Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

[zff]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

My parents would tell stories about how UH classes used to be held there to bring relief to an overcrowded campus... and how it used to have one large screen instead of the current two.

Geez, I must be getting old. I was about to say something like "Wasn't it just converted to a twin recently?" How long ago was it?

[1stwahine]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Thanks for the blast from the past, Aunty Lynn! Believe it or not, I work for Beth now. And she is going to be crushed to hear the Varsity is closing.

My wife and I are about to head out to catch one of the last shows in that remarkable theater. Sniff.

Wow!!! That post was a long time ago and now she's your boss?heheheh

Great!!! Let us know her reaction. So how was it tonight as you and Kilinahe saw the movie knowing it will be last time in Varsity?

I wouldn't have been able to watch the movie. Too busy reminiscing about the past.

Auntie Lynn

[helen]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

I was about to say something like "Wasn't it just converted to a twin recently?" How long ago was it?

Sometime in the 1980's. Even the folks at Consolidated don't remember when that was.

[pzarquon]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing



My wife and I headed into town last night to catch the last picture show at the Varsity. It was the 8:15 p.m. showing of the French romantic caper "The Valet." We got there early enough to catch the lights come on at dusk, and to talk with the handful of employees present.

It was clear it was a special evening... the doors were open, no one was taking tickets or checking bags, and old friends and strangers moved freely in and out and about to reminisce and sigh. People with cameras roamed, movie fans young and old posing with the fossilized cameras and below the glowing marquee.

We crossed the street to Bubbies for an early dessert, and returned to the Varsity after the sun had set. I was happy to see every inch of neon glowing bright, the dark masking some of the old girl's wrinkles and cracks. The crowd was heartwarmingly large, but not a full house by any stretch of the imagination. More cameras and flashes, lei for the employees. In the lobby, people scrutinized every inch, trying to commit it to memory. The old signs, the movie posters...

We watched our movie. It was cute and funny. The seats were stiff and the sound was tinny and harsh... exactly as I'd remembered it. Afterward, the lobby was slow to empty. Varsity manager Crystal Kawai got lots of hugs and heard many memories. I told her how my wife and I went to movies there as sappy college kids, and how we tried to pay our respects to all the classic movie houses as they closed. She didn't know me from Adam, but she got a hug from me, too.

She's going to the theaters at Kahala. About half of the dozen or so employees are similarly moving elsewhere. But the rest are leaving the company. Kawai said she didn't know where all the classic paintings and artifacts would go, but she was sure they'd be taken care of by Consolidated. I guess Consolidated is taking care of the staff, too... but we're really, really going to miss that theater.

I've posted over 40 photos of the Varsity's final hours here.

[1stwahine]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Chicken Skin....brings back so much memories.

Mahalo

Auntie Lynn

[DannyWilliams]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

awwww maaaaan that was a nice set of pics u took at VARSITY on its FINAL DAY.


btw, how long has that projector that is near the box office been there?
I do not recall that ever being there the last time I was there.
Unless I soooooooo blind I nevah seem em standing right there.

Any story behind why the manager of VARSITY is crying on the shoulder of the woman she is with?

[Honoruru]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Ryan, loved all the photographs. Lot of nice shots, sentimental shots, nostalgic shots, very memorable shots. The one I liked best is the night shot of the marquee, with the green neon borders, this one -- from a purely artistic perspective, I think conveys a lot. You should frame that.

[DannyWilliams]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

sratch what I said.....
I was viewing the SLIDE version and did not see the captions per pic.....
But still I like this one ya took of the manager and a long time patron of the theater. The theme captured here is neighborhood theaters soon becoming extinct.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/...7600395664561/

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Kamehameha Schools has purchased the Varsity Theatre property.

Honolulu Advertiser

[koloagirl]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Aloha from Kaua'i!

I was so sad to hear about the Varsity closing! Whenever my hubby and I come over to O'ahu - it is one of our "must go" spots -- since we no longer have any theatres here on Kaua'i that show the foreign or independent films that we so enjoy -- the Varsity was always a treat for us and one that we looked forward to!

So what is left now? The Doris Duke?
Is it the only one showing non-mainstream films on O'ahu?

So very sad!

[lavagal]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Aloha from Kaua'i!

I was so sad to hear about the Varsity closing! Whenever my hubby and I come over to O'ahu - it is one of our "must go" spots -- since we no longer have any theatres here on Kaua'i that show the foreign or independent films that we so enjoy -- the Varsity was always a treat for us and one that we looked forward to!

So what is left now? The Doris Duke?
Is it the only one showing non-mainstream films on O'ahu?

So very sad!

I guess word doesn't get out that artsy flicks still get to Hawaii, with Ward featuring them, and the Restaurant Row, too. I'm not into obscure films and the last film I watched was animated and I was accompanied by a five year old. I saw "Like Water for Chocolate" probably six times when it was at Varsity years ago, so I understand it as a desire, but I don't understand it as a need.

Kamehameha Schools has purchased the Varsity Theatre property.

Honolulu Advertiser

I think they're on to something. However, hasn't it been rumored that Pucks Alley is up for renovations for something like 15 years now? That place is rickety crickety! It would be great if that whole area was upgraded.

[Kaukura]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

the french hit "La Vie en Rose (La Môme)" is at the Ward. I was quite surprised as I had not expected it to play here. The Dole sometimes shows foreign films (Volver, Pans Labrynth and a few other french films recently) so we do get some. But hopefully one of these theatres will start showing more obscure films as there are people who do want to see them.

[helen]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

btw, how long has that projector that is near the box office been there?

At least the last 5 years if not eariler.

[DannyWilliams]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

At least the last 5 years if not eariler.

ahhhhhhh thnx for the reply

[oceanpacific]

Re: Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

Memorable (and not so memorable) flicks I saw at Varsity:

DAY OF THE JACKAL;
THE PARTY;
SIDDHARTHA;
APRIL FOOLS;
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN;
OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT