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The Barbizon |
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In the seventies, the thirteenth arrondissement had a decent number of movie theaters. The local customers mostly enjoyed first run movies dubbed in French. Viewers could even see double-bill karate movies at the Barbizon, double-bill porn movies at the Galaxie (single screen theater, formerly named the "Fontainebleau"), and Chinese movies subtitled in three different languages at the "Orient-Ciné", located in a shopping center at the heart of Chinatown.
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The Barbizon |
Away from the others, the Escurial was taken over by the owners of the "Daumesnil"; the owner, whose apartment was close to the entrance of the balcony, used to come in his pyjamas and watch the movie, or so the legend goes; the auditorium was divided, and the balcony became a small auditorium. The theater mostly plays art movies in their own languages.From their entrance in the lobby, viewers are surrounded in a "Cinema Paradiso"-like atmosphere, with the red walls, the neons and the mirrors. |
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| The largest auditorium offers 230 red seats, a 35ft wide curved screen, and even 70mm, which got it the nickname of "mini-Kinopanorama" from some moviegoers (the Kinopanorama, in the 15 th Arrondissement, had back then the biggest screen in Paris to see movies in their original languages). On the wall, stars pictures keep an eye on the place. |
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Theater 2 doesn't offer the same volume, with 80 seats and a small 15ft screen. The operator must climb up a narrow ladder to reach the projection booth.
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Left: the main projection booth; the projector could play 70mm movies
The two auditoriums soon got Dolby Stereo sound. The theater was a landmark for Starfix readers. This French magazine started was born in December 82; it mostly talked about sci-fi and action movies, but also about whatever its people had enjoyed; almost every Sunday, its readers could enjoy a preview at the Escurial, which allowed many of us to meet each other, soon to be actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz among us; the magazine lost some of its audience, before being remodelled several times, losing its soul and dying in the late 80s. Thank you, Christophe Gans (director of "Crying Freeman") and your friends, for these great moments! Since 1998, a new Starfix is in newstands, mostly made by new guys, and some from the old Starfix, trying to bring us as much as the original.
When Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (another one who became a movie director) decide to go further and take over and remodel the Max-Linder in 1987, they have to sell the Escurial. The theater hasn't changed a lot since; it is now part of the "Majestic" circuit, along with four other small complexes. It still plays art movies in their own languages. The largest auditorium should be equipped with Dolby SRD sound soon.
The Paramount Gobelins (500 seats, part of the late Parafrance circuit) was one of the last single-screen theaters in the area. It was torn down, and replace by a no-thrill stores and apartments building.
Parafrance also had the Paramount Galaxie, a four screen complex built in the basement of the Galaxie mall. The four auditoriums, reminding of those at the Gaumont Les Halles, were rather similar, with 200 to 300 seats each and 25ft screens; the big advantage of the place was that no screen was smaller than 25 ft, but its disadvantage was that no screen was bigger than 25ft! The theater closed down in the late 80s. It is now part of a fitness club, the Gymanse-Club Italie, and three of its auditoriums even kept the screens; the projection booth are now used for security. |
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Two multi-screen theaters are still open:
The Fauvette, formerly run by Pathé, was bought by Gaumont after some fierce competition with UGC, and became the Gaumont Gobelins. This complex is located on both sides of the avenue des Gobelins. At the 58 avenue des Gobelins, there was a large single-screen theater (800 seats on two levels, one of the largest auditoriums on the left bank of the Seine); in the mid-eighties, two new auditoriums were added, theaters 3 and 5 today. The balcony was later transformed into two smaller auditoriums, #6 and 7. This part of the complex is now known as Gaumont Gobelins Fauvette. Across the street, 73 avenue des Gobelins, the former live theater was divided into two auditoriums, theaters 2 (the former orchestra) and 4 (the balcony). The really beautiful front was sculpted by Rodin, and the building is known as Gaumont Gobelins Rodin. The Gaumont Gobelins Fauvette mostly plays movies dubbed in French, and the Gaumont Gobelins Rodin mostly plays movies in their own languages, some once they've left the huge screen of the Gaumont Italie. |
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| Theater 1 is very nice, with almost 500 seats, and a 35ft screen, which would deserve to be bigger. This is the only one in the complex with Dolby SRD sound. |
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Theater 2 is similar to theater 1, with a little more than 400 fauteuils and a 33ft screen.
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Theater 3 is rather nice; it has 300 seats with a shallow rake, and a 20ft screen which is a bit small.
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| Theater 4 has 250 seats, stadium seating style, beautiful chandeliers, and a 27ft screen; it is one of the nicest. |
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Theater 5 is the worst of the complex. Its opposite slope is very unpleasant, especially for first rows viewers; it has 200 seats and a small 18ft screen.
| Theaters 6 and 7, which were the former balcony of theater 1, are decend small auditoriums, with 140 and 100 seats, and 24 and 18ft screens, with light slopes. |
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The projection booth of theaters 6 and 7
To access the projection booth of theaters 6 and 7, the operator must go out and climb up two steep and narrow staircases; I tried this, it was far from easy, and bath weather can only make things worse. Once in a while, think of these people who do their best so you'll enjoy the movies!
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The Gaumont Grand Ecran Italie, nicknamed the "Gaumont Italie" by Parisians moviegoers, and the "Gaumont" by locals, opened June 12, 1992, with IP5 (saddly Yves Montand's last movie; saddly because it was his last, and because it was one of his worst). This auditorium was inspired by theaters like the Forum Horizon and the Max Linder, with huge dimensions. Its 650 seats, stadium-seating style, wide and confortable. The curved 80ft wide screen is the biggest in France. Even in the absence of the THX label, the sound is great; the auditorium is one of the few in France which offer the choice between SRD, DTS and SDDS. All movies are played in their own languages. 70mm prints can be played. Before the movie, the "show laser" is an impressive attraction (although it could be changed more often).The day it opened, the auditorium was full, and it has been full often since then. It looks impressive and really nice to enter this auditorium, red from the seats to the huge curtain. This is the place where moviegoers see major movies, and the Saturday night lines can be hundreds of feet long. When some movies were released, the theater did not close between saturday morning and sunday night, with shows all night. |
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Isolated in the basement are two small identical auditoriums. Theaters 2 and 3 are decent 99-seat auditorium with stadium seating and 27ft curved screens and Dolby SR sound. They mostly play art movies in their own languages, and sometimes movies coming from theater 1.
These past few years, few changes happened among the theaters of the Thirteenth Arrondissement, which suffered a bit from the opening of the UGC Ciné Cité Bercy, only two miles away. But in the year 2000, MK2 will open a 13 (or 15, some say) screen multiplex, near the new library, a competitor for the UGC Bercy. So far, it has been impossible to get any further information.
Address Book
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The UGC Gobelins, formerly named the Telstar, was divided into four auditoriums, and was added three more in 1987. The auditoriums are medium sized, they are currently being remodelled, and sound equipment has been improved a lot. All movies used to be dubbed in French; now, some are played in their own languages. The largest auditorium often plays the same movie as the Gaumont Italie, but dubbed in French.
In the eighties, the largest auditorium got the "UGC Prestige" label. It lost its false ceiling, which allowed a bigger curved screen, just below its Eiffel-type beams. The projector sends its beam very low, and some seats at the back of the auditorium had to be removed, because tall viewers could have been on its way! The walls are covered with a grey screen (made in the same fabric as the movie screen). The auditorium has 310 seats and a 35ft screen, with Dolby SR et DTS sound, Dolby SRD being planned.
