Sydney's Iconic The Ritz Cinema Is 80, So We're Giving Away Free Movie Tickets

One of the last Art Deco theatres in town, The Ritz has given Sydney locals eight decades of cinematic education. From its early days at the forefront of modern cinema, to its current status as peddler of box office hits and quirky indie flicks alike, it's impossible to say when The Ritz had its heyday. If you were to ask anyone around town, they'd tell you its still having it.

The heritage-listed building was built and designed by Aaron Bolot in 1937, the man behind a number of immaculately preserved Art Deco constructions in Potts Point. The iconic facade, which has been carefully added to over the intervening years, is a stunning example of the Art Deco style from the 1920s and 1930s, taking cues from the aesthetics of Chicago and New York.

After World War II, the minimalist and pragmatic architecture of Modernism began to take hold around the world, but The Ritz clung on, not as a relic, but as a beacon of brilliance, standing out against a city that became more and more about functional design.

In 1993 The Ritz almost met an untimely demise, when owner, Jack Ziade proposed demolishing and remodelling the cinema complex. Rather than watch the icon go to waste, the Randwick City Council intervened, pushing through a Permanent Conservation Order that had been filed in the mid eighties.

Generations of Sydneysiders continue to frequent The Ritz. Beyond the silver screen, the cinema serves as a reminder of the glitz, the glamour, and the glory that cinema has always given us. To celebrate its 80th birthday, The Ritz is harking back to the bygone Hollywood era with regular screenings of classic movies from another age. Showing on Wednesdays and Sundays, the selections of classics spans the 1940s, 50s, and 60s — from the drama of Casablanca to the thrills of North by Northwest (you can check out the full list here).

To help celebrate Sydney's iconic cinema, we've got ten double movie passes to give away, so you can catch any flick you want to at The Ritz. All you've got to do is enter your details into the box below and you're in the running.