Angelika Film Center

It was great to be living in New York again when the Angelika opened and to enjoy a revival of Blue Velvet and a great film by Shuhei Imamura about Hiroshima called Black Rain (not the Michael Douglas Black Rain)there

The Angelica still is the best place to see indie films in the city. Since that is thier speciality you dont have to worry about the blockbuster movie making the place crowded. Althought the theatres are small I think it works well. My first exposure to Anime(Akira )low budget indie (King Of New York) and foreign films was at this gem. Stiff competition in Brooklyn at the BAM Rose Cinemas. Can get very crowded on weekends but will have any film that has even the slightest buzz and also instrumental in creating buzz for and pushing a small film over the top.

The Angelika's website is:

http://www.angelikafilmcenter.com/newyork/default.asp

The Angelika may not be better than The Film Forum but it has shown a classic or two in it's time. This is the theater that brought "Bubba Ho-Tep" to New York. It's also the theater that showed the Italian Horror Masterpiece "The Beyond" uncut with Quentitn Tarantino in the audience and free eyeballs to the first 100 customers. It is also where I saw "Bad Lieutenant" for the first time and "Clockwork Orange" for the last. It was also the theater that introduced me to Japanese Anime Porn with "Legend of the Overfiend". Angelika is convenient to get to and fun once you get there.

Like I think is true with the vast majority of NYC art/indie film lovers, I cringe a bit when I see a flick in that vein opening at the Angelika as opposed to the Sunshine...

Like so very many New York theatres, I imagine the Angelika is a refurbished closed subway terminal, I don't know. The criticisms are true, but it remains an institution that everyone attends from time to time, partly because of the ideal location between SoHo and both Villages. And you never know who you'll bump into there, you really don't.

Camden

Once upon a time, New York City had cable cars, like San Francisco still has. The building housing the Angelika was originally the headquarters for the cable car company and the basement that is now occupied by the 6 theatres was originally where the motors pulling the cables were located. The building, now known as the Cable Building, was built in 1894 to the designs of McKim, Mead & White.

More information on the Cable Building (and some fantastic photos) can be seen here.

BTW, Camden: What theatres are in closed subway terminals?

I drove by here over the weekend and the outside is starting to get shabby looking. City Cinemas needs to redo the outside if they are going to stay competative with the Sunshine Cinemas.

The Angelika is located to two major subway lines: The BMT Broadway line and the IND that goes to Brooklyn Via Houston. The cinemas are probably closer to the Bway/Houston junction than the lobby is, which is at Mercer St.

Many NYC-area theatres are near subways. The rumbling, I find, is not all that intrusive, and oddly comforting at times.

I never minded the subway rumbling - it's the theaters that are the killer. Imagine a movie theater without a single decent seat. It's hard to do until you've been to the Angelika. Long, narrow, flat theaters with small screens and bad sound. This place did good business in the 90s when it was the only real arthouse in the city but the opening of the far, far superior Sunshine Theater has definitely hurt and the soon-to-open IFC Film Center should also draw away business.

The Quad cinema has been an art house since it opened and continues to do very well.

Where have you all been? Cinema Village, 12th St @ University Pl. has been an art house for decades.

Village Cinema is on 12th and 2nd ave.

The Cinema Village is located on 12th at University Place; the Village East Cinemas are at 2nd Avenue and 12th Street.

The theares are so sub-par because it was actually built by UA. They built it for the owners and were going to book it but the owners backed out before they opened. It's the standard UA auditorium, no pitch, tight plastic seats, just like you'd find in UA Movies all over the country. You can see the cafe and sometimes the downstairs lobby on the Independent Film Channel's "At The Angelika" a weekly indie movie show.

In the weekly Angelika InFocus newsletter, the Village East is referred to as the 'sister theater' of the Angelika. (Also, to revise the information posted at the top of this page - the Angelika has six screens, not five.)

