So, in celebration of our city’s generous share of movie-going choices, here are our favorite theaters for taking in a foreign film.

Film Forum
209 West Houston Street
Web site
Normal Ticket Price: $12.50

What started in 1970 with 50 folding chairs and a projector has become a New York institution. Film Forum is the only autonomous nonprofit cinema in New York (and one of few in the U.S.). A self-described “cinema of ideas,” Film Forum screens myriad independent films from all over the world. Two of its three theaters are devoted to ongoing film programs: One premieres American indie and foreign art films and the other shows repertory classics.

Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
Web site
Tickets: $10 for a day of screenings (see below)

The MoMA has an excellent and diverse film screening program, showing some American and many foreign films in its three theaters. The week starts with Modern Mondays, an exploration, through screenings and discussion panels, of the cutting edge in cinema. More traditional screenings from the MoMA film library happen daily, with many festivals and special exhibitions, as well.

Film tickets for all three theaters can be purchased at the lobby information desk starting at 9:30 a.m. daily. You can also purchase tickets for the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters 1 and 2 at the film desk beginning at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends, and for the Celeste Bartos Theater (Theater 3) at the lobby desk of the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building starting at 1 p.m.

All tickets for a day of screenings cost $10 ($8 for seniors and $6 for students, free 16 and under). Tickets are (our favorite word) free during Target Free Friday Nights, every Friday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. (as is the rest of the museum). Planning to attend more than one film in a day? Simply present your ticket stub at the film desk to receive your ticket for the next film. Hello bargain!

Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston Street
Web site
Normal Ticket Price: $13

Built in 1898, the beautiful building now known as Sunshine Cinema has gone through incarnations as the Houston Hippodrome movie theater, a Yiddish vaudeville house and a hardware warehouse. Currently run by the art-house company Landmark Theatres, the Sunshine shows first-run indie and foreign films on five screens.

Get there early to check out the Japanese rock garden, or head up to the impressive third-floor glass annex for some jaw-dropping city views.

Cheapo tip: While regular ticket prices are $13 ($9 for seniors and the under-12 set), Sunshine offers special midnight showings cult favorites like Clue and the bizarre The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things for just $10. Check the Web site for featured weekend films.

Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street
Web site
Normal Ticket Price: $11

This Greenwich Village mainstay has been showing great foreign, independent and documentary films since 1972—and has played a role in popularizing many of them (think Cinema Paradiso and Hoop Dreams), to boot. Given its Village location, expect many a social-issue film and an old-school “boho” vibe.

Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston Street
Web site
Normal Ticket Price: $13

This pretty little art house theater is located just around the corner from EuroCheapo headquarters in the Village. It’s so close, in fact, that our afternoon coffee runs often involve glancing at posters that line the building’s outer wall for the latest and greatest in edgy, artsy and foreign flicks.

The Angelika café on the main floor is a great place to dabble in pre-movie lattes or even organic sandwiches (dinner and a movie all in one place!). It’s so popular, actually, that it’s not uncommon for non-moviegoers to stop in to enjoy tasty treats and health shakes among chandelier and columns of the lavish, old-fashioned lobby.

BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Web site
Normal Ticket Price: $12

Across the river, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, hub of all things art, operates a four-screen theater in what was formerly the academy’s music hall. That means pretty, historic spaces with excellent acoustics. Three screens show first-run independent and foreign films, and the fourth is dedicated to BAMcinématek, a program that shows repertory classics. Also keep an eye out for special film festivals.

Tickets cost $12 for adults and $9 for seniors and students 25 and under (do note that the student price is valid only Monday through Thursday). Matinees, Monday through Thursday before 5 p.m. and Sunday before 3 p.m. can be seen for $8.

Your favorite movie theater in New York?

Have a theater to add to our list? Tell us about it in the comments section.

The post New York: The best movie theaters for foreign films appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Ha! This can prove to be more difficult than getting into the Uffizi on a Saturday. Most movies in Italy are shown almost exclusively in the Italian language, meaning they are dubbed and translated for foreign audiences— and sometimes not in the viable (read: easy to understand) way. Good thing the Odeon Theater is there when you need a film fix.

Popcorn anyone?

The Odeon theater, located in Piazza Strozzi (near Piazza Repubblica),  is practically the only place in town where you can see an American movie in its original language, and often it features Italian subtitles so you can practice your best Ciao! while enjoying a fun night on the town.

One of the biggest draws of the Odeon cinema is its beauty. The theater itself is housed in a 15th-century palazzo which maintains a uniquely original 1920s interior. This elegant 1920s style is characterized by ornate gold decorations, a ticket office done up in rich, dark wood and two stylish bars are featured prominently on opposite ends of the theater. Plush gold velvet seating makes for comfortable viewing (and spacious legroom!) and the enormous statues framing the screen add a touch of glamour.

