Metro Cinema

11 Rupert Street,
London, W1 7FS

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Picturehouse Cinemas UK

Architects: John Burrell, Stefanie Fischer

Firms: Burrell, Foley & Fischer

Functions: Nightclub

Previous Names: Other Cinema

Nearby Theaters

The Other Cinema

Occupying an empty shell in the Trocadero Centre, which was originally supposed to be a theater, the Metro Cinema opened on 11th October 1985 with “Hail Mary” and “Dim Sum”.

Metro 1 with 195 seats was the auditorium of the theater space whilst Metro 2 (84 seats) was the former stage area. Both were below ground level.

The cinemas were plain - with rough cast concrete walls but some stylish embellishments existed in the Art Deco-style stairs and signs. Design was done by Burrell Foley Associates.

It was taken over by City Screen and re-named Other Cinema on 30th August 2002, but this was short lived as it was closed on 14th November 2004 with “Coffee and Cigarettes” & “Red Lights”. The street entrance became a ticket bureau. By 2015 the cinema space had been gutted and converted into an up-market nightclub named DSTRCT.

Contributed by Ian Grundy

Recent comments (view all 10 comments)

Edd
Edd on November 6, 2002 at 6:36 am

I remember running films p*ssed off my face at this show!!!

woody
woody on February 6, 2004 at 11:07 am

This is now The OTHER Cinema, run by the Picturehouse group (from early 2003)check pics at www.picturehouses.co.uk
it has a very strong arthouse, documentary booking policy showing a lot of very specialised titles and some great classic reissues exclusively in the West End, its been refurbished with screen 1 in shades of red with velevt seats (195) and screen 2 has cream leather armchairs (56)

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on November 14, 2004 at 9:22 am

The Other Cinema closed its doors on 14th November 2004. Though still popular with film fans and doing good business with its ‘art house’ programming, the crunch came with a rent hike from the landlords of the Trocadero Centre in which it is located.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on September 3, 2006 at 2:09 pm

Here is a 2004 of the building under its short lived latter name ‘Other Cinema’:
http://www.moviebunker.com/the_other_cinema.htm

woody
woody on September 6, 2006 at 4:03 am

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/54538473/
another shot as The Other Cinema, has been stripped out internally.

popcorn_pete
popcorn_pete on March 17, 2017 at 8:14 pm

The Metro was a venture by The Other Cinema which was originally set up as a film distribution business. It screened its first film at the Scala in King’s Cross in 1971. The renaming to The Other Cinema was simply a tribute to the company’s roots. Hefty rent rises are believed to be behind the decision to close.

philgyford
philgyford on February 10, 2018 at 10:25 am

As other comments suggest, it was re-named Other Cinema earlier than the 2004 stated in the description. I have a ticket for ‘Other Cinema’ from 4 January 2003 (for a re-showing of Hal Hartley’s ‘Trust’).

Lionel
Lionel on January 6, 2019 at 9:55 am

Pictures of the Metro inside (lobby + larger auditorium) here :

https://bff-architects.com/metro-cinema/

Lionel
Lionel on October 1, 2023 at 8:58 am

The link I provided in my previous post is still valid but the page in question was updated with more pictures since I mentioned it in 2019. Worth seeing.

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