Edina Cinema Celebrates 75 Years

I'm extremely late in highlighting this, but for those who haven't been following along with the local calendar, tomorrow marks the beginning of festivities celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Edina Cinema. I never went to the Edina growing up here, and had it not been acquired by Landmark Theatres in 2003, that would probably still be true. But since moving back, I've have to visit it with some frequency. The new releases definitely lean toward foreign, documentary,and generally more "mature" films (Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg instead of Inglourious Basterds), but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

More to come in a future edition of Local Theater Love, but in the meantime here is a copy of the flyer outlining the weekend events, as well as a history of the theater taken from Cinema Treasures. It was submitted by one Bryan Krefft and in the comments you will find some corrections and links to older photos of the theater. Matt Gamble may have an insider's perspective as well:

"The Edina opened in 1934, seating 1300, and was designed by the firm of Liebenberg & Kaplan in flamboyant Art Deco style. It cost between $80,000 and $100,000 to erect. At the time, it was the largest theater in suburban Minneapolis.

Though initial reaction by the citizens of Edina to a glitzy movie house was mixed at best, especially to a glittering marquee in downtown Edina (which was remedied by switching the design of the marquee from a standard canopy marquee to a tower marquee), it was an almost immediate success.

The Edina boasted all of the most modern technology of the day, including hearing devices for the hard of hearing. However, it also featured enough glamour and luxury to remind patrons of the downtown movie palaces of earlier years, such as a large stage, a 300 seat balcony and seating for 1000 on the orchestra level, air-conditioning, a large fireplace in the lobby for the cold Minnesota winters, murals in the lobby depicting old Edina, stylish Art Deco furniture, and even a nursery for children.

In 1951, during a severe wind storm, the towering marquee was bent in half but soon repaired. However, three decades later, when a twister hit Edina, the theater's marquee was totally destroyed, but was recreated in 1981 and is now a listed historic landmark.

The Edina was twinned and remodeled in 1976, and it was planned that the Edina 2 would now screen art and foreign fare; however, this wouldn't actually come to fruition until much later. In the late 70s, the Edina was triplexed.

In 1988, the theater's then-operator, Cineplex Odeon closed the Edina 3 and all but its Art Deco landmark facade and marquee were torn down. A modern, two level fourplex was built behind the facade, opening in 1989.

Loews Cineplex shuttered the Edina in January of 2003, but in March 2003, the theater was acquired by the Landmark Theatres chain, and finally became the art house that it was originally intended to become in the late 70s."

I plan on attending the world premiere of Into Temptation tomorrow night, and hopefully at least one of the weekend shows. The Edina may not be my first theater of choice in the Cities, but it has history and its own charm, and all things considered it's a pretty impressive achievement to last 75 years in the movie theater industry. So I say, Happy Birthday.

Local Theater Love #2: The Trylon microcinema

Welcome to your new Minneapolis home for repertory film programming...

It's a steamy late June afternoon as I slowly drive around the corner of E 33rd St. and Minnehaha Ave. in Southeast Minneapolis, trying to locate the new Trylon microcinema. I neglected to double check the address before I left, and as I aimlessly drive down an alley between Minnehaha and Snelling, the sun is blinding me, my back is sweating like crazy and my girlfriend is annoyed because I've called her at work asking her for navigation assistance.

Where is this place? I think back to when I had originally planned to come in February, when it was little more than a screening room hosted by Take-Up Productions and friends. Kathie Smith was going to show Chungking Express on Blu-Ray on a Tuesday night, and I couldn't wait to see it. Unfortunately, neither could a certain local film critic, thus sending the Strib my way seeking someone to attend the screening of Friday the 13th that same night. Conflicted, I accepted the assignment and missed out on Chungking. Thanks a lot, Colin...

Bam, there it is! A stark white sign on the back corner of a brick building: Trylon microcinema. I hurriedly hang up with my girlfriend, park on the street and, briefly distracted by a colorful mural lining the windowless building on the south side, find my way to the only door along 33rd St. Is this the right place?

