E-Center for Cinema
ecinema@umn.edu

Theatres

Below are some recommended historic theatres and theatres that are closely involved with the independent and art film community:

HEIGHTS HISTORIC THEATRE

The Heights Theatre, 3951 Central Avenue, NE,
Columbia Heights, MN 55421
Heights Hotline 763-788-9079; Box office 763-789-4992
For showtime listings, ticket prices, and calendar info, go to:
www.heightstheatre.com

Establish in 1926, it is the Twin Cities' longest continually operated show house. Built in the Beaux Arts style of the last century, the Heights Theatre building was a simple neighborhood house running film full-time and showcasing local talent in stage plays in "High Class Amateur Vaudeville Acts." The Heights has survived at least three fires, one bombing and "The Big Blow of 1949" when a Fridley tornado twisted the tower sign.

Today, the Heights is privately owned and operated by Tom Letness, who specializes in new quality foreign, independent and family-oriented Hollywood releases as well as classic revival and live entertainment.

LANDMARK THEATRES - EDINA, LAGOON, UPTOWN

www.landmarktheatres.com

Edina Cinema

3911 West 50th St
Edina, MN 55424
612-649-4416

4 Screens. Operated by Landmark since 2003.
Located at the intersection of 50th and France in the tony Minneapolis suburb of Edina, the Edina Cinema features the finest in independent film, foreign language films and quality studio pictures. There has been a theatre at the Edina Cinema site since the 1930s. The complex was extensively renovated to its current format in 1988 by the Cineplex Odeon Corporation. The Edina Cinema features four screens and 1300 seats, the largest of which features 70mm and digital sound.

Lagoon Cinema

1320 Lagoon Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-825-6006

5 Screens. Built in 1995. Operated by Landmark since 1995.
Sister cinema to the Uptown Theatre, the Lagoon is situated just down the block from the beloved single-screen palace. If you miss a Twin Cities Exclusive at the Uptown, don't fret-the Lagoon is likely to pick it up. It also features the area's finest first-run independent films and foreign language cinema in a luxurious and locally flavored setting.

The Lagoon Cinema borrows its name from the building that used to stand where the Uptown Theatre is today. The Lagoon Theatre, as it was known, burned down in the 1930s and was replaced by the Uptown soon afterwards. The Lagoon Cinema also borrows its design from its aquatic surroundings, as it is located near a pair of the many local lakes. From the carpeting to the lighting fixtures, standing in the lobby, one feels as if they were enjoying the great outdoors. The sconce lights are in the shape of moons, the lobby lights are trees, the wainscoting are bushes and the wavy pattern and color of the carpeting resembles flowing water.

Uptown Theatre

2906 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-825-6006

1 Screen. Operated by Landmark since 1978.
Home of the Twin Cities Exclusive, the Uptown Theatre is located in the heart of the Uptown District. Featuring the finest in independent film and foreign language cinema, programming is usually limited to one or two week runs, at which point films will typically move down the street to the luxurious Lagoon Cinema.

The Uptown Theatre was originally built in the 1930s after a fire destroyed its multi-purpose predecessor, the Lagoon Theatre. The Uptown still sports a 50-foot tower, originally placed to mark the Uptown area. The tower used to have a revolving beacon which, when lighted, one could see from miles around. The Uptown Theatre still has the biggest screen in the Twin Cities and is the only remaining area movie theatre with balcony seating.

MINNESOTA FILM ARTS - THE BELL, OAK STREET

The Bell Auditorium

17th Ave & University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN
612-331-7563 (Bus. Office only)
http://www.mnfilmarts.org

The Bell Auditorium is the nations first and only dedicated non-fiction film screen. Formerly home to the University Film Society, The Bell Auditorium has been a pioneer in film exhibition both locally and nationally for 43 years. Since its inception, the Bell Auditorium has hosted many directors and film scholars including Robert Altman, Jean-Luc Godard, Roberto Rosellini, Max von Sydow, Pauline Kael, Marcel Ophuls, Benoit Jacquot and countless others.

More recently, the Bell Auditorium has screened a month long activist film series, a retrospective of the works of Jean Rouch, a New Jewish cinema program, and showcases such as "Search and Rescue," a weekly collection of discarded ephemera from the University of Minnesota Film Archive. The Bell Auditorium operates nightly with the mission of bringing the best in non-fiction cinema to the Twin Cities.

Oak Street Cinema

309 Oak St SE
Minneapolis, MN
612-331-7563 (Bus. Office only)
http://www.mnfilmarts.org

Oak Street Cinema was founded as a single screen movie theatre in 1995 by a core group of dedicated cinephiles who decided to revive the old Campus Theatre.

Since its inception, Oak Street has hosted hundreds of revivals and repertory classics; first-run arthouse, foreign, and independent features; visitors from Terry Gilliam to Michael Moore to Peter Fonda to Bobby Seale to Elliott Gould to Bruce Campbell to Winona LaDuke and countless others; programs as diverse as the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film, Luna Fest, and more; major auteur-based retrospectives including Francois Truffaut, Robert Altman, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Yasujiro Ozu, and Michelangelo Antonioni; genre-based retrospectives including The French New Wave, Schemers, Scoundrels, & Sexpots: The Art of Film Noir and Gotta Dance! The Hollywood Musical; local film premieres; and festivals including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, Sound Unseen, Get Real Documentary Film Festival, the Minneapolis Festival of Jewish Film, and others. It is open to the public nightly, and since 2003 has operated under the umbrella of Minnesota Film Arts.

RIVERVIEW THEATER

3800 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-729-7369
www.riverviewtheater.com

In the late 40s, Sidney and William Volk wanted to replace an aging Falls Theater which was located on Minnehaha Avenue. They contracted with the premier theater architects of that period, Liebenberg and Kaplan, to build one of the finest theaters of that day. When it opened December 30, 1948, it was a notable event. It was featured in national publications. The first show presented was June Bride, starring Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery. The screen at the Riverview has now been lit for 50 years. The Riverview has survived and looks much the same as it did in the 1950s, with the same furnishings, including imported Italian marble tables and an auditorium that features a backlit proscenium.

WALKER ART CENTER CINEMA

1750 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN
612-375-7600
www.walkerart.org

Widely recognized for presenting a full-range of moving-image art forms, the Walker Art Center's film and video programs feature both contemporary and historical works.

For a complete listing of showtimes and other major activities going in the Twin Cities, please visit the following links:

filmvideo.walkerart.org/index.wac
calendar.walkerart.org
blogs.walkerart.org
mnartists.org