| Paris remains one of the few cities in the world in which it's possible to get not only serious entertainment but a serious film education from the programmes of regular – never mind specialist – cinemas. A few of the more obscure movie houses may have closed in recent years, but plenty of others remain and continue to resist the popcorn-touting clout of the big chains, UGC and Gaumont, by screening classic and contemporary films. If your French is up to it, you can watch your way through the entire careers of individual directors in the mini-festivals held at many independent cinemas, notably the Action chain, the Escurial, the Entrepôt and Le Studio 28. And if you can read French subtitles, you can go and see a Senegalese, Brazilian or Finnish film that might never be screened in Britain or the US. Even if you have no French at all, it's easy to find v.o. (version originale) films, both modern and classic. The alternative, to be avoided where possible, is v.f. (version française), which means the film has been dubbed into French. You may also see v.a. (version anglaise), which means the film is the English version of an international co-production. Listings for all films are detailed in Pariscope. The Quartier Latin, around the Sorbonne, has a particularly high concentration of arts cinemas showing an almost incredible repertoire of classic films, while the area around the Gare Montparnasse is chock-full with big-screen movie-houses offering the latest glossy releases. For the biggest screen of all, check-out the Gaumont cinema on Place de l'Italie. Some of the foreign institutes in the city have occasional screenings, so if your favourite director is a Hungarian, a Swede or a Korean, check what's on at those countries' cultural centres. These will be listed along with other cinema-clubs and museum screenings under "Séances exceptionnelles" or "Ciné-clubs", and are usually cheaper than ordinary cinemas. Séances (programmes) start between 1 and 3pm at many places, sometimes as early as 11am, and usually continue through to the early hours. Tickets rarely need to be purchased in advance, and they're cheap by European standards. An average price is €8, though prices are a couple of euros lower at many independent cinemas, and almost all venues have reductions for students and the unemployed, at least from Monday to Thursday. Some matinée séances also carry discounts. For long-termers, UGC, MK2 and Gaumont sell various booklets of tickets and subscriptions, and some independents offer a carte de fidélité, giving you a free sixth entry. All Paris's cinemas are non-smoking.
Pages in section ‘Film’: Paris on film, Cinemas, Cinémathèques, Film festivals, French TV.
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