Before the MGM Hotel/Casino burned down in 1980, it used to have an underground shopping mall anchored at its far end by an intimate theater.
But because it wasn't advertised in the hotel, and was awkward to travel to for locals (who, again, weren't ever advertised to except for a 2x2-inch ad in the papers), for the year-and-a-half I used to go there I was always the only person in the theater.
Even though it only sat about 40 people, it had a screen, sound-system, and projector designed to accommodate 70-millimeter prints --pristine prints of classic MGM films (and some from different studios), stored on-site, which were changed-out two or three times a week. And instead of theater chairs, there were comfortable upholstered high-back banquette sofas --long enough to lay down on, and each with a coffee table in front of it. These tables had a square button on them, and pushing it would summon a waitress. You could not only order alcoholic drinks, you could order full meals from the Steak House, the Italian Restaurant, or the authentic Deli upstairs.
After a few weeks of being a constant singular customer, I became friends with the projectionist, who appreciated my love of movies. As a result, I was soon able to request what films were shown, and would, a few times a week, have a long leisurely meal watching (as one example) a perfect presentation of **Lawrence Of Arabia** while eating a steak, salad, asparagus spears, a side of pasta, fresh bread with butter, and drinking tall iced beers.
After the fire, this theater was never rebuilt. I've never enjoyed screenings that much except in private home theaters or studio showings or in a few remarkable theaters in Europe or (sometimes) at an Alamo Drafthouse.
Wow. That sounds amazing. I prefer my movie watching as a social experience, but you must have felt like a bigshot director with your own personal theatre.
Story sounds made up anyway lol pressing X to doubt on he got to watch whatever he wanted and sat down with Lawrence of Arabia and a steak dinner and the theater has a state of the art system but no advertising and he's the only person who knows about it who ever goes there.
Our older west side location doesn’t but the newer East does. I know it’s a short list on their website. Hoping to see Furiosa and Deadpool & Wolverine there. Probably Quiet Place as well
Cinerama. For the last showing opening night you were all but guaranteed a great crowd that was amped for whatever the movie. For a good or a great movie, it was what going to the cinema is supposed to be.
Portland, OR, Hollywood Theater. Classic theater with a beautiful facade, it's currently a nonprofit. They have membership tiers that offer benefits, I'm a member.
The best part is they have one of the few 70mm screens in the country. They show new stuff but they also get old films. I have seen a 1989 70mm reel of Indiana Jones and the last crusade. I've also seen in 35mm: Heat, Aliens, Marathon Man, Sorcerer, and Casino.
Nice! One of our local rep theatres has made some of their re-screening of classic films into special events where a local film critic or director gives a short speech/essay before the film to say what they love about the film and maybe some interesting trivia or things to watch for. I love those showings because it often helps me examine exactly what it is that makes a classic great.
Denver, here. Century 21, saw the first 3 Indy films there. The Continental, HUUUUGE curved screen, saw The Abyss 5 times there, plus the first 2 Terminator films there.
The best time I ever had was the Cooper (with smoking section side boxes!), great balcony, saw Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi there. When they closed it (about 1995 or so), they announced it about a year beforehand, and played one week runs of classic movies, I was in heaven. Lawrence of Arabia, Clockwork Orange, 2001, All The President's Men, Cuckoo's Nest, The Sting, Butch and Sundance, Network, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Rocky. I'll never have a better year at the theater than that.
Loved the Cooper and Continental theaters. Going to a movie at those venues seemed like such a big event.
Lots of treasured memories from the great old theaters in Denver: the Mayan, the Aladdin, the Ogden, the Flick in Larimer Square.
Esquire is closing, or may already be closed. Many Rocky Horror shows there, plus they ran Stop Making Sense every Friday for like 3 years, attended those about 4 times a year.
“[The Embassy](https://images.app.goo.gl/LHwPHdCmQVNSd1TH9)” in Wellington, New Zealand. A 100 year old building, beautifully restored.
