Goodbye Rialto, we hardly knew ye
I ask you now to take a moment to reflect on the loss of that great crime against cinema exhibition, Rialto Wellington, and perhaps raise a glass to celebrate it's final day of screenings. If I can be there to witness it's imminent crumbling beneath a hundred wrecking balls I will (however, I should confess that in need of a few dollars I was the publicist for it's opening back in 1994).
The disastrous architectural and building choices that wrecked many a potentially interesting film should not reflect on many excellent and committed staff who worked there over the years. The Paramount's Kate Larkindale managed the place for a while, as did current San Fran Bathhouse manager Chrisana Love. The first manager was Barbara Sumner, now known as crusading columnist Barbara Sumner Burstyn, who, as legend has it, once faxed a picture of her own naked rear end to a competitor.
[More on Rialto Wellington, after the jump]I knew something was wrong with the Rialto Wellington when I saw Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space in it's opening week and heard the movie next door louder than my own. As late as this this year I ducked out of a screening of There Will Be Blood to complain that the bright cyan soundtrack was completely visible on the left side of the screen. The projectionist, who was sitting behind the candy bar, just shrugged.
Despite long negotiations involving a move to the Regent location on Manners St, the Rialto will not be re-opening in Wellington. Co-owner Reading Cinemas will probably march on with their long-standing plans to build their own arthouse Angelika in the Wakefield Street car yard behind Courtenay Central, but they have been talking about that since they opened. (A review of the New York Angelika reads: "Architecturally, however, the theater is unremarkable and its screens draw constant complaints about their tiny size, poor sound, uncomfortable seats, and lack of sound proofing. It's quite possible to hear the rumble of a subway train during a screening, as the Angelika is not far from a major subway station." Sound familiar?)
Share your memories (good and bad) of Rialto Wellington in the comments.
I am sad to see the Rialto go in that I love that downtown Wellington is chocka with cinemas.
I'll have to admit I've never noticed any sound problems there, but the tiny screens are kinda annoying.
Also, it's owned by Reading?
The sound leaking between theatres has always been terrible!
When Kelly Rogers (founder) sold out a few years ago it became a joint venture between Sky City Cinemas (formerly Village) and Readings. It's not a particularly happy arrangement and both have a veto on any new location which has made the negotiations re: Regent very challenging indeed.
gosh, i remember watching a bunch of arthouse films at the Wellington Rialto. can't name a single title, but.
whatever Reading scatterguns the capital with, there'll always be the Paramount and the Penthouse. and the Lighthouse cinemas.
As much as Rialto is crap, I'm really going to miss it. I have fond childhood memories of it and the Regent (back when they were still Hoyts, if I remember rightly?) and of spending $5 at the candy shop on Manners St to take in with me and my girlfriends.
Regent is still Hoyts, still limping along. They own the site I think which helps.
not going to miss rialto at all
it was always depressing having to go there as 9/10 you know the sound would leak from somewhere.
my fondest memories are Kate. becuase she was and is truly awesome.
Ha ha ha the "projectionist"? You mean, the guy who sets the projector running, then leaves the projection booth, locks the door, and goes beck downstairs to keep making ice creams or whatever.
Only time I've ever walked out of a film was at Rialto. There was an incessant buzz coming from one of the speakers that was destroying any potential enjoyment of the film. Like Stephen, I went to the 'projectionist' who was now behind the candy counter, and asked if they could try and sort it out. Again, I got the shrug, and was told 'no-one else has complained'. Gah.
I'm going to miss it. Only arthouse cinema in walking distance of my house.
Never noticed any sound issues or had any problems there.
I always thought the men's toilets were a bit inaccessible though!
When exactly is the last day?
I happily dance on the remnants of the Rialto. It captured so much good film coming into Wellington and *wasted it*. Pan's Labyrinth was the last Rialto film for me - they screened the first reel slightly off-centre, which was fine except the subtitles were HIDDEN FROM VIEW.
I should have given up on them much earlier than that. I was avoiding them for ages but now and then they lured me with their exclusive access to the filmic gold. Pan's Lab was the final straw. Truly, waiting for DVD = better in every way than terrible Rialto.
But there were good times there in its early days, almost entirely due to cool staff. I remember a random last-minute ringaround summoning 20 people to a late screening of 'Lord of Illusions', of all films. Weird.
