Interestingly Vanda, the Rialto in Dunedin was own...

2009-09-08T21:20:45.660-07:00

Interestingly Vanda, the Rialto in Dunedin was owned by Thomas O'Brien who built the Civic Theatre. He had this megalopolis idea that he would have a chain of Civics across NZ. The Civic opened 29 Dec 1929, just on the cusp of the Wall Street crash.....but he created those magnificent spaces which always make the multiplex feel like you're sitting inside a bin-liner smelling of someone else's vomit...

My fondest memories of the cinema were on a grand ...

2009-09-06T15:32:21.477-07:00

My fondest memories of the cinema were on a grand scale that you don't get with the tiny excuses for theatres you get nowadays. Those little things have no atmosphere, and they don't even have an intermission now so you can top up on the jaffas and get an ice cream - the sense of occasion has gone.

I saw Star Wars for the first time as a child at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, sitting up in the circle, looking at the stars sparkling in the ceiling.

I also have fond memories of studentville and the traditional Dunedin Easter Triple Feature that used to run at what is now The Rialto complex, when it was one theatre three tiers high, packed with thousands of students trying to hear over the top of the blast of the massive jet gas heaters in the aisles.

Those were the days.

Comments on peterwellsblog.: The antique art of cinema.

Interestingly Vanda, the Rialto in Dunedin was own...

My fondest memories of the cinema were on a grand ...