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Here in Chicago I patronize the Logan for domestic releases and Music Box for international stuff.
But I’m not here to talk about those. I’m here to talk about the Empire 6 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. When I was young, it was a normal mall cinema, they sold concessions, you saw new releases, there was an arcade across the way.
But then the mall started dying. The Empire 6 couldn’t compete with the big new multiplex in town, either, so they either had to close or do something different; they stopped showing expensive new releases and started showing cheaper films. They had a classic movie night. They did second runs of popular films. They showed indie films; before My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a hit, I saw it at the Empire 6. You could rent it for private screenings. And tickets were half the price of the other cinemas in town.
And that was great, and I have lots of fond memories. But. This one time, a local hip-hop group collaborated with some local skaters and a filmmaker to make this forty-minute montage of tricks and lines around town set to the group’s music. Everyone involved was under twenty-five. And they somehow convinced the Empire 6 to host the premier screening.
This was in the early aughts, in South Dakota. Weed was not legal, but the theatre was full of smoke. Drinking, too, and as for sneaking in snacks… it was chaos. Beautiful chaos. We laughed! We cheered! We we there, the whole scene, as a fucking community, legitimized in a way I’ve never really felt before or since by the fact that a real-ass cinema was showing this movie about local guys busting their kneecaps at local spots to local jams.
The Empire 6 was a local theatre that day, not just another business.
The mall kept dying, as all malls did, with the movie theatre being one of the last shops to hold out. I went to college, and stopped coming home summers after a couple years. Eventually it wasn’t home anymore, anyway. But for one wild afternoon, the Empire 6 was the best place to be in the whole known world.
There should be a movie about that movie.
The first Alamo Drafthouse in San Antonio TX. More than a few good memories there.
A close second place is the Latches theater in Brattleboro Vermont. I got to watch dozens of classic films there at the turn of the century.
My living room
There’s a huge one in downtown Los Angeles that was designed at peak theater. It’s multiple floors and multiple concessions. After Covid it’s been a ghost town so going there has been nice although I don’t know how they continue to exist.
Alamo Drafthouse. Comfy seats, decent food, will kick out disruptive patrons.
Sadly, we don’t have one near me.
Eeeyyyy the one single thing Texas does well! Love me both the Alamo Drafthouse and Flix Brewhouse!
There’s a cinema near me that’s only got two screens, but I have had a better time there than most franchise cinemas. Plus, it’s only £4.50 a ticket, and the snacks aren’t too pricey either.
My local one - it was a bit of a fleapit when I was a kid but it is now community run and is looking very spiffy - there’s even talk of getting the wurlitzer back up and running. As it’s all volunteer run, not-for-profit they make it available for community groups or special events (screenings of small films with a local connection, dementia and autism friendly screenings, radio shows, etc)
This sounds like an amazing theater. I would love to have something like this.
Here it is - they’ve restored a lot of the 1930s-era features with modern lighting and LED signs:
That is so beautiful, even better than I pictured, and really nice to know it’s community run instead of some large corporation
This is what it was like when I went as a kid - itchy seats and sticky carpet (good times though):
Now that awning is replaced by a sweeping chrome, LED one and everything has been repainted and reupholstered with fancy new lighting inside and out that compliment the 1930s decor.
It’s amazing what you can do with everyone giving their time for free running the place and fundraising. It also keeps the ticket prices down, which is often the only way a family can see films, especially if they can’t drive. You also don’t resent buying snacks from the as the money all gets ploughed back in, not syphoned off my a corporate overlord.
Yay! Mutual aid! It’s such a beautiful thing. I love community projects like this.
Looking at that first picture, there was a very similar theater in the town where I grew up. It was just as ratty as you described, but I too have really good memories of going there with my friends. Unfortunately in my case, they tore it down, which always seemed like a shame. It was obviously glorious at one time, but in dire disrepair.
Unfortunately in my case, they tore it down, which always seemed like a shame. It was obviously glorious at one time, but in dire disrepair.
Ours was rundown but, relatively, watertight. It needed a lot spending on it but it’s worth it as you just couldn’t build something like that right in the middle of a town these days.
Driving around my state (South Dakota), I still see some of these old theaters open in tiny towns, and it always amazes me they’re still in operation. Most of them look like they’re of questionably structural integrity.
All time, probably the Cinesphere at Ontario place — one of the very first IMAX screens ever built, inside a geodesic sphere.
Currently (and closer to home) the IMAX theatre at our local museum. They show all sorts of IMAX formatted films (they have a full 4K Laser IMAX projection system), and their snack bar is hard to beat: excellent popcorn and hot dogs, lots of snack options, and the prices for which don’t break the bank (especially when compared to all the other theatres in our area). Last time I went (to see Oppenheimer) I got a large popcorn, large Coke, and a cup of gummy treats — and I think I spent a whole $12 (CAD).
