Luisen-Kino in Berlin/Germany

The cinema Luisen-Kino was situated on Wiener Strasse 11 in Berlin-Kreuzberg and was open from 1907 to 1921. The house is still standing, the rooms are using today for a restaurant. 
As written on Kinowiki, the cinema had about 115 seats.
The postcard is modern, still using an old photo. I'm not sure if the photo is really from 1910 as written on the postcard. In my opinion, the word "Kino" is used later. But nevertheless it is very interesting with the crowd of children. Nearly all boys wear sailor suits, some girls a hat. It would be fascinating knowing the film they all want to see.
I got this postcard via Postcrossing. Vielen Dank, Petra!

Lichtspiel in Bern/Switzerland

Lichtspiel in Bern is not only a cinema - it is a house full of films. It has located since 2012 in a former factory (built in 1890) and it is now as Kinemathek Bern a center for Swiss film.
I got these intersting postcards with swap via  Postcrossing from Franziska. Sometimes she's working at Lichtspiel.

Apollo Service Kino in Altena/Germany

Altena is a town in West Germany with about 17,000 inhabitants. It is famous for its castle, where the world's first youth hostel was established inside the castle in 1912.
Another famous building and listed monument has used as a cinema since 1924, today known as Apollo Service-Kino. Originally the house was built as a silversmith in 1901 in the middle of the street, later used as an inn. 
The cinema is famous for high quality of entertainment and service. The management won in 2002 and 2003 the German Cinema Manager Award for extraordinary marketing campaigns on films. Cinema de Luxe.
I got this postcard via postcrossing from Conny. She loves herself this little cinema island with its good old cinema feeling. The postcard was painted by cinema's owner Nicole Güldner.
Danke, Conny, für die Postkarte!

La Clef in Paris/France

It is a sad postcard - the cinema La Clef in Paris was closed in April 2018. 
The Clef was part of the network of independent Parisian Cinemas (CIP), composed of the Grand Action, Max Linder, Ursulines, etc. - many places of cinema that contribute to make Paris the film capital of the world.
The cinema was opened in the 1969 with three halls with 226, 83 and 81 seats. The name and sign La Clef - The Key comes from the locatio at the intersection of rue Daubenton and rue de la Clef . A good name for a neighborhood cinema. Later the house had only two halls and was used for exhibitions and events. Look at salles-cinemas.com for more information and pictures.

Cinéma Opéra in Reims/France

The Cinéma Opéra was built in 1922, and was designed by architect Émile Thion & Marcel Rousseau in an Art Nouveau style. It was a single screen cinema with seating for 1,500 in orchestra & balcony levels. The rue Thillois façade has been inscribed since 1981 in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments.
In 1981 Cinéma Opéra was subdivided into six halls with total of 1366 seats. The entrance - showing at the postcard - has been reversed to the rear of the building at 3 rue Théodor Dubois, using the former stage as a foyer. 
At wikipedia is written: The current cinema is destined for partial demolition with preservation of the listed facade to move, in 2018, the place Drouet Erlon, to create a larger and more modern multiplex of 11 rooms and 1600 seats. The Théodore Dubois building will be replaced by an apartment building.
The postcard is an ad card for the movies on last days of 2004, among them The Incredibles.
The photo from the cinema is taken in autumn 2004. You can see posters from Brodeuses, Un  long dimanche de fiançailles, 2046, Genesis.
Merci, Aldo, pour la carte postale! 

Le Balzac in Paris/France

Le Balzac is a cinema in Paris, opened on 6th May1935 on 1 rue Balzac (8th arrondissement). Naming after the great French poet Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) there is the idea of a cinema "like a literary salon, where people can discuss and imagine changes in society". These words are from
Jean-Jacques Schpoliansky, the director of this cinema since 1970. 
The cinema shows above all independent arthouse movies.
On salles-cinema.com you can find more information about this art temple and an interview with Jean-Jacques Schpoliansky (in French).
I got this postcard via Postcrossing swap from Aldo. It was drawn by Francois Avril, in honor of Jean-Jacques Schpoliansky voted in 2002 to best operator of the year by Le Film français. I love this winter scene with so many people they want to enjoy a good movie (In the mood of love by Wong Kar-Wei is posted), some good hours in a friendly atmosphere.
Merci Aldo!

KIF in Dresden/Germany

On Sunday I was in cinema and I was very lucky finding this postcard. KIF - means Kino in der Fabrik.
The house was built in 1950 as a factory for tool engeneering. In 1990, the factory was closed - like many others in East Germany. From 1993 till 2005 here played a theater called TIF (Theater in der Fabrik). And on 16th March 2006 the cinema started after reconstruction work.
The cinema isn't big, it has three halls: Hall K with 158 seats, hall I with 101 seats and hall F with 49 seats and the so-called Black Salon for special events, among them Junk Room - Do You Know Cinema? (Together with friends, I won the very first of many Junk Rooms.)
The postcard shows hall K at the big picture and some details from the cinema in six little pictures. Notice the little picture top right with the room for the film projector, and the little picture bottom left with the toilet rooms. Never seen on any cinema postcard before.

