Newly renovated, this three-screen cinema was built in 1920-21 and retains its classic art deco façade. The only cinema in the Pijp district, it specialises in independent foreign-language movies and documentaries (mostly subtitled in Dutch). They have impressive, often English-language, late-night screenings every Friday at 11pm and on Sunday, at 11am, they show classics like Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.
STUDIO K | Timorplein 62 | (020) 692 0422 | www.studio-k.nu
OK. I confess I haven't been here (it's in the east of the city) but I've heard it's a great space – with a cool café – which screens a mixture of mainstream, classic and independent films.
TUSCHINSKI | Reguliersbreestraat 26-28 | 0900-1458 (NL only) | www.tuschinski.nl
One of the world's most beautiful cinemas, the Tuschinski was built in 1921 as a vaudeville theater by Abram Icek Tuschinski and remains a breathtaking Art Deco/Nouveau jumble – and masterpiece (look up before you go inside). Its sumptuous interior includes carpets and finely upholstered chairs and you wonder how anything this beautiful could be used as a public cinema. Asides from welcoming a whole host of Hollywood celebrities on its red carpet for premières, the Tuschinski has a fascinating history. In 1903, Abram Icek Tuschinski left his native Poland and arrived in Rotterdam with the intention of emigrating to America on the famous Holland-Amerikalijn passenger ships. For some reason – either the ship was full or his papers were out of order – he ended up staying in Rotterdam. There, in 1909, the tailor-by-trade fulfilled his dream of opening a cinema – the Thalia. This was just the start of a chain of 13 cinemas that he would open in Rotterdam and beyond including (in Amsterdam), the Tuschinski, and the RoXY (the city's legendary nightclub which burnt down several years ago). Tragically, this incredible pioneer of early cinema was betrayed to the Nazis and in 1942 (and on the same day as his wife, Mariem Ehrlich), was gassed in Auschwitz. Rather ironically too, the Tuschinski was used by the Nazis during the World War Two occupation of Amsterdam to round up others destined for the gas chambers. It's definitely a must-visit – especially on a typical rainy afternoon in Amsterdam. For a romantic date, book a box and champagne in the main cinema.