Hollywood is not just a place, it’s a location in the mind of people all over the world. Some years ago, when a British airport clerk glanced at the address on my passport, she said, “Encino! That’s where Clark Gable lived!” Or as the Kinks sang in “Celluloid Heroes,” I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show, A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes, Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain, And celluloid heroes never really die.’
Millions of visitors are drawn to Los Angeles each year by Hollywood history and landmarks. There’s the Hollywood Walk of Fame with its 2700 stars, the Chinese Theater with handprints of celebrities immortalized in concrete, studio tours, van trips to the homes of the stars, the controversial Academy Museum and more.
But after you’ve toured the town, gone to the beach, hiked in the hills (walking Runyon Canyon might include a spandex-clad celeb or two) or shopped in Beverly Hills, what should you do tonight?
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Go see a movie, of course. Los Angeles possesses a number of classic old movie palaces that are still in operation.
Two of the most prominent are the New Beverly and the Vista. Both are close to Hollywood with the New Beverly in West Hollywood and the Vista in Los Feliz. And both are now owned and operated by film maker Quentin Tarantino, a Los Angeles native whose most recent film was, yup, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.
With the film industry currently in the doldrums, my wife and I decided to visit the glories of the past, as revived in film revival houses. Over Memorial Day Weekend we went to a screening of GIANT, the Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean Texas epic from the 1950’s at the Vista.
The 400 seats at the100-year-old theater, now restored to its glory days, were about two-thirds full. The crowd stayed the whole 3 hours, 15 minutes for the Oscar-winning Texas epic and unrequited love triangle, shown in glorious 35mm.
Fortunately, there was an intermission to hit the refreshment stand, replete with popcorn and Chuckles. At Tarantino’s Vista, clever tributes to the film industry extended to the wine sold at the concession stand. You could get a glass of Coppola, from GODFATHER director Francis Ford Coppola’s Coppola vineyard. They were also selling Hitching Post, a reminder of the 2004 comedy SIDEWAYS, about a pre-wedding bachelor trip to wine country that starts its misadventures at the Hitching Post restaurant in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Tarantino has a well-known adoration of action actress Pam Grier, who he cast in the lead role in JACKIE BROWN. With Grier’s participation, he recently added Pam’s Coffy coffeeshop, where you can get a $5 bowl of Captain Crunch all day, next door to the Vista.
Tarantino has also been operating the New Beverly, built in 1929, since 2007. Although the building started as a candy factory, it became a nightclub, a legitimate theater and eventually an adult theater. In 1969, it held a ‘world premiere’ of Man and Wife, billed as an ‘educational documentary.’ Advertisem*nts at the time made clear that “Admission is limited to adults over 21 who must also present their marriage certificate.”
Quentin Tarantino is not only an Oscar-winning filmmaker, but also a keeper of the Hollywood cinema flame. Both of his theaters run current films and an eclectic slate of action films, comedies, classics , kung-fu flicks and more. Tarantino’s films, from PULP FICTION to THE HATEFUL EIGHT to the Pam Grier-starring JACKIE BROWN also play at his theaters.
Another classic theater, the El Capitan, is dubbed “Disney’s Home on Hollywood Boulevard,” as it is owned by the “Mouse House.” Once called “Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama" the El Capitan Theatre opened on May 3, 1926, as the largest legitimate theater in Hollywood, with 1,550 seats.
The Disney-owned theater has undergone some changes since then, but the stage is often used for musical or comic numbers before the screening of Disney films. It still has a working Wurlitzer organ, often played before screenings. The Disney/Pixar film INSIDE OUT 2 will be playing in June and July, sometimes with live ‘dueling DJs.’
The Landmark Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles was built in 1929 and remodeled in 1974. A classic art house, it offers both 35mm and 4K DLP projection. It shows new films and old; films like ROCKY HORROR and TRON are part of its late night weekend programming, Cine Insomnia.
Netflix recently spent $70 million rehabilitating the Egyptian Theater, reducing capacity to 516 seats but restoring its movie house glory. They even added a Netflix store selling products from its popular streaming shows like Squid Game.
The Egyptian runs both revivals and new films, such as Richard Linklater’s new comedy HITMAN, before it comes to Netflix.
The Aero Theater in Santa Monica originally opened in 1940 and still has the classic movie theater look. Programmed by American Cinematheque, it has screenings almost every night, often revivals of recent films. A heavy-duty David Cronenberg doubleheader is upcoming on June 9, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and EASTERN PROMISES.
The big kahuna, the Hollywood Cinerama Dome that looks like half a sliced golf ball, has yet to reopen after Covid and the failure of its parent chain, but so far has avoided demolition. And there is hope; a website celebrating the Dome and Cinerama is online, perhaps promising a return to the Hollywood spotlight in 2025.
So if you’re planning a trip to LA, keep an eye on Revival Hub for film screenings when you visit. The classic movie palaces are waiting for you to get off the couch.
