17/04/2023
槟城戏院的辉煌史
Glorious era of cinema in Penang
在早期的槟城,曾经有多家戏院在州内各地区营业,分别是百乐门 Paramount、乐宫 Royal、中央 Central、东方 Eastern、国宾 Ambassador、环球Globe、丽都 LiDo、中华、奥迪安 Odeon、国泰 Cathay、大华 Majestic、首都 Capitol、中山 Sun、新都 Wembley、京华 Movieland、联邦 Federal、丽士 Rex、星光 Star、嘉宾 Gala、中南 Chong Nam、美都 Metro、达利 Dalit、快乐、光明、黄金,金华及友联。这些戏院主要都在乔治市市区,其余则遍布在峇六拜、亚依淡及浮罗。
大华戏院(1926年)是全槟最早的一间戏院,由富商邱善佑所建立,别名善佑戏院,后来易名大华戏院。大华曾是全槟首家播放有声电影的戏院,尤其是在60和70年代更是风光无限,但无奈时代进步,最终在1997年结业。结业后的大华变成一栋废弃建筑物,直到乔治市于2008年入遗后得以修复,随后在2016年翻新成多用途礼堂,建筑原始外观所幸得以保留。
当时的戏院外,有小贩售卖各类小食,较为常见有肉干面包、Rojak、咸水花生、煨鱿鱼、炒栗子和蒸粟米,不像现在只售卖爆米花及其他选项有限的零嘴,甚至还可以直接在戏院内抽烟喝酒。旧式戏院还有两种已经消失的特色,一是人工手绘的大型电影海报看板,二是戏院大堂内置放在玻璃橱内展示的电影剧照。
80年代,百乐门、乐宫、东方和中央让路光大的发展而不幸被铲除。随着80年代末兴起的录影带热潮,90年代泛滥的盗版光碟,21世纪的网络发达,旧式戏院已经无法获得民众亲睐,纷纷逐渐没落倒闭。遗憾的是,全槟最后一家戏院奥迪安也在2014年7月30日放映最后一场午夜场电影后正式熄灯结业,为槟城旧式戏院历史正式画上句号。目前,只有大华戏院和奥迪安 (Odeon)尚保留最初的原始面貌,其余都已经被改为其他建筑用途。
*部分照片取自“怀念槟城”群组及网络
During the glorious era of cinema, there were many theatres in Penang, including Paramount, Royal, Central, Eastern, Ambassador, Globe, LiDo, Zhong Hua, Odeon, Cathay, Majestic , Capitol, Sun, Wembley, Movieland, Federal, Rex, Star, Golden, Gala, Chong Nam, Glory, Metro and Dalit. These theatres are mainly located in the urban area of George Town, while the rest are located in Bayan Lepas, Air Itam and Balik Pulau.
The earliest theatre in Penang would be the Majestic Theater (1926). It was established by a wealthy businessman named Khoo Shan Ewe. It was also initially known as “Shan Ewe Theater" and later renamed to the “Majestic Theater”. Majestic Theater used to be the first theatre in Penang to show sound films, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, but it was unable to cope with the progress of time and finally closed its doors in 1997. After its closure, Majestic Theatre became an abandoned building until it was restored in George Town in 2008 and then refurbished into a multi-purpose auditorium in 2016. Fortunately, the original structure of the building is still being preserved.
Outside the theatre at that time, there were hawkers selling all kinds of snacks, such as Pork Jerky wrapped in bread, Rojak, salted peanuts, stewed squid, fried chestnuts and steamed corn unlike how cinemas now just sell popcorn only. You can even smoke and drink directly inside the theatre itself. There are also two features of the old theatre that have disappeared. One of which is the hand-painted large movie poster board and the other being the movie stills displayed in the glass cabinet built inside the theatre’s lobby.
In the 1980s, Paramount, Royal, Eastern and Central were unfortunately eliminated to make way for the development of KOMTAR. With the rise of video cassettes and tapes in the late 1980s, the proliferation of pirated CDs in the 1990s and the emergence of the Internet in the 21st century, old-style theatres have gradually declined and closed down. Regrettably, the last theatre in Penang, Odeon Theatre has also officially shut its doors after showing the last midnight movie on July 30, 2014, marking the official end of the history of old theatres in Penang. At present, only Majestic and Odeon Theatre still retain their overall appearance, while the rest have been sadly changed for other architectural purposes.
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