I recently moved to the NW suburbs from Dallas. I thought the Chicago area would have art house type cinemas galore, but I’m having trouble finding many. In Dallas I could name 4 off the top of my head(Angelika Dallas, Angelika Plano, The Magnolia, Inwood theater). Surly Chicago has to be more of a center for foreign/independent/low budget films than the Dallas metroplex right?
Oh yeah. The two that I found were the Landmark theaters, one in Chicago and one in Highland Park.
Other than the Landmark Century Centre, the three major venues in Chicago I can think of are the Music Box, the Gene Siskel Film Center, and the weekday shows at Doc Films. (During the school year, weekends at Doc are usually second-run multiplex fare that appeals more to the general U of C community, while the weekdays are more interesting for the cinéastes.)
ETA: oh, and you should also be checking out the listings published by the gracious hosts of this message board.
I was going to suggest the theater at Piper’s Alley, but I see that it closed at the end of May. Never mind.
The Portage on the 4000 block of Milwaukee isn’t exactly an art house cinema, but they do sometimes show old movies, particularly horror films.
I will certainly vouch for the Music Box as an excellent destination – it’s an old movie palace and is quite charming. It’s a bit shabby in spots, but they show excellent suggestions. I’ve enjoyed every visit.
It is, however, worth finding out if the film you’re going for is showing on the main or secondary screen. The second screen is in a clearly repurposed side room, and is rather small.
I remember hearing at one point that it was originally an adjoining storefront without any connection to the original building; at some point the Music Box bought it and knocked some doors into the wall. However, this may just be a Chicago-specific urban legend.
And it is the house that tempted, for the last time, John Dillinger.
Really, it’s Chicago. Older venues will often attract gangsters, rather spectacularly. Don’t ask.
I used to know the owner of the some selected Chicago Suburban shows. Didn’t much like him but I was a friend of his son and, don’t ask, he seemed clean.
Are you thinking of the Biograph? That’s where Dillinger had his final date. It’s still there, but no longer shows movies. It is now a live theater location for Victory Gardens.
Cinéastes are a coastal thing.
Sorry for the nitpick, but the Music Box was never in the league of "movie palace’. That term is usually applied to places like the Chicago Theater or the Uptown. They had seats for upwards of 2500 people and were much more elaborate in terms of interior design and the types of entertainment they offered. The Music Box, which is a large and wonderfully designed neighborhood movie house, was never used for stage shows for example and only seats 800.
This is a very important piece of advice. I have seen a couple of films in that space. Small is right.
My take on the second screen: it’s invaluable for seeing obscure films showing nowhere else (Gregg Araki’s ‘Kaboom!’ early this year was a prime example). It’s hardly a destination itself.
Both times I’ve sat in the side theatre were to see Guy Maddin films. Apparently neo-German-expressionist films about beer halls and quarter-true tales of Winnipeg aren’t a big draw.
My friends and I call that The Puppet Theater. As in Is the movie on the real screen or is it in The Puppet Theater?
Hah, Maddin is perfect example of why I consider the second screen a blessing. Better shown on a tiny screen than, well, no screen.
Besides those mentioned, the Century in Evanston (formal name “Century 12 Evanston/CinéArts 6 and XD”) shows arty type films as well as blockbusters. Right now it’s showing A Better Life, Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, Buck, Midnight In Paris, Project Nim and Tree of Life as their “CinéArts” selections. Sometimes a movie will only be playing at the Landmark and the Century, and if at all possible I’ll go up to the Century to avoid the Landmark, because I hate the Landmark. The Century’s matinee price is $6.75, which is nice.
Oh god I loved Kaboom! I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen there. Saw Enter The Void twice on the big screen too. If you go to a movie the week it opens, you can usually catch it big. Once it’s played a week, that’s when they move it to the small screen.
I’m an insane movie-goer (329 last year, 238 so far this year) and I’m all about bargains. Every Monday all movies are $5 at the Music Box. I used to never go there, but now I go almost every Monday. If you become a member of the Gene Siskel Film Center ($50 a year Solo membership, $80.00 Duel) then all movies are $6. They just raised it from $5. That’s where most of my movies have been seen, especially their retrospectives and the European Union Film Festival in March.
Man I miss Piper’s Alley. Not the theater itself, it was horrible, but it played great movies. For a time it looked as if the Logan ($4 & $5 movies) would pick up the slack because they showed the fantastic Even The Rain and the bizarre Hesher, but they’ve gone back to big name movies. I wish the 600 would get turned into an arty theater but the rent’s probably too high.
The Portage was mentioned. Every Wednesday older, rare and obscure movies are shown there for $5.00.
I never go to Doc because it’s too far south for me, but I heard their movies are only $5.
I never go there, but the Wilmette shows arty movies, at probably regular prices.