Bleecker Street Cinema - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Truffaut was a frequent visitor to the Bleecker Street Cinema (as were other New Wave directors) and the famed scene in La Peau Douce where the professor wanders in back of a cinema screen was inspired by a tour of the theater's back stage during a film performance. The cavernous office area of the theater (which in later years was converted to a second theater) was also the unofficial headquarters of the pro politique des auteurs crowd of critics. Andrew Sarris speaks of the long Sunday afternoon discussions that involved Rudy Franchi, Carlos Clarens, Jonas Mekas and Marshall Lewis. In his review of Jonathan Demme's The Truth About Charlie, Sarris stated that "not to mention the dedication of the film to the late Ted Demme and Marshall Lewis, one of the two guys in the back of the Bleecker Street Cinema (the other was Rudy Franchi) with whom I spent many convivial hours of Francophilia and cinephilia. After all that, how can I pretend to be objective about Mr. Demme’s labor of love?"

The back office was also the publishing home of NY Film Bulletin, a publication that was the first to translate the writings of Truffaut and others into English. It is credited with introducing the auteur theory to the U.S. through the writings of such critics as Sarris and a famed two part interview with Truffaut on the politique. The second part of that interview was done at Bleecker Street.

Several scenes in Desperately Seeking Susan were shot there as one of the characters (Dez, played by Aidan Quinn) works there as a projectionist.