San Francisco, CA

San Francisco is a great place for seeing movies (despite the fact that tickets at the big places cost more than $10 each). You can check out an IMAX film, you can see the newest release in several different spots and there are regularly limited release screenings held here. There are also film festivals galore. But if it’s just any old day and you want to see a film but you want to go to an off-the-beaten-path place to do it, you have options. Here are five movie theaters that you should note for those days when you want to see something unusual but interesting.

1. The Red Vic – The Red Vic is far-and-away my favorite of the independent movie theaters in San Francisco. It’s run by a collective of volunteers who love film. And it doesn’t matter what you see here because the ambience of this one-theater theater is worth the ticket price. You’ll get popcorn in a wooden bowl, comfortable bench-like seating and an interesting movie. Sometimes they’re indie films, sometimes their second-run blockbusters. Often someone affiliated with the film is there for the Q&A. The Red Vic is always a good choice. Films I’ve seen here (with Q&A) included 24 Hours on Craigslist, Mutual Appreciation, and The Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea.

2. Embarcadero – This is an interesting spot because it’s in what basically amounts to a mall and it’s got the ambience of a big name multiplex. But it shows the foreign and independent films that you aren’t likely to see elsewhere. There are usually four films at any given time and you can bet that at least one will be subtitled. The best film I saw here thus far was Shortbus.

3. Castro Theater – This one has history. You can see it in the ornate décor of the theater room. You can hear it in the organ playing live from a spot that rises up above the stage before the movie starts. And you an often know it from the roster of historic films that are playing, although what’s going to be on is really anyone’s guess. The best movies I saw here were during a triple-play of eighties aerobics movies.

4. Clay Theater – Okay, so this is one you have to do a little bit of planning with. Unlike the others, there’s not a film here every day. And there will only be one to choose from. But the place has charm. It’s one big huge theater room. The floor slants and the snack bar is tiny. And the movie is always an interesting one. Films I’ve seen here included Fur and Who Killed The Electric Car?

5. The Dark Room – This one is sort of “one stop shopping” for the creative heart in your chest. They have comedy and plays and other entertainment in addition to film. But they a neat event that makes them worthy of making the list and that is Bad Movie Nite. It’s every Sunday at 8 p.m., it includes a host and it only costs $5. You go to see a movie that you know will be bad, usually part of some theme for the month, and you go because sometimes bad is good.