Cinema entertainment in London
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BFI IMAX Cinema
The British Film Institute IMAX Cinema is located in the centre of a busy round-about (there are plans to pedestrianise it in the not-too-distant future). The cinema screens the predictable mix of 2-D and IMAX 3-D documentaries about travel, space and wildlife, lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to 1½ hours, as well as recently released blockbusters like Star Trek à la IMAX (DMR and digital titles cost £13.50/8.75/9.75). The drum-shaped building sits on ‘springs’ to reduce vibrations and traffic noise from the traffic circle and subways beneath it, and the exterior changes colour at night. And size does matter here: the 477-seat cinema is the largest in the UK, with a scre…
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B
Ritzy
Despite fears that making the Ritzy a multiplex would kill its cool style and community feeling (four new screens were added to this 1911 building in the late ‘90s, making it London’s biggest independent cinema), this is still one of London’s favourites, screening a good mix of mainstream and indie films. The Ritzy is an off–West End screen during the Times BFI London Film Festival, and alternative gigs are often held inside the large original auditorium. The funky bar-cafe upstairs is a gathering spot for arty locals.
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C
Prince Charles
You’d be right to think that ticket prices at Leicester Sq cinemas are daylight robbery, so wait until the first-runs have finished and moved to central London’s cheapest cinema (members £3.50 to £7.50, nonmembers £4 to £9.50). There are also minifestivals and Q&As with film directors. Famously, the cinema also transformed The Sound of Music into a phenomenal – and very camp – sing-a-long hit.
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D
Coronet
This fin de siècle (1898) stunner with two screens is one of London’s most atmospheric places to watch a film. Indeed, a lovesick Hugh Grant munches popcorn here while watching Julia Roberts on the big screen in Notting Hill. The wonderful Edwardian interior, including a gorgeous balcony and even boxes, recalls the glory days of cinema, when filling a 400-seat house for every showing was easy. The other hall seats 150.
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E
Renoir
This art-house cinema, affiliated with Curzon cinemas, has a new lease of life owing to the renovated and shiny Brunswick Centre. Not that the Renoir was ever short of loyal devotees, thanks to its share of international film, from French drama to slow-paced Iranian stories and Taiwanese love tales. There's also a range of art-house DVDs on sale in the lower foyer, plus coffee and cake.
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F
Rio Cinema
The Rio is Dalston’s neighbourhood art-house, classic and new-release cinema, and the venue for offbeat festivals, such as the East End Film Festival in April and the Turkish Film Festival in December. Despite its major renovation in the late ‘90s, you can still see traces of the lovely art deco theatre in the auditorium.
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G
Clapham Picture House
The Picture House is much loved by its locals for its four comfy theatres and café/bar. The programme has everything, from first-run blockbusters to art-house cinema. The Picture House is now a chain with branches in Greenwich and Stratford and has taken over Brixton's Ritzy and Notting Hill's Gate cinemas.
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H
Ciné Lumière
Ciné Lumière is attached South Kensington’s French Institute, and its large art deco salle (cinema) screens great international seasons and French and other foreign films subtitled in English. The London Spanish Film Festival takes place here in September/October.
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I
Riverside Studios
Once a film and TV studio, where such classics as Dr Who and Hancock’s Half-Hour were shot, the cinema at the Riverside now shows classic art-house flicks and those you might have missed a few months back. Much emphasis these days is on Eastern European film.
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J
Curzon Mayfair
The original Curzon cinema, this arty movie house screens some excellent films from small, independent film makers. The ‘futuristic’ 1970s décor makes the theatre look a bit like the bridge of a Klingon battle cruiser.
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Screen on the Green
Part of the small Everyman group, this cosy independent cinema screens art house imports and occasional blockbusters that pass the test of good film-making.
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Chelsea Cinema
The West London branch of this small, independent chain shows the same program of arty and thought-provoking films as the Curzons in the West End.
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Screen on Baker Street
Sister-cinema to Islington’s Screen on the Green, this small theatre has two screens and a taste for small independent films.
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