The old cinema down on
University with just one
box office window and one theater. The springs in all the seats are
shot, but they give
free refills on a large
popcorn and have
Pepsi not
Coke. They show classics and sometimes forgotten movies. One time I caught a
double feature of
Yojimbo and
Sanjuro, and just last week I caught
Princess Mononoke.
Until my freshman year here, a troupe called Barely Legal did the Rocky Horror Picture Show Saturday nights at midnight. Sometime during sophomore year this was replaced with 3-D Porn, a phenomenon that has since vanished without my ever having gotten the chance to investigate.
Update Thu Sep 28 15:59:56 PDT 2000
The UC Theater was in danger of closing its doors permanently September 30, 2000, due to the financial burden of compliance with the City of Berkeley's siesmic retrofit requirements. Yesterday a compromise was struck with the owners of the building: they would cover half of the total cost (over $500,000) and the tenants (the theater) would be responsible for the other half. A new 13-week schedule has been planned for the theater's continued operation.
Had the theater closed as feared on the 30th, it's final showings would have been Shakespeare on the 28th, followed by 3-D porn on the 29th. At least they would have gone out with style.