Cineac Montparnasse

Gare Montparnasse,
Paris 75014

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Cineac

Architects: Adrienne Gorska, Pierre de Montaut

Firms: Montaut & Gorska

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Cineac Montparnasse

In 1933, the second Cineac chain newsreel cinema was built in the Gare Montparnasse (railway station), under the old station.

The architectural firm de Montaut & Gorska, created a very interesting Art Deco design. On the facade of the station, a huge neon sign and neon arrows invited patrons to a large corridor. The floor made of tiles was a masterpiece and the lobby had two large windows one showing the air conditionning system the other on a higher level the projection booth.

The auditorium had a very fine Art Deco design too, and a space at the rear for standing viewers. The screen was high enough to avoid the problem of permanent traffic on the aisles.

Until the end of the 1960’s, this amazing place was not altered by any refurbushing, only a CinemaScope screen was added. But in the 1970’s, the old railway station was razed, and the Cineac vanished.

Contributed by Xavier Delamare

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

krustalev
krustalev on October 24, 2016 at 3:51 pm

“…Every week, after coming out of school, we would go to the Cineac Cinema (found in the former Montparnasse train station). Here, we would watch strange and popular films and serials such as Tom Mix in The Miracle Rider, Mysterious Doctor Satan, Zorro Fighting Legion or Nyoka and the Tiger Men. The projections of these films were often interrupted by the public address system of the train station, announcing the arrival or departures of trains. Travellers entered or exited the cinema theatre as if they were in a waiting lobby. If there was ever such a thing as Dadaist cinema session, then the screenings at the Cineac were it!”

Jean Rollin “Foreword-For An Illogical and Nonsensical European Cinema”, in Alternative Europe-Eurothrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945", edited by Ernest Mathıjs and Xavier Mendik,Wallflower Press,2004,London:XI.

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