Like most cities, Hamburg seemed to be fighting a losing battle with movie theaters. One by one, the best of them were closed down and replaced by a parking garage or, worse, by nothing at all, leaving us with multiplexes and a very small number of independent cinemas (mentioned here in the cinema category). That means that you have your mainstream movies (dubbed in German) and your art-house movies (English w/ subtitles) covered.

Luckily, the SAVOY was reopened to save our cinephile hearts. And it is a stunner. Not only is it a beautiful theater, it has the most comfortable seats (ever), a huge screen and tremendous sound. It is the definition of a modern cinema, but still medium sized (approximately 300 seats). Plus, it has a really good bar in the foyer. Meaning, you can take a serious drink (in a glass!) into the theater with your popcorn. And they show all the movies in the original language, usually English (no subtitles).

The Savoy has just one screen but they have a rather interesting mix of movies, ranging from Oscar contenders to blockbusters to special screenings of classics. On Fridays they show sneak previews, previews on Wednesdays. They even offer live-broadcasts of the best of English theatre.

The location is a little bit off, though. It’s close to the main train station in one of the rather “urban” parts of town. But, nothing to fear here, really. May the FORCE be with you.