The only sister thing about The Village East to the Angelika is that City Cimenas owns them both. The Angelika was an independant for many years. The VE gets Angelkia's move overs.

I heard that the original owner of the Angelika, Joe Saleh (sic), sold the Angelika to City Cinemas because he was going through a divorce.

When the Angelika ran the 57th Street theatre for a couple of years the Avignon Film Festival was held there and Saleh was interviewed by Jonathan Rudes, who ran the Avignon fest. It was a real interesting discussion where Saleh talked about building the Angelika. He told that story about UA wanted to impose onerous terms on running the Angelika and talks fell through and he wouldn't let UA take the equipment out of the theatres. He also said everyone tried to talk him out of using the first-floor space as a cafe; they said use that space for more screens, but Saleh felt the cafe gave the theatres a European feel. I think he was proved right. I also remember him saying that the Angelika, then anyway, had the highest percentage of seats sold of any theatre in the country.

And I remember there were several false starts before this theatre opened. The delays in openings were publicly linked to "plumbing problems" but I bet some of the contretemps with UA caused the delay.

The first film I ever caught there was "Hidden Agenda." I've been back many times since.

I also remember when the Angelika first opened there was kerfuffle with Dan Talbot & Lincoln Plaza. I don't know much about the rules of exhibition, but there is the concept of exclusivity for a certain territory, which is New York City is no doubt measured in blocks. In any event Talbot tried to bar the Angelika from screening films that were playing at Lincoln Plaza.

And then Angelika, under different owners now, were threatened by BAM's four-'plex, three of the which screened art house fare. I don't know if it has changed, but the Angelika wasn't showing films that played at BAM.

Look people, The Angelika is a dump! The Quad is a dump! The Cinema Village is a dump! The Film Forum is a dump! The Village East - with the exception of the original yiddish auditorium - is a total dump! With ticket prices now At $10.50, The Sunshine is THE only art-house worth attending. 'Nuff said!

One of the most memorable engagements at the Angelika had to be Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer. Management had posted up a ton of warning signs about how anyone leaving the film would not get their money back. Surely enough, people were tripping over each other to run out of the theatre during this film. One thrill was seeing star Tom Towles after the movie and the fact that he did indeed still have his head attached.

Ha! - the old "be forewarned this movie is so disturbing/disgusting/boring that you may want to leave in the middle and you will NOT get your money back" trick. I've personally never seen these signs but I've heard of them being posted by theaters at 2 other movies - Soderbergh's "Kafka" and Haneke's "Funny Games." Seems like a canny marketing move by the theater - virtually daring people to see the film.

Celluloid Freak,
You really don't know what you're talking about. To just call all these theaters dumps is just idiotic. The Quad does great business, always has always will. Just because these theaters might not be up to your standards (whatever they are) doesn't mean they are not worth going to. I guess all the people that go to the Quad tolerate substandard quality. Dumps, I don't think so.

I was down at the Angelika yesterday to catch BROTHERS and are they sloppy at the Angelika. The projection was off with the top of the image slaying on the masking. Shots were cut in the middle of the actors' foreheads. You would think that if you pay $10.50 and you attend an "art" cinema they would take the time to project a film correctly.

I wonder if the Angelika is having trouble getting product? They seem to be booking some schlocky films that normally would have played, pre-Landmark, at the Quad or at the Cinema Village. SECOND BEST played for two weeks solely at the Angelika before closing today. And they had FEELING, MINNESOTA, which closed today after a one-week run. Today WILD SIDE opens exclusively at the Angelika and THE BRIDGE AT SAN LUIS REY is there (also at AMC), which is quietly being dumped into theaters before heading over to DVD land.

