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 Alamo Drafthouse photograph by Kenny Braun
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(F-1) 409 Colorado, 867-1839.
Voted Best Theatre in Austin and a fond indie favorite, this restaurant-cum-moviehouse-cum-little slice of cinephile heaven offers the best of both worlds, with various second-run films offered during evenings and a tremendous assortment of oddball screenings (some accompanied by live music) as midnight shows and matinees. The focaccia is to die for and the many beers on tap make this the theatre to hit if you're looking to score points on that all-important first date. Theme nights such as the upcoming cannibal film festival (during which, you can rest assured, vegetarians will be running for cover) and the recent QTIII, which had maverick director Quentin Tarantino in the house for over a week screening a mighty big stack of his favorite films put the Alamo (run by husband and wife Tim and Carrie League) head and bloody shoulders above the rest. Currently running a Dolby SR sound system, the 215-seat Alamo is looking at upgrading to Dolby Digital "in the next month or so." In addition to 35mm prints, the Alamo can also screen 16mm, changeover 35mm for archive prints, as well as handle Power Point presentations. Hey, Tim, what makes your theatre so great, anyway? "We serve beer." Spoken like a true Austinite.
Discount Cinema
(F-5) 3407 Wells Branch, 244-6622.
Austin's only surviving "dollar" theatre (actually $1.50 these days), the Discount Cinema has eight screens in Dolby Digital seating up to "two-hundred and something." Thirty-five millimeter prints only, thank you Cinemark, but plenty of stuff you missed the first, second, and third time around in the more opulent grind houses are guaranteed to still be here. No frills, of course, but you can't go wrong for a buck fifty, now can you?
Paramount Theatre
(F-16) 713 Congress Ave., 472-5470.
Opened in 1915, just a few doors down from the looming Capitol Building, the 1,300-seat Paramount Theatre is the grand dame of Austin theatres -- proud, elegant, and beautiful. One of those classic theatres that makes patrons forget what decade they're living in once they walk through those heavy brass 'n' glass doors, the Paramount's talent list through the decades tells the rest of the story: Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Cab Calloway, Harry Houdini, Orson Welles, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Natalie Cole, and Joan Baez. The roster of stars continues to grow through concerts, touring productions of theatre and dance, homegrown spectaculars from Austin Musical Theatre, and an increasing number of Hollywood world premieres with cinematic celebs in attendance. And when the stars aren't shining in person, they're flickering on the silver screen, via the Paramount's classy revivals of classic (and not-so-classic) films.
Texas Union Theatre
(F-20) UT Campus; Texas Union Building, 2nd level, 476-6666 (for daily schedule info).
Since the demise of the Texas Union Film Program last year, this under-utilized space has been virtually devoid of screenings, with the occasional exception, such as the spring 1999 John Landis tribute, with the filmmaker in attendance. The occasional student will use the spacious auditorium to screen student works, but the best years of its life, it seems, are behind the Texas Union Theatre. Maybe you can reverse the damage? Give 'em a call.
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