Angelika New York

The first mainstream film to play at the Angelika was Look Who’s Talking on October 20th, 1989. I guess that they wanted some easy money (Look Who’s Talking was huge when it came out).

Actually, only four were open on September 29th, 1989. The fifth opened on October 4th, 1989 with Streetwise (I think it was a reissue of the 1985 film) and nine days later, all six were filled with Streetwise ending and Breaking In and Drugstore Cowboy opening.

The actress' name is pronounced the same as the city in Texas. The street in NYC is pronounced HOW-ston St.

The theatre opened on September 29th, 1989 after being delayed from an opening date of August 18th, 1989. The premiere engagements were Shell Shock, Emma’s Shadow, The Navigator and Shirley Valentine. The former two were releases by Angelika Films and had their U.S. premieres at the theatre. Only four films are shown here but I imagine that Shirley Valentine and another film were interlocked.

I’ve never been to this theatre but I know two people who saw The Assassination Of Jesse James on opening night and really enjoyed the film. They also liked the theatre and its atmosphere, trains and all. Later on, they tried to book the film for their theatre (the Moxie Cinema in Springfield, Missouri) but were unable to do so due to another theatre getting it.

Here are some films that were shown at the ANGELIKA FILM CENTER from 2002 to today.

3/15/02- HARRISON’S FLOWERS
11/10/06- FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS
7/25/08- BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

From the time Angelika opened in 1989, I attended many times on twice-annual trips to New York. Like Lincoln Plaza and other art houses, it was a place to see foreign and independent movies before they reached my hometown of Pittsburgh PA.
That said, I never enjoyed my trips Downtown to the Angelika because those six subterranean dungeons were dreary and uncomfortable. Once while in the nicest one, beneath the lobby, I found the ceiling was leaking into buckets.
After an experience in the mid to late 1990s, though, I resolved never to return and never did:
I had arrived late in the morning and purchased two tickets immediately – one for the first show in one auditorium and the other for the second performance in a different auditorium.
The food in the lobby had become so pricey I resolved to make do with the popcorn downstairs. I took the long escalator ride down and became the first customer of the morning at the popcorn stand.
While I waited for a bucket from the morning’s first batch, the attendant carried a large bucket of unpopped kernels toward the popcorn machine to pour the kernels into the top.
Just at that moment something knocked him in the feet, and the bucket of unpopped kernels was launched at least a foot into the air. The attendant looked down immediately, even as the kernels were ascending, and gasped, “What a big rat!”
I was stunned, as if someone had punched me, and I involuntarily took a step or two backwards from the concession stand. All of a sudden a rat the size of a tomcat darted out from behind the concession satand and made two sharp left turns. The attendant, who now had a ton of kernels to sweep up, and I looked at each other as if to say, “Did you see what I just saw?”
I got right back on the escalator, went to the ticket taker at the top and said I wanted my money back for both movies.
He phoned the manager’s offioce and said, “Some guy out here wants his money back for two movies” and, after pausing to listen to the manager, said to me, “Why?”
“Because there’s a big rat running around the popcorn stand downstairs,” I said.
The ticket taker said into the phone, “He said we have rats.” Without another word, he hung up the phone and nodded at me to go out to the box office. The young lady in the box office immediately answered her phone (presumably a call from the manager) and issued me my refunds without delay.
So I did get my money back, but I never returned.
When I told a New York friend about the experience, she responded, “And that’s why I won’t go to the Quad, either.” – Ed Blank

after this posting i kept thinking about what alfvaen said about the armrest, i had thought i had the same experience at a different theatre. sure enough i went back and checked my post from a year and a half ago about seeing “capote” here and there it was….the unpadded armrest! guess they still haven’t gotten their act together…

Unless you have no choice, don’t go to this theater. It’s dirty and poorly maintained. Today the arm rest on the seat had no cover, which I didn’t notice because it was so dark. The bare metal ripped my pants on the side from waist to mid thigh so my underwear and the scratch showed. The manager’s (Hilda) response was that she couldn’t do anything but take my name and number. After asking a number of times she finally let me have a stapler so I could walk outside without exposing myself. No employee checked the theater to prevent someone else from injury.

QUESTION:

I am a producer looking to exhibit my film at the Angelika. Is there anyone who might have first-hand experience interested in relating their story? I want to be realistic, if I hope to consider Angelika as a prospective exhibitor. What kind of business-profit-sharing model did you receive e.g. 90/10 arrangement or something a little less distributor friendly? What was the House Allowance? Did this amount vary during the run of the film? (They have six screens with different auditorium sizes; if the film has no legs, I imagine the film rarely stays in their larger auditoriums; therefore, the profit sharing model must change appropriately — was this the case?) Did the staff at the theater work hard to ensure your investment? How would you relate your overall experience?

Any input or tips you might provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Sam.

i saw the movie “brick” here a couple of months ago. i think it was theatre 3. once or twice there was the rumble of the subway , i could easily deal with this. the “tinny” sound in theatre 1 was far worse…

i don’t think the problem in my case was caused by the subway , there was no rumbling noise. it was more of a vibration you get from cheap speakers , and occured mostly when mr. hoffman playing capote ( with the approprate nasal voice )was speaking. i could live without the surround for this type of movie. but the terrible sound lessened my enjoyment of mr. hoffman’s performance. i’m almost tempted to return at a later date to see what is done about the problem….

Just a hunch: but those front speakers vibrating could have been the subway. This house is notrious for that reason.

i went there for the first time yesterday , to see “capote”. while the theatre overall was acceptable , i was stunned by the poor quality of sound , at least in cinema 1 where my film was playing. there were speakers along both walls , but they either weren’t working or were there as props, for the only sound came from up front. those front speakers would occasionally vibrate which was very distracting. i complained to the manager who said she would have the projectionist check it out , and that no other patron had ever made such a complaint. at $10.75 admission price i will not rush back there. also , the unpadded armrests were uncomfortable …