Sadly, I think the Angelika days have peaked. Miramax owes a great debt to this theatre. They opened exclusively almost all their pictures here, where they became big art house hits. "The Crying Game, "Strictly Ballroom", "Like Water For Chocolate" and "Cinema Paradiso" were just some of the titles that would play from exclusive opening day all the way to home video release. Artisian Films were smart enough to open "The Blair Witch Project" exclusively on two screens and created a demand that lasted until they went wide. With The Sunshine down one side of Houston and The Film Fourm up the other side and now the IFM Center, film companies are looking past The Angelika as the place to open a film.

I don't know how much the FF impacts the Angelika since it is a non-profit theatre and is chartered to only screen films that would not get screened in commercial theatres, but I think the Landmark has had a huge impact on Angelika and now the IFC Center looms. Landmark is a more modern multi-plex with bigger theatres and modern amenities such as stadium seating. Landmark also is a national chain and a deep pocketed owner (Mark Cuban) while the Angelica is owned by a fading company, City Cinemas. Most of those films playing at the Landmark would have played at the Angelika.

Many of the films that would have screened at the Quad, Cinema Village or City Cinemas Village East now pop up in the Angelika where they last for a week or two before sliding over to The Village East. Junk like THE TALENT GIVEN US, MODIGLIANI and WILD SIDE have been featured at the Angelika in recent weeks.

Why is it though that places like the Angelika don't make improvements when competitors open up? Instead of making the theatre top notch again they let it get run down and filthy and as noted above have shoddy projection.

The Angelica is nothing short of a disgrace to independent cinema, I won’t see a movie there unless there is no other option (fortunately, films shown here are often co-booked with Dan Talbot’s far superior Lincoln Plaza Cinemas). It has, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the sloppiest projection in town. Last year I went to a showing of the film “CQ” the day after it opened, and it ALREADY had an emulsion scratch the entire length of the film after a handful of runs. In fact, I don’t recall EVER seeing a film here that didn’t have projection issues. And don’t get me started on the auditoriums. Long live the Sunshine, a bright spot for film going in NYC!

The Angelika is the perfect model for corporate arrogance, plain and simple. The ownership figures people will go there just because of the brand name - presentation and creature comforts, be damned - and while they're still doing solid business, with all the competition nearby, as hardbop noted, the quality of the bookings has slid in recent years, and that's no accident. What would be interesting - and unfortunately it's not going to happen, for obvious reasons - would be to book the same highly-anticipated indie-type flick at the Sunshine and the Angelika at the same time and see which theatre drew the higher grosses. There's little question as to which would be able to make that claim; the intriguing part would be by how much - and that would be a truly interesting barometer of just how far the Angelika's reputation has fallen...

The reason the Angelika does not make improvements is simple: It is owned by City Cinemas, a company whose administration for the last 11 years is not interested in film, theatres, the New York audience or New York in general, for that matter. Their interests lie elsewhere. If they could rent out the Angelika to Duane Reade for more than they get at the box office, they'd do it in a flash. Look at all their properties - the lame-brains upstairs of the Village East have turned them all into sh*t-houses.

We need Lamalle or another art minded company to come to NY

True, Dave, true - seems like the renovated quad at the 86th Street East was almost an accident...

To add insult to injury, The Independent Film Channel dropped them even before the IFC Center opened. "At The Angelika" is now "At The IFC Center". It didn't hurt to have what was basicaly a free commercial every week on a high profile cable channel.

The 86th Street is a partnership with the original owner, and he probably won't let them destroy the place. He made his partnership deal with the original CC administration, not the circus-act running things now.

The 86th Street is a partnership with the original owner, and he probably won't let them destroy the place. He made his partnership deal with the original CC administration, not the circus-act running things now.

There are also Angelika Film Centers in Houston, Dallas and Plano Texas. All are operated by Reading Entertainment [dba City Cinemas in New York] which licenses the use of the Angelika name, according to this website:
http://www.angelikafilm.com/

Now that the Weinstein brothers are parting company with Miramax/Disney they have been cleaning out the closets at Miramax and releasing the backlog of films the Weinstein's acquired, but didn't release.

