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Topic: The Curzon Community Cinema

Paul Adsett
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From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 19, 2016 07:09 PM

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Just stumbled on this video of the Curzon Community Cinema in Clevedon Somerset UK, which used to house the heritage collection of film projectors up until 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0MO5M7RU88

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Maurice Leakey
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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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posted September 20, 2016 02:48 AM

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I believe it's now 100% digital, the Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 is no longer used. nor the 16mm pedestal Eiki.

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Maurice

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Dave Groves
Jedi Master Film Handler

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From: Southend on Sea, Essex, UK
Registered: Feb 2015

posted September 20, 2016 04:25 AM

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Paul, at the end of the piece about the Curzon there are some pictures and clicking on the top right hand one (a picture of projectors) brings up, among others, a very interesting item about the Curzon museum. Unfortunately, I seem to recall that it was required to leave the building. Perhaps someone can confirm that and, if correct, what happened afterwoods.

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Dave

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Maurice Leakey
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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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posted September 20, 2016 04:30 AM

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Dave
Everybody who had loaned equipment to the museum were asked to collect them. The last I heard was that the management were going to use the area as a café.
I have added a few more projectors to my own collection which the original owner had no further use for them having hired a van to collect all the items he had previously on show at the cinema.

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Maurice

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Dave Groves
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posted September 20, 2016 05:50 AM

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Thanks for that Maurice. I suppose far more folk would be interested in visiting the cafe than the museum and it would probably generate a handsome profit. Great pity but it's all about profit.

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Dave

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Maurice Leakey
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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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posted September 20, 2016 06:07 AM

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The museum was only open on selected dates when volunteers were available to act as hosts and answer questions. I am not sure if there was an admission charge.
I only live 16 miles away and still kick myself that I never visited.

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Maurice

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Paul Adsett
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posted September 20, 2016 10:24 AM

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Here is a video of the Curzon Collection produced by the Clevedon News Channel in 2012. It starts at 12:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEIpnWFSttU

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Terry Sills
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From: Weymouth,Dorset,England
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posted September 20, 2016 12:05 PM

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Yes it's correct that there was no admission charge and manned by volunteers, but only open to the public on certain dates. I'm fortunate in having visited the museum the year before it closed. To people like us it was a veritable Alladins Cave. Awesome. New management took control of the building and making a profit was the priority and the museum was deemed unprofitable even had they charged admission. The manager, a young man, was completely unimpressed by the collection of cinema heritage and just wanted it cleared. A lot of the collection had been donated and was still the property of the donors, so some of the projectors and equipment was saved from being dumped. A very sad end to a fantastic museum of Cinematic History.

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Paul Adsett
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posted September 20, 2016 06:07 PM

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I visited the cinema in May 2012 and I thought it was amazing. At that time Maurice Thornton and Colin Cowles had no idea that it would be shut down just a few months later, by a bean counter with no appreciation of cinema history.

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Andrew Woodcock
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posted September 20, 2016 06:10 PM

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For such a lovely historical cinema, it's a real shame, like almost all others now, it no longer has the ability to screen any format of real film sadly.

[ September 22, 2016, 03:51 AM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]

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Tom Spielman
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posted September 21, 2016 04:48 PM

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It is sad, but if a cafe would help fund the repairs necessary to reopen that balcony and restore the original ceiling, - that would be something. Not sure why they couldn't keep a 35mm projector around though.

It looks like they had some pieces displayed in other parts of the cinema aside from just the museum. Are those gone too?

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Paul Adsett
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posted September 21, 2016 07:27 PM

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The café will certainly bring in revenue to help support the cinema, but I would think that with a little imagination they could have incorporated many elements of the Curzon Collection to make it a really interesting movie themed café to visit, look around at some historical film equipment and memorabilia, and enjoy a coffee and cake.

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Dave Groves
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From: Southend on Sea, Essex, UK
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posted September 22, 2016 01:09 PM

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Paul, you have to have a little imagination to do that. It may be that they need input from someone with vision to take them beyond the mundanely obvious.

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Dave

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Maurice Leakey
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From: Bristol. United Kingdom
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posted September 24, 2016 06:27 AM

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Just spoken to Colin Cowles who says that there are still some items in the cinema which were never collected by their owners. It is believed they are tucked away somewhere and are not on show.

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Maurice

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Graham Ritchie
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posted September 24, 2016 10:00 PM

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Sadly this kind of thing is all to common these days. You need people that have an interest/passion in film and projectors for them to survive [Frown]

[Frown]

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