July 6, 2007

The Ryerson

With more than 1,200 seats, The Ryerson is typically used for non-gala showings of higher profile films. For example, in past years I've seen films by Cronenberg, Egoyan, Frears, Ozon, and the Dardennes there. It also hosts the Midnight Madness program. The theater is located on the campus of Ryerson University at 43 Gerrard, two blocks east of Yonge.

The good news for festival-goers is that, with The Ryerson as a venue, there's little chance of ever being left without a "hot" ticket. They cram a lot of bodies into that room. And for a theater that only occasionally functions as a cinema, the presentations are quite good, with a big screen, relatively sharp projection, and better-than-average sound. It's not, however, a place I would choose to spend an entire day, and, in fact, over the last few years I've managed to avoid making a single trip to The Ryerson. The seats are uncomfortable (which becomes more and more of a concern as the week progresses), and the sight lines can be quite bad.

Subway Stops: More or less equidistant from College and Dundas
Rush & Ticket-Holder Lines: Form along Gerrard Street

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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the Ryerson isn't so great. And since everyone knows it's not so great, getting an aisle seat is impossible. For that reason, I don't actually care about getting in line early. Because where I sit isn't key (unless it's in the balcony, which is horrible). It's who sits in front of me that matters. So I'd rather get in about the middle of the pack and then look for a seat directly behind someone short. The only problem is that I sometimes feel badly about ditching friends who want to sit together. But trying to get 3-4 seats together is pretty much impossible unless someone gets there early, and too often we stand in the aisles, swiveling our heads, looking for something that doesn't exist while prime individual seats get taken.

On the other hand, there's no better place for a Midnight Madness film with a huge, raucous crowd. At least no better place since the Uptown closed. RIP