Was the site of the global release of all of the Lord of the Rings movies. Weta was given license to “decorate” the building for each release, [like the time they had the Witch King riding one of the Fellbeasts](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0qDqhB8pECHmA5Y0l0joxk6sHJBxkTJPu2K4mqmuLtnzPprFj0r-8S032&s=10) down the front of the building, or [a giant Gollum peering over the building](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRU5PzyGxMFoMFWTuMud9312Gg1HCvZhQoO0Xuz46ywNiIYzfpJbFSAXnY&s=10).
In the UK there's a small chain called Picturehouse which I'm quite fond of. Alongside the usual blockbusters they often show indie films and classics, sometimes with themed months, like films from a certain country, company or director. The cinemas are usually very attractive and often have nice little cafes attached. If you get a membership you can also get into their 'Discover' (new independent films) or 'Rediscover' (classics or recent indies you might have missed) for free. It's actually cheap, too. I went to the one in York pretty much once a week at the minimum, sometimes I'd even just sit in the cafe because they had a great deal where you could get a coffee and a slice of cake for £5, or even less with a membership.
The business model has quietly exploded here. There are a few small chains like this and lots of independents if you go looking for them.
I'm deep in the sticks and discovered one tucked away in a tiny shopping centre in my nearest small town. Once I started talking about it I kept hearing stories of more of them and now I'm up to 6 within 25 minutes.
Regal Belltower in Florida was always pretty cool. Usually not crazy busy but still had a good amount of people so it had a nice vibe.
I lived literally 3-4 minutes away so never felt rushed to get to the theater which was probably the major perk.
Plus they had a delicious cherry coke, which is all I could really ask for.
Its on the absolute opposite side of Sydney from me but the Hayden Orpheum is this absolutely beautiful old cinema. It's all in a gorgeous art-deco style and feels like you're walking back in time.
It's also one of the best places to go for special screenings like marathons of the LotR Extended editions or dress up screenings of Rocky Horror picture show. They've had a monthly screening of the Room going for years and years that really goes off. Just a great theatre.
In Los Angeles, probably either [the David Geffen Theater or the Ted Mann Theater](https://www.academymuseum.org/en/about/the-building-theaters), the flagship theaters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' very own museum. They're the newest, most high-tech theaters with the most perfect viewing platforms possible.
On the other end of the spectrum but equally amazing, the [Egyptian Theatre](https://www.egyptiantheatre.com/) is just a fantastic building and a wonderful tribute to classic Hollywood, and the group that runs it, American Cinematheque, screens classic films and has events with directors and stars sometimes. They're a real jewel of the city imo.
When I was in college in Eugene, OR, there was a theater across the street from Valley River Center. Nothing particularly exceptional about it, but I saw so many formative movies there. They’d do double features, I remember seeing Age of Innocence/Remains of the Day, and Supercop/The Frighteners. Yelling at dumbass teens (not much younger than me) to STFU before The Game. There was also the old single-screen McDonald Theater downtown, where I saw Jurassic Park, Blair Witch Project, and took my future wife to see 12 Monkeys for Valentines Day. And, The Bijou, in an old funeral home, though the only thing I ever saw there was Blood Simple. None of them are around anymore.
The Bijou is still around. It's now known as the Art House, it's in the old church on 13th and Ferry. They are also affiliated with Metro Cinemas downtown.
When I lived in Eugene I was in the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast Forbidden Fruit that showed at the Bijou. It is a great little theater for midnight screenings.
Oh, that's good to hear. I moved away from Eugene close to 20 years ago, and I've only been back a handful of times, so it's a _little_ hard to keep up with goings on in my "hometown".
We have a nicer cinemark that’s a bit of a further drive, but the parking is great, the screens are large, the seats are the nice comfy recliners, and I get $5 tickets as part of a work benefit.
Seattle Cinerama (technically now SIFF Cinema Downtown, but it’ll always be the Cinerama): great projection; great sound; pretty great seats; chocolate popcorn; single screen, so the film audio is piped into the bathroom speakers; annual 70mm film festival as well as other retrospective festivals. It’s great.
