Old Greenbelt Theatre

This theater is quite a place and a nice departure from the awful AMC Academy 8 and 6 theaters, which are just a few miles away. The first movies I saw here were the Star Trek movie marathon (from the Motion Picture-Final Frontier) back in 1991. This is probably the only theater I can recall that played a Dolby stereo format trailer before the feature would start at the time. It would be nice if this theater became another 'Senator' (Baltimore, MD) and be a premier showcase of first run films!

Here is a link to the Old Greenbelt Theatre with a history of the theater and a picture.
http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arc_news/072502.htm

Another photo of the Greenbelt Theater:
http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~blauffer/greenbelt/movie.theater.jpg

This is a 2006 photo of the Greenbelt Theater.

Here is another photo of the Greenbelt Theater from the Library of Congress (c) 1940.

A recent night view of the Old Greenbelt Theater can be seen here.

I recently caught "The Good Shepherd" during its short run and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. Based on the last few visits here (to see "The Devil Wears Prada", "Sideways"), I can see how some will say that a properly handled 35mm film can be as good as or superior to digital projection. The colors were well balanced and rich as well as the picture being relatively bright. Unfortunately, there wasn't a comparable DP presentation of the movie in the DC area to better compare it with and I'm sure that the DP version would have brighter colors and a scratch free presentation.

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This is another photo of the Greenbelt Theater.

I saw "Death at a Funeral" here to a large and very enthusiastic crowd of mostly seniors. The film was great but was rather subdued in presentation by an annoying clatter from the back. Since I sat in the back, I couldn't make it out but its either the projector, which is doubtful, or a very loud water heater or other building appliance. Its great to visit this place and look at the large photographs of local movie theater gems either close or demolished.

Here is a close-up view of the Old Greenbelt Theater.

This is a more recent photo.

From January 2008: 1, 2, 3

Another 2008 photo can be seen here.

This is an nice August 2008 photo.

Here are two photos from the Library of Congress. The year given for both is 1938.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Greenbelt Theater photo

I used to go watch the Hammer horror movies, and attend kiddie matinees there. It was a quarter. I purchased some candies that were like large size M and M's. The floor was often sticky, and I didn't feel quite right unless I was hit in the back of the head at least once with a Root Beer Barrel or Dots. The popcorn was out of this world, along with such films as "The Blob" and "Mole People."

A 2009 photo is here.

Thank you, Lost Memory. I am glad you posted that. I will tell friends of mine to go look at it.

I caught Nine here on a matinee over the holiday weekend (Sun). Very nice projection, bright screen, great movie. My friend was more excited to see it initially then I did. Not knowing about the movie except seeing Penelope Cruz on tv and hear raves about her performance, I thought I would snooze during the movie. Fortunately, I did not. Daniel Day Lewis gives a good performance as do his castmates and, yes, Penelope does sizzle and dazzle. Her performance says Oscar nomination at least. What was just as good as the movie was the $6 matinee price. :)

While I am glad this theater is still around, I hope they will someday remodel the restrooms and repair the seats that need repair. Also the auditorium could use some fresh paint or something to obscure whatever is peeling or bare.