SAMUEL RAFUSE

There are currently many ways to pass your time at the University of Saskatchewan, but one way that should come back is the opportunity to attend the movies and eat popcorn without having to leave campus.

Going to the theatre used to be the pinnacle of social events, but with the advent of Netflix and on-demand streaming, it’s become a bit of a relic of a bygone era. For generations of students, the theatre provided an inexpensive date setting, a getaway for friends or simply a chance to escape into an unfamiliar world.

What many may not know is that the U of S once housed one of the best movie theatres in Saskatoon. Opening on Oct. 9, 1975 with a run of the 1973 film O Lucky Man, Place Riel Theatre was, confusingly, located in room 241 of the Arts Building where the multi-purpose Neatby-Timlin Theatre is today.

Founded by Chris Jones, who went on to be the artistic director at Saskatoon’s Broadway Theatre, Place Riel Theatre had an impressive seating capacity of 370, featured an outstanding variety of new and old movies and was beloved for its student-friendly prices and the real butter on the popcorn.

I’ve heard stories from friends and family members who remember attending movies like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Casablanca and The French Connection — classics that many of us would love to get a chance to see on the big screen.

Who doesn’t want the chance to watch Linda Blair vomit pea soup in The Exorcist with a huddled group of terrified freshmen?

The theatre also regularly hosted midnight screenings and underground hits — a traditional staple of university campuses that has been sordidly missing from the U of S in recent years. At times, they even offered a coupon in the Sheaf for a free drink refill in exchange for a drawing of your favourite movie — for kids only, but still.

Unfortunately, Place Riel Theatre ran its last reel in April 1998, primarily because it was run out of business by the competitive prices at the nearby Centre and Rainbow Theatres.

In 1976, admission to the Place Riel Theatre was $1.50. Adjusted for inflation, this amounts to about $6 today. By the mid 1990s, the student rate had risen to $4 per ticket, and two new movie theatres had opened on the same side of the river.

In our bustle of homework and exam schedules, students barely have the time to figure out what Netflix and chill even means. Bringing back an on-campus cinema would provide us with both something to do, as well as somewhere to talk about it afterwards.

In the nearly 20 years since the Place Riel Theatre closed its doors, digital distribution has become vastly inexpensive, meaning that the theatre could afford to reopen its doors even if only a handful of students came out.

To bring back the theatre would be to bring back a feature of campus community. If it hosted midnight screenings and encouraged audience involvement via coupons, events and special screenings, the Place Riel Theatre could reopen as a welcoming place for university mishaps — within a controlled environment.

The artistically minded would surely love the opportunity to participate in campus organized film festivals or competitions, and movie theme nights would most definitely be a big hit among today’s crowd.

There is still so much we can learn about ourselves and our university peers from going to the movies together, either deliberately through attending challenging, old or foreign films or subconsciously through simply getting away for a while and letting the storytellers of the world open our minds.

Besides, what student doesn’t need a good option for a fun, cheap date?