Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street,
New York,
NY
10011
34 West 13th Street,
New York,
NY
10011
16 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 68 comments found
I just read that the Quad Cinema will soon be hosting the premiere of “Certifiably Jonathan”, a new film about Jonathan Winters.
I’ve seen ads at Indiewire promoting a new Four Wall booking service for indie filmmakers. Not sure if that’s how Behind the Burly Q is getting released there or not, but it could explain a few other micro budget flicks get a shot there. 4-Walling is nothing new, and given the options indie filmmakers have this might be their only shot at a meaningful theatrical release. If anything I think Quad is sincere in their attempts to bring good cinema to their audience and knowing the theater and its weekly newsletter I can’t be cynical about the service. I don’t know if John Luke Montias' Off Jackson Ave was 4-walled or not, but I saw it during its week long run at the Quad and found it to be a solidly entertaining indie.
The service is at http://quadcinemafourwall.com/
That looks great! Perhaps we will finally lift the veil of hypocrisy and start looking at the Burlesque era with a little more clarity.
I am looking forward to the upcoming premier of the
film documentary “Behind the Burly Q”
being held at this theater :–) on
April 23rd, 2010.
www.behindtheburlyq.com
Thank you for bringing this to us!
Slow business but still going strong. Recent and upcoming festivals are helping.
While I don’t think its in danger of closing I’ve noticed they are more frequently (along with IFC Center) playing films that can also be seen on demand. I personally am not a fan of VOD day and date in that I understand it (sadly good art films can’t be seen in most cities), I think it does cheapen the movie going experience. Granted a few have done okay box office using a VOD day and date release (ie: Girlfriend Experience, Summer Hours), others haven’t (the Quad recently showed I Hate Valentine’s Day). So I’m wonder what the impact of this practice will be for a theater like the Quad. The larger chains (AMC, Regal, ect) have adopted a policy of not showing films released this way, whereas companies associated with VOD distributers (IFC, Landmark, and Clearview) have no problem with it.
Renewing link.
Yeccch. One of the most unpleasant theaters in NYC. Amazing how it stays in open and so many beautiful screens have been demolished. I used to go here in college out of necessity, as so many films played here exclusively and suffered through substandard screenings of My Left Foot, Apartment Zero, The Girl in the Swing, Without You I’m Nothing, and countless others. My last suffering occurred with I Think I Do, and that was only because a friend of mine made it.
Now with the advent of widescreen HDTV and DVDs being released a scant 2-4 months after theatrical release, there’s no excuse to frequent this place. My television is almost as big as their screens. I wish whatever lucky cloud this theater was under would have been shared with such places as the Biograph, the 34th Street East, the 8th street Playhouse, the Loews Astor Plaza and the movie theater that used to be in the basement of the old G&W building.
While I haven’t seen what they do at the Quad, I have seen it happen other places, but under the circumstances where the customer has had the tickets held in their mouth while adjusting their change, wallet, purse, shopping bags, baby strollers, babies etc. and then hands the ticket taker the wet end. Sometimes they go as far as jutting their head forward for the ticket taker to remove the tickets from their mouth (how disgusting is THAT?). That is the fastest way to turn an otherwise pleasant ticket taker surly. And it’s not a rare occurrence.
I would like to hear of any other stories like this myself. I doubt and hope that there are no others. I have been here for 15 years and never have I heard of or seen anything like this.
I haven’t experienced a similar situtation, nyc6655, but my best advice would be to contact the management of the Quad and complain about what you’ve experienced and seen happen to others. The office number is 212.255.2243. Best of luck…
QUAD CINEMA OUTRAGE:
While the Quad undeniably offers great movies, it is not as gracious with its customers.
Ticket takers at the theater frequently engage in making ticket holders tear their own tickets in half if in any way the tickets have left the ticket holders hand, such as if it becomes wet or is dropped on the ground. This has happened to me, and I have seen it happen to others, including elderly patrons.
While this may sound trivial, I have seen the ticket takers laugh in doing so, and it is clear that they take personal delight in this practice. It is rude and quite shocking.