Yes, in so many ways (and to be clear, it's really not that hard to find). With help from his friends and associates, Barry Kryshka has, in just over a year, wholly transformed the space in this building from empty retail/warehouse space to a.) a functional office for his own business, and b.) the newest and perhaps most intimate theater space in town. After three years of dutiful saving and hard work programming series and festivals around the Twin Cities, Take-Up Productions has secured its own space: the Trylon microcinema.

Featuring a 20' screen, two 35mm projectors, feels-like-you're-there sound, shockingly good digital capability, frosty air-conditioning and 60 real theater seats (plush, red velvet-upholstered, and graduated seats, to be specific), the Trylon is at first glance simply a smaller version of any cheeky theater at an AMC multiplex. But it has character (the seats, from an old theater in Waseca, were reupholstered by prison inmates in St. Cloud), intimacy, and maybe most importantly, freedom from corporate control.

While the space was still under construction when I visited, Take-Up had already hosted a couple of preview screenings and Barry was confident everything would be in place for the July 17th opening. The first row of seats (above) still needed to be installed instead of placeholder chairs, some lighting, painting, and soundproofing needed to be finished, and the matte around the screen had not yet been added. But there was no question that this was a legit theater, and one that had been constructed with the utmost regard for the cinematic experience. As an added bonus, Barry gave me a look at a few minutes of Blu-Ray projected on the screen, and the picture can only be described as eye-popping.

After spending a good chunk of the afternoon admiring and discussing the space with Barry, he was gracious enough to answer some additional questions via email as a kind of summary of our conversations. Before or after reading this I highly recommend you read up on Barry's discussion with Kathie Smith back in February about the process of programming repertory series at local theaters. Also, find more information on the July 17th opening further below, or on Take-Up's website.


Daniel: Take-Up Productions has established itself as a regular and well-respected fixture in the Twin Cities film scene over the last 2-3 years. Aside from the opening of the Trylon, what would you consider your biggest challenges and proudest achievements so far?

Barry Kryshka: The biggest hurdle/accomplishment was getting our first series on the screen at a local moviehouse. We spent a couple of summers bouncing around, showing films any way we could, usually outdoors, we showed The Hot Rock in a back alley behind a coffee shop, and Groundhog Day on the wall of the Soap Factory. So our first series at the Parkway was a big deal for me. We had 71 people for our opening night show: Stanley Kubrick's classic - The Killing, and we put in a ton of work at The Parkway to that stage. Since then just about every series has been bigger than the one before.

In terms of content, my favorite bill has to be the double feature of The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key at the Heights last winter.

DG: What can people expect when they show up at the Trylon for the Buster Keaton series, "The Great Stone Face: Six from Buster Keaton", beginning July 17?

BK: I'm not even sure I know anymore, this project is taking on a life of its own. Dreamland Faces originally told me to plan for two people on accordion and musical saw...now it's 3-4 people playing each night, there's a piano involved, and I'm now hearing about "a very small drum set".

People should know that we're kind of like a speakeasy at this point. Our main entrance will be through the currently in-construction XYZ Gallery at 3258 Minnehaha. Just walk through the gallery and you'll find us at the back.

DG: Take us through the process you went through deciding on a name for your new space.

BK: I was looking for a name that would be unique, but with some cinema heritage. I considered "the Falls", because I'd heard about the Falls Theater on Minnehaha Ave, about six blocks from our space. The Falls was demolished in the 40's and replaced by Riverview.

But I don't really have a personal connection to that theater, and I eventually chose the name Trylon after the theater of the same name on Queens Blvd., where I grew up. The original Trylon was named for the 1939 World's Fair structure, and seated 600, including the balcony. I like the reference to the 30s, and the connection to a neighborhood moviehouse. The Trylon wasn't the biggest or most impressive in New York, but it was a neighborhood movie theater that served its community for 60 years.

