The most expensive movie theater in the US (1 Viewer)

[Bill Slack]

Eujin/Jason:
No, Boston certainly isn't perfect, or close to it. NYC is much nicer... I'll take the Ziefeld and the Empire 25 over Fenway in the Coolidge!
And it's still lacking in quality theaters... I too have had issues with Fenway and BC cinemas... but like Jason said, compared to a few years ago, it's a huge step in the right direction. I didn't see many movies in the theater, because there really wasn't a decent place to see them.
But the newer theaters seem to hit the mark more often than not, well enough for me, and the indie theaters while not beautiful venues, certainly get the films I want to see. Kendall is especially good about getting things that are in limited release.

 

[Jason Seaver]

And even if the indie places aren't beautiful venues... Well, they're at least fun places to see a movie. The Brattle, Coolidge, and now Regent all have a nifty "neighborhood theater" feeling to them and the sort of programming that makes up for their shortcomings.

And while the Boston Common and Fenway theaters may not be the Sony Metreon in SF, I've yet to have a bad experience at either of them. Once or twice I've had to tell an usher that they were using the wrong lens (why does nobody else ever notice this?), but the closest to "bad" was Episode 2 in DLP.

(And that may be caviling needlessly - my youngest brother stayed at BU for a summer theater program, and when he saw Reign Of Fire at Fenway, the ticket seller said she was required to tell him it was in the smallest auditorium - which was still larger than anything he could see in the Portland, ME area) Heck, there's even four IMAX screens within an hour of me now.

 

[Dan Lindley]

Ahh, all you Cambridge and Boston folks make me yearn for the good old days. And no one's even mentioned that the 8 gazillion colleges/universities in town have their own (and often multiple) film series, many of which are quite interesting...

Enjoy!!!!

And as for the topic, the price seems to vary with how interesting and how high priced the place is that you live. So I have little sympathy for those faced with high prices for films. Although, on a human level, those with high films prices are probably faced with high food prices, too. But probably (hopefully) make wages to match...

So who knows?

Dan

 

[Phil L]

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Ironically, the closest thing New York has to a premium theater (in terms of quality) is the Film Society's Walter Reade theater in Lincoln Center and as FS member I pay $5 per ticket (I think it is $9 for the general public). Also, most new chain and indie theaters in Manhattan have excellent facilities.
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I've never thought the Walter Reade was all that great.

For indie movies the Angelica and 63rd + B'way (can't remember the name) are both very poor theaters. Way too long and narrow for their screens. At least the theater on 63rd has better seats than the Angelica. The film forum is a little better, but not much, and not when a screening is nearly full.

The Sony Lincoln Square has some great theaters (9 upstairs that are good to great, the 3 in the basement stink) and usually plays at least a couple of movies worth seeing.

Both the new multiplexes on 42nd seem good, although they seem to have a lot of smaller theaters. I don't have much of an opinion on these because I don't like to go to midtown much.

The Ziegfeld gets a lot of deserved credit for being a great theater but I've found that if you don't sit in the first 15-20 rows the screen doesn't seem very big. The place is so long that sitting in the back or middle doesn't give the impression of being in a huge theater.

The Astor Plaza on 44th in Times Square is a better theater than the Ziegfeld (bigger screen, better seats, better views of the screen from all seats, better sound) and doesn't get enough credit. It only lacks the aesthetics of the Ziegfeld.

The Beekman doesn't get enough credit either. Best seats in NYC, great screen, and great viewing angles. The manager of the place tries to book good films and keep them there longer than the normal NYC theater.