Cinema 114’s fifth anniversary

It was definitely a “dog day” on Wednesday, a week ago, at Cinema 114. Host Janet Rescigno had chosen “Marley and Me” for viewing on the Senior Activity Center’s large screen TV.


From Janet’s preview in the October 8 Reporter: “Marley is a Lab adopted by a young couple contemplating the decision to start a family. He sees the couple through the difficulties of life.” The burial scene at the end of the film is one of the most poignant in canine movies.


When Cinema 114 opened in June 2004, five years ago, the Rescigno’s dog Taffy, a matronly half-golden, half-Labrador, was a regular visitor, always ready to sniff a welcome, get a pat from the patrons or dispense a kiss or two.


We actually celebrated Taffy’s 10th birthday with a chocolate cake and party hats. Taffy, like Marley, had to be put down two years ago, but is still affectionately remembered by veteran moviegoers.


Recently Janet and Bob adopted Mary La Porta’s Ginger, an old mini-toy poodle. At first Janet brought her to the biweekly viewings, but Ginger is a snuffler and would roam around under the chairs snuffling away, much to the distraction of the audience and to Janet’s alarm. Ginger is so tiny she could easily be stepped on in the dark of the theater. 


Cinema 114 is sponsored by the Senior Citizens Affairs Council of which Janet is a long-time member. She discovered movies when she was four. Every Saturday she and her dad would go to the Palace Theater on Second Avenue and 122nd Street in the Bronx. On the bus going home, she would reconstruct the highlights of the movies with her dad in preparation for her stellar performance before her stay-at-home mom, family members and neighbors. Janet’s knowledge of the American movie theater is encyclopedic. 


Cinema 114 fans are indebted to her for the hours of movie-going escape and the pounds of popcorn she and Bob have provided over the years. 


Says Janet, “I can pass on my love of movies and my enthusiasm for off-beat ones to seniors who don’t get to off-Island theaters anymore. Besides, it’s fun. That’s why I do what I do at Cinema 114.”