English language movie theater in the 5th?
 

We'll be staying near Boul. St. Michel and Boul. St. Germaine. Does anyone know of an English language movie theater within a short walking distance? Are the prices/customs similar to those in the U.S.? Thanks so much for any info.!

To my knowledge, there aren't any "English-language" cinemas as such in Paris. What you will find are art-house cinemas showing all films in their original language with subtitles. Many large cinemas in Paris also show films in English - look for VO - Version Originale, and avoid VF - Version française.
For example, there are two UGC cinemas facing each other on Boulevard St Germain, just by the Odeon metro stop. At least one of them regularly shows recent releases in English. If you head for the more arty cinemas, you'll find a more eclectic mix of films. For example, the following cinemas all show a mix of recent and older films in their original language: Action Ecoles at 23, rue des Ecoles, Grand Action at 5 rue des Ecoles, Le Quartier Latin at 9 rue Champollion, and Studio Galande at 42 rue Galande... but there are plenty more.
The easiest thing would be to buy a copy of Pariscope, the local events listings magazine, from a newstand and check out the cinema listings by arrondissement. I don't really know how much prices are in the US, but I think in Paris a full adult ticket is about 8 euros (sometimes more expensive in the evenings or on weekends - different cinemas have different pricing policies...).
HTH!

On "carrefour de l'Odeon" (200 meters on St Germain from the corner with St Michel), you have several movie theaters, all in original language (UGC Danton, UGC Odeon, MK2 Danton). 4 or 5 films are run in each of them. Current price is around 8.5 Euros

We've seen a couple of movies in two of those theatres near Odeon mentioned above. Both were in VO (version originale) which was English. But I also did a really STUPID thing once. I saw a movie listed outside that I had only recently heard of and was supposed to be great. It said VO, so bought tickets and went in. What I didn't realize was that this movie was Italian, so VO meant in Italian with French subtitles. Just make sure that if it says VO, that it is originally an English language movie!

Thanks for the replies! I'll get the Pariscope when we arrive.

Oh, also--are there drinks/snacks for sale?

I was impressed at the movie theater I went to in March that people were not eating and drinking during the movie. No cup holders on the seats and my feet didn't stick to the floor. People seemed more quiet and attentive than American audiences, and I wondered whether this was because of the lack of snacks. I don't know whether drinks or snacks were for sale in the lobby, but they didn't seem to be prevalent in the theater.

Hi Ciel. A few years ago, we saw a film at one of the cinemas on Boulevard St Germain. There were snacks -- and, I believe, drinks -- for sale in the small lobby but nowhere near the selection one would find in a typical American movie theater. As I recall, attendants also were in the theater room itself selling snacks, prior to the beginning of the film.

As Nikki noted, we were impressed that people were not eating and drinking -- or talking, or even whispering -- during the movie. There was a lot of this going on during the commercials but once the movie started, silence reigned in the audience.

Larger cinemas will usually have a counter selling popcorn, drinks, ice creams and chocolates, but smaller art-house cinemas often only have a couple of vending machines in the lobby.
People don't really eat or drink that much in cinemas in France, as others have mentioned. And certainly no talking during the film! Anyone that does talk or whisper throughout is likely to get shushed by their neighbour anyway!

One strange phenomenon I've noticed in French cinemas is that everybody likes to sit bunched up together. So if you walk into an empty cinema and sit in the middle of an empty row with no-one in front or behind, I can almost guarantee that within a few minutes, you'll be surrounded on all sides, even if there are hundreds of empty seats. It doesn't seem to be the custom, as it is in the UK, to leave an empty seat or two between you and the next person (if the theatre is not too busy, that is), and to try not to sit directly in front of people if that can be avoided.

I used to have a popcorn addiction, and my mouth watered every time I went by one of those Parisian theatres, because they do sell popcorn in the lobby. One time, I asked the ticket taker and he let me go in just to purchase the popcorn, even though I wasn't seeing a movie. Worst popcorn I ever had, by the way.

Sorry, I hit post too soon.

I also wanted to say that we found there was a lot MORE talking in the movie than what we are used to at home, not LESS. I suspected it was because people were explaining or translating the movie to each other as it went along. It was clear the subtitles were often much more abbreviated than the spoken dialogue, so I think some bi-linquals were explaining the "true" translation to each other.

Thank you everyone--very interesting! Maybe we'll take a chocolate bar. With a quiet wrapper!