For the last 10 years, The Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St., has captured the cinematic treasures of yesteryear and provided audiences with the chance to see the classics they love on the big screen.
But as the new year approaches, big changes are in store for the theater. Beginning Jan. 6, The Times Cinema, which is owned Jay Hollis, will adopt a first-run policy, concentrating on showing the best new releases.
And according to Eric Levin, the cinema's co-proprietor since 1993, it will be one of the few movie houses in the city to do so at a discounted price of $7.50 for adults and $5 for seniors and children 12 and under. Matinee shows starting before 5:30 will be priced at $5 for all ages.
"Classics fans, takes heart," says Levin. According to him, The Times will continue to feature occasional festivals of repertory titles, and these will be priced at $5 per film for all ages.
And of course, it will continue with the Milwaukee nostalgia staple, the Friday Night Freak Show, which is now nine years old.
Levin explains that since 2001 the audience for classic films in Milwaukee has been more apt to purchase DVDs rather than pay for the cinematic experience. The theater was losing too much money.
"While we truly wanted to continue to offer Milwaukee a repertory alternative, concentrating heavily on classics, this has become economically impossible to sustain. Audiences seem to be more than adequately served by DVDs and cable for classics programming, and fewer people appreciate the experience of seeing film as it was meant to be seen -- on the big screen."
Levin hopes that the switch to the first-run format will financially stabilize the theater and allow them enough breathing room to occasionally present festivals of classic film.
"It was an incredibly difficult decision to make," he says. "I knew that we'd be dissapointing a core group of individuals who were dedicated to what we were doing."
But it's not over just yet. "It's A Wonderful Life" is now playing through Christmas Day, and a very rare screening of Walt Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" starts Monday, Dec. 26. "Touch the Sound," which runs Dec. 30 through Jan. 5, will be the final film in the calendared series.The Times Cinema's Web site is timescinema.com.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
