From ‘plex to palace: A tour

That Los Angeles was built on the back of the movie business is axiomatic. That it is a cultural crazy quilt, ditto. The mystery is how these two realities reduced most of our moviegoing to a tiny screen in a multiplex in a shopping mall.

Or maybe not such a mystery: Gone are the days when the theater down the street could survive with one or two screens. In the contemporary Darwinian era, the big fish eat the little fish, as when the Regal chain of theaters recently subsumed the United Artists and Edwards chains, giving Regal almost 6,000 screens nationally, and hundreds in the Southland. Paradoxically, more screens mean fewer choices, with most big chains showing whatever movie with teen/scream appeal that was released last Friday.

It’s a zero-sum game for the moviegoer who craves beauty with their culture, comfort with the popcorn. Shall we capitulate and see a lousy movie at the googolplex? Or bow out entirely and wait for that hot documentary only playing at one art house all the way across town to come out on DVD?

Luckily for Angelenos, the answer is neither. This is where movies as we know them were born, and just because Philip Anschutz (the billionaire who owns Regal) wants to herd us into his domain doesn’t mean we have to go. Los Angeles has as many settings to see films as there are films to see. Below is an in-depth look at all there is to celebrate about getting out of the house and into L.A.’s movie houses, especially during this season of blockbuster (and other) holiday releases.

ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

The original Cinerama Dome was a very cool spot. A geodesic dome built in 1963, it featured a wraparound screen that was the place to see anything filmed in Cinemascope or starring James Coburn. Even when the ceiling tiles were falling on patrons’ heads, it had style. Several years ago, ArcLight revamped the Dome -- and what a vamp job: Even the breezeway is dramatic, all soaring asymmetrical steel and glass. The sweeping lobby features a glossy gift shop, a full restaurant and bar and a desk where you can get an ArcLight membership, which is free and helps you accumulate points toward merchandise and tickets. The concessions are quasi-gourmet: a sausage baguette, real butter on the popcorn, homemade caramel corn. The ushers seem superfluous, unless you’ve reserved seats, which you can do. And what seats: deep and plush, with enough legroom for Kobe Bryant and set up stadium-style. The screens (two in the Dome, 14 in the ArcLight) are gargantuan and super-crisp, and you could feel the intensity of the Dolby sound during a preview for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” down to your bones. The ArcLight hosts live events, the bathrooms sparkle and everything is orchestrated so that going to the movies becomes a holistic experience, so long as you are punctual: Management will not let you into the movie once previews have started.

AMC Media North 6, 770 N. 1st St., Burbank

People like this theater behind the Burbank Ikea because of the loveseat-style seating: The arms of all the chairs go up, which means when the theaters are less than full you can sprawl across several, a couch potato’s home-away-from-home. But the fun stops there. The lobby of this six-plex has garish, soiled carpeting and a fake butter smell so pernicious my throat swelled. While snacks are the usual (sodas, candy, popcorn), the concessions area is exceptionally filthy, with drifts of popcorn on the floor and servers who pull on their plastic sanitary gloves with their teeth. The screen is fine -- not big, not small -- but the sound is abrasive and without subtlety. This AMC branch makes use of something called National Cinema Network’s Movie Tunes, which promotes albums that are “in stores now!” before running a bunch of ads for off-brand electronics. This, before the eight movie trailers, played for a predominantly teenage crowd which laughed hardest for “The Hot Chick.” Amazingly, none of this gets one in the mood for a movie, no matter how comfortable the seats are.

Vista Theater, 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Feliz

Locals adore this 75-year-old theater at the juncture of Hollywood and Sunset boulevards for its beauty, comfort and choice in films. The facade is ornate Spanish, the theater itself lavish Egyptian-Deco, with carved serpents and sarcophagi, inverted-pyramid chandeliers of opaque glass and, looming over the audience, busts of Egyptian maidens with Mona Lisa stares. Several years ago every other row of seats was pulled out, meaning a yard of spare legroom. The seats are very comfortable, the screen is wall to wall and the picture and sound quality are excellent. There are always first-run flicks, and they’re almost always right in step with what the arty Los Feliz-Silver Lake crowd wants to see.