I would like to hear from anyone else with similar experiences. Thank you.
Interesting , thanks for the info.
The quarter moon you are seeing is actually a reflection from the subwoofer driver. I should have painted it when I replaced the screen last year. As far as the picture not being centered, they probably didn’t adjust the masking right. All the aspect ratios for all 4 screens are correct. We are one of the few theaters around that actually have the proper lenses and plates for all 4 aspect ratios.
Oh and one other thing. The screen in Quad #2 has a “quarter moon” slit near the center that is visible whenever there is a bright image on the screen. It’s somewhat distracting and the screen should be repaired or replaced.
I was there today after 3 years. The seat was less confining (I lost 10 pounds). The popcorn was good but paled in comparison to the Angelika. The picture image was too wide for the screen , or wasn’t centered. That said , $11 for a ticket and $6 for a large popcorn was very reasonable….
Since I switched my computer to Windows Vista, my alerts from Cinema Treasures are being delivered to the “Junk Mail” section of the Windows Mail menu. How can I change that?
Recently, the Quad was one of the few theatres to run Uwe Boll’s Postal. This was because AMC and Regal refused to show it. Boll must have paid them a lot of money to run it.
Suspiciously defensive? LMAO. I just find it funny that people blame “theater policy” on their own lateness. I was only telling you to give it another try because it is a good theater to see a movie at. I’m not worries about everyone loving the theater. Enough people do. I just find your reasoning lame, that’s all.
You’re awfully defensive about the Quad, RCDTJ. Suspiciously defensive. Life’s too short. Not everyone’s going to love the place as you do. Let’s move on.
Having worked at an art house myself, I know that a New York art house crowd is VERY temperamental, they get annoyed at the least little thing. But it really is distracting in small auditoriums like these to have people wandering around in the aisle, their eyes not yet adjusted to the dark, hunting for seats, particularly if the film is subtitled and someone already seated has their view blocked, even momentarily. An independent operator can set up common sense policies like this easier than a chain theatre, where every letter or phone call to the public relations dept. causes them to go apoplectic.
I personally could care less if you came to this theater or not. Just don’t make it seem like it’s the theaters fault because you could not get there on time. The policies are here for a reason. People don’t like being interuppted by customers coming in 20 minutes after the movie starts looking for a seat.
Even the best-intentioned policies can be wrong-headed when applied bureaucratically and unnecessarily. It’s called common sense.
I do defend the management’s right to apply its rules no matter the circumstances and mine to patronize other moviehouses instead.
It’s a shame you don’t try it again. You are missing a very good movie experience. As far as the policy goes, they are the same policies that keep it a well kept, well running theater.
I gave up on the Quad many years ago after two failed efforts to gain admission in one NYC visit. I had to squeeze as many films into each day as possible, and because the Quad was not near my hotel nor any of the other theaters on my long agenda, I had to go there when I could squeeze it in, subway round trip included.
The show times were/are tight enough that one would be able to see a film from middle to middle and sit through the interval without an inordinate waste of time.
I was trying to catch a documentary the Quad was playing that week and in both trips to the theater was detained in transit just enough to miss the start of the feature. I was denied entry because of house policy.
The second trip was on my last afternoon in NYC. Again, “You can’t go in; we have a policy,” etc.
I asked to see the manager and pleaded my case to her without discourtesy. She repeated, inflexibly, what the cashier already had told me.
I had been there many times before, always purchasing concessions as well as tickets.
The irony is that the theater was dead on both of these weekday afternoons. No question of that. Those in charge dug in their heels on a house policy that made little sense in the special circumstances of slow weekday afternoons, without another patron in sight and weak grosses reported later that week.
I never again patronized the theater on future visits.
For the record, I’m also surprised to find Lincoln Plaza lumped in with the Quad and the Angelika. The Lincoln Plaza lacks some amenities, too, but I’ve always found it to be a clear cut above the others and never encounted any difficulties in my dozens of visits there.