The Riviera Theatre is showing late-night movies and already treated audiences to the 1980s 'Dune,' the director's cut of 'The Abyss' and 'Moulin Rouge.'
The Riviera Theatre is showing late-night movies and already treated audiences to the 1980s 'Dune,' the director's cut of 'The Abyss,' and 'Moulin Rouge.' Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze are coming to Santa Barbara through late-night showings of “Top Gun” and “Point Break” at the Riviera Theatre’s “After Hours” film programming.

“For us cinephiles that like going out at night, what else is there going on at night,” said Roger Durling, executive director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

The Riviera Theatre, which is owned and operated by the SBIFF nonprofit, debuted its “After Hours” programming in April which screens classic films every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. 

“I feel there are certain types of films that people are not remembering and people should be seeing them, and seeing them on the big screen,” Durling said.

Before the pandemic, the theater hosted late-night screenings intermittently. But now, “After Hours,” a nod to a 1985 Martin Scorsese film, has regular screenings.

“For me to be able to sit in the movie theater and watch ‘Moulin Rouge’ on the big screen with that sound system is my day of heaven,” Durling said.

The “After Hours” movie nights are sponsored by UC Santa Barbara radio station KCSB, which advertises the screenings and hangs posters around campus.

The radio station has a long history with the Santa Barbara Film Festival, KCSB.FM staff advisor Ted Coe said.

In March, he reached out to Durling, hoping to get the radio station more involved with SBIFF.

“Seemed like a good fit with a station like KCSB which is student-run and community-oriented,” Coe said. “(We are) raising visibility at UCSB to let people know there is a strong film culture in Santa Barbara and this is an option for entertainment.”

Durling said he noticed an increase in student attendees, who can buy tickets for $7 with a university ID card. 

“A lot of students, it is their first time coming to the Rivieria Theatre and it is a spectacular venue,” he said. 

Coe and Durling both said the Riviera Theatre’s sound system and ambiance elevate the movie-watching experience. 

The program “keeps important movies circulating,” Coe said. “It is healthy for film culture to have spaces like this so we are really lucky they are here.”

The Riviera Theatre is at 2044 Alameda Padre Serra in Santa Barbara.

The “After Hours” schedule has films through August currently on the website including “Top Gun” on May 24 and 25; “Point Break” on May 31 and June 1; and new film “In a Violent Nature” on June 7 and 8.

For a full movie schedule visit https://sbiffriviera.com/.