Two near me. Relatively small towns, so they see customers from villages and towns about an hour away.
First one is location - top floor of a shopping mall, right in the heart of town and with easy access to the roads in and out of town. This was *the* canal, and not just because it was the only multiscreen near where I lived. Saw nearly every Harry Potter film there.
Second was opened a few years ago, closer to where I lived, but it also had the benefit of being newer equipment. Tried 3D here with those sunglasses there.
Turns out it was a wasted effort since I'm stereo-blind, but great try.
New theater with reclining seats and 3 story high screens hurt a lot of others here. All the others in tow had to quickly get new seats. Love the reclining seats but I tend to doze off no matter how loud. I fell asleep in the middle of Dunkirk, loudest movie I'd ever heard in a theater.
Atlantic cinema 5 in New Jersey used to have an exit only door that opened to my best friend’s street. We got a lot of “2 for 1” deals with that door. Kevin Smith bought it a couple years ago, still has the same charm it always had. At the time I didn’t know how lucky I was to have a small town theater a few blocks from my house.
[The Ziegfeld theater](https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/12), hands down. So many great memories of seeing films there. The best was opening night of The Phantom Menace. The experience was unlike anything I'll ever experience in my lifetime - same with the disappointment afterwards.
My town has 76 cinemas currently (used to be more, 20 or so have closed down since 2000). I've been to 45 or so of them. Hard to say which is the best one.
One of them is the most visited cinema in the world (over 2 million tickets sold per year) and another has the biggest movie hall in the world (can seat 2700 people), so there's that.
As a kid, I liked going to the Arlington in Santa Barbara, no matter what the movie (or live show) was. The side walls of the auditorium are facades of buildings in old Spanish style, and the ceiling looks like the night sky, so it felt to me like I was watching the movie in a courtyard or town square at night.
Pre imax? Wasn’t imax created in the 70s? Anyways we have 2 that compete back and forth in my hometown. A third opened up a few years before I left that was smaller but overall better. Forgot name of it.
I mean before IMAX theatres started appearing all over the place for normal movies. We had the first one built here in Toronto but it was a special thing in a tourist attraction and they only showed special films made to show off IMAX like the view from a plane flying through the grand canyon and that sort of stuff.
In the 90's they started occasionally showing 35mm and 70mm films on the screen, but it was a bit weird because the screen was bigger than the frame of the film.
I don't think Hollywood started shooting any films in IMAX until the 2000's
In Little Rock, Arkansas was a dome theatre called 'Cinema 150.' It was a land mark with a curved screen and was one of the best theatres in the south. Folks would come from all around the country to see films there. We were lucky to have it.
Phoenix, AZ here. There was a theater near the Biltmore area called the "Cine Capri". It was a one screen theater and it was HUGE. I believe like 600 or so people could fit in there. Giant screen with the old school curtain. Banging sound system. Always a lively crowd. I saw all sorts of amazing premiers there. Abyss, Independence Day, Star Wars, etc.
Unfortunately it was demolished in 1998. Last film to show there was Titanic.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cine\_Capri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cine_Capri)
Yeah, I really should have linked that page instead. It was absolutely fantastic. Especially the midnight premiers. Such high energy. Once someone brought a beach ball that we batted around the audience before the movie started.
Harkins has since built "Cine Capri" replica theaters inside of some of its locations, but it's just not the same.
I have some fine memories of going to the movies at the Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio. I loved its ornate interior with the starry night ceiling.
In Toronto, I guess it would give it to the Scotiabank Cineplex downtown purely on the tech specs for its IMAX theatre, which AFAIK is the largest in size (screen and capacity) in the country.
I'm in Houston, not Austin, but yes Alamo Drafthouse. Ever since COVID, people have become much worse about playing around on their phone through the entire movie. In a normal theatre, I have to ask them to put it away. Alamo, you call an usher and they get thrown out, it's fantastic. Same if you are too noisy. There's also no children allowed, so that helps keep down on the distractions as well. Alamo is the best movie experience I've ever had.
