Criterion Theatre

Great theater! Beautiful atmosphere that is completely original. Great for a date night.

We loved this theater! Built in 1932 and they retained a lot of the original Art Deco details. The current owners are restoring it to its original glory. They even got a carpet company to duplicate the original carpet pattern! And the balcony has separate sections!

What a fantastic gem of a movie theatre this is. Vintage deco at its best, from the classic neon frontage to the art deco ceiling and chandelier inside, it’s worth visiting just to have a look at the auditorium. It’s been recently restored thanks to a $ 2 million anonymous donation so it’s looking pretty good.
The auditorium is, unusually, octagonal in shape. the balcony is quite shallow and divided into separate compartments, the centre three seating 8 in two stepped rows with long tables in front, the side boxes seating 9 in 3 rows. The compartments have dividing walls between them and a curtained entrance at the rear, but they have a clear view of each other so if it’s privacy you’re after pick the extreme side ones.
They also have a little snack bar on the upper level selling food and alcohol — very civilised!
The stage looks like a proper stage, and I would have loved to have been able to have a look round there to see what it was like. As the screen looks like just a drop at the front of the stage, I did find myself wondering if the place was originally opened as a theatre.
The ceiling and chandelier are wonderful deco artworks, and subtle deco touches can be seen all over the place, down to the end panels of the seats in the stalls.
The balcony is quite a way from the screen so you won’t find this as immersive an experience as your local multiplex. I also thought that the sound system wasn’t quite up to normal cinema standard — although they do have surround speakers installed, I found the centre speaker a bit mushy at times and it was hard to make out some of the lines in the dialogue. But that’s a small price to pay. You’re here for the ambience, the vintage experience and the feeling of soaking up some 30’s era glitz. Such a wonderful building deserves your support. Revel in it.

OK, to be fair, the theater is old and money for upkeep has been tight for a while. It is still a cool place to see a movie. The ticket price is relatively low and they don’t gouge you on concessions. The popcorn is also not soggy as one very objective reviewer would like you to believe. Get there early and take in a bit of the nostalgia. It really is a neat movie-​going experience and you’ll leave entertained with a few bucks left in your wallet. The bottom line, though, is that if you feel like the surroundings are too dated the only solution is to support it. Buy your ticket and buy some popcorn. You can also make a donation if you are so inclined. Try to catch a little bit of the spirit of the place. It’s gone through so many periods where they’ve had to close or cut back on services because of finances. There’s only one solution if you want to see the place get a facelift: patronize it. Spend money there. You’ll have a good time.

Alright, this place was awful!!! I went here on a stormy winter day last year to see «The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo», Swedish version! As a hard of hearing person, they do not have the assisted listening devices. By the law they’re suppose to have them and instead they brought a neon light sign instead of helping the disabled enjoy the movie, which I find more important. Now Cottage Street in Bar Harbor looks like a casino along the Atlantic City boardwalk. Anyway, I go in and some weird dude is acting all creepy on me. It’s like the Twilight Zone and was like visiting the Hollywood Hotel in Disneyland. No one else was in the theater that was dark, empty, cold, and quiet, except for some rats running about. Leonard Cohen music was playing loudly and had nothing to do with the film I was gonna watch.
I ordered popcorn and the guy said he didn’t know how to work the popcorn machine. He was creepy, but in a nice way. Not rude, but quiet and like a hotel desk clerk out of Burton Fink.
Anyway, the movie started, but because the screen is so huge and the theater was empty, it was weird watching it. Guess for seeing «The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo» it was alright. Sure added to my experience, but if I was seeing a romantic comedy, I don’t think the creepy theater would do much.
Twenty minutes later, the popcorn ready and it’s wet and soggy!!! So, I thew it away and asked for coffee. Twenty minutes later, coffee ready and that was okay!!! But the cream was sour and in chunks. Nasty!!! Luckly i got this for free and a refill of coffee.
There’s a nice theater called «Reel Pizza» up the street, so skip this one. The big lit up light may fool you, but you are walking into Hotel California. Trust me!!!