Challenge 20: The Electric Cinema
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Got the chritsmas blues? Skint? Well we sent Chole Botting out into Birmingham to see what she could get for just £20 The Electric Cinema is situated on 47-49 Station Street in the Birmingham City Centre. You can also go on their website www.theelectric.co.uk to find about film showing times.
Christmas is over, this is shortly followed by the realisation that New Years Eve is over, there is a general feeling amongst all that the fun is over. This probably stems from the fact that after the excess off the last week our bank balance tends to suggest there is not too much fun to be had anytime soon anyway. With only twenty pounds to my name, I set out on my mission to prove this was not the case. In the backstreets of the city centre amongst the dodgy karaoke bars, locals you would definitely avoid and multi-storey carparks, Birmingham has a delightful and brilliant kept little secret. Often compared to Electric on London’s Portobello
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road, Birmingham’s Electric is the oldest working cinema in the whole of the UK. It is the only independent cinema remaining in the city and played its first film all the way back on the 30th of December 1909. Renowned for showing cult classics such as ‘Scarface’ ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Eraserhead’, as well as more independent and current films from directors such as Gus Van Sant, Craig Gillespie and Michel Gondry I thought it was about time I went to see The Electric Cinema myself. As you enter the cinema, its original architecture and unique historic feel makes it different to any ordinary cinema experience you might have. The Electric also
Challenge 20: The Electric Cinema
I spoke to Aaron Murphy, Operations Manager at the cinema to find out a bit more about the place: 1. You show a diverse range of films, old and new, how do you decide what films to put on and what sort of audience do you cater for? We cater for the mature mainstream audience. We have programmers in London who book our films for us and if we have suggestions from anyone we look into putting them on.
Sunday we open early and have matinee screenings. We don’t have set opening hours as it is dependent on film length. Our flyers are available around the city in shops, restaurants and bars as well as the tourist information offices at Central Library, New Street and The Rotunda. 4. I’ve heard about the Electric Cinema Orchestra Club but do not really know anything about it, could you elaborate? The Electric Cinema Film Orchestra is a 10 – 20 piece group made up of members of staff, and other musicians from Birmingham. We play songs from films along to specially edited film clips. We hold parties at the cinema every few months that the orchestra play at. They have also played the Royal Television Society Midlands office awards, ArtsFest and 2007 creative City Awards.
3.When are you open and how do we know what films are on?
Standard seating at The Electric is £6, I found that my twenty pounds allowed for me to opt for the rather plush £12 private sofa seating area, whilst still leaving me with £8 to enjoy the waiter service of food and drinks, as well and just about having enough left to pay my bus fare home. This night was brilliant and allowed me to forget I was in fact a penniless student and enjoy the culture and kitsch surroundings. This is a great way to get over the Christmas blooze, whilst at the same time seeing a bit of Birmingham’s cinematic history and catching up on independent media and films not shown anywhere else in the city.
We open 7 days a week. Monday – Friday during the evening. Saturday and
Copy: Chloe Bottle Below Images: Copyright The Electric
2.What do you think makes the electric cinema a unique and enjoyable place to spend a night out? There isn’t another cinema like this in the region. We feel that as we are an independent who offer something a bit different people prefer to come here. Also we don’t attract the same audience as the multiplex so people who do not like to go to the multiplex come here instead.
DID YOU KNOW? The first first all-synchronized-sound feature was released in 1928. The film was Warners’ The Lights of New York which was a great success The trend convinced the largely reluctant industrialists that “talking pictures”, or “talkies”, were the future.
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This night was brilliant and allowed me to forget I was in fact a penniless student and enjoy the culture and kitsch surroundings.
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offers ways to make your cinema trip more memorable and enjoyable in a way that the mainstream cinemas simply do not. As well as normal cinema seating, they also cater for those who like to relax on leather sofas and seating and the back of the cinema, whilst having the option of a fullystocked art-deco bar and waiter service during the film.
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