The Ghana movie industry back in
time boasted of cinemas as ways of
recouping their money. Cinemas
served that generation well because
they were a source of entertainment.
The movies are aired on weekends
and weekdays, and there were
notices from GTV reminding viewers
of the times they would be aired.
Ghana used to boast of many
cinemas.
We had the likes of Rex Cinema
(behind the Accra hockey pitch),
Orion (Kwame Nkrumah Circle), Opera
(Accra Central), Oxford (Accra New
Town), Royal (Adabraka), Globe (also
Adabraka), Roxy (Circle-Adabraka
road), Orbit (Kaneshie), Casino
(Tema), Vision 66, Regal (Osu-La
road), Picorna, Plaza (Mamprobi),
Palladium cinemas (Accra Central)
and Sid Theatre (Dzorwulu).
In the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, the older
folks I have spoken to during my
research recounted the joy these
cinemas brought to them. Not only
did the older folks get to watch
movies, they also attended concerts
and shows backed by live bands. One
elderly man describes those
memories as ‘unforgettable’.
He added that those days created a
platform for husbands and wives to
bond and have their special
moments. Not only did the cinemas
arouse passion among patrons, the
movie producers also were rewarded
for their efforts in production as they
recouped the money invested.
What my two years’ research reveals
In my two years of research before
writing on this topic, I found that, in
Accra, Roxy cinema and Sid Theatre
are the only ones in existence. As for
Roxy cinema, part of it has been
converted into a restaurant while the
other part is being used as a cinema
for football experience.
Sid Theatre, privately owned by Alhaji
Sidiku Buari, had collapsed. In its
place is a plush building for rental as
a cinema hall.
My research also revealed that
Ghanaians owned not all the more
than ten cinema houses that operated
then in Ghana. A few were owned by a
group of Lebanese business people
called Captans. These Lebanese
owned the Opera, Orbit, Oxford and
Orion cinemas.
Another elderly man recounts that the
cinemas showed not only Ghanaian
movies but foreign ones as well. He
recounts that there were days the
cinemas could get so full that people
queued for tickets and waited for the
next slot also to have their turn.
He remembers watching movies like
‘Hercules Unchained,’ ‘10
Commandments,’ ‘10 Gladiators,’
cowboy films, Roman and Indian
films. It was a lot of fun, those days!
He muses.
One Mr Lawrence Eshun recalled how
film stars like Bruce Lee, Li Fu Tsu,
Ma Feng, Swan Peng, Jackie Chan,
Amitabh Bachchan, Sri Devi,
Dharmendra, Sunil Patel, Anil Kapoor
all from China, and how India became
a household name thanks to the
many cinema houses in the country
at that time.
“Those days, the only Ghanaian
movies one could watch were ‘Road
to Kukurantumi,’ ‘Love Brewed in
African Pot,’ ‘Harvest at 17,’ ‘Genesis
Chapter X’ and a few more. It was
mostly Chinese and Indian movies,
and they had good stories to tell,
unlike today’s [films],” he added.
What happened to the cinemas?
While I was talking to some selected
people who shared their cinema
experiences with me, a part of me
wanted to experience a bit of those
day, so I set out to find out what had
become of our cinemas. Four or five
decades down the line, we as
Ghanaians cannot even boast of
these cinema halls.
Many have pointed fingers at various
governments in power; others
attributed this state of affairs to our
poor maintenance culture as a nation.
The other category of people
informed me that the cinemas were
not generating enough revenue and
had had to be sold off by
government. How sad!
For instance, Alive Chapel used to
occupy the Orion cinema till it moved
out and, unfortunately, squatters took
over. Orbit cinema is currently the
home of Kaneshie market; Rex cinema
is presently home to a chain of
shops; Regal cinema on the Osu-La
road was sometime ago converted
into a church but is now the home of
a trading enterprise owned by a
company that deals in curtains.
Churches springing up occupy some
of them. That’s the end of the once-
vibrant cinema experience.
Attempts at resuscitation
Mr Dodoo, once the caretaker of
Regal cinema at Adabraka, tells me
that he has made some effort towards
technological advancement in the
cinema arena, but his major problem
has been low patronage.
‘The sound here has been upgraded
with the help of my sons, but the
problem is that the cinema is an open
space, and it is not convenient when
it rains. Also, the seats are still
wooden, and most of them have been
destroyed as a result of exposure to
the sun and rains,’ he further
explained.
‘Part of the once-vibrant cinema has
been sold to be used as a restaurant.
I have complained to the Ministry of
Tourism and have written to them for
assistance and the response I keep
getting is that the cinema is not
doing well enough to justify pumping
much money into it,’ he reiterated.
Mr Dodoo says he is doing his best.
To make the place a little exciting, he
rents it out for stage plays and
comedies and charges as low as GH?
1.00. He admits it is low, but is meant
to attract many to enjoy the old
cinema experience.
The 76-year-old man gladly agreed in
my interview to take charge of the old
facility because he was once a
beneficiary of the old cinema
experience and he felt sad that the
cinema is not what it used to be. He
called for private entities to come to
the aid of the Regal cinema.
Lest we forget, the GAMA Films
Theatre, another cinema operated by
GAMA Films, was also vibrant till it
collapsed. The reason? I can’t tell. It
is refreshing to know that after a
while, I saw adverts run on TV3 about
GAMA Films Theatre bouncing back
as a ‘new’ executive theatre.
