Prince Charles Cinema
Encyclopedia
The Prince Charles Cinema (PCC) is a repertory cinema located in Leicester Place, 40 metres north of Leicester Square
in the West End of London
. It shows a rotating program of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood releases - typically more than ten different films a week on two screens (285 seats downstairs and 104 seats upstairs). It also hosts the sing-a-long version of The Sound of Music
, which has been shown on a regular basis for over five years, as well as The Rocky Horror Picture Show
and Joseph
. The cinema has achieved a cult status amongst fans, sticking out as the only independent cinema in the West End.
, as well as Caligula
.
The cinema was used as the setting for a number of stunts in the cult British
sketch show, Trigger Happy TV
. Filming was facilitated by the cinema having a balcony from which aerial shots could be taken, and the apparent willingness of the management to subject their patrons to some hilarious (and ultimately harmless) pranks. Various sketches involved the show's presenter, Dom Joly
, along with extras from the show, annoying cinema-goers by dressing up as severely obese people trying to squeeze past whilst spilling popcorn
from massively oversized buckets, sitting in front of them with enormous fake wigs, and dressing up as Beefeaters
taking up whole rows of seats. Other more bizarre incidents involved the use of animal costumes. In one scene two rabbits were seen simulating sexual intercourse, and in another Joly dressed up as a snake and slithered around on the floor, as a supposed addition to a screening advising people to be vigilant about pick-pockets.
During the UK launch of Kill Bill 2, Uma Thurman
recorded a special video introduction for a double bill of both movies being held at the cinema. In it she welcomed the audience to "Quentin's favourite UK cinema." Tarantino
has said, "The Prince Charles Cinema is everything an independent movie theatre should be. For lovers of quality films, this is Mecca." and "The day Kill Bill plays the Prince Charles is the day Kill Bill truly comes home." He further described it as London's "Queen's Jewel" of grindhouse
saying "I was so honoured when Reservoir Dogs hit so big there that they started playing it at midnight and all the lads would show up in the black suits with little squirt guns".
In April 2007, the cinema opened an official Kevin Smith
toilet cubicle, after the cult director held a Q&A at the cinema, he is quoted as saying
"I don't know, Quentin Tarantino has never turned up here and they name the bar after him, it's my second visit and they haven't even named a toilet after me!"
The next day they screwed a framed picture of him to the first cubicle in the gents and he officially opened the toilet.
As a commitment to promoting environmental causes, the PCC screened the documentary An Inconvenient Truth
every week of 2007. Often the screenings have Q&As with special guests; previous speakers have included Tony Juniper
(head of Friends Of The Earth
), David Miliband
(UK's Environment Secretary) and Sir Menzies Campbell
(former Leader of the Liberal Democrats).
The cinema and surrounding area was featured in the music video to "Golden Gaze
" by Ian Brown
.
- a museum of curiosities, including many artefacts from Captain James Cook's voyages.
, proclaimed the cinema to be the ninth wonder of the world, after King Kong
, and even joked about other cinemas in the area.
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
in the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. It shows a rotating program of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood releases - typically more than ten different films a week on two screens (285 seats downstairs and 104 seats upstairs). It also hosts the sing-a-long version of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, which has been shown on a regular basis for over five years, as well as The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
and Joseph
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
. The cinema has achieved a cult status amongst fans, sticking out as the only independent cinema in the West End.
History
Built in 1961 and opened in 1962, the building was erected for Alfred Esdaile Esq and designed by Carl Fisher and Associates Architects. The building originally functioned as a theatre with a distinctive 'satellite dish' curve to the floor of the stalls. The venue later operated as a porn cinema whose screenings included the UK's longest run of EmmanuelleEmmanuelle
Emmanuelle is the lead character in a series of French softcore erotic movies based on a character created by Emmanuelle Arsan in the novel Emmanuelle...
, as well as Caligula
Caligula (film)
Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula...
.