I'm very sad that the Rialto has gone. I loved watching films there despite the shortcomings of the venue. I have lots of fond memories watching arthouse and foreign films in the wee theatres. The most enjoyable time was during the mid-90s when the Rialto was used for the Incredibly Strange Film festival. I can remember watching Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Flesh Gordon in the Rialto. The small size of the theatre and the audience gave it a great atmosphere that hasn't been matched. I can't wait for the arrival of a new arthouse cinema in the city. However, I bet it won't have a much character as the Rialto.
The most enjoyable time was during the mid-90s when the Rialto was used for the Incredibly Strange Film festival. I can remember watching Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Flesh Gordon in the Rialto.
That would have been a while ago: it's been some time since the programming at Rialto had any edge. Ever heard of the term "Rialto Fodder"? I've heard people use it for the sort of ever-so-slightly less commercial films that get shown there: nice and middle class; nothing vulgar and commercial but nothing with any formal invention or real bite either. Put Gerard Depardieu & Judy Dench on the bill and you'd have a dead cert.
... and the Penthouse gets the scraps from their table. Though to be fair, Rialto did show Old Boy (which was the last film I been to there, I think).
Cripes! I'm reading this from overseas and this is a huge surprise.
I only have fond memories of Rialto.. choc-top boysenberry ice creams, occasional sound disappearances at the beginning of movies (resulting in quite a good effect during the first Cube movie), the potential to sneak in for a free movie if no one was manning the doors (not that I ever did!).. I thought it was a cute cinema.
Sad.
I need to come home more often!
It was so frustrating. Here i was with a child and husband-free night and i could go to the flicks - what was on at about 6ish that wouldn't end too late, and yes, middle of the road, not to challenging, but [can't remember title] at Rialto - and right opposite work too. So i took my lonesome self off for icecream and settled in the theatre with approximately 8 others and waited for the film to start. and waited. and waited. in the end an apologetic icecream maker/projectionist gave us a voucher and said come back another night ... don't they realise that i don't HAVE ANY MORE CHILD/HUSBAND-FREE NIGHTS!!! never used the voucher ...
That is seriously a really sad story. I'm really glad I only had a not-great experience at Rialto rather than a bad one.
Rialto really were bad - bad seats, bad sound, bad columns in the middle of the room, bad lighting shining in your eyes, bad exit signs glowing while you watched the film, zero atmosphere inside, and actaully, quite a nice atmosphere inside. Strange thing is, i think i only ever went into one cinema - never the other one. Or were there 3? How very odd...
Anyway: here's a thing: hasn't the Embassy, home of King Kong, Assorted Hobbits, and a gloriously big screen, also got a basement void underneath it (that used to have the downstairs when it was REALLY big)? They said they were going to develop that into a small cinema or two - but never did - so i presume its still down there, somewhere...
Anyone know? What would it take to get that working? Easier than the Angelika - which doesn't even exist - at least Embassy should have everything there except a fitout? Just needs an entrepeneur cinefile or two...?
Haven't been down there in years, but there IS a big open plan space that used to have the downstairs seating. (There was an entrance from Majoribanks St) But it's not a very high open plan space so I did wonder where they'd put the screen.
OK, here's the deal with the Embassy. There are two auditoria in the space where the orchestra pit and Fringe office used to be. They were built by the trust to try and ensure the theatre had an economic future and more screens for the same overhead should have done that. They were expecting them to be about 100 seats each.
But, the designs were poorly thought out and it turns out that the sightlines were so inadequate that you couldn't project an image over the heads of an audience. And no way rear projection either. So, they sit empty.
In a rent renegotiation last year Sky City stopped paying for them and they reverted back to the City Council who offered them to Downstage as potential office or rehearsal space but that was never going to fly.
My big concern over the Embassy now is what will happen if and when Readings buy the Sky City Cinemas chain. For a few years at least it has been a case of the devil you know...
all the old fringe office is empty now
also along the side there is huge cavernous storage spaces, it's just that they are not open to the public
And sound leakage from the enormous speakers stacks upstairs is horrendous. Fixable, but only at great cost and, as the WCC is still on the hook for the $7m it used to underwrite the refurb I don't see that happening any time soon.
I miss kerry running the embassy.
He actually cared about films and cinema. I doubt the untidy state of the embassy would have been acceptable to him on any level.
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