


marquis_de_sad

Another obvious London one that I'm sure most people already know about — BFI. It's good.

The Picturehouse cinema chain also shows older films.

I've also found that government-sponsored promoters of national culture[nb]what a mouthful...[/nb] often show interesting stuff from their far-off native lands. For example Ciné Lumière at the Institut français shows French classics as well as a variety of non-French things. They have a Persian cinema season going at the moment.

Similarly the Goethe Institute has screenings in various parts of London, usually with a German connection. And there's a Polish film festival on soon. The Czech Centre has a list of Czech-related screenings (mainly focusing on the BFIs current Věra Chytilová season, of course). Pushkin House has a fortnightly Kino Club that screens Russian classics and curios, often with a talk afterwards. The Japan Foundation sometimes has stuff on. The Brazilian Embassy screens a couple of films every fortnight for free. After Chinese New Year the Chinese Visual Festival shows a variety of Chinese films. The Frontline Club screens current events-style video pieces from all over the world on a regular basis. The Italian Cultural Centre screens new stuff to classics (they're showing some 50's Fellini at the end of the month).

The ICA is good too. They're part-hosting the Essay Film Festival at the moment, which has a lot of interesting stuff that I wish I could afford to go and see, included the great Los Angeles Plays Itself.

I have a lot of love for the Astor, but the venue has the worst sound quality in all of Melbourne. It's all echoey, the acoustics in there are not designed for cinema going, which really ruins it for me, I can deal with poor prints or out of focus projection in different cinemas, but if I can't hear the film properly, it really ruins the experience for me.

Also, Artemis, the Palace Kino on Collins shows a classic film every Sunday (Or Saturday. Forget which). I walked into the cinema one time after work just looking to see any old thing and accidentally stumbled into the final cut of Blade Runner which was a nice surprise.

Leinad

#12
Quote from: Beep Cleep Chimneyhttp://www.princecharlescinema.com/

Definitely my favourite cinema in London, if not on the planet. I've had the opportunity to see so many great and favourite films here on the big screen I otherwise would never have gotten a chance to. Cheap as chips too, if you buy an annual membership for a tenner, or one till you cark it for £50. And I'm very impressed with this cinema's ahead-of-its-time decision to lump the astonishing Enter the Void into its Classic Film Season, alongside the likes of Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and all the usual standards.

Great marquees as well. My favourite being the one they had up last summer..



marquis_de_sad

The sing/quote-a-longs are to be diligently avoided, however.

holyzombiejesus

I've got a real love/ hate relationship with Manchester's Cornerhouse cinema. On one hand it shows some great films that I never get the chance to see anywhere else. On the other, it is run by utter fuckwits, most of whom know next to nothing about film and fill the screens with shit that is on at every other cinema in Manchester. It's a registered charity and is supposed to be there for 'arthouse' (bleurgh)/ foreign cinema but, more often than not nowadays they'll be showing wank like Made in Daggenham or that one about shoes. Anyway, it's kind of closing down (it's merging with the Library Theatre and moving to a big shiny new building with, I think, 5 screens) and is saying goodbye with the It's A Wrap season, where they're showing stacks of great old films. As much as I've moaned about the place, I will miss it. It's a pretty iconic building and it does feel like the end of an era, especially now I've moved away from Manchester.

http://www.cornerhouse.org/film/film-events/thats-a-wrap

Obel

Quote from: marquis_de_sad on March 23, 2015, 08:56:29 PM
The sing/quote-a-longs are to be diligently avoided, however.

Agreed.

Last year I was seeing a girl and she suggested to me that we go see The Big Lebowski at Prince Charles. I've weirdly never met a girl who has liked Lebowski so I knew instantly that she was girlfriend material. It was a great night.

We split up two weeks later.

Nobody Soup

I'm sure there's a cinema in melbourne that has The Room on every month.

