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r/washingtondc•
bctix

Good place to see classic films in the district?

Hey all,

Moving to DC from Boston next month. One of the things I love most about our neighborhood now is how close it is the Coolidge, an old school theatre with great programming. Seeing stuff like Seven Samurai or North by Northwest in 35mm is the best and I'm sure there are spots that do similar showings in DC. I've heard and checked out the website for Suns Cinema which looks great! Any others?

I'll be living in Columbia Heights, so preferably close but definitely willing to travel.

Cheers!

Posted Jul 26, 2021, 6:29 PM UTC

1325
hmm-n•

There’s an AFI theater in Silver Spring that hosts events and such (at least they did pre-pandemic, unsure about now).

28
TommyTranq•

In fact AFI Silver is showing North By Northwest RIGHT NOW. lol. I also saw A Clockwork Orange there years ago. The AFI is def worth checking out!

15
jon20001•

The AFI Silver is the only rep theater in the area. We have nothing like the Coolidge.

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External-Carpenter-6•

Or the Stanford theatre.

4
Initial_Run1632•

RIP Biograph

1
ndband1•

Suns Cinema!

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Lvl100GodDC / Neighorhood•

Seconded! Is it still open?

3
ndband1•

Reopened this month

4
HardcoreCreeperDC / NoMa•

The Angelika Theater next to Union Market has classic movie events. Usually they do a whole Hitchcock thing in October and they have other stuff all the time too

9
Solid_QuailVA / Arlington•

Seconding AFI, as folks have mentioned, but there are also two Alamo Drafthouses opening this fall that are metro-accessible: One near Crystal City metro and one near Rhode Island Ave metro. They normally have a couple of classic showings a month; there are two Alamos further out (Loudon and Woodbridge) that have shown classics since they opened a few years back.

8
messmaker523•

The Avalon in chevy chase would play classics. Plus it was just an old school theater in general. Not sure what it's status is no because of covid

8
[deleted]•

AFI, but YMMV. It's the one thing DC sorely misses - a good oldies theatre.

3
ZernheltPenn Quarter•

The National Archives will sometimes show old films.

3
[deleted]•

It's been so long I can't remember: does the Library of Congress too? I have some vague memory of that.

1
ZernheltPenn Quarter•

I have the same vague memory, but it was vague enough that I didn't mention it. I wouldn't be surprised if they do.

1
The_Fourth_Doctor•

Pre-pandemic, the National Gallery of Art had a great film program and everything was free. I couldn’t find any details about when it will resume.

3
External-Carpenter-6•

Love Tom Baker!

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[deleted]•

[removed]

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External-Carpenter-6•

Also, if you want to see super esoteric films (not the kind that's available on dvd) check out the LOC. They can allow you to view certain titles in private booths that they screen for you. Its a really wonderful experience! I saw 1932's The Wiser Sex and 1929's Rich People that way.

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[deleted]•

[removed]

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OrangemanGary•

The Miracle Theatre on Barrack's Row shows classics pretty often.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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External-Carpenter-6•

A group of my friends have a classic (pre-1970) film club. Feel free to DM me for details!

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[deleted]•

Saw other people mention the AFI in Silver Spring. We're two minutes up the road and relatively recent MA transplants. Let me know if you ever want to hang out.

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msmith1994DC / Michigan Park•

Another vote for AFI in Silver Spring. It’s a super easy walk from the metro station.

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beautifulpoop•

Some of the run of the mill theaters have throwbacks (Regal in Chinatown, AMC in Georgetown, E Street Cinema and Atlantic Plumbing theater)

1