And while I don’t have one, they have an annual pass available.
As a Midwesterner, Marcus Theatres are my go-to.
It used to be a regular, boring theater when I was a teenager. Get popcorn, candy, and/or soda and sit in a slightly cushioned fold-down seat. But I left home for nearly a decade, and when I came back, I was surprised to discover I could order a full meal from my seat and have it delivered to me while I watched my movie.
Not to mention, the uncomfortable chairs with the fold-down seats were replaced with actual reclining lounge chairs. They come in pairs, so when I go see a movie with my wife, we can lift the arm rest between our seats and cuddle while watching.
I don’t drink, but a highlight for my wife is the bar in the lobby, where she can get a nice mixed drink to take into the theater. I’m personally glad for more food options besides candy and popcorn. Their hotdogs are really good. On Tuesdays, they provide smaller hotdogs, but they’re only $5 for Marcus rewards members.
Back in the day, I preferred to show up to the theater at least 30 minutes to an hour early with a good book. I’d buy my ticket, pick out my ideal seat in the theater, and then read my book until my film started. It was a quiet and peaceful time, with no distractions.
Nowadays though, most all theaters reserve seats. It’s not first-come, first-served anymore. I have to go on the Marcus Theatres app and buy tickets at least a week in advance if I want to ensure my ideal seats are available. With a much-anticipated movie, if I don’t reserve tickets the day they’re made available, I might have to wait a couple weeks after it releases to get decent seating. It’s nice that I don’t have to show up super early to snag good seating anymore; I can practically show up right as it’s starting and I know my seats are guaranteed. But I miss the quiet downtime, waiting for my film to start.
Speaking of which, I don’t get to experience quiet theaters anymore because of all the ads they play. When I was a kid/teenager, theaters only played movie trailers before a film. Maybe they might have some film trivia running before trailers start, but that was it. The theater was quiet and peaceful while you waited for your film to start.
Now, we have to sit through ads for cars, ads for banking services, ads for all sorts of things. I just want to watch some trailers and then my film; I don’t need insurance ads shoved in my face on the giant screen.
Also, it feels like so many films are being crammed into time slots that I can’t show up early for my movie anymore. If I get there 30 minutes early, there’s still a film ongoing in my theater room. It ends maybe 15 minutes before mine starts, then I have to wait outside for the cleaning crew to run through the theater first before I’m allowed in. Then I get maybe 5-10 minutes to relax before my movie starts. It just makes me feel more rushed. The theater used to be my zen place; where I can relax and not worry about anything else in my life for 30+ minutes before a showing. Now I don’t have time to mentally decompress before my film starts.
I have it timed so I live home at the “start” time. As ads plus trailers are now 25-30 minutes, I usually arrive in time for the trailers.
Speaking of which, I don’t get to experience quiet theaters anymore because of all the ads they play. When I was a kid/teenager, theaters only played movie trailers before a film. Maybe they might have some film trivia running before trailers start, but that was it.
In my youth I worked at a movie theater. The trivia questions and answers (as well as the lobby card photo pictures from famous movies displayed between questions and answers) were on slides. There was a separate projection window where the slide projector displayed on the movie screen. Yes, we’d very occasionally forget to turn off the slide projector when starting the movie projector, so you’d see both on the screen for a second until the projectionist realized it.
The theater was quiet and peaceful while you waited for your film to start.
You’re right about the quiet part. Almost like a church or a library. People sitting next to one another in the theater waiting for the movie to start would talk in hushed tones. The only exception to this was hugely popular midnight release movies where its a whole theater full of fans of the movie talking loudly in excitement with the shared experience of fandom. There was a really cool welcoming electricity where everyone was on equal footing and just excited to be seeing the movie with each other, friend or stranger alike.
Seattle’s SIFF - Formerly Cinerama, this theater has a 97’ curved screen setup to play Cinerama films, but it makes a damn fine IMAX screen too lol
Plex at home
EDIT: Just to add, this is mainly because there are no small movie theaters around here and only large chains that I don’t support.
The local one. They have moving seats, smoke machines, strobe lights, and the seats have this haptic feedback mechanism too, which is really immersive with certain movies!
I was at a theater for the first time in a long time recently and it was definitely my favorite to visit so far. “Zoo Palast” in Berlin, the interior/the entire vibe was great. The building screams 70s even though it was renovated/rebuilt 2010-2013 so they did a great job there. I can’t speak to video or audio quality because I just don’t have a a reference but the movie sounded and looked good to me. Also it has a lot of original language showings which is always nice to see here instead of just dubs.
Dolby Cinema
My home couch. I don’t feel like paying to go watch ads and eat expensive popcorn.