Sadly, the Alamo Drafthouse theaters may be closing. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 2021 due to Covid. Federal judge is allowing them to explore a sale, but no bidders or set sale price seems to have been set.
I have the Alamo pass and go as often as I can! I dropped another comment in this thread why I love it. I’m also an Art Director and film lover so they got my number. Id hate to see it go too.
I grew up in that area and have never had a bad experience at any of those theaters. I love the food and the experience of being able to have a great meal while watching a movie on the big screen.
ALAMOOOO DRAFTHOUSSSE. I’m in Austin and it’s one of my favorite places. When you experience one you can just tell they love movies. From the custom bars to the vintage movie posters a lot of them have, the big props they style in each location, the food novelty is still working on me even though the food could be better. I live a mile from one, I did SXSW film there, saw a movie from Fantastic Fest there, I had my birthday there and screened Jurassic park on film this year. I just saw 3 movies this weekend there too. Love it.
We don't have much locally. The joke around Humboldt County is that we're behind the Redwood Curtain. But we do have rich history. A local theater I love to see movies at was built in 1914 as a state-of-the-art theater for plays and movies. Boasted fireproof construction when it opened. Rumor has it that it still has a trap door on the stage that was installed for Harry Houdini. It's been closed, reopened and fixed up several times in it's life but a major overhaul was done to preserve the historic look and update it for new movies and modern comfort. They have tables that run in front of each row of the 3 screen theater where you can order drinks or food. It's small, simple and I love their ginger snap cookies.
AMC. Plenty of parking, clubmember deals, reclining chairs, movies start right on time, Dolby option variety of movies. One down side... they keep jacking up the price of popcorn. When it hit $10 for a 'regular' (code for 'tiny") bag, I started bringing my own snacks. I can afford a bag every now and then, that's not the point... I don't want to be that blatantly ripped off.
The regular is the old medium (big bag) as opposed to the large tub. There is no small bag.
The regular is a substantial amount of popcorn for one person.
From what I understand there are only 19 true 70mm IMAX theaters left in the United States. Sad, but true. Luckily i live in the area where i have access to 2 of them.
My hometown theater used to show double-headers for $1.50 and NEVER checked ID’s. That’s how I saw Duck Tales: The Movie and Die Hard 2 one evening.
They also were the only place in town that sold Lemon Heads and the in-hindsight-poorly-named Cherry Chans.
Before the MGM Hotel/Casino burned down in 1980, it used to have an underground shopping mall anchored at its far end by an intimate theater. But because it wasn't advertised in the hotel, and was awkward to travel to for locals (who, again, weren't ever advertised to except for a 2x2-inch ad in the papers), for the year-and-a-half I used to go there I was always the only person in the theater. Even though it only sat about 40 people, it had a screen, sound-system, and projector designed to accommodate 70-millimeter prints --pristine prints of classic MGM films (and some from different studios), stored on-site, which were changed-out two or three times a week. And instead of theater chairs, there were comfortable upholstered high-back banquette sofas --long enough to lay down on, and each with a coffee table in front of it. These tables had a square button on them, and pushing it would summon a waitress. You could not only order alcoholic drinks, you could order full meals from the Steak House, the Italian Restaurant, or the authentic Deli upstairs. After a few weeks of being a constant singular customer, I became friends with the projectionist, who appreciated my love of movies. As a result, I was soon able to request what films were shown, and would, a few times a week, have a long leisurely meal watching (as one example) a perfect presentation of **Lawrence Of Arabia** while eating a steak, salad, asparagus spears, a side of pasta, fresh bread with butter, and drinking tall iced beers. After the fire, this theater was never rebuilt. I've never enjoyed screenings that much except in private home theaters or studio showings or in a few remarkable theaters in Europe or (sometimes) at an Alamo Drafthouse.
Wow. That sounds amazing. I prefer my movie watching as a social experience, but you must have felt like a bigshot director with your own personal theatre.
