83 Upper Street,
Islington,
London,
N1 0NP
0872 148 0175
The ViewLondon Review
Standard ticket price / discounts: £4.50 (all day Monday and before 5.30pm Tues-Fri); £6.80 (all other times); £4.50 (children)
Capacity: Screen One: 300
Facilities: concession stand in foyer.
Type of film shown: Mainstream; Arthouse
Part of the chain of ‘Screen’ cinemas (including the Screen On Baker Street and the Screen on the Hill), the Screen On The Green is situated in the heart of Islington, on Upper Street, just across from Islington Green. It usually shows a good balance of the more serious mainstream films and general arthouse fare and has just the one screen.
The screen itself is a decent size and attractively laid-out, though the sound system could use some improvements and decent legroom appears to be something of an alien concept. The seats are comfortable enough, but the sight lines are not good, so try to make sure you don’t end up sitting behind someone tall.
The concession stand in the foyer is tiny, but functional, selling the usual mix of coffee, soft drinks and sweets – this adds to the general homely, independent feel of the place because it seems as if everything has just been spread out on a table minutes before you arrived.
Occasionally, you can also buy screenplays of whichever film is showing at the time and they also have the odd special event, such as a Q & A with a director or a special preview screening.
Where The Screen On The Green scores highest is in its locale, because Upper Street is packed with decent pubs and great restaurants (Cuba Libre in particular). However, while this means that it’s a great local cinema, on balance, it probably isn’t worth making a special trip for if you live across town.
Further info: www.screencinemas.co.uk