Real Theatres

[traceyk65]

We all know that modren movie theatres have all the soul of unwashed socks. So I thought it might be fun to post pics of movie "palaces" which are still in use in your area and which you may have visited.

 

Here are's one near me--Victoria Theatre in Dayton (which still shows old films in the summer--yes!!)

 

 

[ValentineXavier]

NIce pics, but I have to disagree on one thing. Unwashed socks have LOTS of soul. I'm trying to think of something as soulless as a modern movie plex. Perhaps a brand new, unused trash can?

 

I'm lucky in Ann Arbor, where we have the restored Michigan Theater. It shows indy and art house stuff, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and sometimes series of classic films, occasionally for free. It has also had Welles and Fellini retrospectives. They have an organ, which sometimes plays the score to classic silents. Once in a while they have a small orchestra for a silent.

[traceyk65]

> {quote:title=ValentineXavier wrote:}{quote}

> NIce pics, but I have to disagree on one thing. Unwashed socks have LOTS of soul. I'm trying to think of something as soulless as a modern movie plex. Perhaps a brand new, unused trash can?

>

> I'm lucky in Ann Arbor, where we have the restored Michigan Theater. It shows indy and art house stuff, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and sometimes series of classic films, occasionally for free. It has also had Welles and Fellini retrospectives. They have an organ, which sometimes plays the score to classic silents. Once in a while they have a small orchestra for a silent.

 

I was referring to the fact that both modern cineplexes and unwashed socks are sort of grey and smelly...and the floor is always sticky (so not extending the sock analogy to that, however)

[ValentineXavier]

> {quote:title=traceyk65 wrote:}{quote}

>

> I was referring to the fact that both modern cineplexes and unwashed socks are sort of grey and smelly...and the floor is always sticky (so not extending the sock analogy to that, however)

 

Apart from being grey, I would say that is about the only aspect of modern plexes that is NOT soulless, as disgusting as that might be...

[megawolf]

Remember the days of the large Cinarama theaters?

[ValentineXavier]

Indeed I do remember Cinerama. My grandmother took me to see the earliest ones. I saw *2001* at the Detroit Cinerama, and later, from the front row of the Hollywood Cinerama.

[Tikisoo]

I travel around the country and visit old picture palaces. I've seen both the theaters already discussed-gorgeous!

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to be hired to restore theaters. The Palace restoration was particularly satisfying

 

It was the place my parents had their first date! I now live in my grandma's house and the theater is the biggest asset to our neighborhood. They regularly host classic horror festivals and Cinefest in 35mm projection.

 

We also patronize the fantastic Capitol Theater in Rome (an hour drive) several times a year. They're screening Modern Times in a few months and all my friends want to go along with us! Car pile!

 

I really enjoy this trend in showing classic films (ON film) in vintage theaters, the way they were meant to be seen. It's very distressing when I hear of a theater closing, like the Senator in Baltimore. There are several books out there on vintage movie theaters, some only showing extant examples.

 

My workshop butts up next to the back of a modern theater & I hear the booming of action films all day long (while I play the previous night's TCM line up on DVD).

 

I describe modern theaters as having the ambiance of an airport.