Here's a look at some many movie theatres in which I have seen a lot of the films I review on this Website.
CC=City Cinemas; CO=Cineplex Odeon; S/L=SONY/Loews; UA=United Artists
Alphabetical List of Theatres
[ Angelika | Astor | Criterion | Douglaston Movie World | East 86th Street | Film Forum | Metro | Quad Cinema | Regency | Symphony Space | Village East Cinemas | Worldwide | Ziegfield ]
Once a nondescript corner, the opening of the Angelika about eight years ago has turned it into a Mecca for fans of independent and foreign films. The Angelika's blockbuster hits are movies like The Seducer's Diary and Madame Bovary.
The Angelika had been privately owned but has recently been bought by the City Cinemas chain. Luckily, not much has changed, except some of the fare at the concession stand.
The Angelika is different in other ways as well. The entire upper floor is a chandeliered waiting room with little tables, a coffee bar, and gigantic movie posters in French and Italian for classic films and unknowns as well. As you go down the escalator you leave the light and airy lobby purple neon takes over and you know you are entering the dream state of cinema.
The Angelika has five long narrow theatres and one small square theatre. The latter is where the films with dwindling audiences go before they disappear. This is also the only theater that is directly behind the concession stand, and it can be rather noisy if you are in the front rows. There are two small overcrowded (men's and women's) bathrooms downstairs and two even smaller bathrooms upstairs. Considering the sell out shows, it's too bad the bathroom facilities are woefully inadequate.
The Angelika's location also makes it possible to enjoy an affordable dinner in Chinatown, the Indian restaurants of East 6th Street (e.g., Sonali), or Village Mingala.
This is actually the biggest screen in New York City. It is also a very bizarrely hidden secret. I even worked in the office building above it--the Minskoff Building--and was unaware of it until seeing Contact there.
The lobby area is also rather huge, which helps facilitate the movement of all the people that can fit into this huge theatre. The sound system is up to date, so you have sound coming at you from all sides, but it seems more natural than distracting, as in some other venues.
The only problem with the Astor is that it is rather Spartan in design. Unlike the Ziegfield, the Astor's real claim to fame is size and size alone. The Ziegfield can "take you back" to the glory days of the movie palaces; the Astor is just huge. Still, it is worth a trip, in spite of all the harrowing crowds brought to you by Walt Disney's Times Square.
The one and only time I was in this theatre, until last year, it was to see Presumed Innocent. That was a few years ago, and it was a rather abysmal experience. Times Square was a much different place, and at any hour, even the early afternoon, was an opportunity to be surrounded by teenage delinquents or worse. The one time I was there, the fire alarm went off during the climax of the film. Of course, there was no fire, and of course, there was no one getting up to leave the movie either.
All that has changed, although the theatres themselves do not seem so different. A recent trip (to see My Best Friend's Wedding) shows a whole different sort of clientele. The couple in front of me where speaking Russian and the man behind me only spoke French. The seats are still old; not the newer more comfortable ones theatres are installing when the renovate or are built new.
There are six theatres and they are split into two levels with separate entrances. This helps reduce sneaking into extra screenings, although once inside, it seems rather easy to walk into a second movie after having just seen one. Overall, it is a big improvement from the old days.
It is a shame that this theatre has not once benefitted from any sort of renovation since it opened probably twenty years ago. Built during a time when multiplexes were openly contemptuous of the moviegoer, aging has made it the Hag of Multiplexes.
Like many multiplexes, there is one large auditorium, and then smaller ones. And then one very small one that is barely fit. A lot of this is to be expected. However, the Douglaston Movieworld also features ripped carpets barely held together with electrical tape, appalling rest rooms with horrible odors and no toilet paper, and an overall derilect appearance. If you are in the car already, it might not be a bad idea to keep going on the LIE in either direction in search of more suitable surroundings. The seats are also uncomfortable, as a recent screening of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil proved.
Considering the posh surroundings of Douglaston and Little Neck, you really feel like you are in a horrible Time Square theatre, before Disney took over and made everything "safe for families."
NEWSFLASH: This theatre is closed, possibly being renovated, I hope.
