Long-gone Montreal movie theatres

Over the past few years, many movie theatres in Montreal closed their doors, only to be replaced by megaplexes. Some of them were decrepit and run-down (like the Atwater and the Palace) but some of them, although not very old, just were too small for this era of megaplexes (such as the Faubourg Ste-Catherine and the Eaton Centre). It is a shame that so many of these theatres have disappeared, especially since I have so many memories of unforgettable movie experiences I had there, some good, some bad.

Here are some good memories of movies past:

• Seeing Wings of Desire at the Cinéma de Paris with my mom in 1993 or 94. After coming out of the theatre, we were crossing Ste-Catherine Street when my mom exclaimed that it was the kind of movie she'd make if she were a filmmaker.
• Meeting with a friend to see The Englishman Who Went Up A Mountain But Came Down A Hill also at the Cinéma de Paris, only to see that it was replaced by Four Weddings and a Funeral, as The Englishman's first run was extended in the wake of the Hugh Grant scandal.
• Seeing the Star Wars Special Edition trilogy (Star Wars and Empire at the Faubourg, Jedi at the Atwater) as well as the new Star Wars trilogy (Episode 1 at the Faubourg, twice!, and Episodes 2 and 3 at the Paramount).
• Seeing Trois Couleurs: Bleu at the Nouvel Élysée (which was located in the current Softimage building, next to where the Ex-Centris is currently located).
• Christmas 1990, seeing Cyrano de Bergerac with my parents at the (then brand-new) Eaton Centre theatre, before heading out for dinner at the Commensal on St-Denis.

Some not so good memories:

• Seeing Saving Private Ryan in a sold-out crowd at the Palace, and being stuck in a broken seat that gave me a neck cramp.
• Watching the Matrix at the Centre-Ville with my mom: we went down countless stairs to make it to the screening room and minutes into the movie, the projector stopped, putting us all in the dark. We had to wait 5-10 minutes for someone to get an employee to resume to movie (the projector was being run automatically).
• Seeing Mortal Kombat on the premiere night at the Pointe-Claire theatre (the one that was located near the Maxi). It was a double-date that didn't work too well (losing my wallet that night didn't exactly help matters either).

These are but a few examples of memories linked to Montreal theatres. Of all these theatres, the Paramount is the only one still there. Incidentally, I dunno if it's the impersonal nature of the multiplex, but I don't find that my experiences going to the Paramount, the AMC or even the Guzzo theatres (although I do like Guzzo) to be nearly as memorable as the theatres of the past.

Sure, I could still enjoy going to the Ex-Centris or the Cinéma du Parc, but the downtown core just isn't covered in that way anymore. As tiny and inconvenient as the Cinéma de Paris was, I still miss it, 13 years after its closing.

I strongly suggest to visit the website Montreal Cinema History. On that site, you will find, among other things, a series of PDFs showing the locations of Montreal movie theatres through the decades.