Dryden Theatre

Dryden Theatre The George Eastman Museum's exhibition space for showcasing its unparalleled collection of motion pictures, as well as new foreign and independent films.
(223)

The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House is the Museum's largest exhibition space for showcasing its unparalleled collection of motion pictures, selections from archives around the world, as well as new foreign and independent films. With such diverse programming, the Dryden remains an essential part of the Museum experience and continues to be an important institution not only for the Rochester

community, but internationally as well. The Dryden Theatre was constructed in 1951 after George Eastman House received a generous donation from George and Ellen Dryden. The first film to be shown at the Dryden was Jean Renoir’s silent film Nana (1924). James Card (1915 – 2000) established the motion picture collection at George Eastman House. Card was a pioneer in the archival world and he single-handedly helped contribute to the appreciation of film as an art form. FILM
The projection booth is equipped with two reel-to-reel 35mm/16mm Kinoton projectors, and two 35mm Century projectors. Both sets of projectors have adaptable lenses for the following aspect ratios:

1.18: 1
Silent 1.33: 1
Academy 1.37: 1
1.66: 1
1.85: 1
Anamorphic 2.39: 1

VIDEO
The Dryden Theatre is equipped with an InFocus SP 777 DLP Projector. Video capabilities include: BetacamSP, Blu-ray, DVD, DigiBeta, U-Matic and VHS. SOUND
The theatre is outfitted with an up-to-date sound system designed to reproduce soundtracks for both contemporary and archival screenings. Designed and installed by Boston Light & Sound, it features a Dolby 7.1 system, able to reproduce the following stereo formats: Mono, Dolby A-Type, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, and also DTS. NITRATE
The Dryden Theatre projection booth is also customized to handle highly volatile Nitrate film. Discontinued around the mid-20th Century due to its highly flammable nature, nitrate film stock – the combination of a silver nitrate base and orthochromatic or panchromatic emulsion – provided a shimmering, luminous motion picture experience for moviegoers during the entire first half of movie history. One of only a handful of venues in the world that is still safely equipped to show 35mm nitrate prints, the Dryden Theatre is occasionally able to re-introduce audiences to this special kind of cinema magic with classic films from our vaults or other leading archives. Because no nitrate film stock is being produced today, these rare screenings of vintage prints may represent your only opportunity to experience this distinctive aesthetic visual pleasure.

Laurel and Hardy Shorts Program (35mm,16mm)📅 Tuesday, September 1, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: Silent TuesdaysStan and Ollie are ...
08/31/2026

Laurel and Hardy Shorts Program (35mm,16mm)
📅 Tuesday, September 1, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: Silent Tuesdays

Stan and Ollie are back in this program of late silent shorts before they moved to sound films in 1929. In Wrong Again, the boys confuse an artwork for a racehorse. Then they are promised $500 if they can build a house in a week in The Finishing Touch. The Big Business of selling Christmas trees in California turns into a duel of destruction, and when Stan and Ollie are sent to repossess a radio in Bacon Grabbers, they run afoul of Edgar Kenneday and Jean Harlow, who have no intention of letting it go. There’s no better way to experience the genius of Laurel and Hardy than on the big screen. Live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli. 35mm prints preserved by the Library of Congress. 16mm print from the George Eastman Museum collection.

A preview of what will be on our screen this week!
08/30/2026

A preview of what will be on our screen this week!

Join us next week for the return of Silent Tuesdays! 🎞️An autumn tradition at the Dryden, silent films with live accompa...
08/29/2026

Join us next week for the return of Silent Tuesdays! 🎞️

An autumn tradition at the Dryden, silent films with live accompaniment return on Tuesdays to explore the first thirty-five years of cinema. Comedies, epics, westerns, horror films, and the avant-garde were all part of that early cinema, and are all represented in our series this fall. Whether it’s Laurel and Hardy, Tom Mix, Ramon Novarro, or Pola Negri, the faces that made the movies will make their appearance on our big screen. Accompanied by Philip Carli on our 1925 Knabe piano, this is as close as you’ll get to re-creating the original cinematic experience, short of inventing a time machine. In addition, Anvil Orchestra makes their return to The Dryden to accompany Fritz Lang’s Metropolis on September 13 (special pricing applies).

Remember the Titans (35mm)📅 Saturday, August 29, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: Training CampInspired by actual events, Denzel Washi...
08/28/2026

Remember the Titans (35mm)
📅 Saturday, August 29, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: Training Camp

Inspired by actual events, Denzel Washington takes the lead in this historical biographical sports tale. As Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia is consolidated, and integrated, head football coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is asked to step aside for Herman Boone (Washington), a coach from North Carolina. While both resist the situation, Boone accepts when he sees what it means to the Black community and Yoast takes the position of assistant coach to ensure his players retain their chances for scholarships. The coaches must deal with racial tensions both on and off the field as they push their players to become the best they can be while working toward a state championship. One of the most inspirational sports films in recent memory, it is yet another in a long line of unforgettable performances by Washington.

