Remembering ODEON and CAPITOL cinemas

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Continuing our theme of old cinemas of Kuching, here's a nice photo that Gerard found, which clearly shows the two grand old ladies of Padungan - ODEAN and CAPITOL cinemas. Sadly, both buildings no longer around ... victims to development and progress.

I distinctly remember watching "The Blind Swordsman" at the Odeon. This starred the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.

I reckon I spent far too many afternoons in Capitol (and Lido) watching all manner of Shaw swordfighting and kung fu flicks.

Share your memories ...

Remembering REX Cinema

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How many of you still remember Rex cinema, formerly located on Wayang Street? It doesn't exist any more, having been replaced by that colourful cineplex and carpark building.

As a kid and teenager growing up in Kuching, I remember watching some great movies in Rex. One that comes to mind is the musical "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn. There were also gun-slinging westerns like "For a Few Dollars More" with a very youthful Clint Eastwood. Then there were a number of James Bond 007 movies, like "Goldfinger" and "Thunderbolt", starring Sean Connery.

For some of the more high-profile movies, there used to be extra picture boards with lighting put up above the frontage of the cinema, depicting images from the movie. I distinctly remember the board for "Thunderbolt" as well as the first "Airport" movie some years later.

The old Rex had no escalators and those who bought tickets to Circle seats had to walk up the stairs. I recall it was a rather narrow and winding staircase.

I'm looking for more photographs of Rex cinema (and for that matter of all other cinemas of old Kuching). The one you see below was kindly sent to me by Nick Chin and Philip Chin. It shows Rex in very early days, 1952 according to the caption.

Look at the style of dressing and also the models of cars. And notice the little cart on the left, probably a hawker selling sweets, seng boi and sotong.

Such interesting scenes from old Kuching....
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Classic Openings of Chinese Film Productions

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The Chinese cinema was a big part of our teenage years.

I for one grew up on a diet of swordfighting and later kung fu movies out of Hong Kong and Taiwan. I know I'm not alone in having childhood action heroes and heroines like Ti Lung, David Chiang, Wang Yu, Cheng Pei Pei, Yueh Hua, Fu Sheng and of course the legendary Bruce Lee. My favourite director was Chang Chieh, who created an exciting, violent style with much displays of screen blood. Chang was also the inspiration for John Woo, who is so successful in Western action cinema today.

Some friends I know liked the more romance type movies starring the likes of Lin Chin Hsia (one of my good friends had a crush on her for years), Chen Chen, Chin Han (one was said to look like him) and others.

Of course, many of us also liked the more comedic actors and actresses, such as Li Kun, the Hui brothers, Lydia Sum and Hu Chin (yes, that sexy, funny lady with a mole on her chin!)

Anyway today I just wanted to let you relive the opening sequence of the two major Chinese film production companies we used to love.

Turn up the volume and play ...

And now this one ...

Doesn't that bring back good memories ?
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Old Cathay Cinema - A Sad Sight

While I was around the Open Air Market area in Kuching last week, I took the opportunity to stroll over to the old Cathay cinema, or rather what used to be Cathay cinema. I haven't been there for some years and have always wondered what had become of this place where I spent many blissful hours watching movies during my school days.

I also remember a few of the shops in the open courtyard in front of the Cathay cinema. There was the ice cream place owned by a Mr F K Lo, who turned politician for a while before his untimely death. He made the best corn-flavoured ice cream! Then there was an Indonesian restaurant upstairs, that I recall accompanying my father to when some of his friends invited him. There was also a men's tailor and a few other retail outlets. I even remember the Indian man selling kacang puteh and other tidbits.

Well, the scene that I encountered last week was somewhat depressing to say the least. Have a look for yourself. I approached from the side entrance facing Open Air Market. and started taking shots as I made my way to the front of the former cinema.

First, I went through a delapidated and not-very-welcoming archway ...

Then I traversed a dimly lit corridor, flanked by a number of small stalls selling clothes, watches and other knick-knacks ...

I emerged into a quiet little lane, where a few shops had been set up against the side of the cinema. Not a single customer was in sight. A motorcycle sputtered past, probably using the lane as a shortcut to somewhere else.

As I turned right and walked towards the front of the cinema, I can see the golden-domed Kuching Mosque (built in 1968) in the background ...

And then I saw it. My first view of the Cathay frontage. It was a sad view - broken structures, peeling paint, even little shrubs growing out of the roof & ledges ...

The once grand-looking structure, which had been a hub of activity and source of celluloid pleasure for countless Kuchingites, just stood there - still, broken and forlorn. The movie posters had all been removed .. even the "Now Showing", "Next Change" or "Akan Datang" signs were long gone.

I approached the iron grills and peered in ...

On the left I saw the old ticket counter. Tickets used to be priced at 50 cents for stalls and about $1.20 or $1.30 for circle seats. Towards the middle, I saw the door which would have led to the main screening hall. The floor was filthy and strewn with litter, bottles and cans. There was a funny smell too.

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In the courtyard, the former ice-cream shop is now a dingy little kopi tiam with a few food vendors selling noodles and rice. Where the Indonesian restaurant used to be is now part of a motorcycle service centre. In fact, the back part of the courtyard seems to have been taken up by motorcycle vendors of one kind or another.

For a good few minutes, I just stood there silently gazing at the old Cathay building. I could almost hear the opening strains of "Cathay Organisation" playing in my mind ... you know, the one they play before each movie begins. And with it came the theme music of some of the memorable movies I had enjoyed within the walls.

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I wondered whether there wasn't something better that could be done with this historical building and site. Instead of leaving it vacant and degenerating, could it not have been renovated and redeployed as an office, a meeting hall, a church or maybe even as a new boutique cinema? Any classmates or friends out there who feel the same way? Anyone keen to discuss this project?

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More Movie Memorabilia : Old Cinemas

I found these really old photos which may bring back pleasant memories of movie haunts for some of us in the 1970s ...

Fig 1: Capitol in the 70s

I remember the days when the same film was screened at both Capitol and Lido (both part of the Shaw Brothers organisation) at roughly the same time, and because the cinema operator only had one copy of the film on (usually) two reels, they would stagger the timing such that one cinema would start showing the film first, while the other started with lots of commercials and trailers.

When the first reel ended in cinema #1, someone (usually on a motorbike so as to avoid traffic jams) would transport the reel to cinema #2. Once the courier was delayed, and we sat in one cinema in mid-film (reel one had just finished but reel two hadn't yet arrived), in pitch darkness, wondering what was happening. Invariably there would be lots of whistles, cat calls, and those with girlfriends would probably have a fumbling, fun time in the dark.

Fig 2: Cathay in the 70s

Regarding Cathay, actually what I remember more is the nearby ice cream shop, just beside the main entrance of the cinema - which sold great durian and sweet corn flavoured ice cream. (it's truly remarkable how one remembers foods tasted decades ago, and yet often forget what one had for lunch the previous day). Anyway, that ice cream shop was originally run by a certain Mr Lo Foot Kee, before he went into politics and even became an assistant Minister for Local Government, Sarawak.

Sadly both cinema establishments are no more. The Capitol building is long gone, with the Tun Jugah shopping mall in its place. I believe the Cathay building is still around, but no more functioning as a cinema.

Happy reminiscing ...