When Brooklyn's Kings Theater -- one of five "Wonder Theaters" in the New York area -- closed its doors in 1977, the neighborhood mourned. In a series of interviews, local aficionados of the palace as well as its projectionist, its organist, and former employees, reminisce about the Kings and its charmed days gone by.
In 1982, Wim Wenders asked 16 of his fellow directors to speak on the future of cinema, resulting in the film Room 666. Now, 40 years later, in Cannes, director Lubna Playoust asks Wim Wenders himself and a new generation of filmmakers (James Gray, Rebecca Zlotowski, Claire Denis, Olivier Assayas, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi, Alice Rohrwacher and more) the same question: “is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?”
Chambre 999
2023
5
Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is a documentary about the history, the development in the present days and the future of movie theaters in the city of Turin, Italy. It mixes the documentary language with comedy and fiction, and is enriched by interviews to some of the most important voices of Turin cinematography. The film follows the evolution of movie theaters by enlightening its main milestones: the pre-cinema experiences in the late 19th Century, the colossals and the movie cathedrals of the silent era, the arthouse theaters, the National Museum of Cinema, the Torino Film Festival, the movie theaters system today and the main hypothesis about its future. The mission of Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is to explore and give back to the audience a deep reflection about the identity and the value of movie theater, in its social and anthropological role and as a mass media, and to analyze the experience of the viewer.
Manuale di Storie dei Cinema
2021
7
Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson and other film luminaries look back at LA's historic Egyptian Theatre as it returns to its former movie palace glory.
Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre
2023
6
Celebrating the splendor and grandeur of the great cinemas of the United States, built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts. A tribute to America’s great art form and the great monuments created for audiences to enjoy them in.
Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace
2019
7
This feature-length big screen documentary tells the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll repertory cinema which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years.
Scala!!!
2024
7
In the excitement of the roaring 20s, a new kind of movie palace was constructed by the Bay. More than 90 years later, Tampa Theatre has become known as one of the most haunted buildings in the city, This Documentary uncovers the rich history and explores the unexplained events with a Team of Historians, Ghost Hunters and Staff.
Ghosts Behind the Screen
2017
7
DEFINITION: 'Celluloid' - Motion picture film, cinema film. 'Bloodbath' - Savage, indiscriminate killing, a massacre. CELLULOID BLOODBATH: MORE PREVUES FROM HELL - the long-awaited sequel to 1987's horror cult classic, MAD RON'S PREVUES FROM HELL. An awesome collection of 61 over-the-top horror movie prevues, from the golden Grindhouse age, spanning the 1960's through the 1980's! Also features commentary from film makers, actors, critics and fans, that make this a true, incredibly entertaining, one-of-a-kind movie-going experience!
Celluloid Bloodbath
2012
4
ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain 3rd generation family business in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.
Only in Theaters
2022
5
A nostalgic, informative history of drive-in movie theaters, featuring extensive archival photographs and interviews with Leonard Maltin, John Bloom, Samuel Z. Arkoff, Barry Corbin and many others... Drive-In Movie Memories is a film celebration of America's greatest icon of youth, freedom and the automobile. What began as an auto parts owner's business venture to make some easy money accidentally became a magical place where romance, fun and a sense of community flourished. This film chronicles the drive-in's birth and development, its phenomenal popularity with audiences of all ages, its tragic decline, and its inevitable comeback as a classic form of Americana.
Drive-In Movie Memories
2001
7
Downtown Recife’s classic movie palaces from the 20th century are mostly gone. That city area is now an archaeological site of sorts that reveals aspects of life in society which have been lost. And that’s just part of the story.
Retratos Fantasmas
2023
8
In the heart of the Finnish forest, the long-closed foundry of the little town of Karkkila has come back to life thanks to director Aki Kaurismäki and his creation of the town's first cinema. The peace and calm of the little town of Karkkila, nestled deep in the Finnish forest, is interrupted by unexpected sounds. In the abandoned foundry, noisy building work is taking place. Inside the building, Aki Kaurismäki is both builder and site manager of what is soon to become the Kino Laika cinema. The creation of the cinema is the talk of the town. In the factory still in activity, in a 1960s Cadillac, in a bikers' club, in the local pub, in the woods or in Aki Kaurismäki's former editing room, people start talking about cinema again.
Cinéma Laika
2023
8
Video art of sculpture is the real life story of Rumi (Mevlana) and Shams Tabrizi. Rumi and Shams are well known international poets of Persian language. One day, Rumi invites Shams Tabrizi to his house, Shams throws the book into the pool of water and Rumi is worried and Shams returns the book to Rumi without any trace of water. The lost half of the sculpture in the film is a representation of the same concept, in which the dance of Sama, the sculptor's mind and the role of the face are visible. "Sculpture" has won more than 57 International Awards, third place (semi-final) in called Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (Academy Award ® Qualifying, BAFTA Qualifying, Canadian Screen Award Qualifying) , Crown Point International Film Festival(Chicago) ,Vegas Movie Awards,Global Shorts( Los Angeles),(US),Gold Star Movie Awards (US),One-Reeler Short Film Competition (US),Accolade Competition (US),Berlin International Art Film Festival and many other events.
Sculpture
2022
10
Jeanne Moreau encounters the late Marcello Mastroianni (using footage from Angelopoulos' 1986 film The Beekeeper) in a movie theater and professes her love for him.
Trois minutes
8
A filmmaker celebrates his inspiration for movies by recreating what it was like for his 9-year old self in 1972 when he journeyed downtown to spend a magical Saturday afternoon at the movies.
The Moviegoer
2023
0
In the silent film era, movies were never really silent. In the background of films that made figures like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton into cultural icons, were the musical giants whose compositions defined the very films that captivated a generation of movie-goers. Arthur Kleiner converses with the still-living legends from that bygone golden age of cinema.
Hollywood's Musical Moods
1976
0
An affectionate and entertaining look at our nation's obsession with cinema from the early days of silent cinema, through the golden age of the picture palace, to the modern multiplexes and beyond. A celebration of Norfolk-area cinemas past and present that introduces some colourful characters who kept audiences coming back for more, this film also asks: Is this the final reel in the story of cinema or just another chapter in its continuing development?
The Final Reel
2016
6
A feature-length documentary that goes behind the scenes to get to know the families who own and operate drive-in theaters.
Back to the Drive-in
2022
5
Paying tribute to some of America's only surviving drive-ins – and those who keep them running – this heartfelt documentary captures efforts to preserve these nostalgic theaters in small-towns across the country.
Sous les étoiles : road trip au pays du Drive-in
2022
5
Built in 1942 by a maverick film preservationist, this small Los Angeles theater championed silent film at the very moment when the Hollywood studios across town were busily destroying their nitrate inventories. With hard chairs, phonograph-record accompaniments, and mostly original vintage prints, the dingy mom-and-pop operation was nonetheless a palace to the fanatical few who became its loyal audience.
Palace of Silents
2010
6
Unable to purchase a $50,000 digital projector, a group of film fanatics in rural Pennsylvania fight to keep a dying drive-in theater alive by screening only vintage 35mm film prints and working entirely for free.
At the Drive-In
2017
7