5 days – 50 films – for 5 francs

The anniversary days of the Zug cinemas are approaching, and the programme will have something for every taste. Cineastes and cinema owners Adrian and Alban Hürlimann, together with managing director Thomas Ulrich, look back on the development of the cinemas - and their future.

The Zug cinemas will celebrate their 100th anniversary from 10th to 14th November. Especially for this occasion, the owners Adrian and Alban Hürlimann and the managing director Thomas Ulrich have put together a special programme for all film lovers. There will be a reception for invited guests in the Seehof cinema on the opening evening, and the Gotthard cinema is starting the so-called “Fireworks of the Classics” at the weekend, with “Cinema Paradiso” as the opening film.

On the anniversary weekend of 11th and 12th November, visitors can choose between 50 film classics and audience favourites for an admission price of only five francs in all three cinemas – the Seehof and Gotthard in Zug and the Lux in Baar. There will be something for every taste, from Buster Keaton and Frankenstein to Clint Eastwood.

Classic films such as “Some Like it Hot”, “Rashomon”, “The Lion King”, “Singing in the Rain”, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, “Psycho”, “Aliens” and “Star Wars: the New Hope” can be seen on Saturday, with “Apocalyse Now”, “Gladiator”, “E.T.”, “Dr. Strangelove”, “Frozen” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” among the films to be shown on Sunday on the four screens of Zug cinemas.

On Sunday afternoon, 12th November, the artist couple Emil and Niccel Steinberger will present a question-and-answer session in the Seehof cinema about the classic Swiss film with Emil Steinberger, “Die Schweizermacher” (The Swiss Makers), while the 1923  film “Die Elektrifikation der Schweizer Eisenbahnen” (The Electrification of the Swiss Railways) will be shown at the Gotthard on Monday, 13th November. The film is a silent film, and will have a live accompaniment from the Zug musician Jonas Inglin on the trombone.

The conclusion of the anniversary programme will be the Awards Night on Tuesday, 14th November, with the winning films of the Zug Film Days short film competition in the Seehof cinema.

A thank you for the loyalty of the film audience
“The fact that we were able to find the original film used at the inauguration in 1923 and can now re-show it in the same cinema is a stroke of luck,” said Adrian Hürlimann. “The marathon at the weekend can provide a re-encounter with personal cinema experiences and films.” For many people, the anniversary programme could be their first contact with the ‘Die Schweizermacher’, and will include actor Emil Steinberger as a guest. The short film competition, on the other hand, creates a connection to the current filmmaking scene of today and tomorrow.

“With this programme, we want to thank our cinema audience above all for their loyalty. '5 days - 50 films - for 5 francs': this offer will provide something for everyone, and, of course, we also hope to gain new audiences," added Alban Hürlimann, the co-owner of the Zug cinemas. The 70-year-old would be happy to have a “full house”.

Thomas Ulrich, managing director of the Zug cinemas, continued: “I’ll be more than satisfied if we have 2,000 visitors. People are always asking us to show some classic films, but when we do, hardly anyone shows up.” He hopes to be convinced of the opposite by the audience this time.

Alban Hürlimann and Adrian Hürlimann, the owners of Zug Cinemas, together with managing director Thomas Ulrich (from left) in the film hall of the Gotthard cinema 
The brothers Adrian and Alban Hürlimann examine an old 35-millimeter film that was previously used in cinemas
The three cineastes Alban Hürlimann, Thomas Ulrich and Adrian Hürlimann (from left) at the film projector in the Gotthard cinema.     Photos: Stefan Kaiser

For 51-year-old Thomas Ulrich, the heart of the anniversary program will be the classic film marathon. “You should see almost every film. I hope that as many people as possible take advantage of this extraordinary and inexpensive opportunity to enjoy the cinema experience, which is very different from the consumption of films from other sources,” he said.

Invitation to go on an adventure
The importance of the arrival of the cinema for the cultural development of Zug has been completely underestimated, or even forgotten for decades, says 73-year-old Adrian Hürlimann. Thomas Ulrich adds: “The importance of the Zug cinemas for the city can hardly be underestimated. We would have been much more of a province without this institution.”

Looking back has made it clear to Adrian Hürlimann that the presence of the cinema in the Catholic milieu of Zug was perceived as an uncomfortable interference, and must have triggered a liberating feeling of insecurity. The provincial, rural scene was suddenly short-circuited by this urban, sophisticated “world”. "The appearance of the first permanently installed cinema meant the emancipation from the 'county fair image' of the earlier occasional cinema' and was thereby a cultural-and political step into an unsettling, forbidden topicality," says Adrian Hürlimann.

“The forlorn attempts to curb the erotic and otherwise immoral needs and “sensations” that were awakened by the cinema testify how the ‘ideal world’ in Zug was faltering. The cinema opened a curtain on the big city of nearby Zurich - even if only in a non-Catholic way - and gradually took away the fear of it.”, he continued. There was suddenly a locomotive in front of the local cultural scene, inviting it to take a journey into adventure.

“The commitment of Veronika Hürlimann, our grandmother, can not only be seen as a lucratively successful performance by an emancipated entrepreneur - probably the only one in Zug in her time - but also deserves the public's appreciation. And our respect as her heirs,” he added proudly.

“Films are simply better in the cinema”
The three men are cineastes and film lovers through and through. But what is their relationship with online streaming services, on which the latest films can now be watched at home, just a few days after the release of a film?

“I don’t stream, but I sometimes record from the TV onto the good old DVD,” says Adrian Hürlimann. His brother prefers to watch films on the big screen in the cinema. He admits: “I mainly stream trailers for new films, which are often excellent compilations.”

And Thomas Ulrich also says honestly: “Sure I stream. And even some of the chronically overrated series - with the exception of David Lynch's Twin Peaks. That's why it's not a personal prejudice when I claim that films are simply better in the cinema."

Downsizing of cinema operations planned
Commenting on the future of the Zug cinemas, Adrian Hürlimann stated that “Mainstream and categories such as children's films or films from clubs will continue to be popular, but arthouse programs will only work with the support of the public sector.” Thomas Ulrich thinks: “A multiplex with three to five cinema screens has been needed for a long time.” Unfortunately, all the efforts in this direction at various locations have been unfruitful.

“Single-screen cinemas like the Gotthard cinema in Zug and the Lux cinema in Baar have no future unless they are supported by the public sector with a museum mission,” continued Thomas Ulrich. Alban Hürlimann remained tight-lipped about the future plans of Zug cinemas: “We are examining various options. The ideas are not yet developed enough for us to communicate them.”

Adrian Hürlimann only reveals this much: “We will renovate the Gotthard cinema, which has now been removed from the inventory of buildings worth protecting, and will introduce a secondary use. Possibly in the catering, service or retail sectors. This will mean a downsizing of the cinema operation as a part of the company. But cinema and films will always be present in Zug, as an indispensable part of the cultural offering.”

Note:
Further information about the anniversary program can be found at www.kinozug.ch.