By far, though, the Odeon’s best asset is the giant stained glass dome covering the main screening room. In the right light, the area becomes filled with colors and patterns. Simply stunning!

Other notable Odeon programs

The Odeon Original Sound Programme, hosted over the course of three to four nights each week, is a series of movies offered in their original language (again, typically English).  The selection is generally a mix of the big American theatrical releases and some smaller independent movies that have gained some critical recognition. Programming is not consistent week to week so make sure to check out the schedule beforehand. Note that Italian subtitles are almost always offered.

The other great initiative of the Odeon is that they host multiple film festivals. One that I love is the ’50 days of International Film’ hosted here every fall. Note that during festivals, the Original Sound programming moves to the Odeon’s sister cinema, the Astra 2 (in Piazza Beccaria).

Tickets cost only €7.50, with discounts available for students and for Wednesday night showings. Also, alcohol is permitted in this theater, so treat yourself to a pre-movie aperitif!

More film fun

Florence, with its multitude of diverse and international inhabitants has placed a particular emphasis on the arts, and as such they have hosted many annual film festivals concentrating on certain cultures or communities and their relevant films. The most famous events of the year are the Korea Film Fest, River to River (an festival focusing on Indian films), the Festival dei Popoli featuring documentary film, the Florence Queer Festival, France Odeon, the Women and Film Festival and others including children’s films and short films. The majority of these festivals are held between the months of October and December although spring does host a few as well.

You can check out this website for a list of Tuscan festivals or visit each festival’s site directly. Screenings during festivals are held at the Odeon and other central movie theaters, as well as specifically designated festival spaces.

Happy viewing!

The post Where to see English language movies in Florence appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

With almost 400 theaters in Paris showing 600 films on any given day, choosing just one film can be daunting.

First things first: Get your hands on a Pariscope, the weekly entertainment guide available at any newsstand, or visit Allocine.fr. (In cinema listings, “v.f.” stands for “version francaise,” meaning it’s dubbed in French with no subtitles. “V.o.” is “version originale,” which means the film is presented in its original language with subtitles in French.)

Spotlight on… Studio 28

My own favorite cinema is little Studio 28, the only movie house on the hill of Montmartre. With just 170 seats and about ten screenings a week, it has earned a special place in the Parisian filmscape.

Founded in 1928 (hence the name), it immediately carved a niche in history as the world’s first avant-garde art theater. Studio 28’s fame was secured when Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel premiered one of the first surrealist films there: “L’Age d’Or” (The Golden Age).

Before you go

Today, Studio 28 provides a delightful experience while remaining relatively inexpensive, compared to other Paris movie theatres. During July, it offers a special reduced-fare series featuring international classics like “Rebel Without a Cause”, “East of Eden”, “Roman Holiday”, and “Double Indemnity”, among others.

The cinema offers a rare opportunity to experience films the way they were before the multiplex—it’s no wonder that Audrey Tautou’s “Amélie Poulain” headed to Studio 28 every Friday.

Also to note: Studio 28 maintains a rotating display of artwork, and showcases the hand- and footprints of famous actors and directors who have premiered films there.

A bar at the end of the lobby opens onto a small beer garden (enclosed in winter) where you can sit and have a drink or some snacks before the show. Once you’ve entered the auditorium, settle into your plush red seat, let your eyes adjust to the dark, and make sure you check out the old piano nearby. It last saw serious use when Charlie Chaplin showed his movies here. The large set of surrealist light fixtures in the same auditorium were created by artist/film director Jean Cocteau.

Practical info: Studio 28 is located at 10 rue Tholozé in the 18th arrondissement (Metros Abbesses or Blanche). Phone: 01 46 06 36 07, or check online for current listings. Tickets are usually €7.50 (students €6.30)

Other cinemas of note

La Pagode (57, rue de Babylone, 7th arrondissement), looks like a Japanese temple. It was built for the wife of the founder of Au Bon Marché, the oldest department store in the city.

Le Balzac (just off the Champs-Elysées at 1, rue Balzac) will make you feel like you’re on a steamship bound for a distant land, thanks to its porthole-and-riveted-steel-hatchways ocean liner decor.

At La Péniche Cinéma that particular aesthetic is carried even further, as the theater actually is a ship—well, a barge, anyway—docked at Parc de la Villette each winter, and then moored at La Villette canal basin all summer.

Le Grand Rex is by far the city’s largest and flashiest theater. Located at 1, boulevard Poissonnière (between Metros Grands Boulevards and Bonne Nouvelle), this humongous movie palace was erected in 1932 at the height of the Art Deco movement. It can seat audiences of 5,000.

Do you have a favorite Paris cinema? Tell us about it in the comment section below!

Also, read our post on how to score discount movie tickets in Paris.

The post Paris Cinema: Classic films at Studio 28, and more appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.