Our Review

        Movie: THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS

                           Rating: NR 

                          Length: 1:18

            Release Date: AUGUST 14, 2026

JEANNE: What has become of the movie theaters --- and drive-ins --- that were once the center of entertainment for many small towns in America? Filmmaker Rustin Thompson’s documentary, THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS, could have been a dismal study of the decline of these one or two screen theaters, but instead it’s a rather upbeat analysis of communities coming together.

Thompson chose to focus on the American West for his film. He traveled to 10 states, a total of 10,825 miles, visiting 123 theaters. What he found were dedicated owners maintaining as many of these movie houses as possible. Yes, he also discovered abandoned and forgotten theaters, some turned into pizza places and Subway sandwich establishments, but most importantly, he discovered hope.

Beginning with the Desert Historic Theater in Burns, Oregon (Pop: 2713), he met Melvin "Tiny” Pedersen. Tiny --- who isn’t tiny at all --- and his wife saved the town’s theater with a bank loan, then held a Kickstarter campaign to purchase the necessary digital projector. Throughout all of this, their community supported them, and even though Tiny still works a full-time job, they love their cinema and have no plans to give it up.

This is just one of many similar stories Thompson encountered. Many of these small businesses were financially affected by the conversion of films to digital, then of course, Covid was another big blow. But it’s amazing how many people interviewed by Thompson realize the value of their hard work and dedication --- and what it means to the other residents --- and not just the local ones.

Thompson and his executive producer, Rachel Price, have done an exemplary job showcasing these once beautiful movie houses while documenting an industry in crisis. And they also manage to intersperse clips from many wonderful movies, including Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. It’s a lovely trip down memory lane.

               In Theaters August 14th  

OPINION: SEE IT NOW!

DAVID: Writer/director Rustin Thompson, a noted documentary filmmaker among other aspects of his life, has completed his seventh feature-length doc entitled THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS. Yes, it’s a clever play-on-words of Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic, but Thompson is genuinely concerned about the number of small-town cinemas that have shut down over the past many years. In this film he researches 123 movie theaters in 10 western states, most of which have gone by the wayside, but some have been resurrected and are still surviving.

He interviews current cinema owners in small towns whose love of movies and sense of community have motivated them to invest their own money to keep these theaters alive. Of course, movie theaters in general are doing quite well in major cities in the U.S., but so many individuals, unable to attend the big-city cinemas, are being deprived of what was once their major joy in the community in which they lived. 

It would be unrealistic to think that most of the shuttered locations will make a comeback. So much technology has taken over the movie-going experience that it makes it difficult for these smaller theaters to survive. Should we care? Martin Scorcese answers that question: “Why should we be upset about the disappearance of yet another cinema? Because it matters. Every theater matters.”

Thompson’s film is actually a hopeful story, and he entertains the viewer with snippets of some classic films like THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, of course, HUD, TWO-LANE BLACKTOP and my all-time favorite,  IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Cinephiles can shrug and simply attribute the demise of small-town cinemas to things like TV and streaming services, but Thompson is an idealist who sees many of these locations as not only surviving but thriving.

             In Theaters August 14th  

OPINION: SEE IT NOW!