The cinema was used as the setting for a number of stunts in the cult British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sketch show, Trigger Happy TV
Trigger Happy TV
Trigger Happy TV was a hidden camera/practical joke reality television program. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for two series on the British television channel Channel 4 from 2000 until 2002...
. Filming was facilitated by the cinema having a balcony from which aerial shots could be taken, and the apparent willingness of the management to subject their patrons to some hilarious (and ultimately harmless) pranks. Various sketches involved the show's presenter, Dom Joly
Dom Joly
Dominic John Romulus "Dom" Joly is a British television comedian and journalist. He came to note as the star of Trigger Happy TV, a hidden camera show that was sold to over seventy countries worldwide...
, along with extras from the show, annoying cinema-goers by dressing up as severely obese people trying to squeeze past whilst spilling popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
from massively oversized buckets, sitting in front of them with enormous fake wigs, and dressing up as Beefeaters
Yeomen Warders
The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman of the Guard Extraordinary, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London...
taking up whole rows of seats. Other more bizarre incidents involved the use of animal costumes. In one scene two rabbits were seen simulating sexual intercourse, and in another Joly dressed up as a snake and slithered around on the floor, as a supposed addition to a screening advising people to be vigilant about pick-pockets.
During the UK launch of Kill Bill 2, Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
recorded a special video introduction for a double bill of both movies being held at the cinema. In it she welcomed the audience to "Quentin's favourite UK cinema." Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
has said, "The Prince Charles Cinema is everything an independent movie theatre should be. For lovers of quality films, this is Mecca." and "The day Kill Bill plays the Prince Charles is the day Kill Bill truly comes home." He further described it as London's "Queen's Jewel" of grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
saying "I was so honoured when Reservoir Dogs hit so big there that they started playing it at midnight and all the lads would show up in the black suits with little squirt guns".
In April 2007, the cinema opened an official Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
toilet cubicle, after the cult director held a Q&A at the cinema, he is quoted as saying
"I don't know, Quentin Tarantino has never turned up here and they name the bar after him, it's my second visit and they haven't even named a toilet after me!"
The next day they screwed a framed picture of him to the first cubicle in the gents and he officially opened the toilet.
As a commitment to promoting environmental causes, the PCC screened the documentary An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
every week of 2007. Often the screenings have Q&As with special guests; previous speakers have included Tony Juniper
Tony Juniper
Tony Juniper is a British environmental campaigner, author and commentator most recognised for his work as Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Vice Chair of Friends of the Earth International from 2000-2008.Juniper was the Green Party's parliamentary...
(head of Friends Of The Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
), David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
(UK's Environment Secretary) and Sir Menzies Campbell
Menzies Campbell
Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...
(former Leader of the Liberal Democrats).
The cinema and surrounding area was featured in the music video to "Golden Gaze
Golden Gaze
"Golden Gaze" is the third single from Ian Brown’s second solo album, Golden Greats. Released on June 5, 2000, it placed #29 on the UK Singles Chart.The track was influenced by the Stevie Wonder song, “Golden Lady” from his Innervisions album...
" by Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
.
Ghost
The PCC is rumoured to have a ghost that haunts the upper levels of the cinema. Several sightings have been made by staff, and it has even reportedly tidied up mess and adjusted the volume on films. The upper level of the cinema falls within the former site of the 17th-century Leicester House, which was later converted into the HolophusikonHolophusikon
The Holophusikon was a museum of natural curiosities exhibited at Leicester House, on Leicester Square in London, England, from 1775 to 1786 by Ashton Lever.-History:...
- a museum of curiosities, including many artefacts from Captain James Cook's voyages.
The Canopy
The canopy above the cinema is a source of public intrigue and amusement. Aside from regular advertising for films it often sports cult film quotes or other obscure messages. Previous messages have cheered on England in the World CupFIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, proclaimed the cinema to be the ninth wonder of the world, after King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, and even joked about other cinemas in the area.