Texas Theatre — Attraction in Dallas

Nice that they have a bunch of different specialty showings, many 35mm showings, special live events, etc. but there are so many problems. Anytime I've gone to see a movie here, it's always pretty hot inside. The acoustics are terrible for movies to the point you can't pick up all the dialogue, the chairs are SUPER close together, offer no back or neck support and are very uncomfortable- if you have any weight to you at all, pray no one is sitting next to you and pray you never have to get up to use the bathroom is getting out of the aisles is a nightmare. The place doesn't seem like it's taken care of very well either. The urinals wouldn't flush, the trash was overflowing, the soap dispenser was broken and half of it was broken off the wall dangling. The seats in the auditorium look to be about 60 years old. Parking is non-existent, and it's honestly not in the best area of town.

The lobby is pretty cool, they have some neat posters out there. There is also a nice little bar, and the serves are pretty friendly. They have really cool posters for a lot of their events, many of which hang on the wall above my TV today. The upstairs area is pretty cool too, and the couches and seating lends a nice vibe overall.

They have one line going in the place that serves as tickets and concessions. It was really wildly confusing. We had to get our tickets, decided we wanted drinks, then had to go back outside and stand in the huge line for tickets/concessions. It was very weird that they didn't think this set up through a little better. This was a Saturday night showing. I definitely prefer a smaller Sunday afternoon showing.

In 1960, these would be silly nitpicky complaints, but it's 2019, and there's a state of the art AMC near my house with seats the size of lazy boys where you can eat an actual meal and use a urinal that flushes for the same ticket price. Alamo Drafthouse is down the road too, and you can watch all sorts of special features, 35mm prints (sometimes), and lesser known showings of old and new films, etc for the same price (actually, Drafthouse is probably more affordable). Dallas also has the Angelika which shows a bunch of movies you can't see elsewhere along with film festivals (The USA film festival), and many appearances from filmmakers.

If Texas Theatre was doing stuff no one else was doing, I could give some leeway, but there are far too many options today in Dallas and no excuse for all the negatives. Especially when a showing of a 35 year old low budget movie is $11 a ticket.

I really want to love this place, and it has a lot of charm in some regards, but the several times I have gone, I leave with a sore neck, a sore back, and I can't help but think my $12 probably would have been better...

This should be 4.5 and not 4, but Google does not let you do halves, it just averages out the reviews present.

Huge fan of this theater, they show pretty much any movie I could want, including limited released and re-releases.

Tuesday Night Trash is always such a great time, the burlesque shows that come by are really fun, and again, the movies they play are just fanastic. I've caught a ton of movies I wasn't even alive to see in its initial run in a theater because of this theater. Movies like Suspiria, The Great Escape, Jackie Brown, incredible movies.

Half a star deducted because there were a few times in the past where the sound was a huge issue. Through screenings of Eraserhead, audio was very distorted and sometimes difficult to understand. No, it wasn't the movie, the speakers sounded like they were struggling.

Additionally through Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the audio was just really bad. Not just because it was a cheap movie, the soundtrack that played throughout was pretty much almost unintelligible. I bought the DVD release to see if that was just the quality the movie was restored in, since the screening seemed to be the 2K Vinegar Syndrome restoration and I had no issues with that version. The sound or whatever they did with the sound made it difficult to understand or hard to listen to because it all just seemed as if the speakers were going to blow out.

I have not seen these issues in a long time, however. I've been back many times since and it appears that the issue has been corrected. The popcorn also is not great, seems like it was popped way before anyone gets there and it's just cool and almost stale tasting. I'm not deducting anything for that since it's just a menial thing, but I really love popcorn and just want it to be better.

I'm sure they make more money through the bar, anyway, so whatever. It is a...

This is the Texas Theatre. The Texas Theatre was first opened in the 30’s and a the time of its opening was one of the largest theaters in Dallas and the first with air conditioning. It was also partially financed by the legendary Howard Hughes. Well fast forward to 11-22-1963 during a screening of the movie “War is Hell” and Dallas Police officers come to check out a person who had apparently entered the theatre without paying. That man, was Lee Harvey Oswald. He had run to the theater after allegedly “assassinating” President John F. Kennedy. And the rest is history. The theatre has had its fair share of its own trials and tribulations. From fires and abandonments, to barely missing the wrecking ball. Yet it has still survived. In 2003 the Texas Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. And to this day it still shows movies on actual film. Growing up here in Dallas I had never been to the Texas. I have drove by it over the years and have read about its history. Then I heard they were playing one of my favorite horror movies for a limited engagement. That movie was Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. I had seen the movie when it originally came out. But this time there was extra footage and my son wanted to see it as well. So we went to the Texas to see this awesome movie. The theatre was really cool to see. And we got to see where Oswald had sat when he was there. Just a really cool experience. As for the movie, it was cool to see it on the big screen again and to share both experiences with my son. Though I didn’t care for all the added footage, it was still a great time. So if you’re a history buff or even a film buff, definitely visit The Texas Theatre. You won’t be disappointed. At...