If you live in or around New York City and care even the least bit about repertory moviegoing, you’ve got your fill — to the point that my weekly roundup still doesn’t manage to cover every non-first-run title playing in just a three-day span. Exhausting though it may be on paper, the prospect of yet another theater offering repertory options is a welcome thing if there’s an increase in the variety of choices.
So I’ve been looking at this news with optimism for some time. As has been known for about a year but has very recently been unveiled more officially in Variety, the city’s Quad Cinema, long a venue for crummy four-walled movies nobody actually wants to see, has been reshaped and rebranded as a proper cinema via the resources of Charles S. Cohen, head of the wise distribution outfit Cohen Media Group.
That covers at least some ground with regards to what they’ll screen, but the story reveals a bit more of their plans — including a French-film retrospective fueled by Bertrand Tavernier‘s new documentary Journey Through French Cinema, as well as Terence Davies‘ phenomenal A Quiet Passion.
Programmer Christopher Wells had this to say about their plans:
“The first-run and repertory elements of the theater can talk to each other, and we’ll be able to screen the older films referenced in other movies. It’s a great opportunity to present almost an instant film school on early films.”
“We considered dine-in for about a minute, but to me, a first class moviegoing experience is not one where the person next to you is eating a steak,” added Cohen. Four screens, in total containing 430 seats, will be featured, and the theater opens on April 14. We’re looking forward to another fine option.