Vista Theater Independent Cinema in Los Feliz: 70mm Nights

The Vista Theater has no digital projector on its schedule: every show at the independent cinema at 4473 Sunset Drive in Los Feliz is presented on 35mm or 70mm film. Quentin Tarantino owns the 1923 single screen, and this week it is running Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 70mm nightly at 7:00 pm from October 23 through 29, while the Video Archives Cinema Club inside the building charges $12 for every VHS and 16mm show.

The Vista opened on October 9, 1923 as a single-screen, 838-seat house called the Lou Bard Playhouse, also known as Bard's Hollywood, designed by architect Lewis A. Smith. Over the decades every other row of seats was taken out to give patrons more legroom, which cut capacity to about 400. That spacing means even tall viewers can stretch out without kicking the seat ahead, a rare comfort in a house this old.

Tarantino revealed in July 2021 that he had bought the theater, and after a long restoration the Vista officially reopened on November 17, 2023. The booth now holds a 70mm projection system along with a 35mm VistaVision projector for the rare titles shot in that format. The theater's own footer sums up its identity in five words, In Hollywood since 1923, and the programming leans on prints that most theaters can no longer run.

If you have never seen 70mm, the difference is easy to spot. The film strip is twice as wide as standard 35mm, so the projected image holds more detail and less grain, and it stays sharp even from the front rows. Few screens in Los Angeles can still thread a 70mm print, and the Vista is giving this one a full week, October 23 through 29, rather than a one-night event.

Ken Russell's The Devils from 1971 is the headline restoration, screening uncut from a brand-new 35mm print. The 6:15 pm shows on Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22 are already sold out, though the 2:30 pm and 9:30 pm slots on those days remain listed, followed by afternoon shows from October 23 through 29 and two late screenings at 11:00 pm on November 6 and 7. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave star.

Halloween week fills the edges of the calendar. Creepshow plays as a late show at 11:30 pm on October 23 and 24. Rodan screens as a Saturday 10:00 am matinee on October 24 in I.B. Technicolor 35mm. David Fincher's Seven runs at 7:30 pm from October 30 to November 2 on one of the rare original silver-retention prints, Trick 'r Treat takes the 11:59 pm midnight slot on October 30 and 31, and The Bride of Frankenstein closes the month at 10:00 am matinees.

The Video Archives Cinema Club is a micro-cinema inside the Vista, named after the video store where Tarantino once worked and inspired by the cinema clubs he visited in Paris. It seats just 20 people, every program is chosen by Tarantino himself, and the material comes from his own VHS tapes and 16mm prints. All tickets are $12, and the October calendar notes that shows run on VHS or DVD unless a listing says otherwise.

The schedule is simple to memorize. Tuesday and Wednesday are 2:00 pm matinees, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday are 8:00 pm evening shows. Coming up are Dracula's Daughter with Frankenstein's Daughter on October 22, Peter Jackson's The Frighteners on October 23, V/H/S/Mixtape on October 24, Cujo on October 30, and a mystery shot-on-video triple feature called Tales from the Archives at 4:00 pm on Halloween.

The sold-out 6:15 pm Devils screenings are a fair warning: prime-time shows of restorations and 70mm prints go fast, and sales run through the online ticketing link on the theater's site. With only 20 seats, Video Archives nights are even tighter, so buy as soon as the monthly calendar appears. If the evening slot is gone, the afternoon show of the same print is the smart fallback, since the projection and the film are identical.

An honest note on choosing: if you have only seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on a television, the 70mm presentation is worth the trip, since the wide format is exactly what this booth was rebuilt to show. If you only have time for one late show, take Seven's silver-retention print over Creepshow, since original showcase prints like that rarely come out of the vault. Skip the Halloween triple feature if shot-on-video horror is not already your thing.

The Vista's cafe, Pam's, is now open and serves pre-show coffee, pastries and, true to the theater's sense of humor, bowls of your favorite cereal. It is the easiest place to wait if you arrive early for a matinee. The theater sits at the triangle where Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard meet, so the marquee is visible from both streets and is a natural meeting point.

A short walk west along Hollywood Boulevard, Barnsdall Art Park climbs a small hill to Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, and the lawn at the top looks out over the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory ridge at sunset. Vermont Avenue's shops, cafes and bookstores sit just beyond the park. If the Vista is sold out, the American Cinematheque's Los Feliz 3 on Vermont Avenue runs its own repertory and first-run calendar a few minutes away on foot.

Address: 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027, in Los Feliz where Sunset and Hollywood boulevards meet. Format: every show on 35mm or 70mm film. Video Archives Cinema Club: 20 seats, $12 per ticket, Tuesday and Wednesday matinees at 2:00 pm, Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm, with contact at videoarchivescinemaclub@gmail.com. Pam's cafe serves coffee and pastries before shows.

Tickets for both the main house and the club are sold through the links on vistatheaterhollywood.com, and the club's monthly calendar can be downloaded there as an image. Ask the Karpo APP to pair a Vista showtime with dinner on Vermont Avenue and a parking plan, and it will build the night around whichever print you want to see.