Thursday Theatre Review: Quad Cinema

Weekly to a new feature here at Movies with Abe, Thursday Theatre Review. As a resident of one of the world’s foremost movie capitals, I’ve been to a number of movie theatres in New York City and have developed preferences. There’s no perfect theatre, but there are a few things that can make or break a movie-going experience. In no particular order, this is a guide to movie theatres in Manhattan.

Quad Cinema
Location: At 34 West 13th St in between 5th and 6th Ave, it’s a short, uneventful walk Union Square as well as the B, D, F, and M trains at 14th St and 6th Ave. While it’s literally nestled right next to New School and NYU dorms, it’s easy to miss and not really near much of anything, though the theatre’s website does offer a list of local attractions.

Pricing: A definitive advantage of this theatre: tickets are only $11.00 while most theatres in the city are now up to $13.00.

Film selection: This theatre seems to specialize in second-run showings of independent and foreign films, releasing them considerably after they have come out in major theatres. It’s not only that, however, since it gets a few of its own films to premiere exclusively, like “The Last New Yorker” earlier this year. I also saw the Russian film “The Italian” and the Israeli Oscar nominee “Beaufort” there. Currently, “Great Directors” is the token first-run film, while April and May releases “Please Give,” “Mother and Child,” and “Letters from Juliet” are still showing, as is June release “Wild Grass.”

Drawbacks: The location isn’t terribly exciting, even if it’s not too inconvenient, and the theatres are pretty small.

Bonus features: Not that come to mind.

Worth the trip? If you missed a major independent film, then yes. I haven’t personally ever needed to take advantage of that, but I have liked the movies I’ve seen there quite a bit. If you’re looking to save a few bucks and aren’t concerned about seeing a film on opening weekend, this is your destination.