I just saw There Will Be Blood there March 4, on 2-for-1 night ($8.25 adult, not bad!) The seats are old and saggy, but they’re re-painting the backs of the metal seats glossy black. Most of the seats are repainted already, but three or four rows were cordoned off, presumably while the paint dried. The whole theater smelled of spray paint. Why couldn’t they complete this project in the summer, when they could open all the doors during the day to air the place out?
I agree with you- I think the traditional “first run/second run” model probably still stands for major motion pictures which open on thousands of screens, then taper off over a few months. JUNO and ATONEMENT’s nationwide screen counts have been going up every week since they opened.
UPDATE: The Lexington Flick is currently showing FIRST-run movies, not second-run. This week it’s JUNO and ATONEMENT. Both are in the Top 10 box office this week.
Theater 1 is a great place to see a movie- I saw some big epics on that screen (BRAVEHEART, MASTER AND COMMANDER). Theaters 2 and 3 are both fine, but 4 and 5, built in the “stagehouse”, are both below average: long and narrow, a nearly-flat floor,and a smallish screen set too high off the floor. Plus, you have to climb 2 flights of stairs to get to #5 from the lobby. And last but not least, the bathrooms are all the way on the other side of the building, so if you are in theater 5 and you need to take a leak, you have to descend two flights of stairs, walk up a long inclined hallway, through the lobby, then up another flight of stairs to the bathrooms.
I am pleased to have a low price but quality theater in my town. The “original proscenium” screen is very good, the other screens are all OK, but the sixth screen in the “stagehouse” is mediocre: it’s long and narrow, and the screen is quite high off the floor. Very reminiscent of the “stagehouse” screens at the Harvard Square, Church St theater in Cambridge.
Good riddance to a real rathole. I can corroborate br91979’s report: I stopped going there in the early 1990s after my brother reported a rat running over his foot during a movie.
If they ever properly re-develop the Assembly Square area, a brand new theater would be a big success in this location: Somerville is the most densely populated town in Massachusetts, and the nearest multiplex is all the way over in Fresh Pond. Maybe if the new IKEA ever gets built, someone will try again in Assembly Square.
I saw many movies there in my childhood, but the only one I am certain I saw there was E.T. I can’t say when it was closed, but it was torn down and a bank is on that lot now.
I went there too many times in the mid-1990s, and it was easily the worst place to see a movie. The clientele was young and rowdy, the theaters + lobby were dingy, and at least one screen was criminally small.
Theaters are only average in size, there’s no stadium seating, screen size is only OK. The bathrooms have no towels (dryers only).
The only place to park is an adjacent parking garage. The validated price is cheap ($2 I think).
I stopped going to this theater because of the rowdy and mouthy audiences. I had to leave a screening of The Italian Job (remake) because the young women in the front row wouldn’t stop talking. When I tried to “shush” them, they threatened me :–(
The theaters are very similar to the theaters at the Showcase Cinemas in Randolph, MA. The Randolph location is missing from this web site, which is unfortunate because the Randolph multiplex is unique in my experience: thanks to a undersized lot to build on, half the screens are located two stories underground. Once you buy your ticket in the ground floor lobby, half the screens are on the ground floor, and the other half are two escalator rides underground.
They replaced their theater seats in 2001. I was one of the fans of the theater who lined up to cart away a row of the old “flip up” seats. I took a row of five seats home with me. The seats are 90% covered in duct tape, but the backs and the hardware all work fine. They replaced the seats with modern metal & plastic seats, which are only a moderate improvement on the old ones.
Sometime in the fall of 2007, they finally took down the “AMC” sign out front and replaced it with a “REGAL” sign.
For all the doom and gloom in this thread, I can report I have seen many movies at the Fenway, and the experience has been nothing but good. Theaters 12 and 13 are among the biggest screens I have ever seen, and the picture and sound are consistently good. YES, the pre-show commercials are loud and annoying, but just turn to your date and ignore them if you can. The bathrooms are plentiful and they have paper towels!
I saw a handful of crummy movies there in the early 1990s, including The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) and National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1. In its last few years it became a ghetto for “black” movies- notice Ron Newman’s comment that it’s last movies were Original Gangstas and The Great White Hype.
I saw many movies here in the mid 1990s, including invite-only sneak previews of Pulp Fiction, Interview with the Vampire, and Wyatt Earp. I saw Jurassic Park there in a sold-out opening weekend crowd. The main theater’s floor had a very gentle slope, which made sitting behind tall folks problematic. Today’s stadium seating not only makes for great sightlines, but I think it also minimizes overheard voices in the theater.
I just saw There Will Be Blood there March 4, on 2-for-1 night ($8.25 adult, not bad!) The seats are old and saggy, but they’re re-painting the backs of the metal seats glossy black. Most of the seats are repainted already, but three or four rows were cordoned off, presumably while the paint dried. The whole theater smelled of spray paint. Why couldn’t they complete this project in the summer, when they could open all the doors during the day to air the place out?
