It’s hard to imagine how an erotic cinema manages to stay in business in the age of internet porn, but Cinema L’Amour has managed to pull it off. The theater just celebrated its 40th anniversary of showing smut on the big screen, proof that it’s definitely got loyal patronage despite the wide availability of free porn on the web. Maybe it’s like what Burt Reynolds describes in Boogie Nights: there’s something to be said for the film medium and professional porn stars doing their thing.

The cinema is a Montreal landmark and part of the city’s history. When Cinema L’Amour opened in 1914, it was called The Globe (like Shakespeare’s Globe theater) and, in the heart of the Jewish community, it was the main venue for watching Yiddish films during the 1920s and 1930s. Ever-changing, it was renamed The Hollywood in 1932, then gained it’s saucy reputation in 1969 when it became The Pussycat, and began showing grindhouse flicks – movies with low production values and a lot of sex ‘n’ violence. Now, Cinema L’Amour has got the largest XXX screen in North America, and a retro charm that still brings in both faithful customers and curious new-comers.

The theater is celebrating its 40th anniversary next Wednesday, December 2nd, by opening its doors to the general public and screening Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, with a live musical performance, MC’d by writer and former porn star Daniel Allen Cox. The evening will kick off a new monthly series, Grindhouse Wednesdays, to be held on the first Wednesday of every month, featuring a different grindhouse movie and band every time, with proceeds going to HIV/AIDS awareness through the support group Heads & Hands.

The party December 2nd starts at 9pm, tickets are only $10, and $6 buys you a “threesome” – 2 beers and a popcorn.

Cinema L’Amour
cinemalamour.com
4015 blvd St-Laurent.