The Miramax/Angelika connection is evidenced by THE WARRIOR, which also opened at AMC, yesterday. I wonder how long that one will be around? It actually received a pretty good review in yesterday's Times.

The theatres in Texas are nicer than the one in New York. Thats sad. Years ago they talked about expanding that brand name elsewhere (this was circa the multiplex boom) including across the river in Hackensack, NJ. The Angelika usshered in a new age indie filmmaking, I think, its suggests names like Hal Hartly, Jim Jamerish, and Richard Linkletter. The way I look at it is the cinema still opens new talent (The story with The Talent Given Us is the filmmaker actually apraoched the manager of the cinema and asked them for a booking after the corporation saw it and felt it was worthy), and maybe its as exciting as ever. Tragically it doesn't open films by the talent it discovered (partly because they've moved on to bigger pictures) and partly because the Landmark and IFC Center are now in town.

Weird how the only other Angelika's are in Texas and have way more ammenties then the orginal Angelika. They did remodel it about 3 years ago putting in new seats, fixing the bathrooms, classing up the cafe area, putting in new carpets and fixtures. Seeing indie films in dumps like this kinda adds to the feel of what you're seeing. Then agian, Angelika has opened some prestigious studio movies- it has a relationship with Warner Brothers and often screens many of their Warner Independent releases as well as films by Chrisopher Guest. Recently too they've shown Million Dollar Baby and Matrix Reloaded. In Texas they mix it up with a prestigious new studio movie and a few art pictures, whereas in New York that sort of thing is uncommon.

The first studio movie they played was believe it or not "Teenage Mutant Turtles II" in 1991, and on two screens no less. It didn't do what they had hoped. The next big release was Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet in '96 starring Leo Dicaprio which did do well attributed to being around the corner form NYU.

Among the few films I remember seeing here, one was Imamura's Black Rain around 1990. It dealt with the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing and was a very grim film starkly shot in black and white. Another was The Butcher Boy in 1997 with the incredible Eamonn Owens in the title role.

I wonder if TMNT was around the time they were aquired by City Cinemas. Miramax once tried to aquire them at a certain point. I remember reading an article circa the 1997 I guess that folks feared the Angelika would become mainstream after The Crow II and Great Expections played there as well. But damn, Teenage Mutant Turtles II - thats funny as hell.

"I wonder if TMNT was around the time they were aquired by City Cinemas"

Nope, it was still the original owners. Maybe someone at New Line convinced them it was high art.

The one thing that make the Angelika special is the ground floor/second floor "cafe." Without that, it is just another subterranean multiplex a la the defunct Worldwide.

I remember when the Avignon Film Festival was booked into the Angelika 57 Jerome Rudes, who runs the AFF, interviewed Joe Saleh and it was interesting listening to him talk about the Angelika. He said everyone told him he should use the cafe space for "more screens." He didn't listen and Angelika became a real destination.

I also remember that the Angelika got off to a rocky start when it first opened back in 1990 or so. The opening kept getting delayed due to "plumbing problems" and there were also the problems with United Artists, which was originally contracted to run the place (but never did).

My first film there was HIDDEN AGENDA by Ken Loach.

I remember when he sold the Angelika to City Cinemas. I heard/read he was going through a divorce. Since then both City Cinemas and the Angelika have seemed to lose their way.

The battle for downtown continues. This week four "big" art films opened:

Landmark got NOVEMBER and one with the most buzz, Gus Van Sant's Kurt Cobain "biopic" LAST DAYS.

IFC got THE EDUKATORS.

And the Angelika got 9 SONGS, where it is playing exclusively.

In the "old days" I bet all four of those films would have screened at the Angelika.

