Comment posted by swinno, at 15:23 21 Oct 2018swinno
15:23 21 Oct 2018
How funny. I recall winning a Toblerone in a Tarzan call contest at Saturday Morning Pictures when it was the Gaumont back in the 50s. Laurel and Hardy, Roy Rogers, Zorro,and Flash Gordon were weekly serials. How times have changed!
M
Comment posted by markofcain, at 09:53 20 Oct 2018markofcain
09:53 20 Oct 2018
Lovely heartwarming blog,the modern cinema experience is more akin to entering an airport departure lounge now. In Liverpool like in plenty of towns and cities across the country,we had our majestic ornate buildings of cinema,The Scala and The Futurist were just two of many that became shells of their former self's,sadly neglected and left to rot until recently demolished after decades of non investment and the inevitable demolition squads arrival. Spent many of my childhood days in the above mentioned,there was a feel of exclusiveness about entering these venues,almost regal like,it actually felt like an occasion,as opposed to the conveyor belt effect of the monstrous multi screens.Spent some time in Australia some years back,and much of it in the wonderful Randwick Ritz cinema in Sydney's eastern suburbs.Very much a throw back to the cinema's of old,and thankfully still going great guns to this day.
I
Comment posted by IfImay, at 11:59 22 Oct 2018IfImay
11:59 22 Oct 2018
Very very fond memories, of the Scala and the Rialto , Coventry St. my introduction to Bruce Lee and run Run Shaw movies. and the all night horror shows Mark referred to.
S
Comment posted by steviewindows, at 09:26 20 Oct 2018steviewindows
09:26 20 Oct 2018
I used to watch cartoons at the Scala (during the day) this would have been around 79?
N
Comment posted by Nick, at 09:04 20 Oct 2018Nick
09:04 20 Oct 2018
Wow - nostalgia for London 80's indie cinemas - count me in. Stephen Woolley is right - to see films in those days you had to go to the cinema and for me still nothing compares to seeing a film in the cinema.
i went all over london, most often at the Ritzy as i lived in Brixton. The indie cinemas didn't seem that concerned with making tons of money but driven more by a love of cinema. It wasn't unusual to be watching a film with only a handful of people. But you also got your cult classics which packed the cinema.
I remember the Scala well (even at Tottenham St before it moved to Kings Cross) - it was at the cutting edge sexually and politically, often showing queer cinema.
B
Comment posted by Brian, at 20:40 19 Oct 2018Brian
20:40 19 Oct 2018
The night that the Scala premiered Hairspray has gone down in history....
D
Comment posted by DrBrian Oblivion, at 15:05 16 Nov 2018DrBrian Oblivion
15:05 16 Nov 2018
The Scala Cinema and Moviedrome on BBC2 helped to create, entertain and educate us on the importance of Cult Cinema!
L
Comment posted by lekesm, at 19:14 12 Nov 2018lekesm
19:14 12 Nov 2018
Professor (sort of): I arrived late to the party in 1990 from Toronto, where I had grown up with a neighbourhood rep cinema landmark called The Fox, built in the 1920s. A place so liberal that as a kid you could bring your own giant glass bottle of Coke to the concession stand where they'd allow you to nip out and refill your cup from the fridge any time during the film and where my babysitter met and married her husband working in the box office together. How delighted was I in 1990 to discover two institutions upon moving to the UK which continued to feed my filmic appetite: The Scala and Mark Kermode. I am at least partially consoled by the fact that one of those remains very much part of my life to this day...
A
Comment posted by Arch Stanton, at 16:42 25 Oct 2018Arch Stanton
16:42 25 Oct 2018
Simon Dillon@2
They did indeed. Although A Clockwork Orange was never banned as such, merely withdrawn from UK cinemas after a fairly long run, at the request of it's director, Stanley Kubrick.
This will doubtless be covered in the book. Sadly my old 'Droog In The Dock' t-shirt disappeared years ago. Should probably never have worn it whilst decorating.
A
Comment posted by Arch Stanton, at 16:18 25 Oct 2018Arch Stanton
16:18 25 Oct 2018
What a time capsule -fantastic stuff!
Congrats to Jane and Harvey for bringing their A game to this righteous tome, and to all those who backed their efforts to remind us just what an amazing place and privileged time it was. A regular haunt for my friends and I, pushing on through with those horror all-nighters and stumbling out onto Pentonville Road. Great times. Cannot wait to get my hands on this.
J
Comment posted by Jane, at 12:28 22 Oct 2018Jane
12:28 22 Oct 2018
Thanks Mark, I'm glad you like the book! It's published by FAB Press, available in book stores and online now. ISBN: 978-1-903254-98-1
A
Comment posted by amd767, at 05:50 22 Oct 2018amd767
05:50 22 Oct 2018
Where is the Scala now ? Kermode said it used to be in Kings Cross, I thought it always was.
N
Comment posted by Nick, at 13:37 21 Oct 2018Nick
13:37 21 Oct 2018
Having rejoiced in the Scala below - i also wanted to rejoice in Stephen Woolley for not only making it possible for us to see all those films in the 80's, but also producing a whole list of great films himself.
Some of his films are my all time favourites, including 'The Crying Game', 'Butcher Boy' and more recently 'Carol' and 'Youth'. He and Chritine Vachon are two of the most bold and innovative producers around i think.
S
Comment posted by Simon Dillon, at 22:21 19 Oct 2018Simon Dillon
22:21 19 Oct 2018
Didn't the Scala notoriously screen A Clockwork Orange whilst it was banned?
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In Liverpool like in plenty of towns and cities across the country,we had our majestic ornate buildings of cinema,The Scala and The Futurist were just two of many that became shells of their former self's,sadly neglected and left to rot until recently demolished after decades of non investment and the inevitable demolition squads arrival.
Spent many of my childhood days in the above mentioned,there was a feel of exclusiveness about entering these venues,almost regal like,it actually felt like an occasion,as opposed to the conveyor belt effect of the monstrous multi screens.Spent some time in Australia some years back,and much of it in the wonderful Randwick Ritz cinema in Sydney's eastern suburbs.Very much a throw back to the cinema's of old,and thankfully still going great guns to this day.
this would have been around 79?
i went all over london, most often at the Ritzy as i lived in Brixton. The indie cinemas didn't seem that concerned with making tons of money but driven more by a love of cinema. It wasn't unusual to be watching a film with only a handful of people. But you also got your cult classics which packed the cinema.
I remember the Scala well (even at Tottenham St before it moved to Kings Cross) - it was at the cutting edge sexually and politically, often showing queer cinema.
They did indeed. Although A Clockwork Orange was never banned as such, merely withdrawn from UK cinemas after a fairly long run, at the request of it's director, Stanley Kubrick.
This will doubtless be covered in the book. Sadly my old 'Droog In The Dock' t-shirt disappeared years ago. Should probably never have worn it whilst decorating.
Congrats to Jane and Harvey for bringing their A game to this righteous tome, and to all those who backed their efforts to remind us just what an amazing place and privileged time it was. A regular haunt for my friends and I, pushing on through with those horror all-nighters and stumbling out onto Pentonville Road. Great times. Cannot wait to get my hands on this.
Kermode said it used to be in Kings Cross, I thought it always was.
Some of his films are my all time favourites, including 'The Crying Game', 'Butcher Boy' and more recently 'Carol' and 'Youth'. He and Chritine Vachon are two of the most bold and innovative producers around i think.