Rep Theatre Closings Upset Movie Buffs

It’s one of the few places in the city where you can see a classic like “Casablanca” or “Lawrence of Arabia” on the big screen and your parents or grandparents may have sat down in that very spot with a bucket of popcorn decades ago to watch the same flick.

But after an incredible 95-year run, the curtains are set to come down for good at the historic Revue cinema on Roncesvalles Avenue. The owners also operate the old Kingsway, Royal and Paradise second-run theatres and they, too, are slated to close in the coming weeks.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that we will be closing June 30, 2006,” a statement posted on the theatre’s front door reads.

The snacks at the Revue are reasonably priced and so are the tickets, but the province’s first movie house is an important landmark for another reason.

“This is very much a foundation of the community and it is very sad that they are going to close that,” area resident Ray Hubbert said.

“This is just one of our favourite places and … we’re really upset about it and we don’t know what to do about it, either,” another neighbour Denise Joseph explained.

Other local film fans said that in a world of sprawling and ugly cinemas, the Revue and its sister theatres were little movie-watching oases.

“Who wants to pay money to the big-butt jerks in the big entertainment centres that are uglier than sin when we have wonderful little local theatres like this?” Tilt Telmet asked.

CityNews couldn’t track down the owners, but some neighbours say money is the very motivation behind closing their local movie house.

“Whatever the reason is, it must be some money involved, someone wants to make a bigger profit,” area resident Maria Karajovana said.

There is a ray of hope for one of the old cinemas. The Revue can be saved from the wrecking ball if the city declares it an historic site, which it’s scheduled to do on June 22 against the wishes of the owners.

The public is also being given the chance to weigh in on the issue at a public meeting Thursday night at Howard Public School.

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