Landmark’s Rialto, 1023 S. Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena

Recognized by the National Registry of Historic Places, this “Spanish baroque with Egyptian touches” theater opened in 1925 and once featured vaudeville. Like a grande dame who’s lost that ingenue glow, the Rialto retains its glamour, reservedly. The sea-toned tiles may be cracked and the azure and carnelian woodwork may have dulled, but they are still marvelous to come upon for their anachronistic craftsmanship in a nation of teal-and-fuchsia mass-produced multiplexes. The Rialto shows exclusively art-house fare and the occasional midnight movie. The seats of this large theater are of so-so comfort, with enough if not ample legroom. That is, if you sit below. Make your way up to the balcony and it’s 1940: The wood floorboards creak ominously; the seats are deep and of cracked leather; and the projector’s blue light breaks the darkness and bounces back and over the mesmerized faces of those in the front row. Those who’ve seen “The Player” will recognize the Rialto: It’s where Tim Robbins meets and kills Vincent D’Onofrio.

Academy 6 Cinemas, 1003 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena

Less frilly than other Laemmles, this Pasadena six-plex, popular with local seniors and teens, shows a strong and consistent roster of independent and foreign films, usually 12 at a time, some in double feature, some by separate admission. Sure, the seats are a little squeaky and, yes, the two downstairs theaters look like college lecture halls, but the upstairs theaters have balconies, the place is clean and, for the procrastinators among us, you can catch all those art films you meant to see but missed at the Laemmle up the street, and for about half the price.

Pacific’s Hastings 8, 355 N. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena

If the thought of finding a place to park in Pasadena makes you weepy, drive a few miles east to the low-gloss mall Hastings Ranch, where you will find Pacific’s Hastings. This eight-plex does not feel like a Los Angeles venue but a theater tucked behind a bowling alley in the shadow of the mountains -- which it is. There are pinball and video machines in the lobby, the usual concession goodies and eight theaters showing mainstream fare. The seats are covered in a thick pile that puts one in mind of suburban dens and La-Z-Boys. And speaking of which: The chairs in the two larger theaters semi-recline! Hastings is not sophisticated and is not trying to be.

Pacific’s the Grove Stadium 14, 189 the Grove Drive, 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles

The concept of a behemoth mall being slapped onto the back of ye olde rickety Farmers Market was rather distressing. And yet the Grove puts a cheerful face on corporate consumerism, with a sleek outdoor shopping village that, especially decked out as a winter wonderland, proves a pleasant place to promenade. The movie complex looks like the lobby of the Bellagio, with marble floors, a guest services desk and liveried concierges. The 14 screens draw in unpredictable numbers: I have been shut out of all three new-release features on a Friday night and the next day been one of a handful of viewers. The stadium-style seating is plush and comfy, with lots of legroom and dedicated spots for wheelchairs. The front rows are a bit close to the big screen, which is at eye level (no looking up) and whose picture is crisp. The movies are a mix of art-house and commercial, in tune with what a gazillion shoppers want.

New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles

For nine years before this revival house opened in 1978, it was an X-rated theater, and today the New Beverly retains a certain porn-house aura: The seats are dilapidated, the floors sticky, the air still and tangy. And yet the New Beverly is arguably the best revival house in Los Angeles, showing double bills that change every other day, everything from “Don’t Look Back” to “Back to the Future,” Fritz Lang to Bob Zemeckis, and a last chance to see last year’s big movies, foreign and domestic, on a big screen. Not that the screen is in very good shape; it’s sort of grainy. But nowhere else in town can you get this kind of consistently intrepid and creative programming for six bucks, for both features.

Los Feliz 3, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz

There are good and bad things about the Los Feliz. The good: It’s next door to an excellent independent bookstore (Skylight) and within a block of a dozen eateries and bars; the movies are almost always of special note or quality; and, with rare exceptions, they all start at the same time -- 1:40, 4:20, 7 and 9:40 -- which makes it easy to show and go. Now the bad: Since the seats in the main theater were reconfigured, there are arguably no good seats, and the screen feels uncomfortably close. The smallest theater is so tiny it’s earned the nickname “the shower curtain,” and finding a parking spot within 10 blocks on weekends can flay your last nerve. Still, the choice in films is choice and in tune with locals’ tastes; what is lost in presentation is made up for in convenience.

American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

So, you’d like not to feign fluency in film, not to look panicky or blank when someone starts talking about John Ford or “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad,” but you feel it’s just too late? Go get yourself a membership to American Cinematheque, where the film’s the thing. This hub for cinephiles shows different movies daily, sometimes several. There are goofy comedies and sober documentaries; there are tributes and retrospectives, often featuring a live appearance by the star or director or auteur. The theater -- the old Egyptian, refurbished -- is swank, with just about the prettiest ceiling going; the chairs feel like airline seats, with high headrests and as much legroom as in business class; the screen is large, the picture excellent. The concessions area is sort of second-rate, but no one cares: They’re here to see the movie. While “American Cinematheque” sounds a little highfalutin, the place is not precious or academic but a serious celebration of film. Go.

