QUENTIN TARANTINO'S  THE NEW BEVERLY CINEMA -- PURE MAGIC
by Janet J. Lawler
Los Angeles, CA
July 17, 2019

The other night I took in a very young Jane Fonda double-feature ("Cat Ballou" and "The Chase") at The New Beverly Cinema in L.A.  It's not like summertime at a classic Drive-In, but pretty close.

The New Bev is a wonderful, cozy movie haven located on Beverly Blvd.

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino owns this establishment and selects many of the films projected.  You can tell, his fingerprints are everywhere you look from European movie posters in the lobby to the great cinema selects each month.

All prints are shown in glorious 35mm (unless noted in 16mm), no digital projectors allowed.  The famous writer/director wants you to experience movies the way they were meant to be seen.  Many of these flicks are directly from Tarantino's private collection.  I love it.

From the moment you get in line, (best to order your tix online),  you know this experience is for movie geeks. No apologies made. If you come to The New Bev, you love cinema, pure and simple, all kinds of cinema.   But, you can enjoy the place even if you only see a movie once in a while.  But,  chances are you are obsessed with cinema just like me.  You can feed your celluloid addiction at The New Bev any day of the week, at all times of the day -- with kiddie matinees on weekends to midnight screenings.

Get your seat early at The New Bev

The theater itself was recently remodeled and is clean, with a great screen and sound system, comfy seats and cheap snacks (even vegan hot dogs).  Hey, it's L.A.  They could easily price gouge theatergoers here, but they don't.  Admission prices are reasonable as are the cheap snack prices (visit the theater's link for specifics http://thenewbev.com).

Concessions

In the lobby, they sell T-shirts and you can see Tarantino's soon-to-be-released "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" movie poster on full display.  The staff is friendly, welcoming and efficient.  The place has a relaxed, cool vibe but expects reverence for all its showings (that means no texting or looking at your phone during the movie.)

Before each show, the film is introduced by a staff member offering inside tidbits about the making of the film.  The night I attended manager Charlie introduced the Jane Fonda double-feature.  (We also got to watch a grainy 70s trailer for Fonda's Academy Award-winning role in Klute).

Thanks, Quentin Tarantino, for making a personal investment in cinema, for putting your money where your mouth is.  I'm hooked and will be back.

Cinema is about great directors, writers, actors, cinemaphotographers and music scores... but it's also about the theater experience itself.  When that's done right, it's pure magic.

You can also listen to The New Bev's podcast The Pure Cinema.  It has an interview with Tarantino all about his ninth film and programming for summertime at the movie house.  It's a hoot!

Until next time.

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#TheNewBev   #QuentinTarantino #OnceUponATimeinHollywood
The New Beverly website:  http://thenewbev.com/
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