I remember seeing Ringo Starr in “Caveman” at this theater, but there was also a two or three-screen theater in the small shopping center just north of Sequoia Mall, where I saw Ralph Bakshi’s “The Lord of the Rings” (1978) and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Running Man” (1987). It doesn’t have an entry on this site, but does anyone else remember this theater or what it was called?
I saw some interesting programming at the Fine Arts back in the 1990s, including the silent “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from 1910, accompanied by a live klezmer band, and a Ray Dennis Steckler film festival, where I bought some of his VHS tapes and got him to sign the boxes, along with my copy of “RE/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films”.
SO MANY great memories of this place! “Spider Baby” with director Jack Hill in attendance; Kate Bush’s “The Line, the Cross, and the Curve” back-to-back with Katja von Garnier’s “Abgeschminkt” at the Berkeley Women’s Film Festival; all-night movie marathons (I remember going to a Halloween horror marathon and a Pam Grier marathon); weekly Hong Kong double features; silent films with the Club Foot Orchestra… not to mention the anniversary shows with cake, champagne, and Louise Brooks in “Pandora’s Box”!
What a funky place with tiny theaters and sound bleeding through the walls! I only saw one film there, Laurie Anderson’s “Home of the Brave” (1986), which wasn’t playing anywhere else in the area.
The Act 1 & 2 used to have hilarious stuff on their marquee. When “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” played there, the marquee read: “Subtitles build reading skills.” For “Dancer in the Dark” the marquee proclaimed: “Singing! Dancing! Depressing!”
I still have magnets from their midnight screenings of “Beetlejuice” and “Forbidden Zone” (circa 2004) on my fridge.
It breaks my heart that this place is being torn down. I shopped at the 99¢ Only store quite frequently, and I loved to look up at the glorious old ceiling.
Incidentally, before the 99¢ Only store, there was a Grocery Outlet in this building, circa 1990, before it moved several blocks west on University Avenue. I remember buying several boxes of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Cereal there.
Closing tomorrow, June 15, 2023. :-( The final day’s films are Master Gardener, Sanctuary, and You Hurt My Feelings.
I remember seeing Ringo Starr in “Caveman” at this theater, but there was also a two or three-screen theater in the small shopping center just north of Sequoia Mall, where I saw Ralph Bakshi’s “The Lord of the Rings” (1978) and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Running Man” (1987). It doesn’t have an entry on this site, but does anyone else remember this theater or what it was called?
I saw some interesting programming at the Fine Arts back in the 1990s, including the silent “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from 1910, accompanied by a live klezmer band, and a Ray Dennis Steckler film festival, where I bought some of his VHS tapes and got him to sign the boxes, along with my copy of “RE/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films”.
SO MANY great memories of this place! “Spider Baby” with director Jack Hill in attendance; Kate Bush’s “The Line, the Cross, and the Curve” back-to-back with Katja von Garnier’s “Abgeschminkt” at the Berkeley Women’s Film Festival; all-night movie marathons (I remember going to a Halloween horror marathon and a Pam Grier marathon); weekly Hong Kong double features; silent films with the Club Foot Orchestra… not to mention the anniversary shows with cake, champagne, and Louise Brooks in “Pandora’s Box”!
What a funky place with tiny theaters and sound bleeding through the walls! I only saw one film there, Laurie Anderson’s “Home of the Brave” (1986), which wasn’t playing anywhere else in the area.
The Act 1 & 2 used to have hilarious stuff on their marquee. When “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” played there, the marquee read: “Subtitles build reading skills.” For “Dancer in the Dark” the marquee proclaimed: “Singing! Dancing! Depressing!”
I still have magnets from their midnight screenings of “Beetlejuice” and “Forbidden Zone” (circa 2004) on my fridge.
It breaks my heart that this place is being torn down. I shopped at the 99¢ Only store quite frequently, and I loved to look up at the glorious old ceiling.
Incidentally, before the 99¢ Only store, there was a Grocery Outlet in this building, circa 1990, before it moved several blocks west on University Avenue. I remember buying several boxes of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Cereal there.