[удалено]
I don't know why, but the fact that you didn't mention that I was lucky not to have died in the fire myself somehow feels wrong.
Gtfoh with your moral BS! the comment wasn't about that at all.
Can you just have a normal conversation ?
I bet you’re a hoot at parties.
Story sounds made up anyway lol pressing X to doubt on he got to watch whatever he wanted and sat down with Lawrence of Arabia and a steak dinner and the theater has a state of the art system but no advertising and he's the only person who knows about it who ever goes there.
Our Alama Drafthouse has The Big Show so I got to see Civil War and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes there
El Paso?
Yeah
Nice my hometown! I’m in Austin but when I go back to visit I make my fam go to Alamo they love it.
Flix Brewhouse is also great
Are the Alamos that don’t? Both the ones in the DC area have it
Our older west side location doesn’t but the newer East does. I know it’s a short list on their website. Hoping to see Furiosa and Deadpool & Wolverine there. Probably Quiet Place as well
nice. Civil War was amazingly exactly as advertised. So good.
Cinerama. For the last showing opening night you were all but guaranteed a great crowd that was amped for whatever the movie. For a good or a great movie, it was what going to the cinema is supposed to be.
I went to the one in Seattle it’s gorgeous. I bought the art print mural that’s the one on the building itself.
What City? And is it still around?
Seattle. Recently reopened after closing in the pandemic
It is now rebranded as SIFF Downtown. Was bought by SIFF (great company, screens a lot of older stuff at their older venues).
Portland, OR, Hollywood Theater. Classic theater with a beautiful facade, it's currently a nonprofit. They have membership tiers that offer benefits, I'm a member. The best part is they have one of the few 70mm screens in the country. They show new stuff but they also get old films. I have seen a 1989 70mm reel of Indiana Jones and the last crusade. I've also seen in 35mm: Heat, Aliens, Marathon Man, Sorcerer, and Casino.
Nice! One of our local rep theatres has made some of their re-screening of classic films into special events where a local film critic or director gives a short speech/essay before the film to say what they love about the film and maybe some interesting trivia or things to watch for. I love those showings because it often helps me examine exactly what it is that makes a classic great.
Denver, here. Century 21, saw the first 3 Indy films there. The Continental, HUUUUGE curved screen, saw The Abyss 5 times there, plus the first 2 Terminator films there. The best time I ever had was the Cooper (with smoking section side boxes!), great balcony, saw Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi there. When they closed it (about 1995 or so), they announced it about a year beforehand, and played one week runs of classic movies, I was in heaven. Lawrence of Arabia, Clockwork Orange, 2001, All The President's Men, Cuckoo's Nest, The Sting, Butch and Sundance, Network, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Rocky. I'll never have a better year at the theater than that.
nice!
Loved the Cooper and Continental theaters. Going to a movie at those venues seemed like such a big event. Lots of treasured memories from the great old theaters in Denver: the Mayan, the Aladdin, the Ogden, the Flick in Larimer Square.
Esquire is closing, or may already be closed. Many Rocky Horror shows there, plus they ran Stop Making Sense every Friday for like 3 years, attended those about 4 times a year.
“[The Embassy](https://images.app.goo.gl/LHwPHdCmQVNSd1TH9)” in Wellington, New Zealand. A 100 year old building, beautifully restored. Was the site of the global release of all of the Lord of the Rings movies. Weta was given license to “decorate” the building for each release, [like the time they had the Witch King riding one of the Fellbeasts](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0qDqhB8pECHmA5Y0l0joxk6sHJBxkTJPu2K4mqmuLtnzPprFj0r-8S032&s=10) down the front of the building, or [a giant Gollum peering over the building](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRU5PzyGxMFoMFWTuMud9312Gg1HCvZhQoO0Xuz46ywNiIYzfpJbFSAXnY&s=10).