Grauman’s Chinese, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

In the beginning, there was Grauman’s Chinese, and every person who came to Hollywood went to stand in the shoeprints of John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe and to breathe in what was left of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s fairy dust. Then Grauman’s became a Mann’s, and the place was just dusty, if still majestic and with one of the largest screens in town. Enter Hollywood & Highland, and yet another incarnation of Grauman’s. Gone is the exterior’s Chinese red; in are ecru and electronic signage. Still, the interior is as dazzling as ever: 2,200 bright ruby seats, a spectacular starburst chandelier and a palpable sense that movie stars were here. The screen is enormous, the sound thunderous; this is definitely the place you want to see the latest flying wizard-spaceship flick.

Nuart Theater, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.

Militantly independent, the Nuart never shows a film that is not provocative, cerebral and/or outrageous. When the new “Solaris” recently hit theaters, the Nuart showed the Tarkovsky original. Obscure yet worthy foreign films and documentaries often get their only L.A. run at the Nuart and, lest you think the place takes itself very seriously, there are also 3-D and animation festivals and midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and other cult hits, such as “The Evil Dead” and “Clockwork Orange.” While not plush, the theater (built around 1930 as a screening room) implies that old-school pact that, once you step into that darkness, you will be transported, for two hours, outside of time. The crowd leans toward film erudition and a contrary opinion on the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.

Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

This Laemmle theater in the Virgin Megastore complex is easily a contender for best selection of independent and commercial films in all of Los Angeles. Filmgoers of a certain stripe -- namely, those who follow film and eagerly await the next Alexander Payne-Todd Haynes-Spike Jonze flick -- know that what they want to see is going to be here first. The theaters may not be big, but they are clean and the quality of the picture and sound are swell. There is one big obstacle, however, to falling in love with the Sunset 5, and that is the underground parking lot, a facility with a claustrophobically low ceiling and exhaust fumes so thick and noxious you feel as though you’re sliding down into your concrete coffin.

Beverly Center Cineplex Odeon Theatres, 8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles

It’s hard to find nice things to say about the 13 theaters atop the Beverly Center, at the corner of La Cienega Boulevard. The screens are small, the theaters not especially comfortable, the general mien is a bit grubby, the movies themselves the epitome of mainstream, with the occasional token art film. The only reason to go, really, is if you’ve burned out on shopping but your partner has not.

Loew’s Cineplex Century Plaza Cinema, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Century City

A big, Big, BIG screen begs the showing of the latest “Star Trek” adventure and re-releases of epics, such as last year’s “Apocalypse Now Redux.” The antithesis to the nearby AMC Century City 14, this four-plex never feels crowded (though lines can be long), and the fare, while commercial, never insults your intelligence. The complex, which also houses the Shubert Theatre, is open and elegant, and if you’d like to check it out, do so before February, when the entire structure is slated for demolition.

Laemmle’s Fairfax, 7097 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles

This theater on the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue had fallen on hard times and was showing discounted double-features until, several years ago, it was swooped up by Laemmle. The place has been spiffed up, there’s a faux-Deco thing going on in the lobby and the selection in this three-plex is consistently intrepid. There are always six movies (some shown in double-feature), including indies making a two-week stand before disappearing into oblivion; film festival darlings, like 2001’s “The American Astronaut”; little pics looking for distributors; foreign films; and documentaries. There are midnight shows, notably “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” with live cast and sing-along every fourth Friday, which attracts scads of Hed-heads. Theaters 1 and 3 are fairly small, and the comfort factor less than optimal, as the screens are skewed left or right. The center theater, by contrast, is large, with a nice big screen and -- look up -- an intricately stenciled ceiling.

Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica

You would think that an independent theater tucked amid the pasta shops and Pilates studios of Montana Avenue would be embraced by the locals. For whatever reasons, the Aero, built in 1939 and with a great old neon sign, is not. This is not to say the management is not trying: there’s a kids’ matinee on the weekends, a fairly new art house film every night and special benefit screenings to bring in the crowds -- who are not coming. One reason may be the lack of parking; another, the small-town feel: this is the only theater I know that has a fish tank in the lobby and, behind the concessions stand, a household refrigerator, with a shopping list affixed by a magnet. But the theater itself is a pretty teal with Deco touches, the screen of a nice size and quality. Go before it goes under and becomes a chain you complain about.

