Tag archives: Riviera Theatre

Revivals at Riviera
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2024

Do you remember the pre-streaming, pre-Tivo, pre-DVD, pre-VCR days when Santa Barbara was among nearly every artsy city in the country that had cinematic art houses showing classic movies and curated retrospective among screenings of indie and foreign films? Now with its new After Hours weekend series, SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre is in many ways returning […]

‘Contempt’ by Jean-Luc Godard (1963)
By Christopher Matteo Connor   |   July 25, 2023

“Cinema shows us a world that fits our desires.” French film critic André Bazin’s quote is spoken by Jean-Luc Godard in the opening credits of his film Contempt.A camera crew tracks along towards us, until the camera itself nearly films the frame. It tilts down and turns its lens on us.  What if the line […]

‘Carnal Knowledge’ at the Riviera
By Christopher Matteo Connor   |   October 11, 2022

Who has Doc Brown’s number? He lives around here, right? We could use his DeLorean right about now, ‘cause we’re taking a ride back to the ‘70s! This week at the Riviera is a 4K Restoration of Mike Nichols’ 1971 film, Carnal Knowledge starring Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Candice Bergen, and Ann-Margret. Really, how could […]

‘Quite Extraordinary’: Broadway Legend Bringing Talents to Santa Barbara
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 12, 2021

It’s not hyperbole at all to suggest that the original production of Kismet that will play three performances at the Granada Theatre later this month might be the most exciting show ever to play in Santa Barbara. While official touring shows of classic Broadway hits and more modern musical fare are still appearing at the […]

What’s That Sound?
By Richard Mineards   |   October 5, 2021

VIP donors were on the crest of a wave, a sound wave that is, when the venerable Granada Theatre unveiled its new $800,000 sound system installed by multi-Grammy Award-winning producer Allen Sides. Allen, who has produced more than 1,000 albums, also installed the audio system at the Riviera Theatre, home to the Santa Barbara Cinema […]

SBIFF Film Talk
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 23, 2020

The Riviera Theatre is once again closed due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, and online screenings of new arts films have also come to a close, or at least hasn’t ramped up again as the new closures aren’t in effect nationwide. So turning even more local, SBIFF has segued into a new online […]

Bringing Movies Back to the Big Screen
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 18, 2020

COVID-19 has certainly crushed a lot of dreams since forcing a shutdown back in March. But it’s also had a silver lining or two: After having closed its doors, supposedly forever, just a little more than a year ago, the Westwind Drive-In movie theater reopened a couple of weeks back, and immediately became a desired […]

Fun After the Sun: Fifties Flicks al Fresco
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 11, 2019

What could be more fun than spending a Friday evening with your friends watching a free classic film outdoors in a gorgeous garden setting? That’s basically the premise behind UCSB Arts & Lectures and the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture’s annual summer film series at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens downtown – a […]