Courage of Lassie (35mm)📅 Saturday, August 29, 2 p.m.🎬 Series: Adventures of LassieElizabeth Taylor returns to the franc...
08/28/2026

Courage of Lassie (35mm)
📅 Saturday, August 29, 2 p.m.
🎬 Series: Adventures of Lassie

Elizabeth Taylor returns to the franchise as a different character taking care of a descendant of the original Lassie (although still played by Pal). After growing up alone in the Scottish forest, a young collie survives danger and meets up with young Kathie Merrick (Taylor) before promptly stealing her clothes. When the dog is injured, Kathie takes him in, names him Bill, and trains him as a sheepdog. When the two are separated and the war begins, Bill is conscripted as a combat dog. Separated by continents, Bill and Kathie still have a connection and work to being re-united.

Shots from the bench! Join us THIS SATURDAY, August 29 at 2 p.m. for the third installment in our Adventures of Lassie s...
08/28/2026

Shots from the bench! Join us THIS SATURDAY, August 29 at 2 p.m. for the third installment in our Adventures of Lassie series! Next up, we have COURAGE OF LASSIE, projected on this beautiful 35mm print! Just like collies, films have tails too! 🦮🐶🎞️

📸Photos taken during inspection by our incredible chief projectionist, Sheri Smith!

King Kong (DCP)📅 Friday, August 28, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: The Art of Music in the MoviesAs his follow-up to the Best Pictur...
08/27/2026

King Kong (DCP)
📅 Friday, August 28, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: The Art of Music in the Movies

As his follow-up to the Best Picture-winning Return of the King, Peter Jackson tackles this re-make of the Great Ape, thirty years after the last one. Focusing on the adventure aspect of traveling to an uncharted island and the new biological discoveries it holds, Jackson’s version strips out much of the dialogue to center the action, owing a great debt to silent film, and The Lost World in particular. His 21st century version of 1930s New York is more immersive, making full use of computer animation to re-create and expand upon the “modern” world Kong is brought back to. James Newton Howard’s score has its share of action-oriented horns and drums, but it also gives Kong a voice in his more tender scenes by accenting strings and piano.

King Kong (DCP)📅 Thursday, August 27, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: The Art of Music in the MoviesAs his follow-up to the Best Pict...
08/26/2026

King Kong (DCP)
📅 Thursday, August 27, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: The Art of Music in the Movies

As his follow-up to the Best Picture-nominated The Towering Inferno, John Guillermin tackles this re-make of the Great Ape, forty years after the original. Conforming to the style of the time, this version is a disaster spectacle, with large sets, complicated rigs, and a mixture of miniatures, inserts, suits, and makeup to achieve its effects. Similarly, John Barry (perhaps most famous for his James Bond themes and already with three Academy Awards to his resume), crafts a period-appropriate horn-heavy score that recalls blockbusters of its day.

In a Lonely Place (35mm)📅 Wednesday, August 26, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: Distaff NoirIn perhaps his most intense performance, ...
08/25/2026

In a Lonely Place (35mm)
📅 Wednesday, August 26, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: Distaff Noir

In perhaps his most intense performance, Humphrey Bogart plays Dix, a troubled, neurotic screenwriter who is implicated in the murder of a hat-check girl. Laurel (the fabulous Gloria Grahame), Dix’s aspiring actress neighbor, provides him with an alibi and the two embark on a tempestuous romance that is constantly threatened by Dix’s violent temper. This powerful noir drama by director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) is both an indictment of Hollywood and a deeply personal look at human relationships.

The Spirit of the Beehive (35mm)📅 Tuesday, August 25, 7:30 p.m.🎬 Series: A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema)Víctor E...
08/24/2026

The Spirit of the Beehive (35mm)
📅 Tuesday, August 25, 7:30 p.m.
🎬 Series: A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema)

Víctor Erice’s spellbinding The Spirit of the Beehive is widely regarded as the greatest Spanish film of the 1970s. In a small Castilian village in 1940, in the wake of the country’s devastating civil war, six-year-old Ana attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes possessed by the memory of it. Produced as Franco’s long regime was nearing its end, The Spirit of the Beehive is a bewitching portrait of a child’s haunted inner life and one of the most visually arresting movies ever made.

Address

900 East Avenue
Rochester, NY
14607

Telephone

(585) 327-4800

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dryden Theatre posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category