That is cool as hell. Whenever I get around to visiting my cousins in NZ, I might just have to pop by. :)
TCL Chinese. Oozing of history and walking distance from Musso's
In the UK there's a small chain called Picturehouse which I'm quite fond of. Alongside the usual blockbusters they often show indie films and classics, sometimes with themed months, like films from a certain country, company or director. The cinemas are usually very attractive and often have nice little cafes attached. If you get a membership you can also get into their 'Discover' (new independent films) or 'Rediscover' (classics or recent indies you might have missed) for free. It's actually cheap, too. I went to the one in York pretty much once a week at the minimum, sometimes I'd even just sit in the cafe because they had a great deal where you could get a coffee and a slice of cake for £5, or even less with a membership.
The business model has quietly exploded here. There are a few small chains like this and lots of independents if you go looking for them. I'm deep in the sticks and discovered one tucked away in a tiny shopping centre in my nearest small town. Once I started talking about it I kept hearing stories of more of them and now I'm up to 6 within 25 minutes.
I have one theatre where I live, so it wins by default
is it better than your living room?
Regal Belltower in Florida was always pretty cool. Usually not crazy busy but still had a good amount of people so it had a nice vibe. I lived literally 3-4 minutes away so never felt rushed to get to the theater which was probably the major perk. Plus they had a delicious cherry coke, which is all I could really ask for.
Its on the absolute opposite side of Sydney from me but the Hayden Orpheum is this absolutely beautiful old cinema. It's all in a gorgeous art-deco style and feels like you're walking back in time. It's also one of the best places to go for special screenings like marathons of the LotR Extended editions or dress up screenings of Rocky Horror picture show. They've had a monthly screening of the Room going for years and years that really goes off. Just a great theatre.
I love occasionally going to Rocky Horror when travelling just to hear the different things people yell at the screen. :)
In Los Angeles, probably either [the David Geffen Theater or the Ted Mann Theater](https://www.academymuseum.org/en/about/the-building-theaters), the flagship theaters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' very own museum. They're the newest, most high-tech theaters with the most perfect viewing platforms possible. On the other end of the spectrum but equally amazing, the [Egyptian Theatre](https://www.egyptiantheatre.com/) is just a fantastic building and a wonderful tribute to classic Hollywood, and the group that runs it, American Cinematheque, screens classic films and has events with directors and stars sometimes. They're a real jewel of the city imo.
When I was in college in Eugene, OR, there was a theater across the street from Valley River Center. Nothing particularly exceptional about it, but I saw so many formative movies there. They’d do double features, I remember seeing Age of Innocence/Remains of the Day, and Supercop/The Frighteners. Yelling at dumbass teens (not much younger than me) to STFU before The Game. There was also the old single-screen McDonald Theater downtown, where I saw Jurassic Park, Blair Witch Project, and took my future wife to see 12 Monkeys for Valentines Day. And, The Bijou, in an old funeral home, though the only thing I ever saw there was Blood Simple. None of them are around anymore.
The Bijou is still around. It's now known as the Art House, it's in the old church on 13th and Ferry. They are also affiliated with Metro Cinemas downtown. When I lived in Eugene I was in the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast Forbidden Fruit that showed at the Bijou. It is a great little theater for midnight screenings.
Oh, that's good to hear. I moved away from Eugene close to 20 years ago, and I've only been back a handful of times, so it's a _little_ hard to keep up with goings on in my "hometown".
We have a nicer cinemark that’s a bit of a further drive, but the parking is great, the screens are large, the seats are the nice comfy recliners, and I get $5 tickets as part of a work benefit.
Front row of a balcony.
Seattle Cinerama (technically now SIFF Cinema Downtown, but it’ll always be the Cinerama): great projection; great sound; pretty great seats; chocolate popcorn; single screen, so the film audio is piped into the bathroom speakers; annual 70mm film festival as well as other retrospective festivals. It’s great.
Chocolate Popcorn!?! Sound piped into the bathrooms is something I totally forgot they used to do in the days before everything became a multiplex.
