Cines Doré, the bible of Madrid's cinephile circles
To you, lover of the seventh art, We are going to accommodate you in one of the seats of these Madrid cinemas that preserve the aroma of carpet. These five survivors of the cinephile scene, born in the last decades of the last century, have dealt with the download culture, empty seat syndrome the black holes of advertising budgets and, now, the cultural VAT assault. What is the secret of your survival?
At a time when inconveniences abound and positivism is scarce, these cinemas maintain their own personality that feed with a suggestive programming, prices of yesteryear, a rigorous respect for the original languages, sympathy towards experimentation and independence, love of low budget brilliant ideas and an ode to authors who go off script. Cinema, with and without popcorn, exhibited with love. The box office of our particular Cinema Paradiso has not yet closed:
1)CLASSIC:
cinema dore (Santa Isabel, 3) Tucked away in an alley, which it shares with the traditional Mercado de Antón Martín, the picturesque building of the National Film Library is located. The exhaustive monthly program is almost like l The Bible in Madrid cinephile circles. Starting at 4:15 p.m., tickets go on sale at a ridiculous price and, as of today, unalterable (maximum €2.50).
They divide their proposals for auteur, classic and experimental cinema into three spaces. Two are indoors. The third, outdoors, starts with milder temperatures. It's worth visiting his cinephile bookstore and cool down with a sweet in a café that would make the tormented Gustav von Aschenbach of Death in Venice happy.
2) HEAVENLY:
** The Brown Dwarf ** (Travesía de San Mateo, lower right, 8) her name is inspired by the stars. Specifically in a type of star that shines less than her sisters, but with a forceful interior. Since October 21, 1999, the room of this cultural association invites the viewer to give free rein to the imagination with options –alternative, experimental or classic– in 16mm, and within the reach of any pocket.
Screenings, film-forums, gatherings, festivals, courses and conferences justify her ovation to the seventh art. With friendly prices: €4, €2.60 for members and free admission for honorees. Before the session, you can stretch out on their seats and sofas that look at a bar of handy options. They lean towards almost obsolete formats and direct dealings with the filmmakers. Divide your program into Unpublished Cinema, Author Classics and Cinema Derivatives.
Berlanga Room Facade
3)PIONEER:
** Small Studio Cinema ** (Magallanes, 1) Chamberí has two essentials of different sizes: the Verdi cinemas (a true paradise for movie buffs not included in this series due to their size) and this jewel, redoubt of the sadly disappeared 'art and essay' rooms, on the ground floor of a residential building. Born in a hopeful 1975, it quickly became a cult hall for viewers avid for uncensored cinema.
Today, except for higher prices and the disappearance of forced fades to black, the tiny room has hardly changed. Offers a cinematographic universe full of classic films , low budget and independent titles and a good display of short films. Check the weekly program on its page that suggests up to five excuses to go to a cinema that still smells like a cinema. In March, they greet spring with a promising cycle of director Akira Kurosawa.
4) RISEN:
** Sala Berlanga ** (Andrés Mellado, 53) His letter of introduction could not be more traditional: on October 27, 1980, Pedro Almodóvar debuted as director with 'Pepi, Luci and Boom and other girls from the bunch'. The history of the old Cine California could be a fairy tale. Almost an urban legend. A closed cinema that reopens as such? On November 11, 1949, two foreign films – Zoltan Korda's A Woman's Vengeance and Irving Pichel's Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid – premiered at the emblematic cinema from the Argüelles neighborhood.
With a capacity of 541 seats, they reached their peak in the sixties, with double evening passes at five pesetas. In the seventies it underwent a remodeling that included a space for Art and Essay, at the same time that sessions in the original version begin to proliferate. Closed for years due to bankruptcy, in 2010 it was rehabilitated by the Buñuel Institute, incorporating the latest in audiovisual technology in 35mm format. and Digital 4k-3D. Today, already as Sala Berlanga, auteur cinema program: national, European and Latin American.
5) FANTASTIC Artistic Metropol (Cigarreras, 6) For those who like to party in their seats or for those who consider that fantasy is essential to forget bland realities, this corner of Acacias nourishes the Madrid spectator with adrenaline. The world of the dead, of the Martians, of mythology, vampires, nightmares, monsters of various kinds and other pearls of the bizarre imaginary are exhibited on the big screen and with popcorn.
In addition to fantastic cinema in all its meanings, the theater is committed to independent titles. Its directors, Angel Mora and Héctor García, select films that, despite their scant commercial appeal, have a lot to tell their audience, who spends between €3 and €6 to occupy baptized seats with the names of Spanish creators of the fantasy genre.
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