Happy 100th Birthday, Belcourt Theatre!
Move over, Grand Ole Opry, you're not the only Nashville icon hitting 100 this year. The Belcourt Theatre, the city's beloved indie cinema, has officially reached the century mark, and it's celebrating the only way it knows how: by rolling film. As part of its birthday festivities, the theater is hosting a special centennial series called 'Nashville: A City on Film,' a deep dive into how our city has appeared on the silver screen over the decades. (In other words, get ready to see Nashville play itself in a bunch of movies!)
It all kicks off with the most meta choice possible: Robert Altman's 1975 classic Nashville. And to sweeten the opening weekend, actor Keith Carradine, who starred in the film and even won an Academy Award for the song he wrote and performed in it, will appear at the Belcourt in person on Sunday, June 1. Carradine's presence is a film buff's dream; after the screening, he'll share stories and answer audience questions about making the film.
And that's just the beginning. 'Nashville: A City On Film' features eight films throughout June, each spotlighting different eras and corners of town, with more to be added as the celebration continues all year. The lineup ranges from a 1960s country-fried curio (Girl from Tobacco Row) and a 2000s concert documentary (Neil Young: Heart of Gold) to quirky indie fare like Harmony Korine's Gummo and the outrageous local musical satire Existo. There's also the '90s charmer The Thing Called Love (about aspiring songwriters in Nashville) and even the goofy Halloween romp Ernest Scared Stupid.
In short, expect a little bit of everything – drama, music, comedy, and some weirdness – unified by one common show-stealer: the city of Nashville.
Half the fun of this series is scanning the screen for familiar places. Altman's Nashville alone features a treasure trove of local spots, from the long-gone Opryland amusement park and the Exit/In to a climactic political rally at The Parthenon in Centennial Park. There's even a quick airport scene shot at Berry Field (known today as Nashville International Airport), which is sure to prompt some nostalgia. (Farewell, old BNA carpet!)
The Thing Called Love (1993) offers its own sightseeing, as well as a much younger Sandra Bullock. Keep an eye out for Green Hills, the old Drake Motel on Murfreesboro Road, and a romantic moment on the then-Shelby Street Bridge downtown. But don't get too caught up in whether or not the scenes at Bluebird Café are legit. They were actually recreated on a Hollywood stage!
Music history buffs will love Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006), which captures an intimate performance at the Ryman Auditorium. You can practically feel the soul of the Mother Church in every frame. And for a lighter touch, Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) turns East Nashville's Five Points and Shelby Park into the backdrop for some slime-flinging, good-hearted Halloween mischief. There's nothing like seeing your neighborhood haunt pop up in a cult film to make a screening extra special.
Of course, the Belcourt Theatre has plenty of its own history worth celebrating. It first opened its doors in 1925 as the Hillsboro Theatre, a silent movie house (complete with an orchestra pit for those pre-talkie flicks). In the 1930s, it even did a stint as an early stage for the Grand Ole Opry radio shows before the Opry moved on to bigger venues.
Over the decades, the theater wore many hats, later hosting live plays as the Community Playhouse (home to groups like the Nashville Children's Theatre), then eventually transforming into the nonprofit art-house cinema cherished by Nashville film fans today. If those walls could talk, we have no doubt they'd have a century's worth of incredible stories.
Now, at 100 years young, the Belcourt is proving that some classics never go out of style. This centennial film series isn't just a trip down memory lane; it's a chance for today's audiences to rediscover Nashville's cinematic moments and maybe learn something new about our hometown in the process. So, grab your popcorn (or perhaps a slice of birthday cake?), find a cozy seat, and enjoy the show.
Happy birthday, Belcourt. See you at the movies!
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