Down Goes the Curtain and Up Goes Lumiere: The Cinematheque Moves
Last Thursday, I went to the very last showing at the Cleveland Cinematheque's old Aitken Auditorium. This move was because the Cinematheque's host organization, the Cleveland Institute of Art, is consolidating its split campus into one building (more on that in as second). The movie, as voted on my Cinematheque patrons, was appropriately enough, The Last Picture Show. I bought what may very well be the last Cinematheque membership purchased in Aitken auditorium. That was number 15332, for those keeping score, although the line after me was long so who knows?
My first trips to the Cinematheque were in 1999 when I saw Dark City with Viv and Six String Samurai with Jon. I've been every year since, although I didn't really get it until the January 2003 schedule when they ran a Kurosawa/Mifune retrospective. I bought my first membership and have had one ever since.
Here is the number of movies I saw at Aitken Auditorium every year since 1999. Why yes, I do keep a lot of anal-retentive lists.
1999 - 2
2000 - 6
2001 - 4
2002 - 7
2003 - 27
2004 - 26
2005 - 25
2006 - 28
2007 - 26
2008 - 6
2009 - 12
2010 - 14
2011 - 18
2012 - 23
2013 - 20
2014 - 10
2015 - 6
That's a total of 234 movies in the old Aitken Auditorium, or slightly more than one per month since 1999. Given that by my lists I've seen 859 films since 1999, that's a staggering 27% of my movies in one theater. If quantity alone could cause film snobbery, I'd have it in spades. As you'd expect when I lived on the east side and was dating a girl who liked movies I went much more frequently than when I moved to the west side in 2007. The number did bump some after my divorce (2011) and for things like the Miyazaki series.
The vast majority of those 234 films were from the same seat on the left side of the theater, five rows up, one the aisle. Alas, that seat was taken the last time I was there.
In any event, on Saturday I went to the fancy "Lumiere" gala premier of the new theater. I was even sort of dressed up. Ok, thrift store sport coat over a Beachland Ballroom t-shirt isn't dressed up, but whatever. The crowd had drinks and snacks before enjoying Listen to Me Marlon, which was exactly the kind of weird documentary that only plays the Cinematheque.
Props to John Ewing and Tim Harry for driving the success of the Cinematheque; I wish them another 30 years of success and more. I knew I was in trouble, or at least a regular, when both of them started recognizing me in non-cinema venues. For example, John recognized me by name in the grocery store once, which was super weird. As for the closing and opening night crowds, it was staggering to me how many people in the crowd I personally recognized either by name or face. Most I knew as Cinematheque regulars, staff or volunteers, which at least makes some sense. Others I know as people who I keep running into around town at cultural events, whether that's the art museum, concerts, galleries of what have you. Now I have to hope that they don't recognize me!
My first trips to the Cinematheque were in 1999 when I saw Dark City with Viv and Six String Samurai with Jon. I've been every year since, although I didn't really get it until the January 2003 schedule when they ran a Kurosawa/Mifune retrospective. I bought my first membership and have had one ever since.
Here is the number of movies I saw at Aitken Auditorium every year since 1999. Why yes, I do keep a lot of anal-retentive lists.
1999 - 2
2000 - 6
2001 - 4
2002 - 7
2003 - 27
2004 - 26
2005 - 25
2006 - 28
2007 - 26
2008 - 6
2009 - 12
2010 - 14
2011 - 18
2012 - 23
2013 - 20
2014 - 10
2015 - 6
That's a total of 234 movies in the old Aitken Auditorium, or slightly more than one per month since 1999. Given that by my lists I've seen 859 films since 1999, that's a staggering 27% of my movies in one theater. If quantity alone could cause film snobbery, I'd have it in spades. As you'd expect when I lived on the east side and was dating a girl who liked movies I went much more frequently than when I moved to the west side in 2007. The number did bump some after my divorce (2011) and for things like the Miyazaki series.
The vast majority of those 234 films were from the same seat on the left side of the theater, five rows up, one the aisle. Alas, that seat was taken the last time I was there.
In any event, on Saturday I went to the fancy "Lumiere" gala premier of the new theater. I was even sort of dressed up. Ok, thrift store sport coat over a Beachland Ballroom t-shirt isn't dressed up, but whatever. The crowd had drinks and snacks before enjoying Listen to Me Marlon, which was exactly the kind of weird documentary that only plays the Cinematheque.
Props to John Ewing and Tim Harry for driving the success of the Cinematheque; I wish them another 30 years of success and more. I knew I was in trouble, or at least a regular, when both of them started recognizing me in non-cinema venues. For example, John recognized me by name in the grocery store once, which was super weird. As for the closing and opening night crowds, it was staggering to me how many people in the crowd I personally recognized either by name or face. Most I knew as Cinematheque regulars, staff or volunteers, which at least makes some sense. Others I know as people who I keep running into around town at cultural events, whether that's the art museum, concerts, galleries of what have you. Now I have to hope that they don't recognize me!