Now we have Corona times, cinema has closed since March 2020. Worse than this, owner Frank Apel died on March 18th. A cinematographer with a big heart. It was ever so fascinating listenting him talking about movies and actors and cinemas. He could turn any venue into a culture palace.

Filmtheater in Seifhennersdorf/Germany

The Filmtheater in Seifhennersdorf was opened in on 14th September 1956. It had 428 seats in one hall, later 365 seats. Seifhennersdorf is only a little town situated on the border with the Czech Republic, famous for Upper Lusatian houses. In 1956 it had about 9500 inhabitants, in 2013 about 3800. The cinema was closed in 1991 and later was demolished. Here you can read more about this cinema.

New Shirin Talkies Cinema in Mumbai/India

I got this intersting postcard from the Netherlands via postcrossing. It is a picture from the book Bollywood Dreams by Jonathan Torgovnik. 
The New Shirin Talkies Cinema is one of the oldest cinemas in Mumbai with one screen. I don't know if it is still showing movies or if it closed. 
The view of the audience in a cinema is very rare and strange. People look like being in trance, forget all around them and the old and uncomfortable chairs beneath them. Sitting in the front row is the most direct contact with the screen you could have (I did it sometimes too).
And where are the women?

Kino Intimes in Berlin/Germany

Kino Intimes opened in 1909 in Berlin-Friedrichshain as Lichtspiele des Ostens. It was and is a really tiny cinema, with 151 seats in the first years, today with 83 seats. Therefore it was called in 1924 Kino Intimes, Cinema intimate.
The only  hall offers the full program of a typical 1970s design: The walls are arranged with brown velvet and brown wood and the ceiling also offers a wood paneling towards the canvas - of course in brown. For more pictures look at Kinokompendium Berlin.
At the postcard you can see advertisments for these films:

• Whisky mit Wodka (Germany 2009)
• Coraline (USA 2009)
• Inglourious Basterds (USA, Germany 2009)
• Jasper und das Limonadenkomplott (Germany 2009).   

The colorful creative housewall with cinema's neon light is a popular photo opportunity. So I have another postcard from this cinema. I got both postcards from Ina. Vielen Dank, Ina!

The cinema was closed in April 2019. It has a new company and a new hall after renovation. Now the audience can choose between Hall 1 with 72 seats and Hall 2 with 33 seats.

Filmpalast in Nienburg/Germany

Honestly this isn't a normal postcard. But this picture was sent as a postcard to me. I got it from Britta via Postcrossing. Imagine - she read my wish for postcrads with cinema buildings, went to her local cinema, took a photo, made a postcard with this photo and sent it to me. Incredible.
Filmpalast Nienburg (Weser) opened in 1936 as Film-Eck with about 860 seats in one hall. Today it has two halls. Britta wrote there are plans for a new cinema with 7 halls. But for this new building in the harbour old trees had to be felled. Therefore much displeasure is in the city.
At all an interesting building and a postcard handmade with fantasy and love.
Vielen Dank, Britta!

Kino International in Berlin/Germany - "Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius" 1965

It is not easy to read the film title on the poster. But I got many film program folders from my parents from the 1960s and know the movie offer of this time very well. The person on the poster looks like a doctor, so it could be the comedy Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius. And look here at postertreasures I found the shown East German poster.

Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius was a 1965 West German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring everybody's darling Heinz Rühmann and Liselotte Pulver. It was based on a play by Curt Goetz - one of the most brillant comedy writers in the German-speaking world.


The story tells about an older doctor and a young woman in trouble.

The same play was filmed by Joseph L. Mankiewizc in 1951 as People Will Talk with Cary Grant.

The movie started on January 14th, 1965 in West German cinemas and came already on August 13th, 1965 to East German cinemas. It was the most successful West German movie in 1965. So I am sure it was also very successful in East Germany. And in the evening the street before the cinema was full of people - more than on this postcard.

The postcard was published by Verlag Felix Setecki in Berlin.

The filmposter was designed by Thomas Schleusing.

Blauer Stern in Berlin/Germany

I'm proudly present you a brand new postcard connecting with cinema, published by Berliner Töchter. Unfortunately they forgot to write the name of this cinema ... but this no problem for me, there aren't many cinemas names connecting with stars. And in Berlin only - Blauer Stern in Berlin-Pankow.
It opens in 1933 as Bismarck-Lichtspiele, changed its name in 1946 to Blauer Stern (Blue Star). It closed in 1987, and opened in 1996 again with two halls (165 and 76 seats). Look at Kinokompendium for wonderful pictures and more facts.
You can see the advertisement at the postcard for these films:
- Urmel aus dem Eis (Germany 2006)
- Volver (Spain 2006)
- Garfield: A Tail of two Kittens (USA 2006)
- Das Parfum (Germany 2006).
So I think this photo is made in 2006.