Send us a text In this special episode of The Wonder Cinema Podcast, recorded live from the Black Box at the 2024 Belfast Film Festival, hosts Brian Henry Martin and Dr Sam Manning celebrate the 88th birthday of the Ritz, which first opened its doors on 9 November 1936. They discuss how the cinema quickly became a landmark in Belfast city centre and hosted stars such as Gracie Field, Cary Grant and even The Beatles. The cinema later faced more turbulent times during the Troubles, including a ...
Send us a text In this bonus edition of the podcast, Brian chats with old friend and the UK's No 1 film critic Mark Kermode at the Cinemagic Festival in Belfast. Mark shares his love for the Phoenix Cinema in London, the Plaza Cinema in Truro and the Queen's Film Theatre in Belfast. Mark also reveals the best place to sit in the cinema. Classic movies mentioned include Passport to Pimlico, The Man in the White Suit, The Exorcist, The Devils, Moon, 71 and The Life of Brian. This ...
Send us a text Join Brian Henry Martin and Dr. Sam Manning, hosts of The Wonder Cinema podcast, to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Ritz, Belfast’s long-lost picture palace. If you have memories of the Ritz, come along and let us know. Enjoy a slice of birthday cake and join us for a discussion of the cinema’s history, where we will also unveil Stuart Marshall’s new model of the Ritz. Be there for the chance to win exclusive Ritz memorabilia and to see never-before-seen images from its s...
Send us a text In the sixth episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we look at how the ABC reimagined and reinvented itself in the 1980s, before eventually shutting its doors for the final time in 1993. Following the 1977 firebomb, the ABC remained closed until 1980, when the original auditorium was subdivided into four screens and the exterior saw substantial renovation. The glitz and glamour of the 1930s was now long gone, giving way to a more functional space at a time when cinema exhibitor...
Send us a text In the fifth episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we go back to the 1970s. This was a difficult decade for cinema exhibitors across Britain and Ireland, but especially so in Belfast, a city that also had to navigate the civil unrest of the Troubles. Despite the chaos, big American films such as The Godfather, The Exorcist and Jaws attracted large audiences and queues were seen outside the Ritz (now renamed the ABC) for the first time in several years. Billy Connolly ev...
Send us a text In the fourth episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we look at how the Ritz responded to the explosion of youth culture in the 1960s and hosted some of the world's biggest musical acts. As audiences continued to fall in the 1960s, cinema became more youth-oriented with The Young Ones, featuring Cliff Richard, breaking box-office records in 1962. In the following year, the Ritz changed to the ABC, a more functional name linking it to the chain which had operated the cinema sinc...
Send us a text In the third episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we look at how the Ritz coped with the challenges of the 1950s using spectacle, spectacles and even a Shillelagh. Cinema attendance peaked after the Second World War, but the 1950s brought new challenges such as the arrival of television. The Ritz responded with widescreen and a short-lived experiment showing 3D films. And the continuation of Midnight Matinees, late-night screenings often featuring personal appearances and prom...
Send us a text In the second episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we explore what it was like to go the Ritz during the height of cinema attendance in the 1930s and 1940s. How much did it cost and what awaited visitors when they moved from the pay boxes to the plush foyer and grand auditorium? While the Ritz offered entertainment and escapism and screened many of the era’s most iconic films, a trip to the ‘Wonder Cinema’ also provided the opportunity to see stage shows and performances at it...
Send us a text In the first episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast we go back to the 1930s to discuss the cinema boom and the grand opening of the Ritz, Belfast’s largest and most upmarket cinema. Cinema attendance grew rapidly in the 1930s and the Ritz, opened by British chain Union Cinemas, was one of many venues built to serve a growing audience of film fans in Belfast. We discuss the Ritz’s architectural style, cultural impact and the concerns many people had about this new ‘super cinema’. ...
Send us a textTake a trip from The Wizard of Oz to Reservoir Dogs in The Wonder Cinema of Ireland, the Ritz, Belfast. Join hosts filmmaker Brian Henry Martin and cinema historian Dr Sam Manning for a new six-part series revealing the remarkable story of a long lost picture palace.Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin Music by Score Draw Music https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com