Going to this theatre (to see Mimic) was like being in a time warp, but not in a good way. This theatre was clearly built or remodeled in the 1960s, and has not changed since. The theatre displays its personality in the form of bizarre lampshapes and big chess pieces on the back wall near the projectionist's peepholes.
The seats are originals, and therefore uncomfortable. Seating technology has come a long way since the 1960s. There is something to be said for the upsurge of chain theatres in Manhattan; the seating is vastly improved over the older theatres.
If you really can only see a movie here, then by all means, go. Otherwise, pick the Loews Orpheum around the corner on Third Avenue. A trip to this theatre is merely a (bad) trip down memory lane.
On the plus side, the woman at the ticket window was very nice. Not the usual surly variety.
The Film Forum has been a New York institution for years. Originally located on Watt Street, the theatre moved to its new location a few years ago.
There are three theatres at the Film Forum. Two show new independent releases that are rarely shown elsewhere, like East Side Story. A third theatre plays host to revivals and themes: Silent movies, B-movies, horror classics, genres, auteurs, and the like. This is where I saw a lot of old Kurosawa pictures that are not normally screened because they had a summer series devoted to Tohoscope pictures from Japan.
Like the Quad, this is an important place for New Yorkers who love independent films and old movies and prefer to see them on the silver screen. Ironically enough, the diversity-prone Evergreen Video is right across the street.
The Film Forum has a Website as well, so you can check out their latest releases.
The Metro has been around for a long time, and it shows. However, it is not completely dilapidated. It just reeks of its former glory days. Once one of revival houses on the Upper West Side, it is now split in half and is part of the Canadian megachain.
The Metro is where I once saw movies like The Story of Kaspar Hauser; now they show megacrap like The Lost World, and sometimes good movies like Soul Food. The Metro does have a secret weapon that gives it value beyond its former elegant touches--all seats are $6.50, and matinees are even cheaper. Combined with a trip to Broadway Cottage down on 93rd Street, a very inexpensive and pleasant evening can be had by all.
So while the New Yorker, the Thalia, and Regency are no longer around showing film greats, it's nice to see the Metro still in operation and showing some of its deco touches, despite it being twinned.
These four small theatres have been presenting independent and foreign films for a quarter of a century. One of the rules of New York moviegoing is that you should never go to the Quad on a Friday or Saturday night unless you get your tickets early and get to the theatre early, as it is not unheard of for people to sit separated from their friends and loved ones because the house is packed.
A lot of people hate the Quad Cinema for these reasons, but there is a simple solution: Just go when it is not crowded. I have seen a heck of a lot of movies here, and it has one of the lowest admission prices in town: $8 when most theatres charge fifty cents or more for the same fare. That's another thing: This theatre gets quality and off-beat films as soon as they come out--Alive and Kicking, Hollow Reed, Beautiful Thing, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, Denise Calls Up, Secrets and Lies, When the Cat's Away, My Life as a Dog, etc. A lot of films that do not open elsewhere open at the Quad, and the good ones stay a long time.
New York needs more places like the Quad, and it stands as proof that bigger is not better, and that the little guy can outdo the competition by keeping things simple.
This was once a repertory house that has been gobbled up by the Cineplex Odeon chain. This used to be one of many Upper West Side theatres that showed wonderful old movies, a place where I saw Orson Welles double features, without air conditioning.
Well, they seem have air conditioning now, but they have not really changed the theatre all that much. They have a balcony, but the seats have no leg room. Unfortunately, most people sitting in the balcony change seats a few times and eventually find their way downstairs, as I did.
Overall, it is an average theatre. Luckily, they show better quality movies like Career Girls, Ulee's Gold and I'm Not Rappaport. On the Upper West Side, Cineplex Odeon does not really have much of a presence. There is another single-screen theatre a few blocks south of the Regency, and no other locations northward until you get to the Metro (in the mid 90s) and the Olympia (early 100s). One would think that this huge theatre chain would have tried to put a little money into this fertile part of town where shows at the Loews 84th Street and the SONY Lincoln Square across the street often sell out.
