You may have heard recently that the Castro is converting to live theater and giving up regular movie screenings. I’m happy to report that the rumor is false.
I first heard it via a tweet from Roger Ebert. It seemed plausible. Revival cinema hasn’t been economically healthy for a long time. So I emailed my Castro press contact, and he flatly denied it. He blamed the rumors on “a disgruntled employee.”
According to an excellent Bay Citizen article, there have been some significant personnel changes recently. That could explain both the rumors, and the disgruntled employee.
One interesting change: Keith Arnold is taking over as film booker and general manager. He was one of three people who ran Berkeley’s Fine Arts in its all-too-short stint as a revival house about ten years ago. Keith and his collaborators showed a deft and unusual sense of what would make a great double-bill, and I’ll look forward to seeing what he comes up with.
The Fine Arts is a reminder of what we’ve lost in revival theaters. It was one of the first—perhaps the first—back in the 1960s. Back then, the program notes were written by a young cinephile named Pauline Kael. It changed identities before Arnold and his co-conspirators brought it back to repertory in 1998. Four years later, it was closed for good. And during those four years, we lost the UC.
And this year we lost the Red Vic.
All things considered, the Castro is easily the best revival house in the Bay Area. Physically, only the Stanford equals it, but the Stanford suffers from a more limited programming policy. Technically, it’s as versatile as they come—everything from a pipe organ and variable-speed projectors for silent films to a modern digital projector with 3D support. But it can also play the 50’s style 3D. And it’s the only theater in the area to ever play 70mm prints—even if it can no longer play them with magnetic sound. My biggest complaint: It’s not close enough to where I live.
But I’m so glad it’s still there.
Bayflicks 