Chautauqua Cinema
The Chautauqua Cinema is a charming and comfortable movie theater within Chautauqua Institution. Join us for our summer-long festival of the best feature films, independents, art films and classics!



CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)


THE WEDDING BANQUET
Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang) and running out of time, Min (Han Gi-chan)makes a proposal: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) in exchange for her partner Lee’s (Lily Gladstone) expensive IVF. Elopement plans are upended, however, when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet. Directed by Andrew Ahn (Fire Island). “A modern-day tale with an old-fashioned spirit, a joyous crowd-pleaser with the most romantic of hearts.” -Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com (R, 103m)


THE PENGUIN LESSONS
A disillusioned Englishman (Steve Coogan) goes to work in a school in a divided Argentina in 1976 where he finds his life transformed after rescuing an injured penguin from the beach in director Peter Cattaneo’s charming film. “When all is said and done, The Penguin Lessons is about finding the courage to stand up to injustice at one’s own peril” -Ty Burr, Washington Post “. “Despite the danger of G-rated sentimentality, which everyone involved heroically avoids, The Penguin Lessons is a work of surprising depth and subtle, irresistible impact.” -Rex Reed, Observer (PG-13, 110m)


WYNTON MARSALIS’ ALL RISE
Special Program Event! Free Admission with Gate Pass! Recorded live at the Chautauqua Amphitheater in 2024 this is Wynton Marsalis’s massive jazz symphony All Rise performed in it’s entirety featuring the Music School Festival Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. (NR, 115m)


THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE
Always the woman behind the man, Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve) has worked long in her husband Jacques’ shadow. When he attains the presidency of France in 1995, she fully claims the place in the political elite that she believes she deserves. “Deneuve is delicious in a role affectionately crafted for her.” -Thelma Adams, AARP Movies for Grownups “Deneuve doesn’t just play Bernadette…she rewrites the part history forgot.” -Rex Reed, Observer (NR, In French with subtitles. 92m)


MATERIALISTS
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans) in Past Lives writer/director Celine Song’s masterful new feature. “A romantic film for pragmatists, a pragmatic film for romantics. Opposites attract, and it’s a perfect match.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “Sparkling, smart and sophisticated—finally, a rom-com for intelligent adults.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday “Wonderful, in a wistful, elusive way.” -Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine (R, 116m)


MATERIALISTS
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans) in Past Lives writer/director Celine Song’s masterful new feature. “A romantic film for pragmatists, a pragmatic film for romantics. Opposites attract, and it’s a perfect match.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “Sparkling, smart and sophisticated—finally, a rom-com for intelligent adults.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday “Wonderful, in a wistful, elusive way.” -Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine (R, 116m)


THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE
Always the woman behind the man, Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve) has worked long in her husband Jacques’ shadow. When he attains the presidency of France in 1995, she fully claims the place in the political elite that she believes she deserves. “Deneuve is delicious in a role affectionately crafted for her.” -Thelma Adams, AARP Movies for Grownups “Deneuve doesn’t just play Bernadette…she rewrites the part history forgot.” -Rex Reed, Observer (NR, In French with subtitles. 92m)


MATERIALISTS
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pedro Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans) in Past Lives writer/director Celine Song’s masterful new feature. “A romantic film for pragmatists, a pragmatic film for romantics. Opposites attract, and it’s a perfect match.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “Sparkling, smart and sophisticated—finally, a rom-com for intelligent adults.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday “Wonderful, in a wistful, elusive way.” -Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine (R, 116m)


THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE
Always the woman behind the man, Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve) has worked long in her husband Jacques’ shadow. When he attains the presidency of France in 1995, she fully claims the place in the political elite that she believes she deserves. “Deneuve is delicious in a role affectionately crafted for her.” -Thelma Adams, AARP Movies for Grownups “Deneuve doesn’t just play Bernadette…she rewrites the part history forgot.” -Rex Reed, Observer (NR, In French with subtitles. 92m)


JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
Agathe (Camille Rutherford), is hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions as well as desperately single. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. When she is Invited to a Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she finds she must confront her insecurities. “A gentle treat, sure to leave any book-loving viewer happy.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times “A celebration of bibliophilia and cinephilia alike!” -Ann Hornaday, Washington Post (R, 94)


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in this sentimental sendoff that accomplishes its mission with a characteristic flair for the impossible. “It’s thrilling, funny, absurd in the best way. It’s pure spectacle, and that’s the entire reason these movies exist.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “The last hour is exhilarating; there are scenes that will make you lean forward in your seat, amazed at what you’re seeing.” -Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle “A thrilling jolt of pure summer fun.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday (PG-13, 169m)


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in this sentimental sendoff that accomplishes its mission with a characteristic flair for the impossible. “It’s thrilling, funny, absurd in the best way. It’s pure spectacle, and that’s the entire reason these movies exist.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “The last hour is exhilarating; there are scenes that will make you lean forward in your seat, amazed at what you’re seeing.” -Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle “A thrilling jolt of pure summer fun.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday (PG-13, 169m)


JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
Agathe (Camille Rutherford), is hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions as well as desperately single. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. When she is Invited to a Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she finds she must confront her insecurities. “A gentle treat, sure to leave any book-loving viewer happy.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times “A celebration of bibliophilia and cinephilia alike!” -Ann Hornaday, Washington Post (R, 94)


JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
Agathe (Camille Rutherford), is hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions as well as desperately single. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. When she is Invited to a Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she finds she must confront her insecurities. “A gentle treat, sure to leave any book-loving viewer happy.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times “A celebration of bibliophilia and cinephilia alike!” -Ann Hornaday, Washington Post (R, 94)


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in this sentimental sendoff that accomplishes its mission with a characteristic flair for the impossible. “It’s thrilling, funny, absurd in the best way. It’s pure spectacle, and that’s the entire reason these movies exist.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “The last hour is exhilarating; there are scenes that will make you lean forward in your seat, amazed at what you’re seeing.” -Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle “A thrilling jolt of pure summer fun.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday (PG-13, 169m)


CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)


JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
Agathe (Camille Rutherford), is hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions as well as desperately single. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. When she is Invited to a Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she finds she must confront her insecurities. “A gentle treat, sure to leave any book-loving viewer happy.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times “A celebration of bibliophilia and cinephilia alike!” -Ann Hornaday, Washington Post (R, 94)


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in this sentimental sendoff that accomplishes its mission with a characteristic flair for the impossible. “It’s thrilling, funny, absurd in the best way. It’s pure spectacle, and that’s the entire reason these movies exist.” -Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald “The last hour is exhilarating; there are scenes that will make you lean forward in your seat, amazed at what you’re seeing.” -Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle “A thrilling jolt of pure summer fun.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday (PG-13, 169m)


THE LIFE OF CHUCK
From childhood to adulthood, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained within all of us in director Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming, genre-bending film. “Feels like the coziest of blankets enveloping you in the theater. However, you should expect a few jolts of static…this touching, beautiful film is based on a novella by Stephen King.” -Odie Henderson, Boston Globe “A story of profound humanity, ultimately spirit-expanding.” -Nell Minow, Movie Mom (R, 110m)


OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. The celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never before. “Environmental film-making at its most powerful .” -James Jackson, The Times UK (PG, 95m)


OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. The celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never before. “Environmental film-making at its most powerful .” -James Jackson, The Times UK (PG, 95m)


THE LIFE OF CHUCK
From childhood to adulthood, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained within all of us in director Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming, genre-bending film. “Feels like the coziest of blankets enveloping you in the theater. However, you should expect a few jolts of static…this touching, beautiful film is based on a novella by Stephen King.” -Odie Henderson, Boston Globe “A story of profound humanity, ultimately spirit-expanding.” -Nell Minow, Movie Mom (R, 110m)


OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. The celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never before. “Environmental film-making at its most powerful .” -James Jackson, The Times UK (PG, 95m)


PURPLE MOUNTAINS / THE HYPOCRITE
Double Feature: Purple Mountains and The Hypocrite, with Erin Sprague and Auden Schendler