DG: You've paid considerable attention so far to screening classic films in 35mm (and for the record, each of the ones I've seen has looked fantastic, most recently "To Catch at Thief" at the Riverview). How do you plan to balance the programming at the Trylon between 35mm and video formats (including Blu-Ray)?

BK: There's something about the look of 35mm film, and the sound of the projectors running, that reminds people they're out at a theater, having an experience you can't duplicate at home.

I'm extremely proud of our video image. It's a real 1920 x 1080 projector, the first in an independent Twin Cities movie theater, it has the same level of detail as the hundred thousand dollar 2K DLP projectors used by AMC's digital screens at the new Roseville theater.

I think the picture we project from Blu-Ray disc on our 20 foot screen is a match for 35mm film, but I never considered for a moment opening the Trylon without 35mm projection. The construction would have been so much easier, we could have had room for a bunch more seats, and a far lower electric bill, if we were digital only, but it wouldn't be a movie theater, not the way I think of them.

DG: It seems like the possibilities for series themes are endless. How you decide which genre, actor/actress, or time period to build a film series around?

BK: I talk to everyone I see at our shows, running ideas past everybody to see where there's interest. I also watch the calendars from the big repertory theaters in NY and LA, and I often go digging though my collection of Oak Street calendars for inspiration (does anyone out there have Summer 1998?). With the Trylon we're going to have much more flexibility in our programming. I can't wait.

DG: Considering the success you have had with series like "First, You Need a Crime...Six From Hitchcock", how do you see Take-Up balancing its programming between series and regular screenings at the Trylon, and series and retrospectives at bigger local theaters (The Heights, The Riverview, The Parkway)?

BK: We're going to start regular Friday/Saturday night screenings at the Trylon in September, with monthly themes. But we have no intention of slowing our pace with the Monday night shows. We've already confirmed a series in collaboration with the Heights this September.

DG: Do you foresee the Trylon ever moving toward more first-run or limited release films that don't get picked up by local theaters, or retaining a focus more on retrospectives/repertory programming?

BK: I'm going to keep Fri/Sat programming strictly repertory, but the Trylon will also run other films on occasion. For one example, we've started a partnership with Sound Unseen. They were looking for a venue to do monthly screenings in between their annual festival, so we'll have more screenings like last month's Bjork film, Voltaic.

DG: Describe the picture in your head of the Trylon microcinema five years from now.

BK: Five different films each week on one screen, that's the dream. I'm very satisfied with the Trylon technically. We were under a tight budget, working with the profits we had from 2 years of screenings, but we weren't forced to scrimp, and I think the quality of picture and sound at the Trylon is extraordinary.

What I want now, which is a much bigger task, is to slowly build the organization from four screenings a week to shows every night, and as many films each week as possible.

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There may still be some tickets available for the Trylon's July 17th grand opening, but with only 60 seats in the house you'd be wise to get tickets ASAP. In addition the occasion of welcoming a new theater space to the Cities, I'm just as excited that the first series are these Buster Keaton films, accompanied live by Dreamland Faces as Barry describes above.

Also, know that Kathie Smith and I are reconvening the Film Goats at Town Talk Diner following the 7:00 PM shows on Friday night. Any and all are welcome to celebrate the Trylon's opening and pretentiously complain about the popularity of summer blockbusters like Transformers 2. Or openly admit to loving Transformers 2. There's room for that, too; we're goats, of course.

Below is a preview of the six films - also note that advance tickets are now on sale at Take-Up's brownpapertickets.com page.

The Great Stone Face: Six from Buster Keaton, beginning July 17

Sherlock Jr. (1924)
July 17 and 18 at 7pm and 9pm
Woody Allen's Purple Rose of Cairo is a delight, but Buster Keaton did it first. Projectionist Buster — dreaming he’s an ace detective — jumps right on to the movie screen, finding himself furiously edited from garden bench to city street to cliff — but finally becoming the ace detective of his wildest cinema fantasies.