A nice gig if you can get it:

We are looking for smart, friendly people who are passionate about the films we show and are dedicated to making the Angelika and City Cinemas the most dynamic and comfortable theaters in New York City. Here's a list of jobs that are available:
************************
ASSISTANT MANAGER, Angelika Film Center

The Assistant Manager will support the Managing Director and play a key role in the overall operation of the cinema complex. Qualified candidates will be expected to run the cinema with or without the presence of the Managing Director. Due to the nature of our business, a weekend and holiday work schedule is required. Duties include:
- Oversee cinema operation
- Oversee projection booth operation and maintenance
- Commitment to superior customer service and outstanding film presentation
- Strong emphasis on staff training and development
- Ability to work as a team
- Maintain a clean and safe environment
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Computer skills including familiarity with spreadsheets and word processing
- Cash handling
- Crowd control
- Create weekly team member work schedule
- Weekly and daily concession inventories
- Weekly and daily payroll management
- Ability to operate and trouble shoot projection and sound equipment (will train if necessary)
- Ability to handle pressure and work long hours when necessary

Qualified candidates should have previous management experience, or experience that demonstrates ability to perform above listed duties. Please email your resume to:

Attn: Adam McAree
angelika.nyc@readingrdi.com
************************
SERVICE ASSOCIATES, Angelika Film Center & East 86th Street Cinemas

We are looking for team members who love the films we show and are dedicated to making every guest's visit to our theaters an enjoyable one. Duties include:

- Provide individualized and friendly service to each guest
- Strong interpersonal and customer service skills
- Commitment to a clean and safe environment
- Coffee Bar experience welcomed

Previous retail experience is a plus, however we are willing to train candidates who display an attitude and desire to provide our customers with the best service. Due to the nature of our business, a weekend and holiday work schedule is required.

To apply, please stop by your preferred location and speak to a manager:

Angelika Film Center
18 W. Houston (& Mercer)
New York, NY 10012

East 86th Street Cinemas
210 E. 86th Street (& 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10028
************************
************************
City Cinemas is an equal opportunity employer.

Angelika and City Cinemas the most dynamic and comfortable theaters in New York City................

they are kidding right

hahahahaha!............

AMC Entertainment, Regal Entertainment Group, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Mann Theatres, and Pacific Theatres are a lot better than City Cinemas. Even the old RKO Century Warner chain (RKO Stanley Warner, Rugoff/Cinema 5, Century Theatres) is better than City Cinemas.

City Cinemas owners, Reading Entertainment was way better when they known as The Reading Railroad Company, and had their headquarters at the Reading Terminal, NE Corner of 11th and Market Streets, in Philadelphia, PA.

I wonder if the once-mighty Angelika is having trouble getting product? This week two lightweights opened at the Angelika, Ellie Parker (also opening at Clearview's W. 62nd Street theatre, and Cape Of Good Hope, which also opened at the Metro.

Both of these films, before the Landmark and the IFC, would have probably opened at the Quad, Cinema Village or City Cinemas' Village East 'plex.

I bet by next friday Ellie & Cape will be botha t the Village East complex.

i went there for the first time yesterday , to see "capote". while the theatre overall was acceptable , i was stunned by the poor quality of sound , at least in cinema 1 where my film was playing. there were speakers along both walls , but they either weren't working or were there as props, for the only sound came from up front. those front speakers would occasionally vibrate which was very distracting. i complained to the manager who said she would have the projectionist check it out , and that no other patron had ever made such a complaint. at $10.75 admission price i will not rush back there. also , the unpadded armrests were uncomfortable ...

I dont know the movie but either there were no surrounds in the movie which is possible or there was a problem like you said. If there is a problem, I doubt that there have not been more complaints.

Just a hunch: but those front speakers vibrating could have been the subway. This house is notrious for that reason.

I used to do tech screenings there years ago and wondered what the hell was making that noise. Then I realized it was indeed the subway. lol

i don't think the problem in my case was caused by the subway , there was no rumbling noise. it was more of a vibration you get from cheap speakers , and occured mostly when mr. hoffman playing capote ( with the approprate nasal voice )was speaking. i could live without the surround for this type of movie. but the terrible sound lessened my enjoyment of mr. hoffman's performance. i'm almost tempted to return at a later date to see what is done about the problem....

