The UW’s Mini Movie Palace

Alumni from the 1960s through the ’90s will recall that movie-loving groups called film societies often repurposed UW–Madison lecture halls for after-hours screenings. The uncomfortable seats weren’t especially easy on the back, but the opportunity to see Hollywood classics, international cinema, and challenging indie fare was undoubtedly good for the soul.

The film societies died out after video players became widely available, creating a void for movie nuts like me who craved a communal viewing experience with a sophisticated selection of films. Enter Cinematheque. Since 1998, the UW’s own cinematic paradise has offered free screenings for both students and the public, chiefly in the mini movie palace of 4070 Vilas Hall.

Staffed by experienced pros, Cinematheque is distinct from the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s film committee, whose student members program films mainly for their peers in other campus venues. The 170-seat Cinematheque venue advances the Wisconsin Idea by reaching out to the wider world of movie-goers who crave a big-screen alternative to the latest multiplex blockbuster.

“There’s nothing like this in the country: a thorough repertory cinema program where, on any given week, you can see up to three or four great movies that have been curated for free in a cinematic setting,” says Jim Healy, who became Cinematheque’s director of programming in 2010 after stints with the Chicago International Film Festival and other prestigious exhibitors.

Cinematheque outdoes the old film societies with comfy seats, a state-of-the-art sound system, and high-quality prints sourced from archives around the world. Along with offering digital projection, its custom-made 35-millimeter projectors give audiences the chance to see vintage movies in exactly the way they were originally screened. Well, almost exactly — you can sense Healy’s disappointment that antique carbon arc lamps are no longer available.

Attendance is strong at Cinematheque screenings — a testament to the legendary UW film culture, which has produced big-time writer-directors such as Michael Mann ’65, Errol Morris ’69, Jim Abrahams x’66, and David ’70 and Jerry ’72 Zucker. But Healy is especially proud of the program’s appeal to garden-variety movie fans. “It affects students and community members from all walks of life,” he says, “not just those interested in film careers.”

I’ll second that. My favorite Cinematheque experience was seeing Orson Welles’s Othello with my movie-obsessed teenager in 2015. After an immersion in the ravishing black-and-white images, we left 4070 Vilas Hall in a state of awe — and I’m happy to report that my back had never felt better.