Preceded by the short: The Electric House (1922) Buster designs a house with all the latest gadgets for a real estate tycoon who will buy thousands if the model home impresses him. But during the demonstration, everything that can go wrong, does - hilariously!

The Navigator (1924)
July 24 and 25 at 7pm and 9pm
Keaton’s top money-maker began with the biggest prop of his career: an ocean liner. Pampered playboy Buster is stranded on same with equally helpless airhead Kathryn McGuire. The ship finally runs aground on a desert island where the two unfortunates are chased by cannibals. One of Keaton's most revered films.

Preceded by the short film: The Ballonatic (1923) Buster rises to new heights as he sails heavenward in a balloon. He bumps into clouds, and in trying to bring down a duck, punctures the gas bag and crashes in the woods where he saves Phyllis Haver from a bear and falls in love. His courtship and the 'balloonatic' events that follow are hilarious!

Seven Chances (1925)
July 31 and August 1 at 7pm and 9pm
Buster gets word that if he can be married by 7 o'clock that evening, he will inherit $7,000,000. When his sweetheart refuses, he proposes to everyone in skirts, including a Scotsman! Hopeful still, he advertises for a bride and is horrified to discover 500 would-be brides hot on his trail in a hilarious chase to the finish!

Preceded by the short film: The Goat (1921) A mistaken-identity crisis precipitates an almost continuous - and continuously brilliant - chase through two adjoining towns where Buster is taken for 'Deadeye Dan, Public Enemy'.

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Local Theater Love #1: The Lagoon

(Note: Yet another new feature I've been meaning to get off the ground in recent months. I don't think it needs any more explanation than the title. Welcome to my homes away from home!)

1320 Lagoon Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55408

Since it opened in 1995, the five-screen Lagoon Theater in the Uptown neighborhood of south Minneapolis has been a refuge for those of us interested in independent, foreign, and documentary films. Operated in recent years by Mark Cuban's Landmark Theatres chain, you can always count on the Lagoon to carry a new film that would otherwise never be shown in Minneapolis, even if only for a week.

In recent months, regulars at the Lagoon have been horrified to see major studio films creep into the weekly lineup, often eating up a screen or two that could otherwise have been devoted to something like Shotgun Stories, which has eluded my grasp all year. On one hand I understand that the survival of the theater (which is always rumored to be in jeopardy) depends on attendance numbers, but on the other hand, seeing The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!, and Quantum of Solace on the marquee just feels...wrong. Add this annoyance to the list of release schedule frustrations.

Concessions are, as per the Landmark norm, outrageously priced compared to local independent theaters and even those in the AMC chain. And honestly, who is getting Dove bars and espressos at the movies?
Fortunately there's nothing too smelly on the concessions menu, but the elitist reputation of the theater is deserved if fare such as vegan cookies and $4 Odwallas are the hot sellers. Might as well install a salad bar while you're at it.

Additionally, the Lagoon has jacked up its ticket prices significantly over the past 18 months. I don't know if this is a Landmark-directed move or the natural evolution of admission prices, but at this point it's hardly even worth buying the "discount passes", which have saved me significant cash for almost a decade now. Used to be $25 for 5, now it's $36. If my math is correct, that's $7.2o per admission, when the matinee price is only $7. Of course I can still occasionally use the pass to avoid the $9.00 regular price, but the fact is that now I have to figure out when to use it and when not to, when before I knew I was getting a deal no matter what. Ah, the frustrations of a movie addict...

Despite all of my complaining, however, guess where you'll find me just about every week of the year? That's right - the glorious Lagoon, without which my wallet would be fatter and my mind would be narrower.

In just the last year or so, I've enjoyed films such as The Pool, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Pixar Story, Boy A, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Manda Bala, Frozen River, War Dance, the 2008 Oscar Animated Shorts, My Kid Could Paint That, Man on Wire, City of Men, Surfwise, and most recently, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. Without the Lagoon, it's unlikely that I would have been able to see any of those in the theater. And a cozy little theater it is. The five screens are all about the same size, and each of them provides an inviting and intimate experience with the film. Considering the size of most multiplex theaters or even other local independent theaters like the Uptown and the Parkway, that intimacy is not something I take for granted.

