The Castro Theatre

429 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA

Address:	429 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA
Phone:	+1 415-621-6120
Site:	castrotheatre.com
Rating:	4.6

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 11

Phil Ye

The six vertical letters attached to the facade of the theater are probably the brightest part of the building. I have to say I am a bit disappointed by its dark interior that really can use some good lighting. The seats are comfortable but the decorations look very dull. I can tell there used to be glory but they faded away and desperately needs some restoration. Even so, I appreciate what the theater does for the community. We went for a Saturday three features marathon starting from 5 pm until almost midnight. You can have your hand stamped and go out eat and come back later during the shows. The projection on the screen is not super sized but its crispy clear. The echo of audio is little bit distracting, but I bet that adds flavor to live performance and concerts. Even this place is not brand new, but facility is maintained and functioning well. The best of if is that it does not show 40-minutes long commercials in other for profit cinemas. You go in, enjoy the live organ performance to soothe your mind, then lights dim and movie starts. I bet there are lot of memories and stories heard and seen by the high ceiling. I hope people will continue to support the iconic monument that is part of the history.

Dee nSF

The wonderful retro look and feel adds deeply when you get to attend the Noir Film Festival, and certainly a lot of nostalgia since the Frameline camps mostly out of this most iconic and accommodating family owned space. The family does take care of the space which is costly, and though evident its hard to keep up, they manage to do so, albeit a bit behind but not unsafe as this is a popular screening space for the many sing-alongs little girls have memorized by heart, big girls who tend to the little girl inside, and all the Moms & Dads who love to spend the afternoon w/their little and their hundreds of little friend throughout the year. They have real butter for their popcorn, too. And finally for me, its only a few blocks away and while rarely do they get first runs, they sometimes get them bearing the tailend run in the premium mall boxes. Sometimes theres a double feature. If you havent been its a great option awaiting your special screening of an old favorite on the large screen.

Scott Johnson

Watched Lawrence of Arabia here in 70mm film to remind myself how a proper film presentation can be. Left very disappointed. Audio quality was terrible: lots of echo in the room; music was shrill and harsh. Picture quality was poor: extreme hot spotting; visible seams and distortions in the screen material; extreme flicker; and a worn-out projector that resulted in repeated incidents of violent vertical shaking of the picture for several seconds at a time. The film even stopped at one reel change and the audience sat there in the dark for several minutes while they fixed it. At the intermission, there was a power outage and the second half was not shown. The theater offered rain checks, but I didnt bother. I watched the second half at home with much better picture and sound quality. Even my popcorn is better. The place is a grand old palace, but I wont be returning.

Karim Lozès

Quoi de plus satisfaisant que de regarder Bullit et sa fameuse scène de course poursuite lors de laquelle Steve Mcqueen fait vrombir les chevaux de sa puissante Mustang dans les rues de San Francisco au Castro Theatre ! Et pour couronner le tout, nous avons eu le droit à un concert dorgue vintage avant la projection. Tellement kitch mais tellement authentique :-) Jai adoré.

Toni Thompson

The Castro Theater is a legend, even in its own town! Each time I go there, I am reminded of why it used to be so much fun to go out to a movie. The Castro has some of the most delightfully unusual bookings - things you just cant see at your local mega-cine-plex, such as Cinematic Titanic Live, Aleta Queen of Space silent film complete with Theremin and small orchestra accompaniment, and the Sing-Along Sound of Music and costume party. The theater has never been divvied up and the Mighty Wurlitzer still testifies on the weekends. You can fortify yourself from the adjacent coffee shop and cookie stores as you wait in line and enjoy chattering with your fellow movie goers. Go and enjoy yourself!

Thomas Chee

The film Henry and June 1990 about Henry Miller, love stories like the Italian Cinema Paradiso 1988, all these films can be seen at home, but the films becomes so much more emotional, thoughtful, memorable, when watched at the Castro Theatre. The theater is as magical as Mozarts opera concerning his flute. I literally broke up with a date because they didnt appreciate how much it meant to me to take a date to see Henry and June down at the Castro. They wanted to stay home to watch Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. The Castro provides the viewer with an extra experience that makes going to the movie of your choice an adventure. The Castro Theater helps make San Francisco a great city.

Tracey Kaplan

Castro Theatre is a very cool, historic theatre right in the heart of the Castro, SFs gayborhood. 2 floors, no wi-fi-, 800 seat capacity, and 2 bathrooms (with several stalls in each) make going to the bathroom during intermission a bit difficult. However, the ambience of the theatre more than makes up for the inconvenience of the bathrooms. We had our first ever Lesbians Who Tech Summit at the Castro Theatre, which was a great and fun venue that comfortably fit our 795 guests. Castro Theatre also hosts Sing-alongs, which are very fun events that enable the crowd to sing along to popular movies from our childhood, such as Beauty and the Beast.

Victoria P.

Ive been wanting to go see a movie at The Castro Theatre for a very long time. I finally got to go when they were showing Vertigo. Its a beautiful venue, and I thought it was so cool that there was an organ player before the movie. And for such a historic theatre, and for being in a popular neighborhood, the ticket prices are reasonable. I didnt buy anything at the concession stand, but my roommates did and they said it was expensive. Better to eat beforehand. Be sure to check out their website to for a calendar of all the movies theyre showing, which includes sing-a-longs!

Will Kivinski

The Castro Theatre is probably the most historic theatre in the Bay Area. Whether youre here for a film festival, an old movie screening, a sing-a-long, a comedy performance or a drag show, youre bound to have a blast! The interior design is magnificent. Its really stunning inside. Plus, every show starts off with a delightful organ player! How rad! One of my favorite experiences here was seeing a screening of Hitchcocks "Vertigo" here, which takes place in San Francisco. Seriously, super cool. Its literally in the center of the city and the most photographed icon in the Castro.

Marie T Fisher

I love the Castro Theatre. Ive seen mainstream movies, choruses, independant film screenings, participated in sing-alongs, and everything in between here. Their calendar is varied and always changing. Many of the events can be found on Goldstar for half price, but the full price tickets are usually pretty reasonable as well. Be patient and purchase tickets to popular showing in advance as the lines can get long (though they move fast). Inside, the historic theatre is gorgeous. The lobby isnt much to see but the interior is very old timey and you will be amazed by that organ.

Ferrin Solano

Lets be real: The Castro theatre is heaven on Earth. Its a magical, gaudy, single-screen venue that continues to weather economic storms. Before special events, youll delight at the organist who plays you into the films. Numerous double or triple bills give you insane bang for your buck. There is likely no one reading this who hasnt been to the Castro Theatre. But if you havent, GO. It doesnt matter whats playing! GO. If youre visiting town, and you dont take a couple hours to check out a program at the Castro, you havent seen one of San Franciscos true landmarks.