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Foreign Cinema

Movie-House Memoir By Christine Brenneman A colorful and almost completely extinct legacy of film exists in the Mission District. For those youngsters who are recent transplants to the Bay Area--almost everyone you know--the Mission as serious movie theater district is something of an unknown entity. This glorious past can still be imagined while walking down Mission Street, though: just look skyward--above the panhandlers and 99-cent shops--and you'll notice the faded, dilapidated signs of cinematic venues like the Rialto, the New Mission, the Majestic, El Capitan and the Grand, which used to draw filmgoers by the thousands. These venues thrived during the '40s and '50s before the age of the multiplex, a time when a single-screen theater was still financially feasible. The soothsayers of the neighborhood's newest installation, Foreign Cinema, have capitalized on this film legacy by bringing their venture to these once theater-heavy blocks. They have gone one step further by purchasing the old Douglas fir hardwood floors, an ornate railing for the mezzanine, seats and a screen and curtain from the Rialto, which is soon to be demolished. Although continuing the tradition of film in the neighborhood was high on their list of priorities, they've managed to infuse their spot with undeniably current, contemporary energy and atmosphere while giving props to their predecessors. Although these old movie houses are mostly forgotten, Foreign Cinema may be just the reincarnation of these former greats that the Mission needs. [ San Francisco | MetroActive Central | Archives ]