Nor are the mature movie-goers at the Lagoon, where there's never a kid crying in the back row or teenagers running around (there's no room anyway). This place might as well be 21+, since both the featured movies and the ticket prices discourage the younger crowds from showing up, which is just fine by me. The older audience also probably explains why the theater is kept in very good condition throughout the year, making the job of cleaning that much easier for the friendly Lagoon staff.

Uptown would hardly be a neighborhood worth visiting if not for the Lagoon and Uptown theaters, but the number of local bars and restaurants can save your outing even after a terrible movie. You might want to avoid the weekend scene so as to avoid 23 year-old guys with popped collars and questionably young women wearing skimpy dresses, but then again if you're going to movies at 7:00 PM on opening night then you're probably crazy enough not to care.

Anyway you look at it, the presence of the Lagoon adds significant cachet to the Twin Cities film scene. Even if you're a critic of the Landmark chain and this particular theater's high prices and questionable blockbuster releases, it would be difficult to convince any local movie-goer that the Lagoon isn't one of the best theaters in Minneapolis.

Official Scorecard (as of November 2008):

Location: 10/10
- since I recently moved about a five minute walk away from the front door

Parking: 9/10
- the pay lot is fine, and there's plenty of street parking on Lagoon Ave. east of Hennepin Ave.

Admission Value: 8/10
- and that's possibly generous considering the discount pass fiasco

Concessions: 7/10
- too expensive and too limited in variety

Theater Seats: 9/10
- a little tight but well spaced, well maintained, and on a decent downward slope

Overall Cleanliness: 9/10
- lobby and concession area are in good shape and the theater floors are rarely sticky

Sound/Picture Quality: 10/10
- can't remember there ever being an A/V issue, film always sharp and at the right volume

Staff: 10/10
- friendly, competent, and dedicated to their work (how do you like that, Matt Gamble?)

Audience Behavior: 5/5
- occasionally rambunctious but usually quiet and focused

Bathrooms: 4/5
- mostly clean but cramped, and a messy sink area (I've only been in the men's bathroom)

Local Dining Options: 5/5
- my apartment or any of the bars and restaurants nearby, preferably Old Chicago

Theater History/Vibe/Atmosphere: 4/5
- makes up for young age of theater with classic film posters, but decor/architecture screams 1995

Total: 90/100 = A-

A Phoenix Rises Again in Minneapolis

I've only been back in Minnesota for two years, but it's been more than enough time to know that the drama surrounding Minnesota Film Arts (MFA) and the Oak Street Cinema has been, in a word, turbulent. I missed most of the big blow up that happened a few years ago, but suffice to say rumors of the Oak St.'s death have been tossed about willy-nilly for months. In fact, yours truly wrote a eulogy for "The Oak" just last March.

Somehow, even though I've volunteered at the MFA-operated Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival the last two years, I've managed to keep above the political fray with this issue. I'm just out see good movies, and I don't know enough about what happened or why to lose sleep over other people's grudges. Let's just say I fully support local movie outlets like Pepito's Parkway Theater, Cinema Revolution and Take Up Productions, but I was also devastated by the thought of the Oak St. being torn down this September to make room for unnecessary condos.

Well, I got an email this week announcing an apparent full fall line-up at The Oak, and I know I'm not the only person in town who was surprised - not only by the simple fact that there are going to be films playing there more than once a month, but also by the list of the actual films that are going to be playing.

Check this out:

This weekend: A Soul Cinema Tribute to Isaac Hayes (screening Shaft, Wattstax, and Truck Turner)

Sept. 26-Sept. 29: Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix)

Sept. 27: Manhattan Short Film Festival

Sept. 30 - Oct. 1: Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnias)

Oct. 3 - Oct. 9: Alain Robbe-Grillet series (screening Last Year at Marienbad, Trans-Europa Express, L'Immortelle, Eden and After)

Oct. 10 - Oct. 23: Jean-Luc Godard series (screening Contempt, Band of Outsiders, Two or Three Things I Know About Her, Breathless, Alphaville, Pierrot Le Fou)

I would say that's a pretty impressive rebound from MFA Director Al Milgrom & Co.

