Beneath the glow of the projector and the hush before the opening scene, 90 years of films have graced the screens at State Cinemas.
Since James Baird established the Halifax St and Trafalgar St corner institution in 1936, the highlights are almost as long as the queues for tickets to some of its biggest hits, including Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, Titanic, Lord of the Rings and Avatar.
From the days of 900 seats to becoming the first cinema in New Zealand to install Dolby Stereo and obtain a wine licence, and Russell Crowe once surprising a cashier when his Oscar-winning film Gladiator screened, State Cinemas knows how to steal the show.
Director since 1992, Mark Christensen, remodelled its interior to have nine screens, making it “the largest independent cinemas site in the country.”
“In the old days you might have had maybe two films in a week and be changed every week, or if it was a real blockbuster in the old days, it might run for two weeks.
“The multiplex changed all of that, so now we have, on average, 15 films a day playing, and we play the films as long as people are coming to see them.
“The longest running film that we've had was a film called Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, that ran for nine months, people just kept coming back to see it.”
Mark says that State Cinemas is also flipping the script on streaming platforms threatening Aotearoa's movie theatres.
“Every time there's been a technological threat to cinemas, we’ve come up with a way of overcoming that, whether that be stereo sound, digital sound, digital projection, 3D, high frame rate,” he says.
“It’s still a very cheap social night out, and it's actually cheaper to go to the movies now than it was during the 1960s in terms of the earning power of $1.”
Assistant manager James Brewer says the starring role for the cinema's nine decades was its audience.
“The secret of the 90 years is that cinema is an art form that touches everyone, no matter who you are, and State Cinemas has always shown films to their best potential with the best service in the best building,” he enthuses.
James says that State Cinemas will celebrate its 90th birthday in mid-December with a selection of its greatest screenings, including its opening film from 1936, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, alongside Lawrence of Arabia and 2001.
He will even be selling ice creams from a trolley in the aisles “like the good old days”.
Final celebration dates are yet to be confirmed.
“If any readers have got any stories of when they first came to the cinemas here at State over the years, I would love to be able to interview someone,” he says.
“If there is someone that came from 1936 to watch The 39 Steps, I will personally buy them a ticket.”