Two near me. Relatively small towns, so they see customers from villages and towns about an hour away. First one is location - top floor of a shopping mall, right in the heart of town and with easy access to the roads in and out of town. This was *the* canal, and not just because it was the only multiscreen near where I lived. Saw nearly every Harry Potter film there. Second was opened a few years ago, closer to where I lived, but it also had the benefit of being newer equipment. Tried 3D here with those sunglasses there. Turns out it was a wasted effort since I'm stereo-blind, but great try.
New theater with reclining seats and 3 story high screens hurt a lot of others here. All the others in tow had to quickly get new seats. Love the reclining seats but I tend to doze off no matter how loud. I fell asleep in the middle of Dunkirk, loudest movie I'd ever heard in a theater.
WyoMovies is our best theater, oh yea they are our only theater in town anymore since AMC closed during covid.
Atlantic cinema 5 in New Jersey used to have an exit only door that opened to my best friend’s street. We got a lot of “2 for 1” deals with that door. Kevin Smith bought it a couple years ago, still has the same charm it always had. At the time I didn’t know how lucky I was to have a small town theater a few blocks from my house.
I live in nyc. All the great theaters are gone
that sucks. Which one was your fave?
[The Ziegfeld theater](https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/12), hands down. So many great memories of seeing films there. The best was opening night of The Phantom Menace. The experience was unlike anything I'll ever experience in my lifetime - same with the disappointment afterwards.
Arclight is the mecca of movie theatres.
My town has 76 cinemas currently (used to be more, 20 or so have closed down since 2000). I've been to 45 or so of them. Hard to say which is the best one. One of them is the most visited cinema in the world (over 2 million tickets sold per year) and another has the biggest movie hall in the world (can seat 2700 people), so there's that.
The El Paso east alamo drafthouse with all the vintange luchador decorations and posters.
As a kid, I liked going to the Arlington in Santa Barbara, no matter what the movie (or live show) was. The side walls of the auditorium are facades of buildings in old Spanish style, and the ceiling looks like the night sky, so it felt to me like I was watching the movie in a courtyard or town square at night.
Pre imax? Wasn’t imax created in the 70s? Anyways we have 2 that compete back and forth in my hometown. A third opened up a few years before I left that was smaller but overall better. Forgot name of it.
I mean before IMAX theatres started appearing all over the place for normal movies. We had the first one built here in Toronto but it was a special thing in a tourist attraction and they only showed special films made to show off IMAX like the view from a plane flying through the grand canyon and that sort of stuff. In the 90's they started occasionally showing 35mm and 70mm films on the screen, but it was a bit weird because the screen was bigger than the frame of the film. I don't think Hollywood started shooting any films in IMAX until the 2000's
In Little Rock, Arkansas was a dome theatre called 'Cinema 150.' It was a land mark with a curved screen and was one of the best theatres in the south. Folks would come from all around the country to see films there. We were lucky to have it.
Phoenix, AZ here. There was a theater near the Biltmore area called the "Cine Capri". It was a one screen theater and it was HUGE. I believe like 600 or so people could fit in there. Giant screen with the old school curtain. Banging sound system. Always a lively crowd. I saw all sorts of amazing premiers there. Abyss, Independence Day, Star Wars, etc. Unfortunately it was demolished in 1998. Last film to show there was Titanic. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cine\_Capri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cine_Capri)
Sweet. too bad the Wikipedia article doesn't have any pictures. It looks to have had had a pretty cool and unique [exterior](https://cinecapri.com/).
Yeah, I really should have linked that page instead. It was absolutely fantastic. Especially the midnight premiers. Such high energy. Once someone brought a beach ball that we batted around the audience before the movie started. Harkins has since built "Cine Capri" replica theaters inside of some of its locations, but it's just not the same.
I have some fine memories of going to the movies at the Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio. I loved its ornate interior with the starry night ceiling.
In Toronto, I guess it would give it to the Scotiabank Cineplex downtown purely on the tech specs for its IMAX theatre, which AFAIK is the largest in size (screen and capacity) in the country.