THE LIFE OF CHUCK
From childhood to adulthood, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained within all of us in director Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming, genre-bending film. “Feels like the coziest of blankets enveloping you in the theater. However, you should expect a few jolts of static…this touching, beautiful film is based on a novella by Stephen King.” -Odie Henderson, Boston Globe “A story of profound humanity, ultimately spirit-expanding.” -Nell Minow, Movie Mom (R, 110m)


CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)


CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)


CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)


CHQ @ 150 – ALL RISE
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)
Location & Information
DIRECTIONS
The Cinema is located in Chautauqua Institution at the corner of Hurst and Wythe Avenues about 1/4 mile from Bestor Plaza. Follow the brick walk (Pratt Avenue) northwest from the Plaza and look for the Cinema’s marquee up and to your left, just past Norton Hall, and before the Children’s School playground.
PRESALE TICKETS
Tickets for all films may be purchased in advance from the Cinema Box Office, Main Gate Ticket Office, Bestor Plaza Visitors Center, Amphitheater Kiosk, at tickets.chq.org or by phone at 716-357-6250.
ATTENDING FROM OUTSIDE THE GROUNDS
Purchase your movie ticket at the Main Gate Ticket Office or in advance at tickets.chq.org. Your ticket includes access to Chautauqua Institution grounds beginning one hour before the film and lasting up to one hour after the screening.
PARKING
Parking is available in the Main Lot, accessible from Route 394 across from the Main Gate Welcome Center. Parking is $15 per day. Secure your Main Lot Parking Pass in advance for smooth entry.
OUR MOVIES
We run a select series. All of our films have received critical acclaim and/or won awards. We picked them and we like them, but this does not guarantee you will. Please make informed choices. Our carefully worded program descriptions may be of help. Enjoy the show!
Angels
THANK YOU to these Angels who have invested in the future of our Cinema!!
Paul & Merrillie Schmidt
Judith Alison Lee
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox & Tim Hollins
Pete Wietzel
Peter McDowell
Barbara & Peter Georgescu
Sanford & Margery Nobel
Barbara Britton
Terrie Vaile Hauck
The Richard Karslake Family
Janet & Av Posner
Meredith & Raymond Andrews
T. Lynn Young
Miles & Elmore Demott
Ronda Brands & David Bakamjian
Liz, Tim, Olivia, Charlie & Madeleine Landon
David Klahr & Pam Weiss
Barbara Jacob
Frank & Elizabeth Petiprin
Drs. Lawrence & Carol Rizzolo
Harry & Gloria Glatz
David Miller
Virginia Putnam
Dr Howard & Pamela Saunders
Suzanne Koble
Eileen Braungard
Miles & Elmore Demott
Paul & Sue Harvey
Carole & Joel Schuman
Sylvia M. Faust
Rev. Richard E. Zajac
Herbert & Barbara Keyser
Daniel Andries & Anne Northrup
Bob Hopper
Richard & Sally Kalin
Bethanne Snodgrass & Marianna Montrie
Linda Steckley
Karen & Jonathan Levy
Stewart and Donna Kohl
Jeannette Ludwig
Todd Holland & Scotch Ellis Loring
Bill & Angela James
Margaret & Charles Zeiders
John Viehe Ed.D.
Friends of the Library Theater
Caroline Van Kirk Bissell
Jim & Betsy Vance
Teresa Kammerman (Genovese)
Rowland Bennett
Mike & Aleka Schmidt
Howard Teibel
Carol A. Chimento
Jay & Rosanna Benitez
Maggie & George Snyder
Rick & Susie Rieser
Gary & Jane Blemaster
Kathy Sabatier & Rick Funkhouser
Penny Banks
Gayle & Andrew Camden
Bonnye & Larry Roose
Tori, Clarissa & Bobbi Savage
Sarah M. Redding
David Jaffe
Judy & Robert Doebke
Kit Klaber
David Zinman
Ira Cooperman
Fredonia Opera House
Jim Chimento M.D.
Bob & Joan Battaglin
Nancy & Phillip Kotler
Steven Jacobs & Patrica Curley
Charles & Naomi Kaufman
Ren & Patty Perlee
Karen Blozie
David Klahr & Pam Weiss
Karin Johnson
Paul & Sue Harvey
Bill & Ellen Neches
Susan C. Luehrs
Enid Shames
Diane, Marty & Doug Friedman
Ms. Joan A Smith
Mark E. Altschuler
Alice O’Grady
Janita K. Byars
Carolyn Whitehead
Jane A. Gross
Cathy & Leigh Digel
Lawrence & Jaqueline Katz
Fred & Judy Gregory
Dr. Cheryl Opacinch Gorelick
Neal & Linda Rhoads
History of the Chautauqua Cinema
By Paul Schmidt. Appended by Billy Schmidt.

