The wood and the curtains, the intricate Art Deco plaster, the smell of fresh popcorn and, perhaps, a long sip of a cool cocktail. It all melds together in a timeless sort of dream that feels like magic amid the absurd hustle of 21st century American life. 

Independent movie theaters began their long decline after World War II due to the popularity of television. The only survivors met their match in the 1980s with the arrival of multiplex theaters and blockbuster films. While it’s hard to get a definitive count on the number that remain, it’s safe to say these cinematic sanctuaries are few and far between. 

But, here in the mountains, we’ve got a few. And now, thanks to community efforts, these small theaters continue to operate with the classic spirit and philosophy that have made them the center of village life for generations.

Come, let’s escape into the magical world of independent cinema. We won’t have far to go.

Crandell Theatre

Chatham, NY

Known locally as “the jewel of Main Street,” the 500-seat Crandell Theatre in Chatham, NY, reopened in October after a $4.2 million renovation. Gone is the red velvet. Back is the classic interior of the theater that began on Christmas Day in 1926. Today, a liquor license, surround sound, a fresh screen and a triumphant return to Spanish Renaissance design make the old feel new again.

This July, journalist and filmmaker Mirissa Neff took the reins as executive director to lead the Crandell into its next chapter. During her first Columbia County winter in 2020, and desperate for connection, she pitched a children’s film series called Kid Flicks. It was a total hit and Neff joined the board soon after. 

“The point was to create a space where kids can be kids—chatter, dance, get up, have fun,” she says. “They wouldn’t have to worry and pretend like they’re an adult.”

In October, the annual FilmColumbia—which brought more than 50 new films to the theater for ten days—was a resounding return to form with numerous sold-out screenings and pre-pandemic levels of attendance. Now, on Community Wednesdays, movie tickets are only $6. Sonic Sundays bring the best in music documentaries including the US premiere of The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne in November.

“The energy and excitement are palpable,” says Neff. “It does feel like this elevated experience. To see movies like this on a single screen is something unique and special.”

During Chatham’s annual Winter Fest on December 13, the Crandell will offer a free screening of The Grinch starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and rumor has it the Clauses will be there, too. 

Community Theater

Catskill, NY

Community Theater, based in Catskill, NY, reopened its doors on September 12. 

Built in 1902, the two-floor theater on Main Street hosted vaudeville until it burned down a decade later. A community-driven effort rebuilt it in the 1920s and inspired its name. Downstairs in the basement, you can still read the names and initials of a century of performers etched into the plaster. 

After passing through hands over the generations, the theater closed during the pandemic and was purchased anew in 2021 by Ben Fain, a local restoration expert from Nice and Weird LLC who’s become known for his meticulous work on the city of Hudson’s historic waterfront. 

“It’s hard not to feel like you’re part of something greater,” says Fain. “This is about as unique and important of a building as it gets. It was never a Lamborghini of a theater. It’s more of a really great Pontiac. It’s calibrated to the passion and energy of the community.” 

After a year of work and $750K in restorations, one of the first things new management did was to put up a chalkboard where community members can suggest films.

“It’s an amazing concept to not impose yourself but instead be open to what the community is asking for,” says Fain. 

With two screens that can accommodate 500 and 300 people each, Community Theater shows major releases alongside independent films, foreign titles, concerts and live performances. Directors, such as Michael Mills (C’mon C’mon, 20th Century Women, Thumbsucker) this winter, often come to talk with the audience and host Q&As after the show. 

“People have nostalgia for things they couldn’t participate in originally,” says Fain. “We are experts in letting you access it but making it up to date with people’s current tastes and interests amidst the complexity of it all.” 

Rosendale Theatre

Rosendale, NY

The site of Rosendale Theatre on the namesake town’s Main Street began in 1850 as a blacksmith shop to service the town’s once-thriving cement factories. It opened as a casino in 1905, sometimes showing 16mm films. Over the years, it was used for square dancing and burlesque, amongst other things.

The Cacchio family bought it in 1947 and turned it into a movie theater. The first film they showed was psychological western Blood On The Moon starring Robert Mitchum. Tickets were 50 cents. When Anthony Cacchio, Jr.—who was such a film purist he once banned popcorn—retired in 2010, the community came together to purchase the building and keep the dream alive. “COVID killed box office revenue all over the country,” says Board President Laurie Giardino. “So, we’ve been using our imagination.”

Murder mystery dinners, live concerts, indie art films, feature premieres and special events are all part of the enchantment. A $60,000 digital projector moved the theater into the modern era, and even Uncle Tony learned how to use it, though he always believed 35mm reels were easier to deal with. 

“The magic is the community because we bought it and we’re running it,” says Giardino. “It’s a feeling of belonging. And you can always count on a good conversation about the film in the lobby afterwards.”

Starr Theater

Rhinebeck, NY

Tinker Street Cinema

Woodstock, NY

Orpheum Theatre

Saugerties, NY

Trailblazers in rural arthouse cinema, Upstate Films began screening movies at historic Starr Theater in Rhinebeck in May of 1972. The two-screen space is currently undergoing a $1.4 million renovation, though one room remains open. 

In 2010, they expanded to Woodstock to operate the Tinker Street Cinema. Founded in 1961 in a pre-Civil War church, the 160-seat, revival-house movie theater projects rare and forgotten movies from throughout cinema history, now under new ownership.

Upstate Films then bought and renovated the three-screen Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties, NY, in 2021. Then in September, they opened the new, 41-seat Midtown Screening Room in Kingston, NY, out of what was once an old barbershop. There are weekly community screenings for a dollar; for members and children, tickets are always $7. 

“Kingston hasn’t had a theater within city limits since the ’70s,” says co-executive director Paul Sturtz. “The idea is to knit together the community as best we can. Our feeling is that each of these towns deserves its own theater.”

also…

For those traveling deeper into the mountains, consider a trip to Mountain Cinema featuring Hollywood, foreign and indie films at Doctorow Center for the Arts in Hunter, NY. The Moviehouse in Millerton, NY, and Phoenix Theatres Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, MA, offer both independent and new releases in intimate spaces.

And, of course, our Berkshires readers know to take a lovely drive to Images Cinema in Williamstown, MA, a former Spring Street fraternity house converted into a movie house in 1916. Recent renovations split the theater into one 70-seat main screening room and a new 19-seat theater to show modern premieres alongside classic arthouse cinema. 

Let’s go to the movies. And, sorry Uncle Tony, but I’m definitely having popcorn.