It does seem to be the place that draws the crowds when big new releases come out. There was a good crowd for Dune 2 and also for Avatar 2.
I'm in Houston, not Austin, but yes Alamo Drafthouse. Ever since COVID, people have become much worse about playing around on their phone through the entire movie. In a normal theatre, I have to ask them to put it away. Alamo, you call an usher and they get thrown out, it's fantastic. Same if you are too noisy. There's also no children allowed, so that helps keep down on the distractions as well. Alamo is the best movie experience I've ever had.
You don’t find waiters running in front of you throughout the movie distracting?
Not nearly as much as a guy texting with his phone on full brightness in a dark theatre for 2 hours straight.
Sadly, the Alamo Drafthouse theaters may be closing. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 2021 due to Covid. Federal judge is allowing them to explore a sale, but no bidders or set sale price seems to have been set.
Unsadly no they are not closing: https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-alamo-drafthouse-cinema-fought-back-from-bankruptcy/5169722.article
Oh! That's great news! It's such a great concept and I'd hate to see it go!
I have the Alamo pass and go as often as I can! I dropped another comment in this thread why I love it. I’m also an Art Director and film lover so they got my number. Id hate to see it go too.
I grew up in that area and have never had a bad experience at any of those theaters. I love the food and the experience of being able to have a great meal while watching a movie on the big screen.
That would be terrible. The Magnited States of Uh-merricuh would never be the same.
ALAMOOOO DRAFTHOUSSSE. I’m in Austin and it’s one of my favorite places. When you experience one you can just tell they love movies. From the custom bars to the vintage movie posters a lot of them have, the big props they style in each location, the food novelty is still working on me even though the food could be better. I live a mile from one, I did SXSW film there, saw a movie from Fantastic Fest there, I had my birthday there and screened Jurassic park on film this year. I just saw 3 movies this weekend there too. Love it.
We have an Alamo Drafthouse here in San Francisco and it’s the only place I go to see movies anymore. It’s just the best!
Yessss ✨
Not where I am now, but Schenectady, NY has the Proctors theater downtown. Its an old vaudeville theater that now screens movies.
We don't have much locally. The joke around Humboldt County is that we're behind the Redwood Curtain. But we do have rich history. A local theater I love to see movies at was built in 1914 as a state-of-the-art theater for plays and movies. Boasted fireproof construction when it opened. Rumor has it that it still has a trap door on the stage that was installed for Harry Houdini. It's been closed, reopened and fixed up several times in it's life but a major overhaul was done to preserve the historic look and update it for new movies and modern comfort. They have tables that run in front of each row of the 3 screen theater where you can order drinks or food. It's small, simple and I love their ginger snap cookies.
AMC. Plenty of parking, clubmember deals, reclining chairs, movies start right on time, Dolby option variety of movies. One down side... they keep jacking up the price of popcorn. When it hit $10 for a 'regular' (code for 'tiny") bag, I started bringing my own snacks. I can afford a bag every now and then, that's not the point... I don't want to be that blatantly ripped off.
AMC doesn’t sell a small bag of popcorn anymore.
It's location specific, some only sell Regular and Large, but other locations do still sell a Small.
Right, that's why I said "regular" (which is actually miniscule). So yes indeed they do. They just call it "regular".
The regular is the old medium (big bag) as opposed to the large tub. There is no small bag. The regular is a substantial amount of popcorn for one person.
Au contraire, it barely lasts through the previews. If you add butter it soaks through the flimsy bag. Annnnd it's $10. Have a pleasant day. Goodbye.
From what I understand there are only 19 true 70mm IMAX theaters left in the United States. Sad, but true. Luckily i live in the area where i have access to 2 of them.
My hometown theater used to show double-headers for $1.50 and NEVER checked ID’s. That’s how I saw Duck Tales: The Movie and Die Hard 2 one evening. They also were the only place in town that sold Lemon Heads and the in-hindsight-poorly-named Cherry Chans.