The Trianon Cinema, located during the interwar period on Elisabeta Boulevard at number 6 (today number 26), represents an important chapter in the history of Romanian cinema. The building, designed in 1884 by architect Alexandru Orăscu, was one of the most elegant constructions of its time, standing out through its richly decorated façade and architectural details that distinguished it from neighboring buildings. 

The birth of a cultural landmark on Elisabeta Boulevard

Above the first floor stood five statues depicting Greco-Roman deities: Artemis, accompanied by her hunting dog, Apollo, Aphrodite or Venus, Heracles, and Orpheus with his lyre and laurel wreath.

This blend of neoclassical refinement and the technological innovation of the era turned the building into a point of attraction for Bucharest’s residents. 

The cinema was part of what the press of the time called “the Romanian Hollywood,” a vibrant cultural district stretching between the National Military Circle and Brezoianu Street, where the city’s most renowned cinemas were lined up. 

Trianon quickly became a meeting place for the urban elite, a space of modernity and fascination for the new art form.

The age of silent film and the dawn of cinematic fascination

At the beginning of the 20th century, cinema was a technological marvel that gradually conquered the Romanian public. As in the rest of the world, until the late 1920s all films shown in Bucharest were silent. 

In the darkened theater, the action unfolded without voices, and the atmosphere was completed by a pianist or, at times, a gramophone that added musical background to dramatic or comic moments.

Audiences were mesmerized by the moving images, and cinema had become one of the main forms of urban entertainment. Yet fascination was mixed with anticipation for the next great revolution in film—the arrival of sound.

The first sound screening in Romania

The autumn of 1929 marked a turning point in Romanian film history. That year, at the Trianon Cinema in Bucharest, the first sound film ever shown in Romania was screened. The movie that inaugurated this new era was the musical comedy The Jazz Singer, directed by Alan Crosland in 1927 and starring Al Johnson.

The event caused a sensation. Spectators, accustomed to the silence of the screen, experienced the thrill of hearing the actors’ voices and the melodies performed on screen. It was an electrifying experience—a mixture of wonder, joy, and disbelief—that signaled the beginning of a new cinematic age.

Following this premiere, cinemas throughout Bucharest rushed to equip themselves with sound projection technology. A fierce competition began among theater owners, each eager to boast the most advanced equipment. 

After weeks or months of renovation, the theaters reopened proudly, announcing the arrival of the “most perfected” sound systems. The public was fascinated, and audience numbers grew steadily.

The critics’ reactions and the impact on the film industry

While audiences greeted the sound revolution with enthusiasm, critics and artists were more cautious. Around the world, major figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Eisenstein, and René Clair expressed skepticism toward talking pictures, believing they might destroy the poetry and expressiveness of silent cinema. 

In Romania, journalist and critic Vasile Timuș published an article on October 31, 1929, titled “The Cinema Has Spoken in Bucharest!”, offering a lucid commentary on the innovation.

He described the experience of watching a sound film as interesting but imperfect. Synchronization between image and sound was still primitive, and the reproduction of voices failed to capture the tone and emotion of natural speech. 

“The sound film is, for civilization, a great bluff,” he wrote, arguing that the technology was still in its infancy and could not replace “the living word of the theater.”

Still, Timuș expressed hope that, with time, recorded voices would come to resemble the natural timbre of the actor and that sound would eventually become an organic part of cinematic expression. 

Although skeptical, he recognized that the world stood before a discovery that would irreversibly change the art of film.

Despite the critics’ hesitation, sound cinema quickly conquered the public. During the 1930s, the Trianon became well known for its musical comedies, a genre that enjoyed enormous popularity at the time. 

Other Bucharest cinemas developed their own specialties: ARPA showcased detective films, Terra focused on horror and adventure, and Boulevard Palace on comedies. The most luxurious venues—ARO, Vox, Capitol, and Carlton—hosted major premieres and art films.

From Trianon to Cinema București

After World War II, with the establishment of the communist regime, the Trianon Cinema was renamed “București.” The new name reflected the authorities’ desire to eliminate Western-sounding titles and to bring cultural institutions under the umbrella of officially promoted national identity.

Even under its new name, the theater remained a favorite destination for film lovers. It hosted premieres, festivals, and screenings of both Romanian and international films, remaining for decades a beloved spot for Bucharest residents. However, with the advent of television and later the rise of multiplex cinemas, the traditional single-screen theaters began to decline.

In 2004, after its final screening, Cinema București permanently closed its doors. The building was later used as a warehouse, and its once-imposing façade gradually fell into disrepair. Nevertheless, it remains a Category B historical monument—a relic of an era when Bucharest pulsed with cinematic energy and artistic ambition.

The legacy of a golden age

Although today the building no longer serves its original purpose, it continues to fascinate through its history and the memories it evokes. The former Trianon Cinema is not merely a forgotten movie house but a symbol of the birth of modern Romanian cinema. Within its walls, a key chapter of cultural and technological progress was written.

Regina Elisabeta Boulevard—once nicknamed “the Romanian Hollywood”—has lost much of its interwar glamour. Yet its historical buildings, including the former Trianon Cinema, still remind passersby of a time when Bucharest was a vibrant cultural hub where elegance and innovation coexisted on every street corner.

The Trianon Cinema, later known as Cinema București, remains in the city’s collective memory as the place where film “found its voice” for the first time. It was here that the era of sound in Romanian cinema began, a milestone that opened the way for spoken dialogue, for the emotional power of music, and for a new artistic dimension. 

Through its story, this cinema reflects, in symbolic form, the very essence of Bucharest itself: a city of transformation, contrast, and perpetual rebirth.

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