I agree with you- I think the traditional “first run/second run” model probably still stands for major motion pictures which open on thousands of screens, then taper off over a few months. JUNO and ATONEMENT’s nationwide screen counts have been going up every week since they opened.
UPDATE: The Lexington Flick is currently showing FIRST-run movies, not second-run. This week it’s JUNO and ATONEMENT. Both are in the Top 10 box office this week.
Theater 1 is a great place to see a movie- I saw some big epics on that screen (BRAVEHEART, MASTER AND COMMANDER). Theaters 2 and 3 are both fine, but 4 and 5, built in the “stagehouse”, are both below average: long and narrow, a nearly-flat floor,and a smallish screen set too high off the floor. Plus, you have to climb 2 flights of stairs to get to #5 from the lobby. And last but not least, the bathrooms are all the way on the other side of the building, so if you are in theater 5 and you need to take a leak, you have to descend two flights of stairs, walk up a long inclined hallway, through the lobby, then up another flight of stairs to the bathrooms.
I am pleased to have a low price but quality theater in my town. The “original proscenium” screen is very good, the other screens are all OK, but the sixth screen in the “stagehouse” is mediocre: it’s long and narrow, and the screen is quite high off the floor. Very reminiscent of the “stagehouse” screens at the Harvard Square, Church St theater in Cambridge.
Good riddance to a real rathole. I can corroborate br91979’s report: I stopped going there in the early 1990s after my brother reported a rat running over his foot during a movie.
If they ever properly re-develop the Assembly Square area, a brand new theater would be a big success in this location: Somerville is the most densely populated town in Massachusetts, and the nearest multiplex is all the way over in Fresh Pond. Maybe if the new IKEA ever gets built, someone will try again in Assembly Square.
I saw many movies there in my childhood, but the only one I am certain I saw there was E.T. I can’t say when it was closed, but it was torn down and a bank is on that lot now.
There’s no way this photo is from the 1970s- the Diet Pepsi logo on the fountain drink machines is definitely from the 1980s.
I went there too many times in the mid-1990s, and it was easily the worst place to see a movie. The clientele was young and rowdy, the theaters + lobby were dingy, and at least one screen was criminally small.
The theater was a pretty narrow basement theater, with a low ceiling and a center aisle. I saw Philadelphia and Bob Roberts there.
Theaters are only average in size, there’s no stadium seating, screen size is only OK. The bathrooms have no towels (dryers only).
The only place to park is an adjacent parking garage. The validated price is cheap ($2 I think).
Whenever I take Route 1 South past this location, I think of the time I saw 10 seconds of a drive-in movie as we drove by on the way to Boston.
Seen at this theater before they rebuilt it: The Hunt for Red October, Terminator 2, and Awakenings.
I stopped going to this theater because of the rowdy and mouthy audiences. I had to leave a screening of The Italian Job (remake) because the young women in the front row wouldn’t stop talking. When I tried to “shush” them, they threatened me :–(
The theaters are very similar to the theaters at the Showcase Cinemas in Randolph, MA. The Randolph location is missing from this web site, which is unfortunate because the Randolph multiplex is unique in my experience: thanks to a undersized lot to build on, half the screens are located two stories underground. Once you buy your ticket in the ground floor lobby, half the screens are on the ground floor, and the other half are two escalator rides underground.
They replaced their theater seats in 2001. I was one of the fans of the theater who lined up to cart away a row of the old “flip up” seats. I took a row of five seats home with me. The seats are 90% covered in duct tape, but the backs and the hardware all work fine. They replaced the seats with modern metal & plastic seats, which are only a moderate improvement on the old ones.
Seen at the Charles: Unforgiven, Wind (Jennifer Grey), and the premiere of Star Trek 6 (sold out crowd)
Sometime in the fall of 2007, they finally took down the “AMC” sign out front and replaced it with a “REGAL” sign.
For all the doom and gloom in this thread, I can report I have seen many movies at the Fenway, and the experience has been nothing but good. Theaters 12 and 13 are among the biggest screens I have ever seen, and the picture and sound are consistently good. YES, the pre-show commercials are loud and annoying, but just turn to your date and ignore them if you can. The bathrooms are plentiful and they have paper towels!
Seen at the Nickelodeon: The Age of Innocence, Ed Wood, Clerks, and the 1992 re-issue of Blade Runner (Director’s Cut).
I saw a handful of crummy movies there in the early 1990s, including The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) and National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1. In its last few years it became a ghetto for “black” movies- notice Ron Newman’s comment that it’s last movies were Original Gangstas and The Great White Hype.
I saw one of Woody Allen’s mid-1990s movies there. I think it was Manhattan Murder Mystery.
I saw many movies here in the mid 1990s, including invite-only sneak previews of Pulp Fiction, Interview with the Vampire, and Wyatt Earp. I saw Jurassic Park there in a sold-out opening weekend crowd. The main theater’s floor had a very gentle slope, which made sitting behind tall folks problematic. Today’s stadium seating not only makes for great sightlines, but I think it also minimizes overheard voices in the theater.