I sympathize with you garth. I never actually had a problem with the sound at the Angelika and I thought that the subway rumbling/vibration was one of those cool characteristic New York City things you just have to deal with. Now that I think of it, I have noticed that the sound can be very low in there at times. My biggest problem with the Angelika is the design of the theaters themselves. The main ones to the front of the escalator are particularly sucky. The sight lines are weird and the auditorium seating is too flat. They should be on an angle like normal theaters, but I don't think the designers of this theater put alot of thought into it. I remember back around 1990 or whenever it was, right before they turned the space into the Angelika it was a fitness club, or at least the cafe part was. I haven't been there in ages. I think the last film I saw there was The Ramones documentary 'End of the Century'. Makes you scratch your head doesn't it? Well crafted theaters like the Beekman meet the wrecking ball and a poorly designed rumbly hipster theater like Angelika gets to stay around.

i saw the movie "brick" here a couple of months ago. i think it was theatre 3. once or twice there was the rumble of the subway , i could easily deal with this. the "tinny" sound in theatre 1 was far worse...

A photograph I took of the Angelika Film Center in May 2006:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/216954133/

QUESTION:

I am a producer looking to exhibit my film at the Angelika. Is there anyone who might have first-hand experience interested in relating their story? I want to be realistic, if I hope to consider Angelika as a prospective exhibitor. What kind of business-profit-sharing model did you receive e.g. 90/10 arrangement or something a little less distributor friendly? What was the House Allowance? Did this amount vary during the run of the film? (They have six screens with different auditorium sizes; if the film has no legs, I imagine the film rarely stays in their larger auditoriums; therefore, the profit sharing model must change appropriately -- was this the case?) Did the staff at the theater work hard to ensure your investment? How would you relate your overall experience?

Any input or tips you might provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Sam.

Sam,
You may want to consider the Quad Cinema at 34 west 13th Street. They do these kinds deals a lot. It is a very well run theater with updated equipment. Talk to Eva the head manager there.

Unless you have no choice, don't go to this theater. It's dirty and poorly maintained. Today the arm rest on the seat had no cover, which I didn't notice because it was so dark. The bare metal ripped my pants on the side from waist to mid thigh so my underwear and the scratch showed. The manager's (Hilda) response was that she couldn't do anything but take my name and number. After asking a number of times she finally let me have a stapler so I could walk outside without exposing myself. No employee checked the theater to prevent someone else from injury.

alf, it's the same response i got after complaining about the poor sound system in theatre 1. the female manager i spoke to (didn't get a name) asked "well , did you watch the entire film?". and this at a premiere manhattan theatre , you'd think they would care...

after this posting i kept thinking about what alfvaen said about the armrest, i had thought i had the same experience at a different theatre. sure enough i went back and checked my post from a year and a half ago about seeing "capote" here and there it was....the unpadded armrest! guess they still haven't gotten their act together...

exterior shot taken nov 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2008450650/