In glasgow I suppose the cinema that would forfill this roll would be the GFT, though it's probably more known for putting on foreign films rather than old ones but it shows whatever the fuck it wants from old classics to 90s cult films to kids films from a few years ago. it's showing Empire Records in a couple of weeks, I might go for the stupidness of it as I loved that film when I was 15.

it's actually a really great cinema that tries to get really involved with the community and host discussions, quiz nights (a regular is a team made up of glasgow 80s indiepop musicians) and the like. it was quite reassuring to see it build a new screen a few years ago as I was convinced it teetered on the brink of going under.

zomgmouse

Quote from: Nobody Soup on March 27, 2015, 11:18:46 AM
I'm sure there's a cinema in melbourne that has The Room on every month.


There is, it's the Nova. It's one of the better arthouse cinemas we have. They used to run a series of cult film double features on Friday nights but I think they've stopped doing that.

zomgmouse

One I go to occasionally is the Melbourne Cinémathèque. (http://melbournecinematheque.org/)
They do (usually) three-week seasons of director retrospectives, more often than not in celluloid format. Tonight they're starting a three-week look at Jean-Pierre Melville, which I am aiming to go to. I'm really glad to see that 5/6 of the films are films I've not seen (Un flic, Le silence de la mer, Bob le flambeur, Deux hommes dans Manhattan, Quand tu liras cette lettre) and the sixth is Le samouraï which is my favourite of his films and a favourite in general.
Check it out!

ollyboro

Skyselect is showingThe Godfather right now. An odd choice for the afternoon......oh...
hold on, we're just getting to the bit when Apollonia gets her front bollocks out....are they going to show them? And there they are. First class.



The Astor was saved by Palace Cinemas buying the business and the building, and you can read the whole interesting story in This Vice article.

Replies From View

Quote from: Artemis on March 08, 2015, 12:03:59 PM
I've always wanted to see The Sound Of Music on the big screen but can't find a version of it in which the audience isn't invited to warble along in unison, presumably looking around at each other with smug, congratulatory expressions about how they know all the words and they love film more than the chain-going lesser people.

I'm absolutely certain that on the day you find and pay to experience this holy grail of a screening, the audience would do that anyway because they "thought it was a sing-along one" and "pah, what difference does it even make to you?"  Furthermore, you would be advised to "stop trying to ruin other people's enjoyment" and "ah god just get over yourself".

So there is that to look forward to in life, at least.

carogriffin

I recently saw The Wizard of Oz in 3D at a theater. You know, the way directors from the 1930s intended you to watch their films.

I saw a screening of romantic comedy Threads at Broadway Nottingham about 5 years ago with about a dozen others.

A really great flick and even better people, in fact it was such an uplifting, bonding experience that we all gathered in the bar afterwards to exchange numbers and I can proudly say that half a decade later we're all happily polygamously married to each other. Not sure about Kev or Pippa though.

Artemis

Quote from: Bored of Canada on April 10, 2015, 11:15:03 PM
The Astor was saved by Palace Cinemas buying the business and the building, and you can read the whole interesting story in This Vice article.

Yep, I was at the final showing under George Florence (outgoing tenant) and it was announced then as well. The last screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey was fucking brilliant. A packed audience who just loved that cinema and film in general. There was an overture, an intermission (as Kubrick intended) and no fucker uttered a word. There were no phones being checked, no whispers, no mucking about. Just appreciation of a great film. Exactly as it should be.

Palace are releasing the new calendar for June onwards in the coming couple of weeks, I think. I'll certainly be going again. One of the best cinema experiences I've had, that. Fantastic stuff.

I've passed by once or twice since they shut and the new owners aren't wasting any time doing the place up. The lights were on and people were walking about inside with masks strapped to their faces past 9pm last night, and to be fair, there's a lot of work that needs doing.

Artemis

The Astor is re-opening next month, and they've just released their June-September programme. It's fucking beautiful.

http://www.astortheatre.net.au/wp-content/uploads/JUNE-2015.pdf

zomgmouse

That it bloody well is! I am really glad after seeing this calendar, it has definitely cemented my high hopes for the new administration. Only minor change is the ticketing, it's now $16 adult/$15.50 concession rather than the previous $16 adult/$15 concession/$14 pensioner setup they had going on. But it's still a bloody decent price for what it is. Anyway, very excited. Lots of great stuff ahoy.

BTW, ACMI is doing a Bergman retrospective season if you're interested. http://www.acmi.net.au/film/seasons-and-screenings/essential-bergman-selected-by-david-stratton/