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Author
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Topic: Tourist Advice for Dublin Ireland
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Brian Guckian
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 594
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 09-01-2008 06:50 AM
Good recommendation Leo, and if you call in there Martin I'm sure they'd be happy to show you around - they have two screens, served by a DP70 and two Century machines. Also at the rear of their building is a large square used to show outdoor films as part of the annual "Diversions" festival run by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust.
They also have a very good bookshop at the IFI and I recommend purchasing a copy (should still be available) of The History of Dublin Cinemas by Marc Zimmermann, Nonsuch Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84588-509-0. This is an excellent guide to Dublin cinemas past and present, has many photographs and gives current addresses for each site. The facades of many former Dublin cinemas remain, even where converted to other uses.
As well as the IFI, make sure to visit the Savoy Cinema on Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell St. This is one of the last remaining traditional cinemas, and though long split into smaller auditoria, still retains its impressive No. 1 screen in the former stalls area, complete with tabs, very large shallow curved screen (around 60ft on Scope) and traditional presentation with house break, etc.
Just across the street is the presently-disused Carlton Cinema with art deco facade and at the top of the street is the former Ambassador Cinema, housed in a distinctive "rotunda"-style building.
On a side street, Mary St., is the site of the historic Volta Electric Theatre, recorded as Ireland's first dedicated cinema. This has an interesting connection with the famous writer James Joyce, as he actually established it, then managed it for a time. The building has been demolished since the 1960s, but a plaque records the site, at No. 45 Mary St.
About 10 minutes walk from the IFI is the former Theatre DeLuxe on Camden St. This is now a hotel / bar / restaurant (known as the Camden De Luxe), but retains its distinctive art deco facade.
It's also worth taking a look at the new Lighthouse Cinema in the Smithfield area of Dublin. This is about 10 minutes to the west of the city centre by tram (take the Red Line tram to the Smithfield stop) and is a continental European-style arthouse cinema in a contemporary design.
For modern multiplexes, the Cineworld 17-screen complex in Parnell St. (about 10 minutes walk from the Savoy) is well worth visiting; their Screen 17 is impressive for its size...and built in the space occupied by the city's former IMAX cinema.
Regrettably, outside Dublin there is little in the way of distinctive cinemas (that I can think of, anyway). Ireland has followed a mostly Americanised pattern of development in the last 20 years or so (probably due to the history of emigration) so that the outlying towns and cities now all have rather featureless multiplexes...there is NO difference to the US...and with ring roads and McDonalds outlets to complete the picture, you may have to pinch yourself to check that you've actually left home!
That said, there are a lot of municipal arts centres that have been established in the last 15 years and these often use restored theatres and run films once a week or so.
There are also one or two old cinema buildings left in the cities of Cork and Limerick - the Savoy in the former (now a shopping complex) and the Royal in Limerick (semi-derelict I think).
Digital penetration isn't high here (despite the hype ) - c.94% of screens are still film-based (using Jan 08 figures) and not all the digital screens are operational, or operational continuously. Furthermore, one cinema I know has actually removed its digital projectors recently.
Finally, you're more than welcome to PM me when you're over and I'll treat you to a pint of the "black stuff" - begorrah! [ 09-01-2008, 07:56 AM: Message edited by: Brian Guckian ]
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