The advert suggested that the new
executive theatre was open to people
who want to premiere their movies.
I recalled going for a movie premier
there about a year ago. My remarks?
For the fact that it cannot
accommodate a large audience, it’s
all right for a cinema. So at least we
can be grateful for the new executive
cinema in addition to Sid Theatre and
Roxy cinema.
Technology sets in
My research also pointed to the fact
that the sale of VHS, which hitherto
was a prerogative of the rich, boomed
in Ghana thanks to our Nigerian
counterparts.
Many Ghanaians at the time
purchased video decks and colour
television sets from their trips to
Nigeria, all in a bid to enjoy the VHS
experience.
There was no real need anymore to
patronize the cinema houses, with
the introduction of the VHS and the
video deck as one could watch
whatever one desired to watch in the
privacy of one’s home.
So, in effect, technology brought
advancement, but with a
corresponding lapse in the cinema
industry which at the time was still
showing black and white movies.
Movie producers began to cash in on
a new venture; their Nigerians taught
them… movies on VHS.
First, it was one VHS cassette for a
movie, then the Nigerians brought in
the sequels, so we started having
Parts One, Two, Three and at times
Four, all to make money or keep the
viewer in suspense (I’m not too sure
which of the reasons holds.)
Out of all these, compact discs or
CD’s also came into play after our
Hollywood stars and Nigerians had
taught us the red carpet experience
for a movie premier. To accomplish
that, there was a need for a cinema
that could accommodate that
experience and that was the birth of
Silverbird cinemas.
Silverbird cinemas became the craze
as they were also located at the
Accra Mall. Silverbird in Ghana
partnered Silverbird in Nigeria so,
obviously, movie premieres on the
red carpet were adopted.
For almost a year, the Silverbird
cinemas reigned supreme, especially
when one had to premiere movies
and have stars take pictures with
their fans. As the Silverbird slogan
says, it is indeed a whole new
experience descended on Ghana.
The movie house experience
After being at the top for a while,
movie houses were introduced to
Ghana. As to who initiated the move I
can’t tell because I am still trying to
find out. To clarify this part I wish to
explain what a cinema house is and
what a movie house is (if there is a
difference).
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary says a
cinema is a theatre or a building
where films are shown for public
entertainment. Collins Dictionary
defines it as a place where people go
to watch movies for entertainment.
Wikipedia defines a movie house as a
movie theatre or venue, usually a
building for viewing movies (films).
Wikipedia elaborates that a movie
house can interchangeably be labeled
as a cinema, movie house, film
house, film theatre or picture house.
So, in effect, both terms can be used
interchangeably.
These movie houses do not give a
red carpet experience that the
cinemas provide, and neither the
interaction with other movie
watchers; all they give is privacy for
the two to watch.
Movie houses have now become the
new craze and have provided jobs,
and many are cashing in. In my next
piece, I will bring readers
some ‘gory as well as interesting
stories of what these movie houses
are offering that these cinema houses
are probably not watching.
Recommendations
In a chitchat with some old folks,
they expressed regrets at the turn of
events in the movie industry, blaming
past and present governments for the
poor state of cinemas in the country.
According to some of the older folks,
government should do its best to
open more cinema halls which can
generate income for the country as
well as provide employment for the
youth.
They appealed to the current
government to try and refurbish at
least the Orion and Regal cinemas to
serve as historical monuments for the
country. “They could also be used as
tourist attractions to preserve our
culture,” remarked one elderly man.
“Our grandchildren would also learn
about how we the old folks led our
lives,” another old lady remarked.
Whether we like it or not the old
cinema houses will always be part of
our history as Ghanaians. It is
understandable that technology has
come to stay, but should it wash
away what we have? Can these
cinema houses not be refurbished
with state-of-the-art technological
gadgets to make movie viewing
enjoyable?
In this age when many Ghanaians
have become sports fanatics of the
English Premier Leagues, Italian Serie
A, Bundesliga, UEFA championship
and Spanish La Liga, money could be
generated from these cinemas if they
were vibrant. Technology is an added
value, not a value for destroying what
we have.
Refurbishing these old cinemas will
see older folks in our society also
having a recreational centre and
giving them a sense of belonging as
many of them seem not to be
comfortable with our technological
area, which is fast-paced.
Lastly, Ghanaians are known to have
bad maintenance culture. It is sad to
see that we do not know how to
preserve the valuable things we have
in this country. We rather tend to
destroy, instead of preserve.
The irony is that many of us spend
huge sums of money to travel to the
Western countries just to admire their
tourist sites. We are impressed when
we visit their old cathedrals, old
cinema houses and town halls. We
even boast that we have visited such
places.
Have we ever asked ourselves how
the pyramids of Egypt came to be
among the Seven Wonders of the
ancient world? Many travel to Egypt
just to see the pyramids. The
Egyptians preserved them to tell the
history of their nation.
I do not sound pessimistic, but I
sometimes wonder how the pyramids
of Egypt would have been preserved if
they were in Ghana!
In any case, the thrust of the matter
is that, as citizens of Ghana, we owe
it to ourselves and the generation yet
unborn, to learn to preserve a little of our history.
What do we stand to gain if we
destroy it all now?
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