Symphony Space has tenaciously clung to its low-rise buidling on the Upper West Side and continues to present a varied program that includes live performances, children's theatre, and film. Tuesday nights are devoted to film, and there is often a theme. This fall (1997) the theme was Francois Truffaut, the Man Who Loved Film. (This is a play onthe title of one of his latter films--The Man Who Loved Women, interesting in the original and terrible in the Burt Reynolds American remake.) The is where I recently viewed L'Histoire d'Adele H and Vanina Vanini.
While I appreciate any place that shows wonderful old films, I have to make a derogotory comment. The seats are quite uncomfortable. But, if you really want to see a movie bad enough, they are not that gad. I was suprised how many people were at the theatre that evening.
Also available were popcorn and soda, around a corner from the auditorium. Symphony Space also offers bizarre sloping floors. Accessible, but tricky. Tread with care.
They also have a Website with their latest offerings and information.
This set of movie screens exist in what was once a Yiddish theatre, whose character is still evident. The lobby and the large auditorium feature Moorish moldings. However, most of the screens are downstairs, feature no such lavishness, and are practically screening rooms you would expect at a Hollywood studio, where you would view the rushes.
The downstairs theatres have a major design flaw. First, there is only one aisle, so if you are against the wall, you have to get past at least half a dozen patrons. Second, the screen is against the wall with the sole entrance to the room, so while you watch the movie, you also watch the exit sign and anyone who comes and goes into the theatre.
A benefit of the downstairs theatres is that they have bleacher style seating, so you are not completely relegated to looking at the back of someone's head at all times. Also, being part of the City Cinemas chain means that you get a full mixture of movie choices, from Independence Day to Boys Shorts to Illtown.Its village location also puts in within easy reach of affordable dining experiences like Village Mingala and Sonali.
Despite the drawbacks of the physical design, this is a decent place to see a movie, and the slothful staff never notice that you have stayed for an extra movie, or that you gave them a ticket from last week's show when your friend got you a ticket while you were trapped in Queens
The allure of this theatre is the admission price: $3 for any show at any time. The best bargain in town. Because this neighborhood, affectionately once known as Hell's Kitchen, does not attract much of traffic, this theatre languished when the admission was full bodied. While cheap restaurants make the neighborhood worth a visit on their own, the Worldwide Plaza complex, which takes up an entire city block with an office tower and two condo towers, does not attract passersby naturally. The one way to pack 'em in was to drop the price of admission. They started at $2 but recently went up to $3. The only problem with the admission price is that showings sell out often, and a lot of people have to wait around the plaza between the buildings. Also, the low admission price brings in many noisy children with parents who cannot afford babysitters and bring 'em all along. This is a major distraction at times.
The nice thing about this second-run theatre is that it has a first-run ambiance. The movies that show here are not entirely horrible, but probably not worth the hefty prices charged elsewhere. I have seen a lot of good movies here: The Wedding Singer, Beyond Rangoon, Eat Drink Man Woman, Romeo + Juliet. I have also seen some bad ones: Starship Troopers,The Funeral and Se7en (sic).
It used to be rather easy to sneak into other theatres once your show was over, but they seem to have beefed up security and they check your stubs now and then, so it is not the fiesta it used to be.
Overall, it's good that New York has a place for cheap admission and good movies that deserve a second chance.
This is one of the biggest theatres and screens in New York City. It might not have as many seats as the Loews Astor, but it certainly feels bigger. Part of that could be because it is a freestanding structure where you have to ascend escalators into the building, as opposed to a theater below a huge office tower.
The Ziegfield is a new building somewhat close to where the original Ziegfield Theater stood--showing live shows, like its famous "Follies." The lobby contains some paraphernalia and photos, and some elephant statues, from the original theater.
The theater and concessions area are certainly more plush than most New York City theatres. It certainly makes spending $8.75 on a movie palatable. The Ziegfield tends to get a mixture of new movies and re-released, restored classics. If you want to see movies the way they were meant to be seen, this theater (and the Astor) is a place to go. I have seen Lawrence of Arabia and Spartacus here, as well as Edward Scissorhands and Independence Day. People often will only see certain movies here, since a large screen makes clunkers like The Lost World viewable.
Copyright (c) 1997, 1998, Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021, sethbook@panix.com.