Art house cinemas will no doubt be increasing in popularity as the public try to escape the over commercialized, and generally lacking in substance, films that can fill our cinema screens today.
The Glasgow Film Theatre or GFT, as its more commonly known, is Glasgow's very own art-house cinema.
The cinema was opened as Cosmo cinema in May 1939, and was noted as being the first art house cinema opened outside of London. Seating 850, its design was the last work of architect James McKissack. The building does indeed catch your eye as you walk Sauchiehall Street and it is polar opposite to the modern monster that is the 'Cineworld' of Renfrew Street.
The GFT was advertised by the slogan, 'Entertainment for the Discriminating.' Another prominent piece of advertising was the popular, bowler-hatted, character of Mr Cosmo who graced the pages of newspapers and the like.
1973 saw the Scottish Film Council buy the Cosmo and after extensive refurbishment, reopened to the public as the Glasgow Film Theatre in 1974.
*Fun Fact* The GFT is the only remaining cinema in Western Scotland with the capability to show 70mm films.
The GFT became independant of the Scottish Film Council in 1986, and although many had thought the cinema would not survive the decline in cinema-going and recession, the cinema is still going strong today even with the major form of competition from 'Cineworld' and the DVD market for films.
Film goers today are now ready to embrace more of a cinema experience and through researching this particular type of cinema it is clear that art-house cinemas are what 'the people' are looking for.
I find that most films today are made on the premise of other films before them. It is hard to find the same variety that there had once been. Not to say that every commercial film that is released is rubbish, but it does get a bit monotonous sitting through an hour and a half of Hugh Grant trying to 'woo' the woman but with no success and then finally in the last ten minutes she gives in to his charm and they all live happily ever after. Especially when he has released at least 4 films on this basic story line!
New films are pressured to break barriers and it could be this pressure that is their undoing..
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