The Chautauqua Cinema is located in historic Higgins Hall located on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. It has been a moviehouse for fully three fourths of its life, but when given to Chautauqua in 1895 by Frank Wayland Higgins (then a NY State senator and soon-to-be governor) and his sister Clara K. Smith in honor of their father, Orrin Trall Higgins, it was used for a variety of educational and performance purposes. Sturdily built of pressed brick with terra cotta trimmings, the portion with the pitched roof was a hall seating about 400 for speeches, recitals, plays, and yes, some religious services, although the building was not built as, nor intended to be, a church (a myth oft-repeated by misinformed tour guides).
The flat-roofed portion contained several smaller meeting rooms and a kitchen. Most of the Institution’s expanding programs for young women were headquartered in Higgins Hall, including the Girl’s Club and an especially adventurous sounding (for the late 19th century) women’s organization called The Outlook Club.
The building’s most illustrious day came in 1905 when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a major policy speech in Chautauqua’s amphitheater, preceded by breakfast in Higgins Hall prepared by the Chautauqua domestic science class. In this photo taken on the Higgins Hall steps, Roosevelt (center) is flanked by Chautauqua cofounder John Heyl Vincent (also in top hat, on his left) and Jacob Riis, renowned social reformer (hat in hand) on his right. Riis’s presence undoubtedly had to do with the theme of the president’s message that day, which advocated – remember, he was a Republican – government checks on the runaway power of the huge corporations.

Interestingly, even as Higgins Hall was being constructed in 1895, Thomas Edison (who had married Chautauqua co-founder Lewis Miller’s daughter) was tinkering with his motion picture camera and projector while vacationing only a few hundred yards away. Chautauqua was also the scene of several meetings between Edison and George Eastman who developed the all-important continuous roll film (instead of individual plates) which made movies practicable.
Between 1911 and 1915, the play was the thing in Higgins Hall, which housed first the Coburn Players and then the Chautauqua Players. But the Magic of Movies took over Higgins Hall in 1916, presented by The Community Motion Picture Bureau in cooperation with the Institution, and films have been shown there ever since. (It’s interesting to note that Chautauquans’ thirst for the flickering images was so great that during the mid 1920s, movies were also shown in a second building known as the Hall of Expression which was located on the plaza where Smith Library now stands.) Photos of Higgins Hall during this early movie era are not available, but newspaper ads for the films that were shown (examples illustrated are from 1920, 1926, 1931, and 1937) do give us a sense of the period.

Also, sometime during the 1920s or 1930s (we can find no record that pinpoints the year), the peaked roof of Higgins Hall was extended the full length of the building, thus providing space for a balcony. A simple intersecting peak replaced the ornate decorations which had topped the original entrance. (They were literally lopped off. Evidence is visible in the attic space created by the new peak). A best guess is that the terra cotta material from which all of the ornamentation was made simply didn’t hold up under the severe conditions of western New York winters.

