Detroit
Movie Palaces
The Film
Programs of the Detroit Film Theatre, Michigan Theater and Redford
Theatre
The Film Programs of the Detroit Film Theatre, Michigan Theater and Redford Theatre
Your Guide to Classic Movie Theater Fun!
|
Read
about recent events
in the Detroit Movie Palaces blog! |
|
|
Explore
theater history
in the Looking Back feature! |
Look What's Coming!
| From Here to Eternity returns February 14 to the Michigan, where it first played September 24, 1953. |
|
The acclaimed 2011 Iranian film A Separation screens at the DFT on February 24-26 and March 4. |
|
Billy Wilder directs the Oscar-winning The Apartment at the Redford on February 17-18. Video courtesy of Turner Classic Movies |
Home
Upcoming Films
| DFT | |
| Michigan | |
| Redford |
Detroit Film Theatre
| Essay | |
| Fact Sheet | |
| Web Site | |
| Blog Entries | |
| Images | |
| Videos |
Michigan Theater
| Essay | |
| Fact Sheet | |
| Web Site | |
| Blog Entries | |
| Images | |
| Videos |
Redford Theatre
| Essay | |
| Fact Sheet | |
| Web Site | |
| Blog Entries | |
| Images | |
| Videos |
Lobby
| Blog | |
| Links | |
| Looking Back | |
| Other Venues |
Books By Web Site Author
Detroit Film Theatre
Sophisticated Surroundings
The art museum atmosphere of the DIA carries
over into the DFT—quiet, formal, reserved. Carefully selected music
sets the mood for the featured film. 
Before
movies, a slide show on the DFT screen publicizes many of the fascinating
events at the DIA, along with other arts-related activities like the Mosaic
Youth Theatre of Detroit.
Film presentations are so consistently choreographed that even the closing of the auditorium doors increases your anticipation for the featured film. This formality is balanced by the youthful enthusiasm and edgy fashions of students from the nearby College for Creative Studies and Wayne State University.
An exclusive feeling of community draws many DFT visitors to films that often are being shown for the first (and maybe only) time in the Detroit area. Attending the DFT can take on the air of an event, like a night at the opera. Patrons are often dressed up, perhaps because of a visit to a DIA art exhibit or a nice restaurant.
Because of the low lobby ceilings, an intense
group feeling surrounds patrons leaving a show. It continues as everyone
fans out along John R towards their parking spaces. The city lights of
Detroit enhance the setting, with distant views of the Renaissance Center
and the golden tower of the Fisher Building. 
You
might see clusters of people who speak the native tongue of a foreign
language film, excitedly sharing their impressions of this moving picture
postcard from home.
The breaks between the three distinct seasons of the DFT add a welcome feeling of renewal for visitors in early summer, early fall and in the new year. The opening film of each season often includes a special introduction by DIA film curator Elliot Wilhelm. A farewell to the DFT at the end of its winter/spring schedule helps usher in the warmth of summer (which now includes a DFT schedule that is a welcome alternative to the summer blockbusters).
Detroit Film Theatre Fact Sheet
Detroit Movie Palaces Home Page