Unfortunately, I think it's going to be tough to work many of these into in a busy personal fall schedule for me (plus all of the new releases coming out, plus the Walker's Mike Leigh retrospective!), but good grief, people, we need to put personal loyalties aside and get to some of these screenings. Who knows how much longer we have...(I'm trying to leave its fate a little more open-ended this time around)...

The Woes of Roseville

The closing of Roseville 4 next week marks the third Roseville (St. Paul, MN) theater closing in the last 15 months. Movie-goers have been pacified with the opening of the sparkling AMC Rosedale 14, but the bells and whistles don't fully comfort me in my disappointment. Though I'm most often found in Minneapolis theaters, the Roseville Three were conveniently located right between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and each had their own unique charm. The new AMC already has my loyal business, but as the last of the old Roseville reels burns up in a shameful mess on the celluloid-stained screen, it's only right to give proper eulogies:

Har-Mar:

Built in 1970, the gaudy theaters at the Har-Mar Mall were both loved and laughed at for their fanciful interiors, plush carpeting and crystal chandeliers. At different times both the largest and highest-grossing theater in the state, Har-Mar turned into a laughing stock as a new generation of theaters opened with stadium seating and digital sound. Toward the end, the experience of watching a movie there was like watching a TV from the other end of a tunnel. The only theater I've ever been two that's split into two sections of the mall (additional screens and a second box office were built when a mall grocery store closed), Har-Mar was last operated by AMC and closed the week after AMC Rosedale opened in December 2006.

Dates: 1970-2006
First movie I saw there: Don't remember
Last movie I saw there: Sweet Land, December 2006
Other good memories: Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, The Big Kahuna
Legacy: Retro before retro was cool.


Pavilion Place at Crossroads Mall:

Stuck in the middle of what I consistently consider the worst mall in America, the United Artists Pavilion Place theaters never had much of a chance to thrive. The empty retail shops you passed by on the way to the theater always made you wonder if the place would actually exist when you eventually got there. I wasn't around for the excitement when Deep Impact played there, but I can't imagine it drew many people away from Lava Links, the mini-golf/Laser Tag arcade next door. Toward the end, Pavilion actually drew some great independent films, but it just wasn't enough to compete with AMC Rosedale 14 across the street.

Dates: ????-2007
First movie I saw there: Malcolm X, I think
Last movie I saw there: Casino Royale, November 2006
Other good memories: Antwone Fisher, The Prestige
Legacy: A favorite for teens and dates despite the lack of a food court in the mall - or anything else besides a creepy Army recruiting booth.


Roseville 4:

A first-run theater when it opened in 1974, Roseville 4's legendary charm eventually made it one of the most popular discount theaters in the Twin Cities. All tickets were $2 - and even less on Discount Tuesdays. How could you go wrong? Well...you got what you paid for in terms of ambience. The floors were the stickiest in town and so were the teenage employees. Seats were always an adventure - like literally, an adventure. Would you get the seat that drops out to the floor? The one that reclines to 180 degrees? Or my personal favorite: the seats leaning into each other and providing a loveseat for you to share with the stranger next to you who's on the phone while feeding the child on their lap? The audio and video quality were always actually pretty good, though as my brother Josh loved to say, it was the only theater around with "reverse" stadium seating.

Dates: 1974-2007
First movie I saw there: Don't remember
Last movie I saw there: Evan Almighty, July 2007
Other good memories: School of Rock, Napoleon Dynamite
Legacy: Stained seats and obstructed views, virtually for free.



Thanks for the memories, you three. You're gone but not forgotten. Hopefully, your flashy replacement will inspire as many film fans as you did during your glory years.