Landmark’s NuWilshire, 1314 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

Not particularly pretty, not particularly clean and, boy, the place could use new carpeting. Nevertheless, the NuWilshire always features indie or just-to-the-left-of-commercial pics, and the two theaters themselves are intimate and nicely old-fashioned: a narrow center aisle, pleated fabric on the walls, sconces. The screen takes up the entire front wall, the picture is crisp and the sound is loud and clear. (Though not, perhaps, loud enough for some older patrons, who make up the bulk of daytime audience. The crowd skews younger at night). A nice place to see a matinee on a rainy day and, added bonus, there are Ben & Jerry’s ice cream bars at the snack counter.

AMC Century City 14, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City

Step right up if you want to see a movie at the most heavily attended theater in Los Angeles. Although this massive outdoor mall has its quirky touches (e.g., independent vendors and non-chain restaurants), the 14-plex is straight-ahead commercial, with a predominately young crowd that appreciates the aesthetic credo “no neon too bright, no sound too loud.” The place can be a zoo on weekends: Tickets sell out (you can reserve ahead), getting popcorn takes 30 minutes and woe to the woman who needs to use the loo in a hurry. Of the 14 screens, Nos. 1 through 4 are the largest, with good screen, sound and seat quality in all theaters.

Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica

A little down at the heels, this Laemmle’s nevertheless shows an excellent selection of art-house, documentary and intellectually vigorous films. The stylish if slightly shabby lobby is awash with fliers touting “Derrida” and the latest Almodovar. The crowd tends to be older during the day, Boho by night. There’s a swell candy selection (Toblerone! Penuttles!), the seats are comfortable, the screen and sound fine. Of all the art-house theaters on the Westside, this one has the widest and most adventurous film lineup.

Laemmle’s Grande 4-Plex, 345 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A.

This four-plex beneath the Marriott hotel like the embodiment of teen gloom. The lobby is ratty and hung with a young Bell Gardens artist’s unframed watercolors -- spooky, self-conscious images of emaciated, doe-eyed youths ripping open their skin. The theater shows a mix of art-house and commercial films for the few tourists, punks and schlubs who show up. The floors are sticky, the seats have the quarter-circle, flip-up desks you had in grade school and the screen and sound are serviceable. It’s a good place to watch a movie while wondering what you’re doing here.

Pacific’s El Capitan, 6838 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

Restored several years ago to its original ‘40s glitz, the candy-colored El Capitan shows exclusively Disney or other Buena Vista movies, sometimes preceded by a kid-centric and extravagant floorshow. The balcony is the place to sit; the multiple curtains add to the anticipation and, if you’re bringing folks from out of town and/or the grandkids, it might be worth the $23 per person.

The Bridge: Cinema de Lux and Imax Theatre at Howard Hughes Center, 6081 Center Drive, Westchester

The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center, an outdoor mall off the San Diego Freeway near LAX, is so spiffy and generic it could be an industrial park in Houston or Short Hills, N.J. On top is the Bridge, a multiplex that looks like an op-art airport, or the lobby of a hotel as rendered by the magazine Wallpaper. The place is scrupulously clean (no small feat considering the crowd is pretty young), the theaters -- including an Imax six stories tall -- spectacularly plush. The screens are wall to wall, the Dolby sound is the best of any local theater save the Arc- Light, the chairs are supple black leather, with high headrests and fat armrests and a comfort level set at “cradle.” There’s a cocktail lounge that looks as though Esquivel should be playing and a snack bar where, in addition to regular concession fare, you can order chicken or pizza or frozen yogurt to take into the theater.

Magic Johnson Theatres, Crenshaw Mall, Baldwin Hills, (323) 290-5900

The Magic Johnson Development Corp.’s mission statement reads: “Dedicated to serve the educational, health and social needs of our community.” One of the most visible ways Johnson has done this locally is to open the Magic Johnson Theatres, in South Central, an area that was woefully short of movie venues. Located in the Crenshaw Mall, this 15-plex with all the amenities shows mostly commercial new releases, though there’s also the occasional smaller film and documentary. While most multiplexes’ bottom line is the bottom line, this chain (there are four more across the country) seems dually committed to showing films of both cultural relevance and entertainment value to the community, which is mostly minority. Johnson, a great entertainer on and off the court, understands that film is America’s common language and that going to the movies is a treasured pastime for every community.