It's a Capitol Idea

My name is Ray Justavick and I am a lifelong movie fanatic and a long time critic. You may not have seen me up there with the big names in local film critique, but I am the guy on Tony Rizzo’s Really Big Show (WKNR AM 850 from nine till noon) who tries in vain to get the host to watch artful cinema such as Chanwook Park’s brilliantly strange OldBoy, but usually settles for the hosts review of the latest Transformers movie. Before that I was writing for various websites around the web, giving you, the reader, endless insight into cinematic art like Afro Ninja: Destiny and Hunt for the BTK Killer (okay, not true art house fair, but it’s a living). Now I am happily ensconced here at The Leader and ready to do my part to showcase some of the more daring film fare for you readers as well as cover some of the seasons more showy offerings.

But before we get into talking cinema, lets talk a little about where you see your favorite movies. If you are the type that stays in and watches movies on DVD or Blu-Ray without heading out to the theaters then you may skip to the end and anxiously await my next article (we‘ll talk home entertainment another day), but if you like to hunt down your filmed entertainment in the wild please let me make a case for why you should head out to the Capitol Theater in the Gordon Square Arts District.

Clevelanders have always seemed to me to be a fiercely loyal bunch. We like things that are from here, and we like things that showcase the positives of being from here. We’re blue collar, but much more sophisticated than we sometimes get credit for. What I’ve always admired about living in Cleveland was that we like to renovate rather than rebuild when its feasible.

The Gordon Square Arts District is a perfect example of this. The streets from West 54th to West 76th on the Detroit Shore way have undergone a massive renovation and now are home to art galleries, fantastic restaurants and very cool home décor stores. What was once a pretty bleak place that you would try to get through as quickly as your car could take you is now a pretty hip, happenin’ spot that not only has tons of interesting things to do, but is also an amazing showcase for how great a town Cleveland is.

Nestled within the Gordon Square Arts District is what I consider its crowning jewel; The Capitol Theater. The Capitol started business in the 1920’s as a vaudeville house and silent film theater. It operated until the mid 80’s and was forced to close due to lack of repairs to the building. For two decades it sat rotting and empty until the brave people behind the restoration of the Detroit Shore way put some serious dollars (and at least a few gallons of paint) into transforming this sad reminder of better days into the most beautiful full-time movie theater in Cleveland.

Don’t believe me, well go take a look for yourself. Walk into the lobby and take in the history before the start of Avatar. Sure, they may be showing some of the hottest new movies around (more on that later), but they have not forgotten the past. Artwork and chairs from the original Capitol are on display in the lobby, and if you look a little closer you will see that the artisans behind the theater’s facelift wisely decided to not restore everything at the Capitol. The molding on the walls were kept original to show the wear and tear the building has taken over the years (in the main theater you can still see marks from where the roof caved in). It’s a nice touch that to me is perfect for Cleveland; We may take our beatings but we can still clean up pretty nice.

Now one could cry and squawk that the Capitol, while pretty to look at, is still nothing more than a dolled up multiplex that has chopped up its giant auditorium to accommodate three movie screens. Very true, they have left the main screen untouched and huge, but have sectioned of the balcony and added two more screens. Sorry purists, but the people that pumped truckloads of cash into this renovation have to make a profit of some sort, and its hard to do without offering some variety. Variety is the key word here folks; and if it is one thing the Capitol exceeds at, it’s variety. While the main screen usually is showing whatever is the biggest movie in the country (such as Avatar), the two smaller screens upstairs offer more art house fair.

Okay, now I know this article is starting to go a bit long and I am beginning to come off like a bit of a honk for this part of town (which I certainly am, no impartiality when it comes to Gordon Square), but stick with me for just a few more moments while I make my last case for why you should go the extra mile to see a movie at the Capitol.

While the Capitol Theater is owned by the Gordon Square Arts District, it is run by the fine people at Cleveland Cinemas. Get it? CLEVELAND Cinemas, which is a local company. The owner lives here, hires here, and keeps all the money here in the Cleveland area. And while The Cleveland Cinemas chain (which includes the East Side’s best theater; The Cedar Lee) is basically a ma and pa operation when put up against giants such as Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, they strive harder and put more energy into making their theaters as state of the art as possible. The Capitol is a shining example of their focus on making what appears on the screen look and sound as amazing as the theater that surrounds it. It’s all digital, which means beautiful images on the screen without scratchy prints and sound that swirls all around you. That’s not to say the big chain movie theaters don’t care about your viewing experience, I just think the people running the Capitol care more. And if I can’t make my case with that lemme’ just tell ya’ this one on the sly; popcorn and soda are cheaper at the Capitol, and for you refined socialites out there, there is also a full compliment of beers and wines for you to imbibe.

And bear with me while we get back to programming for a minute. What I love about theaters like the Cedar Lee and the Capitol is that they show more than just whatever the big movie is at the moment. Coming up in the next few weeks the Capitol will be showing The Godfather as well as starting up a midnight movie series with such films as John Carpenter’s whacky kung fu fantasy Big Trouble in little China and George Romero’s homage to horror comics of the fifties Creepshow.

Okay, that’s it. I’ve introduced myself and stated my case not so subtly. Now get out there on the town and support your locally owned cinema, and while your there take a stroll through the Arts district.