BTM Criterion Cinemas
86 Temple Street,
New Haven,
CT
06510
86 Temple Street,
New Haven,
CT
06510
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 41 of 41 comments
I am sure I stand alone on this, but for me “stadium seating” is an over-rated amenity. Sure, it ensures you can see the screen from wherever you are seated, but there are other ways to achieve that—-by a proper rake and a properly positioned screen. In most theatres with stadium seating you have to enter from the side, move all the way to near the front, then climb steps back up to the best seating area. I prefer walking into a theatre from the rear toward the front and not having to deal with unnecessary steps. Of course the balconies of old movie palaces were by their very nature “stadium seating.”
Two small little weird things about the Criterion Cinema, this is the only “new” movie theatre I’ve been to without stadium seating, and secondly, the large drink doesn’t fit in their cup holders. Other than that, this place is great, the popcorn reminds me of the old days of movie going and the film selection often rivials that of Hartford’s three art cinemas.
Tried the new theatre – all I can say is Wow!! It is comfortable, stylish, and has a great staff. The real butter on the popcorn is quite a treat. They also had a great variety of specialty items at the concession stand a selection of wines and a tasty snack called s'nuts, well worth trying when you go.
They need to get a few more mainstream movies to compliment the art fare.
We LOVE this theatre! but on a weekend night there were NO Yale students there… what gives? Have you guys been papering the campus with flyers, promotions, advertisements? Because you SHOULD… students' daily walks do not take them anywhere near 86 Temple, nor do Medical students have reason to walk down there. It’s kind of a black hole in New Haven, not much street traffic. You should advertise really heavily in the Yale Daily News (not so much the New Haven Register, because students don’t read that), and try other forms of advertising as welll.. get someone to hand out handbills up by York Square and elsewhere on campus where students congregate. It’s such a superb theatre, so comfortable and sophisticated, and A MILLION TIMES better than the fusty old York Square art cinema (those lines are for the birds! and the seats suck). Good luck…
Nice to see a new multi-plex, particularly a multi-plex showing arthouse fare, in downtown New Haven. I lived in New Haven from ‘80 to '82 first on Linwood Place in the summer of '80 and then on Chapel Street directly across from St. Raphael’s Hospital from Sept. '80 to March '82 when I made the big move to NYC. I go back to New Haven from time-to-time and last time I was there was in the fall of '01 and New Haven was like a ghost town on the Sunday afternoon I was there. Good to see a development like this to draw people back “downtown.”
Here’s an exterior view of Criterion Cinemas taken a few months ago.
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Here’s an exterior view of Criterion Cinemas taken a few months ago.
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Very very nice place. I went with a friend last night. It certainly lived up to my expectations and — yes! — there was real butter on the popcorn. Parking was very convenient, across the street in a well-lighted garage. Seats were very comfortable, and the size of the auditorium was just right.
A winner!
I just want to expressthe wonderful service I received at
this theater. When wasthe last time the staff actually open the door when you enter the cinema. I hope all the other cinemas will follow suit
Just read your response about the real butter. Wowee. Here comes your newest customer! From Bridgeport, no less. Will tell my friends, too.
Yes, we offer real butter on our popcorn. One taste and you’ll be hooked!
If this place offers real butter on the popcorn, I’m there next weekend!!
Want to open one in Boston, Joe? Copley Square is a pretty poor excuse for an art-house and it’s going to close soon anyway.
Gerald—
I am the General Manager of Bow Tie Cinemas—-the Company (formerly known as B.S. Moss Enterprises) that opened the Criterion. I am on site most every day and will be until our next one opens…please be sure to ask for me and say “HI” when you come next!!
I went to two films at this spiffy brand-new cinema yesterday and I must say it is a very comfortable and pleasant place to visit, and New Haven is lucky to have it. We hope the place complements the programming at the York Square without putting the older place out of business.
This kind of venue, that is, a multi-screen state-of-the-art art-house, has been promised for years to those of us who live in Providence but has not materialized. The two films I saw were both somewhat off-beat but have a great deal to recommend them: “Undertow” and “Callas Forever.” Judging by the line at the evening show, “Sideways” seemed to be attracting so many patrons that you couldn’t get in sideways.
Sound, projection, seat-comfort are all terrific, and there was no obnoxious slide-show before the movie! My only beef: if they insist on playing music before each show, why does it have to be so ear-splittingly loud? Some patrons may like to have quiet conversations or just simply prefer not to have their ears assaulted in such aggressive fashion while waiting for the movie to start.
The Criterion was built in the former United Illuminating building which is a pre-World War 2 structure.