Clairidge
486 Bloomfield Avenue,
Montclair,
NJ
07042
486 Bloomfield Avenue,
Montclair,
NJ
07042
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 117 comments
Hi, I guess I’m trying to be hopeful, but is this a permanent closure or is Bow Tie’s Clairidge just “waiting out” the pandemic? So sad if this is permanent…. for me, the only “art house” in the New Jersey area!!!
Please update, Closed. Bow Tie Cinemas closed 4 theatres in the region and sold one in CT.
3 screens on May 13th, 1983. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Looks like Bellevue might be revived….
This is the only theater left in the montclairs showing movies.
35 years ago yesterday ET made its debut at this theater.
long before megaplexes started showing indie movies such as AMC, this theater was one of the few in NJ to screen such fare along with the Screening Zone and to a lesser extent, the Bellevue theater. The Wellmont also showed some indie movies before it became a concert hall.
The theaters are still awkwardly chopped up but the experience has vastly improved over the years – Clearview remodeled the theaters a few years ago (new seats, carpets, concession stands and restrooms) and Bow Tie has installed digital projection which has been a big improvement (although I haven’t seen a show in theater #4 which had a poorly placed port window that greatly distorted the image – digital projection can correct for keystoning). Over all I enjoy the theater now – the staff is friendly, the place is clean, and they’re the first to show some great movies (although I admit I miss the days when Montclair had 11 art house screens….even if I don’t miss The Screening Zone).
Used to go here alot to see the indies. However, the theater is poorly managed by people with no movie theater experience and run with high schoolers who could care less. They never even shut the doors when the film plays. The theaters are poorly constructed and it’s usually a bad experience. haven’t been there in a decade and will not go back.
I saw Blue Jasmine here last Thursday. I think it was in the biggest of the 6 theaters, and the widescreen projection was just fine. It was also really crowded, especially for a Thursday afternoon. The movie was so good, it deserves to be popular. One sad thing: the framed photos of the Cinerama days that had been hung in the lobby, the ones I got in trouble for rephotographing in 2007, have all been taken down. At least they can still be seen on this page.
Now that Bow Tie has become the new operator can we hope for some upgrades? The marquee shows some effort at improvement with the addition of the new corporate signage.
Staff remain welcoming and the product is always top-notch. It’s just that nest of claustrophobic, catacomb theatres that make you want to keep your eyes shut until the feature begins. In any case, I remain a loyal fan of this venue.
I agree. Maybe landmark?
Soon to be pick up by a new theater chain. I hope they keep their “art house” type films.
I’m glad they’re able to show new-ish films but as 35MM prints become less and less available for smaller titles, I should note, 2 of the last 4 films we saw here were projected on a pre-show projector in what I assume was BluRay. The image quality wasn’t great – the blacks weren’t black enough and the whites looked a little too pixilated. I know this is a work around but Clearview it appears is behind the curve on digital installs, so I imagine its either BluRay or nothing for some of these titles, but I don’t want to see this trend continue. (I believe most of these titles alternative would be available as DCPs as other art house theaters have gone digital).
Over the years my family & I saw “Windjammer,” “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” and “How the West Was Won” at the Clairidge. It was always a special treat. For some reason I also went there on school trips to see “My Fair Lady” and a reissue of “Gone With the Wind.”
Sad to read the recent comments about poor projection at the Clairidge. Even sadder when you consider this theater, 50 years ago, was the North Jersey home of Cinerama, the ultimate film projection experience.
Bad management…thankfully the artist is playing at rockaway, in which the lights fade during the amc “Coke/Magic Chairs” intro.
This (as Carl Denham would say) is turning into a “theme song”, but, my son and I went to see “The Artist” last Wed. at the Clairidge and it took two patrons to “complain” about the house lights left on during the opening of the film before an “annoyed” house employee angrily “switched off” the lights. A real shame, because I still love this place.
Kinnelon is an art cinema when they have nothing else to show, for example, they once showed such indie fair as Puss in Boots and New Years Eve. The Clairidge is the most reliable art theatre, Clearview had previously shown these films in Washington Township and Tenafly (and sometimes still do), Edgewater Multiplex gets a few commercial indie films (they are often showing date and date with the Clairidge on more commercial indies as they platform out to larger venues in the following weeks). With that said, this theater still has a problem: distorted projection from poorly placed port windows (things boothless digital might be able to fix – but I wouldn’t be shocked if Clearview doesn’t bother to correct these issues). Every time I see I’m in Theater #4 I think “oh man, I wish this film was playing somewhere else so I can see it projected correctly”. The kicker (as with other Clearviews with problems like this) is that they’ve renovated the theatre – this one closed for a few weeks while they redid the concession stand, restrooms and put in very comfortable new seats) but never bothered to correct the poor presentation. Kinnelon, thankfully used the better of the two theaters for art product – the 8-plex up the hill has the worst projection of any venue I’ve seen (along with poor customer service and clueless management) and last year I saw 280 films in theaters – so I kind of do know what I’m talking about there. (They of coarse treat you like an idiot and tell you “the film was sent to us that way” NO – you, sir/ma’m are a moron and long with whomever designed the layout of the booth).
Chatham cinema is one in Morris County that shows an indie movie on one screen. It’s in a tiny shopping center.
Besides the Clairidge and the Kinnelon “Arts” cinema, are there any other theaters in North Jersey that show “indie” films on a regular basis?
Yes, Moviebuff. The AMC Garden State 16 in Paramus seems to pay attention to those important little “details” as well. Attendants always wait until those of us who enjoy reading the credits are on our way out and send us on our way with a friendly “have a great day”. Perhaps it’s the little things that keeps this venue “packed” most of the time. (even the first shows of the day.) And with a price policy of $6.00 on films (I believe)before 5 P.M., nothing much to complain about.
hahahaha….they don’t do that at amc in rockaway until everyone leaves the theater and the film is over.
Sorry for the late post, but in response to Moviebuff182 post of Dec. 29 from last year, I experienced almost the same situation just three days ago at a screening of “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy” Just as the credits started to roll, the house flood lights came up and the movie attendants started sweeping up the popcorn at our feet well before anyone had a chance to leave. Somewhat inconsiderate ??
I’ve loved this theater for well over thirty years but lately I’ve been very disappointed by the way this place is run. Looked forward to seeing “Annymous” this week only to discover, after making the trip from Wayne that the film was cancelled due to projection “failure” and that the film was not being brought back the following week. Very frustrating as I only get the chance to make it into Montclair about once or twice a month. (I guess this was not a “high demand” film.)