There's always a good choice of films screening in Amsterdam, including plenty of 'art' movies for discriminating cinephiles. The 'film ladder' - the listing of what's on - is pinned up at cinemas and in many pubs, or you can check it in Thursday's paper, when weekly programs change. AL means alle leeftijden, all ages, and 12 or 16 indicates the minimum age for admission.
Films are almost always screened in their original language with Dutch subtitles; the exceptions are children's matinees where the latest Disney creation may come with Dutch voices.
Ticket prices are quite expensive but the mainstream Hollywood cinemas around Leidseplein normally have half-price matinee tickets for their first screening on weekdays.
The following cinemas (merely a selection) are worth seeking out:
Bellevue/Calypso
(tel 623 48 76, Marnixstraat 400-402).
These two comfortable, mainstream cinemas screen a steady diet of
Hollywood fare.
Cinecenter
(tel 623 66 15, Lijnbaansgracht 236).
Euro and American art-house fare is the flavour of the day at this
recently modernised cinema complex. The last Monday of the month
is devoted to queer films.
Filmmuseum
(tel 589 14 00, Vondelpark 3).
The esteemed Filmmuseum's program appeals to a broad audience. It
schedules cult shlock-horror movies (Friday night), cutting-edge
foreign films (Iran, Korea), and specials devoted to screen legends
and genres such as Bollywood musicals.
Het Ketelhuis
(tel 684 00 90, Westergasfabriek, Haarlemmerweg 8-10).
Documentaries, cult-alt favourites, international and Dutch art-house
flicks are shown here.
Kriterion
(tel 623 17 08, Roetersstraat 170).
This Amsterdam School/Art Deco building screens cult movies, kids'
flicks and 'sneak previews' of up-coming films (10pm Tuesday). Its
lively and popular cafe is worth a visit too.
The Movies
(tel 638 60 16, Haarlemmerdijk 161).
Interesting, arty films are mixed in with independent American and
Brit pics at this beautiful Art Deco cinema. Its restaurant, Wild
Kitchen, is highly regarded also.
Tuschinskitheater
(tel 623 15 10, Reguliersbreestraat 26-28).
Extensively refurbished, Amsterdam's most famous cinema - screening
mainstream blockbusters - is a monument worth visiting for its sumptuous
Art Deco interior alone, especially its main auditorium, Tuschinski
1.
De Uitkijk
(tel 623 74 60, Prinsengracht 452).
This cosy art-house stalwart is the city's oldest surviving cinema
(1913). In an old canal house, it attracts film buffs who know their
Fuller from their Fellini.