For many of us, film is religion, and there is no more hallowed temple than the local independent movie house. We look to it as a calm voice of reason in a sea of neon-appointed megaplexes; as a secure place of refuge where we discover talented indie filmmakers who’ve been flying under the radar. There aren’t many of these movie houses left (and increasingly easy access to film on the internet probably won’t help their cause), but shrewd, creative business moves from owners and plenty of love from neighborhood film buffs has kept top-notch indie theaters in business. Here are some of the best.
Boston
The Coolidge Corner Theatre
The Coolidge has been a neighborhood
staple since 1933, showcasing classics and cult hits in restored
prints, and running annual all-night horror-movie marathons. Coolidge
originals include events like Science on the Screen, which pairs
films with lectures from real-world scientific counterparts—an
astrophysicist for Jodie Foster’s Contact, an anthropologist for
David Bowie’s The Man Who Fell to Earth. The Coolidge’s
gorgeously renovated Art Deco theater with a genuine silver screen
showcases big-name releases, while smaller theaters and digital
screening rooms showcase lesser-known films and
documentaries.
Seattle
The Grand Illusion
The plush,
red, womb-like interior of the Illusion feels like a film-school
screening room designed by David Lynch. The size of a funeral parlor,
it seats about 70 people in wide, velvety seats with a tiny screen
that rests behind some curtains straight out of Dracula’s castle.
Seattle’s oldest independent movie theater, the Illusion shows
crisp projections from an impeccably selected schedule of high-brow
art films for the Kurosawa/Polanski set, plus old Hollywood classics
and proudly degenerate weirdo fare like 1978 heavy-metal epic Stunt
Rock. Unofficial, BYOB-friendly late-night showings are a
bonus.
Austin
The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown/Ritz
The
Alamo is known worldwide for its traveling road shows, which feature
on-location film viewing (example: screening The Shining at the
real-life Overlook Hotel), but it made its name as the country’s
greatest combined dinner-and-a-movie spot. A far cry from the
concession stand with the sickly fluorescent light, every Drafthouse
has a head chef and a full menu of appetizers, sandwiches, falafel,
tacos, pizza, beer, wine, cocktails and more, brought out discreetly
during the show. Throw in attentive programming for every night of
the week (including the free “Weird Wednesday” screenings of
curiosities like The Witch Who Came from the Sea) and you’ll start
feeling more than a little spoiled.
Minneapolis
The
Riverview Theater
The Riverview is one of the classiest
second-run spots you’ll ever come across. Its mod neon marquee,
along with most of the interior, is the same as it was when the place
opened in 1948. The lobby spreads out with sleek coffee tables,
stained-glass paneling and neat plastic furniture, feeling more like
a brat-pack bachelor pad than the average “lived-in” discount
neighborhood movie house. At The Riverview, you’ll find a great
selection of flicks fresh off their first runs, with an eye toward
more offbeat fare like the Coen brothers and Woody Allen, all for $3
a ticket.
Chicago
Facets Cinematheque/Videotheque
Don’t
let its unassuming storefront veneer fool you—the Facets complex
doubles as both a first-class art-house cinema and a picky movie
collector’s dream video distributor and superstore (and yes, VHS
copies are still on sale for 99 cents). The Cinematheque section of
the building has one screen and is home to a wildly veering program
of films from all over the world, films set aside for school-group
screenings all year long, and even in-house film appreciation classes
aimed at turning anyone who walks through the door into an expert on,
say, Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski.
New York
Film
Forum
Some big cities are blessed with go-to archival theaters,
places where just browsing their calendar makes you feel like you
have an intellectual leg up on the rest of the schlubs you call
friends. The Film Forum, a non profit since 1970, is the prototype
for this kind of populist-film-school approach, delivering New York
premiers of lesser-known independents from all over the spectrum. The
three-screen complex in Greenwich Village—its humble quirkiness
stemming from the theater’s old warehouse-and-folding-chair
roots—continues to be a cultural vanguard among cinephiles.
New
York
IFC Center
The IFC Center—the refurbished Waverly in
Greenwich Village—quickly became the king of New York independent
film theaters, and it’s easy to see why. Smack in the middle of
NYU’s film-school epicenter, it’s a convenient spot for all kinds
of premieres and celebrity appearances (from Jonathan Lethem to Naomi
Wolf), and tough programming (including the full five-plus hours of
Ingmar Bergman’s uncut Fanny and Alexander). Leave your nostalgia
for golden-era décor at home; the IFC's functional design
keeps your focus where it belongs—on the screen.