From the time Angelika opened in 1989, I attended many times on twice-annual trips to New York. Like Lincoln Plaza and other art houses, it was a place to see foreign and independent movies before they reached my hometown of Pittsburgh PA.
That said, I never enjoyed my trips Downtown to the Angelika because those six subterranean dungeons were dreary and uncomfortable. Once while in the nicest one, beneath the lobby, I found the ceiling was leaking into buckets.
After an experience in the mid to late 1990s, though, I resolved never to return and never did:
I had arrived late in the morning and purchased two tickets immediately - one for the first show in one auditorium and the other for the second performance in a different auditorium.
The food in the lobby had become so pricey I resolved to make do with the popcorn downstairs. I took the long escalator ride down and became the first customer of the morning at the popcorn stand.
While I waited for a bucket from the morning's first batch, the attendant carried a large bucket of unpopped kernels toward the popcorn machine to pour the kernels into the top.
Just at that moment something knocked him in the feet, and the bucket of unpopped kernels was launched at least a foot into the air. The attendant looked down immediately, even as the kernels were ascending, and gasped, "What a big rat!"
I was stunned, as if someone had punched me, and I involuntarily took a step or two backwards from the concession stand. All of a sudden a rat the size of a tomcat darted out from behind the concession satand and made two sharp left turns. The attendant, who now had a ton of kernels to sweep up, and I looked at each other as if to say, "Did you see what I just saw?"
I got right back on the escalator, went to the ticket taker at the top and said I wanted my money back for both movies.
He phoned the manager's offioce and said, "Some guy out here wants his money back for two movies" and, after pausing to listen to the manager, said to me, "Why?"
"Because there's a big rat running around the popcorn stand downstairs," I said.
The ticket taker said into the phone, "He said we have rats." Without another word, he hung up the phone and nodded at me to go out to the box office. The young lady in the box office immediately answered her phone (presumably a call from the manager) and issued me my refunds without delay.
So I did get my money back, but I never returned.
When I told a New York friend about the experience, she responded, "And that's why I won't go to the Quad, either." - Ed Blank

ANGELIKA FILM CENTER movie list from 2002 to today.

4/12/02- THE SALTON SEA
4/19/02- THE CAT'S MEOW
4/19/02- ENIGMA
8/2/02- FULL FRONTAL
8/9/02- THE GOOD GIRL
9/20/02- SECRETARY
9/27/02- MOONLIGHT MILE
10/25/02- FRIDA
11/8/02- FAR FROM HEAVEN
12/27/02- NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
3/7/03- CITY OF GOD
4/18/03- A MIGHTY WIND
5/15/03- THE MATRIX RELOADED
10/3/03- THE STATION AGENT
10/17/03- SYLVIA
11/26/03- THE COOLER
3/26/04- NED KELLY
7/2/04- AMERICA'S HEART AND SOUL
7/2/04- BEFORE SUNSET
7/16/04- THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR
8/6/04- OPEN WATER
10/8/04- STAGE BEAUTY
10/22/04- THE MACHINIST
12/15/04- MILLION DOLLAR BABY
12/17/04- BEYOND THE SEA
12/22/04- HOTEL RWANDA
12/29/04- A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
1/14/05- THE CHORUS
6/22/05- MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
6/24/05- RIZE
8/5/05- BROKEN FLOWERS
8/5/05- JUNEBUG
8/12/05- GRIZZLY MAN
9/16/05- PROOF
9/30/05- CAPOTE
10/7/05- THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
11/23/05- THE LIBERTINE
11/23/05- SYRIANA
12/9/05- MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
2/24/06- TSOTSI
3/31/06- BRICK
4/7/06- KINKY BOOTS
4/14/06- HARD CANDY
5/5/06- ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
6/9/06- THE HEART OF THE GAME
7/21/06- CLERKS II
8/18/06- THE ILLUSIONIST
9/15/06- CONFETTI
9/22/06- THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
9/30/06- THE QUEEN
10/6/06- LITTLE CHILDREN
12/15/06- THE GOOD GERMAN
12/20/06- THE PAINTED VEIL
12/27/06- NOTES ON A SCANDAL
12/27/06- PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER
2/2/07- FACTORY GIRL
2/23/07- THE LIVES OF OTHERS
3/9/07- THE NAMESAKE
4/13/07- YEAR OF THE DOG
5/18/07- THE GOLDEN DOOR
6/1/07- DAY WATCH
6/8/07- LA VIE EN ROSE
6/15/07- FIDO
6/22/07- YOU KILL ME
6/29/07- EVENING
7/4/07- RESCUE DAWN
7/27/07- ARCTIC TALE
8/3/07- BECOMING JANE
9/14/07- SILK
9/21/07- THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
9/28/07- FEAST OF LOVE
9/28/07- TRADE
10/5/07- THE GOOD NIGHT
10/12/07- LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
10/26/07- RAILS & TIES
11/2/07- DARFUR NOW
11/16/07- LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
11/16/07- MARGOT AT THE WEDDING
11/28/07- THE SAVAGES
11/30/07- THE DIVING AND THE BUTTERFLY
12/7/07- THE WALKER
12/25/07- PERSEPOLIS
2/8/08- IN BRUGES
2/29/08- CITY OF MEN
3/14/08- FUNNY GAMES
3/19/08- UNDER THE SAME MOON
4/4/08- MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
4/11/08- SMART PEOPLE
5/2/08- SON OF RAMBOW
6/6/08- THE PROMOTION
7/3/08- THE WACKNESS
8/1/08- FROZEN RIVER

