I just stumbled on to this site looking for information about the newly re-opened Plaza Theater. I’m saddened that Garden Hills is closing, but also saddened that it won’t have more of an effect on me.
I’ve seen some terrific films in the 8 years since I started frequenting Garden Hills. (“Ran,” “Le Samurai,” “Dogville,” “The Third Man,” “Metropolis,” “Rear Window,” “Topsy-Turvy,” and “The Sweet Hereafter” are the first that come to mind.) From 1999-2000, I probably went there once a week. Still, I have to be honest and say that in the past two years since the Midtown Landmark came to town, Garden Hills’s offerings have been, well, second-tier. It seems like Landmark and the Terra (which is hands-down the worst theater in town, although it’s improved since Regal took it over) get the pick of the art film litter, and Garden Hills gets whatever’s left over.
I don’t envy George Lefont & Co having to compete with national chains that have elbowed their way on to his turf. But I also can’t pretend that I don’t think I’ve seen a film at Garden Hills since Altman’s “The Company” over two years ago. Add the fact that the theater itself, despite its nostalgia value as a representation of a by-gone era of single-screen theaters (with curtains! how I miss curtains!), is nothing particularly interesting in terms of design.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that its halcyon days have passed, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Garden Hills and the role it played in my formative years as a cinephile, and will always miss its contribution to the Atlanta film scene if/when it shuts the lights for good.
I just stumbled on to this site looking for information about the newly re-opened Plaza Theater. I’m saddened that Garden Hills is closing, but also saddened that it won’t have more of an effect on me.
I’ve seen some terrific films in the 8 years since I started frequenting Garden Hills. (“Ran,” “Le Samurai,” “Dogville,” “The Third Man,” “Metropolis,” “Rear Window,” “Topsy-Turvy,” and “The Sweet Hereafter” are the first that come to mind.) From 1999-2000, I probably went there once a week. Still, I have to be honest and say that in the past two years since the Midtown Landmark came to town, Garden Hills’s offerings have been, well, second-tier. It seems like Landmark and the Terra (which is hands-down the worst theater in town, although it’s improved since Regal took it over) get the pick of the art film litter, and Garden Hills gets whatever’s left over.
I don’t envy George Lefont & Co having to compete with national chains that have elbowed their way on to his turf. But I also can’t pretend that I don’t think I’ve seen a film at Garden Hills since Altman’s “The Company” over two years ago. Add the fact that the theater itself, despite its nostalgia value as a representation of a by-gone era of single-screen theaters (with curtains! how I miss curtains!), is nothing particularly interesting in terms of design.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that its halcyon days have passed, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Garden Hills and the role it played in my formative years as a cinephile, and will always miss its contribution to the Atlanta film scene if/when it shuts the lights for good.