Paris Theater, Manhattan's Largest Cinema House, Reopens Friday

MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN — Paris Theater is back with a new red look to pair with its silver screen.

Manhattan's largest movie theater — and the city's only remaining single-screen theater —reopened Friday.

The classic movie house has red, velvety plush seating that can seat 545 cinephiles, fresh carpets, a new red logo sign and a wheelchair-accessible lift will delight theatergoers who return, said Erica Abrams, a theater spokesperson.

Befitting its status as New York City's longest-running art house theater, the reopening celebration will have a repertory film program by director Radha Blank to screen alongside an engagement of her film, "The Forty-Year-Old Version."

“I’m excited to show the film in 35mm as intended and alongside potent films by fearless filmmakers who inspired my development as a storyteller and expanded my vision of what’s possible in the landscape of cinema," said Blank. "That 'Forty-Year-Old Version' gets to screen alongside them at the Paris theater, a NY beacon for cinema, makes it all the more special”

This is the New York City premiere for the acclaimed debut film that earned Blank the 2020 Sundance Vanguard Award and the Gotham Award for Best Screenplay.

Blank's nine selected films to show alongside her own are:

• John Cassavetes’s "Shadows" (35mm)
• Sidney Lumet’s "Dog Day Afternoon" (35mm)
• Andrea Arnold’s "Fish Tank" (35mm)
• Kathleen Collins’s "Losing Ground" (Digital). Followed by a discussion with Kathleen Collins’ daughter, Nina Collins.
• Nick Castle’s "Tap" (35mm)
• Billy Wilder’s "The Apartment" (4K Digital)
• Christopher Guest’s "Waiting for Guffman" (35mm)
• Hal Ashby’s "The Last Detail" (Digital)
• Robert Townsend’s"Hollywood Shuffle" (35mm). Followed by a video conversation with Townsend.

Before fully reopening Friday, the Paris hosted limited theatrical programming from March 19 to June 13, including "Citizen Kane" in 35 mm, "Goodfellas," "The Color Purple," a buffet of zombie classics ("Night of the Living Dead," "Shaun of the Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead"), a Bob Dylan film series and A Weekend with Orson Wells.

The Paris first opened in 1948 with a screening of Jean Delannoy's "La Symphonie Pastorale." The single-screen theater — where one film runs at a time — is now surrounded in Manhattan by the multiplexes that first rose in popularity in the 1960s. As of 2019, Netflix has resumed operation of the theater's lease.

Following opening week, the theater will screen films that premiered at the Paris. “The Paris is For Lovers,” curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, will be a selection of some key films from the history of the theater that zero in on romance and relationships.

The theater will be following state and local regulations. For now, masking is recommended for all guests and staff. Starting Aug. 16, proof of vaccination will be required for all visitors and staff.