Chautauqua Institution ceased functioning as a presenter of movies in 1938 when it leased Higgins Hall to Joseph Woodburn, a retired actor and vaudeville performer, who operated it as a private business until his death in 1954. My memories (as a fifth-grader in 1952) are of Mr. Woodburn collecting the ticket money at a rickety little red table just inside the entrance doors.
A green burlap curtain just behind him tried (unsuccessfully) to keep the daylight from invading the darkened auditorium (there was no lobby) where wooden armless benches made watching “Quo Vadis” a painfully long sit and the peeling up linoleum in the unlighted aisles made a trip to the “rest room” an adventure in itself! In 1952, of course, there was a widespread assumption that television would shortly wipe out the remaining moviehouses. With that in mind, I suppose, the Woodburns had not invested much in physical improvements.

But everyone seemed to know and enjoy Joe and Margaret and I remember my delight at his referenes to Higgins Hall as “the palace of mirth.” By 1956, the lack of CinemaScope equipment made it impossible to show most of the current releases at Higgins Hall, and with audiences shrinking Margaret decided to sell the business to my father, Robert Schmidt, a teacher from nearby Mayville (and later its mayor). His annual need for a summer job had resulted in his working as the Woodburns’ projectionist during the previous four years and he felt there was a future for the business, a view not shared by a business-savvy brother of my mother’s who promptly proclaimed my folks insane for taking it on!

All the members of the Schmidt family dove into the new enterprise with relish. A series of improvements, carried out over several years, was undertaken – new entrance and marquee, lobby and restrooms, carpeting, reopening of the balcony, new seats and wall panelling, air conditioning, and all-important upgrades in projection and sound – so that by about 1965 the “Cinema” was pretty much as one sees it now.

We did most of the work ourselves, often in zero cold during the winter months (installing air conditioning while ones hands are numb from cold is an emotionally conflicting experience.) Dad’s teaching specialty was industrial arts, and his varied skills were up to the challenge. The camera caught my lovely wife Merrillie, brush in hand, on a warmer day.

During the early 1980s, I had been gradually disengaging myself from the Cinema operation (my sons were now stepping in to help their grandfather), but when he died suddenly in 1985, I decided to carry on and turn the business in new directions. Resigning my teaching position in 1991, I became the “movieguy” on a full-time basis and during the 1990s, under the new banner of Uniplex Cinemas, Inc., we established wintertime programming in historic theaters in Jamestown and Fredonia, NY and in Warren and Bradford PA. Efforts in recent years to streamline Uniplex and prepare for an eventual transition have led us to pass the management of Jamestown, Fredonia and Bradford on to others.
Through the decades many physical improvements to the Chautauqua Cinema were undertaken. These included a new concessions stand (that replaced a bank of vending machines) in 1986, marquee and entrance refurbishment as well as interior redecoration and carpeting in 1998 and continued upgrades of our 35mm projection and sound systems including the installation of Dolby Digital 6-channel sound in 2003, and HD digital projection in 2007.

Jump forward to 2009 and the narration of this page changes from Paul to me, his son Bill. After 50 years of building the one of a kind Chautauqua Cinema into the treasure it is today your beloved movieguy Paul is finally taking his well deserved retirement. Those who know me will remember that as a boy I made quite a point to proclaim my independence. Certainly sticking around town and running the family business was well out of the question. My far reaching appetites led me as a young man to make a new home in San Francisco and find my living touring the world, honing my skills as a live audio engineer, a path that circuitously brought me to my own family.

Now as the father of two boys, I have learned a bit about the rewards of commitment. When faced with my Pop’s decision to retire I realized I could not bear to let the Cinema go. It was more than nostalgia. This was an opportunity to immerse myself in art that I adore, run my own business and broaden my family’s lifestyle to include the blessings of summer in Chautauqua. How could we not?

Jump foward to 2014 and the Cinema’s biggest challenge yet, the conversion to DCI compliant digital distribution and presentation for virtually all movies. The one time cost of these upgrades was far greater than the seasonal finaces of the Cinema could bear. So we asked our patrons for help! And the outpouring of generosity and love for the Cinema was absolutley amazing!
Through the support of our ‘Angels’ we were able invest in the equipment neccesary to not only keep the Cinema open but to keep our presentation standards top notch. We really couldn’t be happier with our new picture and sound. Ask for a tour of the projection booth if you are interested. We love to show off our gear!
