Reviews
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

January 13, 2024
7.0
This is quite a fascinating documentary following the fate of a cinema that even John Waters said "shocked him". It wasn't always on the same site in Central London, but the "Scala" name quickly became a magnet for all those who didn't conform to the more mainstream - with their own behaviour and/or attitudes and/or taste in films. Using an astonishing amount of well researched actuality and some interviews with the folks who worked there or attended over the years, we learn of a place that offered a venue for any combination of the Bohemian, the decadent, the drugged up, boozed up, gay - and, yep, even the serious film goer as it originally opened and closed many years later with "King Kong" (1933)! I did live in London in the late 1980s and King's Cross was a dump - full of hookers, rent boys and you never strayed far from an heroin needle. The "Scala" thrived amidst this alternative and hedonistic environment and though I don't know that I quite qualify for the groups that regularly used the place after midnight, my two visits were fun and never intimidating - the sound system there was not the best! Porn, horror, martial arts, cartoons - nothing was off limits until the local council took exception to "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) and the subsequent legal fracas pretty much put paid to the place as a cinema. It's split into parts that illustrate the rise and fall of what was essentially an establishment that didn't really matter in which building it was located. Sticky floors, sticky seats, dark "back massages" offering a range of facilities from a sleeping berth to a shagging one. It can't resist the usual bit of Mrs. Thatcher-bashing at the end which adds a bit of authenticity to a cinema that existed precisely because it was so anti-establishment and pro free-spirit. It reminded me a little of the "Studio 54" (2018) documentary. A place that was legendary and fun and necessary - probably still is. Very watchable on a big screen if you can.

Recommendation Movies

7.9
Documentary
View
7.9
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer2022
8.4
Animation
View
8.4
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse2018
8.4
Animation
View
8.4
Your Name.
Your Name.2016
8.2
Adventure
View
8.2
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War2018
7.4
Horror
View
7.4
A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place2018
8.2
Adventure
View
8.2
Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame2019
8.6
Drama
View
8.6
The Godfather
The Godfather1972
7.6
Science Fiction
View
7.6
Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water2022
8.5
Comedy
View
8.5
Parasite
Parasite2019
7.6
Mystery
View
7.6
Get Out
Get Out2017
7.5
Action
View
7.5
Thor: Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok2017
7.5
Adventure
View
7.5
Ready Player One
Ready Player One2018
6.8
Horror
View
6.8
Bird Box
Bird Box2018
7.8
Comedy
View
7.8
Knives Out
Knives Out2019
8.4
Adventure
View
8.4
Interstellar
Interstellar2014
7.3
Action
View
7.3
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming2017
8.1
Drama
View
8.1
Wonder
Wonder2017
8.1
Action
View
8.1
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Zack Snyder's Justice League2021
6.8
Action
View
6.8
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel2019
8.4
Fantasy
View
8.4
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle2004
© 2024 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt