Cantor Film Center

New York, NY

36 East 8th Street

, New York, NY 10003 United States

(map)

Status:	Open
Screens:	Triplex
Style:	Art Moderne

Function:	Movies (Film Festivals), University
Seats:	579
Chain:	Independent

Architect:	Thomas W. Lamb
Firm:	Unknown

This onetime Greenwich Village favorite on Eighth Street near Broadway deserves to have a listing apart from the Art Greenwich, which was much futher west. The Art Moderne styled Art Theatre first opened in 1938 and was built by the Rugoff & Becker circuit. Thomas Lamb is credited as architect, though it was more likely someone in his company since he was semi-retired by that time.

The Art Theatre started out as a late-run showcase for American and foreign movies, but became a first-run in the late 1950's. It eventually fell into the clutches of the RKO-Stanley Warner-Century combine, which let it fall into disrepair and finally closed it around 1985-86. RKO then took the name Art and attached it to the Greenwich, which it also operated.

After closure, the Art was taken over by B.S. Moss, which turned it into a triplex as the Movieland. Moss had recently closed its Movieland at Broadway and 47th Street (the last of many names for the 1918 Central). Movieland seems an inappropriate name for bohemian Greenwich Village, which is perhaps one of the reasons why the theatre didn't have a long or successful life.

Its sale to NYU seemed inevitable, since the university may be the Village's largest property owner. In 1997 they employed architect Davis Brody Bond to renovate the building.

Contributed by Warren G. Harris

YOUR COMMENTS

Lets not forget to add UA into the mix who was partnered running the BS Moss theatres The Criterion, The Art and The Movieland Douglaston in Queens.

posted by RobertR on Mar 31, 2004 at 11:20am

The Art operated as the Movieland 8th Street Triplex for about 10 years, from June of 1986 ('Back to School', with Rodney Dangerfield, and the Robert Redford flick 'Legal Eagles' were among its first offerings) through the spring of '96. After a lobby and exterior renovation, it reopened as the Cantor Film Center in 1998, which it operates as to this day.

posted by DBrenson/br91975 on Aug 23, 2004 at 5:11pm

Is it still a triplex?

posted by RobertR on Aug 25, 2004 at 11:02am

It is, although I'm not sure how often all three auditoriums are used concurrently.

posted by DBrenson/br91975 on Aug 25, 2004 at 11:23am

One of the first movies I saw at the Art was Michelangelo Antonioni's gorgeous color experiment "The Red Desert" with Monica Vitti and Richard Harris. The film had previously opened at the Beekman in February of 1965 and had a subsequent run here.

posted by Gerald A. DeLuca on Aug 25, 2004 at 1:15pm

The last commercial film I saw there was in the early 1990s--"The Paper," starring Glenn Close. It was about a NYC newspaper. Michael Keaton co-starred, back when that meant something, to someone. :-)

As part of the NYU conglomerate, the Cantor has been open to the public (that I know of) when film festivals are in town. For example, for several years, the New Festival (gay and lesbian) had films showing there and at the New School's great auditorium, until last year, when the festival snagged the Loew's 34th Street for all of its films.

posted by sethkino on Nov 16, 2004 at 8:57am

I too attended "Legal Eagles" at the UA 8th Street 'plex back when it originally released. I remember wanted to go to the FF when it was still on Watts Street that night and whatever was playing that night -- maybe "Chinatown" -- sold out so I opted for LE. The line was around the block.

I didn't go to the UA 8th Street much even when I lived in the Village from '82 to '87, but over the years I would tend to go there on Thursday nights for the late screenings because it seemed films about to close always seemed to play at the UA 8th Street last. I remember seeing Van Peebles' "Panther," The Coen Brothers' "Hudsucker Proxy" and "The St. of Ft. Washington" at that theatre.

posted by hardbop on Apr 13, 2005 at 9:52am

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Film Center is primarily used as a classroom facility for New York University. It has 3 screening rooms and is home to various international film festivals as well as student screenings and other events.
For information regarding booking (requires NYU affiliation or written departmental sponsorship) or for a calendar of upcoming events, ring 212.998.4100.

posted by Cantor Film Center on May 16, 2005 at 1:15pm

In December of 1980 the Art ran a series of somewhat rare British films in great 35mm prints. I remember catching the 1936 Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street on a double bill with Joseph Losey's infrequently seen Time Without Pity from 1957.

posted by Gerald A. DeLuca on Jul 4, 2005 at 5:32am

Here is an ad for "Tunes of Glory" at the ART exclusively.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Spartacus.jpg

posted by RobertR on Jul 4, 2005 at 1:44pm

Does anyone have any recollection of the Harlequin Caffe Playhouse running films in 1960?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25725093@N07/2478215453/

posted by AlAlvarez on May 9, 2008 at 11:56am

This intro should be corrected as follows;

The Art opened on October 7, 1940 with the first-run of the 1933 French film "Whirlpool" ("Remous") which was allegedly based on the banned novel LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER.

posted by AlAlvarez on May 11, 2008 at 10:47am

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