Bloor Cinema Documentary Chronicles the Annex Institution

The Bloor Cinema has been a cultural institution and an Annex icon for decades. Many, many decades. Built in 1905 as a vaudeville theatre called The Madison, it has seen days as a 1940's movie palace, a 1960's grindhouse, and a 1970's porn theatre (that incarnation was put out of business by the low prices of a neighbouring adult theatre, the Metro.) The Bloor, as it's known today, now stands as one of Canada's largest independent cinemas.

To celebrate the theatre's centennial in 2005, Peter Kuplowsky and I made a documentary about its storied past. The Bloor premiered to a full house on the building's 100th anniversary and includes interviews with current and former staff members as well as an up close look at architectural drawings, posters and photos of the building from the past and present.

Watch Part 1 of the documentary above. Part 2 is below.