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It's a sad day for film buffs in Melbourne with the announcement of the closure of the Astor Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. 

http://www.astortheatre.net.au/ (http://www.astortheatre.net.au/)

For those who don't know, it's been a lovely independent cinema for over 30 years, regularly screening everything from old classics like Casablanca, to French films like the Three Colours trilogy, to anime like Nausicaa and My Neighbour Totoro.  Instead of screening in blocks, they show a different movie or double feature every day, and they produce biannual calendar style posters that show every movie that will play on any given day.

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8072/8379048392_edcd7806fd_z.jpg)

Sadly, it appears that the owner of the building and the proprietor of the theatre have had a lot of differences over allocation of financial duties, so the cinema is closing up shop in May 2015.

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-astor-theatre-to-close-in-2015-20140823-3e6kx.html (http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-astor-theatre-to-close-in-2015-20140823-3e6kx.html)

Being able to see movies like Breakfast At Tiffanys on the big screen is a wonderful experience, especially in an old Art Deco theatre.  If it does not remain a cinema after the current proprietor leaves, it will be a great loss.

Yeah this is pretty sad news but not unexpected given the new owner's history.  My only hope is that because it is heritage listed it won't be redeveloped completely. 

Still this is a huge loss. I hope they bring someone in to take over and do something similar: it won't be the same, but it's a terrific resource to keep where possible.  I'll always have fond memories of their double feature sessions and the q and a sessions with film makers with in recent years Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost being particular highlights...

Side note: I didn't realise you were from Melbourne Archivist!

The owner states that it will remain as a film theatre, although the departure of the Astor people will mean the loss of their entire bank of films and the general Astor experience.  The building owner is going to be in for a shock if he thinks someone similar will come on board, given the history of what has been happening.

And yes, I'm in Melbourne, Dean.   :thumbup:

Nice to note another local!  But yeah given what happened to the George I really doubt it.  Ah well.  On a plus side I think there's about a ton of small pop up film nights around, more so when summer starts kicking in.  Won't replace the Astor but its a nice salve all the same.

https://www.facebook.com/events/767860309945418/ (https://www.facebook.com/events/767860309945418/)

http://deja-view.com.au/ (http://deja-view.com.au/)

http://www.cinemanova.com.au/catalogue/cultastrophe/ (http://www.cinemanova.com.au/catalogue/cultastrophe/)

http://speakeasycinema.com.au/about/ (http://speakeasycinema.com.au/about/)

It appears that the Astor might be saved after all.  Palace Cinemas, an independent cinema group, has made an offer to lease the building from the current owner and retain the Astor Theatre manager to run it.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/central/fate-of-astor-once-again-in-the-balance-as-palace-offers-lifeline/story-fngnvlpt-1227156667377 (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/central/fate-of-astor-once-again-in-the-balance-as-palace-offers-lifeline/story-fngnvlpt-1227156667377)

But that was in December.  No word since then.  In the meantime, I will continue to catch the odd film at the Astor until its potential closure this April.  Fingers crossed for a favourable outcome!

As a follow on for anyone interested in independent cinema in different parts of the world:  The Astor Theatre was taken over by Palace Cinemas in April 2015, who have retained a very similar style of programming to the original.  It still plays a huge bank of classic movies and cult movies, as well as latest releases, and Sunday afternoons often screen Golden Era classics like Gone With The Wind, Singing in the Rain, and 42nd Street.  Right now, they are showing movies like Hateful Eight, Taxi Driver, Princess Mononoke, Donnie Darko and The Jungle Book.

There had been talk of previous business owner, George Florence, becoming manager, but I haven't seen any announcements of that since the Palace buyout.

Since Palace took the reins, things have been much the same, albeit with a few cosmetic changes.  The upstairs lounge, which used to be dark and amberish, now has the full length curtains drawn during the day, and light floods the area.  Ticket sales are no longer from the quaint wooden booth office, but from the Candy Bar.  And a wide oval bannister no longer has multicoloured Christmas lights around it, which is a bit of a shame.  But it's the same theatre, same movies, and very much the same experience.

(http://www.astortheatre.net.au/wp-content/themes/astor-theatre/images/slideshow/1.jpg)

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/astor-theatre-to-close-and-to-reopen-as-george-florence-agrees-to-sell-to-palace-cinemas-20150402-1mdsrw.html (http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/astor-theatre-to-close-and-to-reopen-as-george-florence-agrees-to-sell-to-palace-cinemas-20150402-1mdsrw.html)