Bristol Cinema Guide
Whether you are looking for a Hollywood blockbuster, an arthouse film or a cosy family run local cinema Bristol has a great choice of places to see film.
Mainstream Cinemas
In Broadmead city centre you will find the Odeon cinema on Union Street. This is a smallish cinema which usually only show the main blockbusters. Its main advantage is its city centre location. The seats are normal but they don’t stand out for being especially comfy. You can bu premium tickets but I wouldn’t bother - the standard tickets are just as good.
The Vue cinema at Cribbs Causeway will either make your heart leap at the joy of a large custom built cinema in an American mall type setting or make a little piece of your soul die at the thought of people traipsing to an out of town retail park to watch mainstream Hollywood films on a super size screen.
The cinema itself boasts big comfy seats, lots of them, with large buckets to park your US size popcorn in. Personally this is everything I hate in life but I can see the attraction for families who want to do a bit of shopping and then catch a family friendly movie in comfortable surrounding that guarantee a seat, Just please let that never happen to me.
Vue also have another cinema at Longwell Green. Same kind of thing. Highlights include a “Seniors Day” where older people can see a screening at 12 noon every Monday at the bargain price of three pounds including free tea, coffee and biscuits. Nice touch.
Cineworld Bristol is in Hengrove Leisure Park. It is your average standard big cinema serving all the Hollywood favourites.
The Orpheus cinema is more a local cinema. Nestled innocously in a little High Street in Westbury it doesn’t really look like the kind fo place a cinema should be. I love the location. I like the idea of a cinema in a nice residential location rather than some out of town retail park. The cost of this is slightly higher prices and less selection than its big retail park competitors. Your choice.
Independent Cinemas
The Cube cinema is on Dove Street South. This is near Broadmead and Stokes Croft beside the Marlborough Street bus station. This place was originally a theatre and family run cinema. It is now a kind of cinema and artistic space run as a wrokers co-operative. Think hippy hangout meets community centre meets arthouse cinema. There is a great description on their website of the unofficial house style:
“cocktails served in front of flickering 35mm, ushers that tear tickets and smile, ice-creams, live scores to new movies, music n visuals, talks on how to build your own house, BYO films, lots of event - plenty of character”
A glance at the current event listings gives you an idea of the eclectic stuff going on here. It doesn’t fit just in to the “Bristol Cinema” category but is a lot more. Which is a good thing.
The Watershed is a well run independant cinema offering regular arthouse and films as well as art events and a popular bar and cafe. The place is always packed and the list of films is a refreshing change from the mainstream offerings.
Across the water from the Watershed you’ll find the Arnolfini. Closed for a couple of years but now re-open after extensive refurbishment it offers a gallery space and bar as well as a cinema. A great location to lounge around outside of in summer as well as catching some independant cinema.