Here are some films that were shown at the ANGELIKA FILM CENTER from 2002 to today.

3/15/02- HARRISON'S FLOWERS
11/10/06- FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS
7/25/08- BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

The film WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? was showh here at this theater on June 6, 2008

The theatre opened on September 29th, 1989 after being delayed from an opening date of August 18th, 1989. The premiere engagements were Shell Shock, Emma's Shadow, The Navigator and Shirley Valentine. The former two were releases by Angelika Films and had their U.S. premieres at the theatre. Only four films are shown here but I imagine that Shirley Valentine and another film were interlocked.

I've never been to this theatre but I know two people who saw The Assassination Of Jesse James on opening night and really enjoyed the film. They also liked the theatre and its atmosphere, trains and all. Later on, they tried to book the film for their theatre (the Moxie Cinema in Springfield, Missouri) but were unable to do so due to another theatre getting it.

How quaint that the Angelika be located on Houstan Street a perfrect homage to the actress Angelika Houstan!

The actress' name is pronounced the same as the city in Texas. The street in NYC is pronounced HOW-ston St.

The Angelika Film Center does indeed have a location in Houston, TX.

There is an Angelika Film Center in Houston, Dallas and Plano.

Actually, only four were open on September 29th, 1989. The fifth opened on October 4th, 1989 with Streetwise (I think it was a reissue of the 1985 film) and nine days later, all six were filled with Streetwise ending and Breaking In and Drugstore Cowboy opening.

Four auditoriums, that is.

The first mainstream film to play at the Angelika was Look Who's Talking on October 20th, 1989. I guess that they wanted some easy money (Look Who's Talking was huge when it came out).

Here is a recent shot of the Angelika at night.

Yesterday. Down escalator still out of service. Armrest in back row of Auditorium 6 broken. Popcorn : fantastic.

Renewing link.

Approx. 1140 seats total

Hey, it looks like that the August 18th, 1989 "false" opening did occur. After having been delayed from July 21st (a July 28th showing of Turner and Hooch was listed but played at the Cinema 3rd Avenue instead), the theatre opened as a United Artists theatre for one weekend. The films shown were Shell Shock, Emma's Shadow, Cheetah and Let It Ride. After that week ended, the Criterion Center got Let It Ride and I don't know who got Cheetah in the moveover). Wired was scheduled to open on August 25th there but instead played at the 8th Street Playhouse.

KingBiscuits,

New theatres often have screening before opening but the Angelika did not officially open until September 29 and was a UA run house for several years, not one week.

By the way, all those films you mention were wide runs all over New York, not move-overs from the Angelika. The Angelika was intentionally opened with only specilised films.

This is what I found in the New York Times. The ad apparently ran on August 18th to August 20th, 1989.

Those would be ads for openings that never occurred, not an odd situation in New York.

Once the right officials were properly bribed, the opening could then proceed.

Gotcha. Sounds like typical UA.

Here and here are 2009 shots of the Angelika Film Centre

Photo of the Angelika Film Center courtesy Nick's Classic American Theatres.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/Pavy1/Angelike.jpg