Spectacle Theater

Spectacle Theater is a collectively run, independent movie theater that operates out of a small space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in New York, United States.

Spectacle Theater
Logo of Spectacle Theater, a black capital S wreathed in white flames
Address124 S. 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11249, United States,
Coordinates40°42′46.1″N 73°57′46.2″W
TypeMovie theater
Opened2010

History

Spectacle Theater opened in September 2010 at 124 S. 3rd Street in Brooklyn in a space that used to be a bodega.[1] From its beginning, the theater was dedicated to showing rare, independent, or arthouse films (that cannot be found on DVD) at $5 per ticket.

In 2013, Spectacle was awarded the "Best Weird Repertory Film Programming" by The Village Voice.[2]

After a rent increase and lease-mandated improvements in 2015, the theater ran a Kickstarter campaign to keep operating out of the same space in central Williamsburg.[3] The campaign was successful and the theater stayed open at its location at 124 S. 3rd Street.

As of 2017, the theater also runs a weekly radio show at Newtown Radio, where volunteers discuss music and film.[4]

Venue

Spectacle Theater is a 35-seat microcinema. The Theater is run by volunteers and screenings are BYOB.[5] Spectacle volunteers print their own posters for each screening, which are displayed outside the theater.[3] The outside of the theater is unadorned, aside from the posters, and painted black.

Programming

Spectacle screens films seven days a week, often including midnight screenings. Films are selected by volunteers, who prepare promotional materials like pamphlets and posters, as well as run the projector during shows. Spectacle has hosted the first-ever U.S. retrospectives of filmmakers such as Roland Klick, Rogério Sganzerla, Dore O., Andrew Horn, Tadeusz Konwicki, Katrina del Mar, Sarah Minter, Sidney Sokhona, Alyce Wittenstein, and many others. Volunteers also cut and edit their own trailers for screenings and series presented at the theater.[6] These trailers often mimic and mock the iconography of the MPAA film rating system. Screenings sometimes have different formats like "VHS nights",[7] talks, live-score shows, and Q&As with directors.[8]

References
  1. Del Signore, John (17 November 2010). ""Spectacle": A New Movie Theater In A Williamsburg Bodega". Gothamist. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  2. Young, Michelle (8 October 2015). "Williamsburg's Offbeat Spectacle Theater Hopes to Keep Showing Films, Fundraising on Kickstarter". Untapped Cities. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. Disser, Nicole (6 October 2015). "Spectacle Theater Seeks Help to Stay in Williamsburg After 'Tumultuous Summer'". Bedford + Bowery. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  4. "SPECTACLE RADIO : Newtown Radio". Newtown Radio. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  5. "Spectacle Theater". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  6. Billyou, Mary (11 July 2016). "MIXED USE: Spectacle's Trailers". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. Piepenburg, Erik (26 October 2011). "Horror Film Goes Back to VHS Tape". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. Murphy, Kelly (1 March 2011). "Spectacle on South 3rd Street". Brooklyn Based. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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