This retro gem’s weekly screenings of “The Third Man” have been drawing locals and tourists alike for decades.
There ’s nothing quite like going to amovie theater in a foreign land . The setting is intimate — framed cinema posters , plush flushed seats , old - fashioned conceding stall — until you find out that those ego - serve “ butter ” machines do n’t subsist outside of the States , and you pop out to pick up murmurings of “ Is this seat taken ? ” in another voice communication . But all these minor differences get put aside once the room goes pitch-dark . You and your fellow viewer go where the film perish , and if you ’re favorable , it might even capture the very place you ’ve come to visit .
At Vienna’sBurg Kino , that picture show is likely to beThe Third Man , a 1949 black - and - white thriller set in postwar Vienna . When former handler Kurt Schramek decided to put it on the big CRT screen back in the 1980s , what began as a unproblematic reprise turn into a long - support custom , as local anesthetic and tourists likewise continued to request it at the box post .
direct by Carol Reed , the British moving picture noir staple follows flesh novelist Holly Martins as he move around to a war - torn Vienna and discovers that his older pal , Harry Lime — diddle by the fabled Orson Welles — is deadened . On screen , Reed ’s Vienna is home base to a thriving black food market that runs rearing through the Russian , British , French , and American zones borne from the aftermath of World War II . From the beginning , the line drawing fascinate English - speaking audiences , and in 1999,the British Film Institute votedThe Third Manthe sterling British plastic film of all time .
Photo by Olga Kretsch, courtesy of Burg Kino
“ Vienna is a city that has always characterized itself as leaning towards a morbid , darker culture , ” say Stefan Schramek , Kurt ’s Word and the current director at Burg Kino . “ This movie conquer a certain nub of the city , a text file of a sentence that would otherwise be miss . ”
And while the cult classic is certainly a major draw , the neon - lit Burg Kino has a slew more going for it — namely , its dedication to project flick in their original , undoctored land . Founded in 1912 along thecity ’s renowned Ringstrasse , Burg Kino is one of the oldest still - operating cinemas in the macrocosm , remaining charmingly vintage and full of account .
“ Until the late ' 70s , it was the only picture palace in Austria — and also in Germany — that show moving picture in their original versions , ” says Schramek , who believes dubbed picture “ lose some of their smell . ” Since the epoch of silent plastic film , Burg Kino has premiere works from famous filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton , and was one of the first theatre in Austria to make the transition to sound .
Burg Kino, 1958|Photo courtesy of Burg Kino
The theatre , one of the first concrete facades built on the Ringstrasse , is illuminated by a manifest - and - simple red marquee . It was a one - screen theater until 1986 , after which a second , small-scale screen was build . Upon entering , a staircase will moderate you down to a cash - only ticket counterpunch , and from there you ’ll make your way to a conceding area that resemble a Viennese cafe , replete with Manner wafers and bentwood chairs . The Third Manis often screened in the primary theater of operations , or Großer Saal , which boasts balcony seating and plenty of previous - Hollywood vibes .
When Schramek ’s father take over in the 1980s , he was tasked with establishing Burg Kino , which had always been a privately have house . It was tough to get licenses to block out new flick at the time , as a publicly owned cinema pudding stone held most of the power over Vienna ’s motion-picture show - go public . So Kurt decided to turn to the old stuff — a move that ultimately set his theatre apart from the pack .
The resulting success was n’t wholly unexpected . After all , Kurt , a tested cinephile , was chosen as the business ’s successor for his extensive knowledge of film history . Growing up in southern Austria , he ’d spend his time call other urban center just to see motion-picture show , sometimes slip into those he was a little too youthful for . And while he went to university to act on mathematics , he was much more passionate about organizing film festivals for his classmate on the side .
Photo by Minitta Kandlbauer, courtesy of Burg Kino
But in the early 2000s , things started to change again . Burg Kino had been able to gain admittance to novel film right field in the mid-80s . But the practice of download moving picture online start to take clutches and turgid , loud multiplexes began to emerge . In just a few years , the dramatics lost nearly one-half of its clientele . “ It was really almost the end of Burg Kino , ” Schramek says . “ stacks of cinemas fill up around those years , all around the humans , but especially in Vienna , which was , at that time , the city in Europe with the most cinema seats per inhabitant . ”
gratefully , as the 2000s came to a finale , motion-picture fan resumed their appreciation for pocket-size , independent cinemas around the same time vinyl group records know a revitalisation . Today , Schramek ’s theater is devoted to showcasing quality moving picture from around the Earth . And while they ’re still stanchly against dubbing , in recent age they ’ve start out to contain film with English subtitles alternatively of German ones , a nod to the many non - German - speak tourists looking to perforate their ticket to a show .
Speaking of foreign visitor , Burg Kino is no unknown to welcoming all variety of out - of - towners — even some famous unity . Over the year , it ’s hosted directors like Olivier Assayas , Robert Guedigian , and Jon Amiel , and has been the site of events like theVienna Shorts Film FestivalandJewish Film Festival , as well as veritable panel discussion . Schramek even think a clock time when Bill Murray stopped by , picking up aThird ManT - shirt on his way out .
Photo by Daniel Pucher, courtesy of Burg Kino
A cover ofThe Third Manat Burg Kino is recommended in a number of guidebook , a blue - key , showery - day activity that stands in contrast to the city ’s more highfalutin offer . But the film is a guidebook in itself , granting notoriety to a smattering of Viennese sites . Schramek cite a fewtours you’re able to bookto take you around such film locales , the most renowned of which include theRiesenrad ferris wheelat Prater Park , the mount for one of the moving picture ’s most important showdown , as well as the underground “ cholera epithelial duct , ” where a sure character attempts to fly . you may even pay a visit to the nearbyThird Man Museum , which houses over 3,000 original artifacts from the flick .
Whether you descend to Burg Kino to buzz Third Manor a more late flick , know that you ’re keep an eye on a story unfold in a edifice notice by cinematic history , surround by a city known for its artistry . For Schramek , there ’s beauty in see the place you ’re traveling to on the grownup screen , but there ’s something comforting about getting a little lost , too .
“ [ Going to a picture show ] connects you to a non - local , continuous infinite of arts that gets you out of where you are at the moment , ” Schramek says . “ So if you ’re in another city , you may still go to a shoes you kind of know . ”
Stefan Schramek at the ticket counter|Photo by Minitta Kandlbauer, courtesy of Burg Kino
Photo by Minitta Kandlbauer, courtesy of Burg Kino
