Pay no attention to anything less than five stars... "they don't get it".... You come here to experience history. Theaters such as the Criterion are so rare they are like unicorns. Balcony like the early 1900's... interior architecture unlike any theater in New England. This is more about understanding how Bar Harbor can hold on to a little slice of a glorious theatrical past. Go for this reason. Support this place for these reasons. Forget the rest... read more

Great restored venue, excellent show. Just happened to be walking by, on vacation and saw the marqui for Bob Marley.

Despite having an electrical issue leading into their building moments before the Chris Janson concert was to begin the staff worked to make sure everyone was comfortable and having a good time. They even continued concessions with faith in their patrons to pay when the power came on. Beautiful theater and a class act. read more

One day i decided to go to the movies to see wicked with my friends. I am a poor teenager. I was delighted to see that if you wore green you would get a free popcorn. I wore my green sweatshirt and politely asked for my free popcorn and a medium lemonade. Then I watched as the cashier rung me up for both the supposedly free popcorn and medium drink. I gave her my money since I have very bad social anxiety and don't love confrontation and went to sit with my friends. I asked my friend to ask them about the popcorn since I have very bad social anxiety. When she politely asked for my refund they rudely said no and i couldn't get a drink instead or candy. When my friend told them I already had a drink they replied with that I should have come up here myself and dealt with it. This interaction makes me not want to step foot in this theater again or give them any money. read more

Great small, intimate venue for live shows and movies. We love that it's right in our town.

What a fantastic gem of a movie theatre this is. Vintage deco at its best, from the classic neon frontage to the art deco ceiling and chandelier inside, it's worth visiting just to have a look at the auditorium. It's been recently restored thanks to a $2 million anonymous donation so it's looking pretty good. The auditorium is, unusually, octagonal in shape. the balcony is quite shallow and divided into separate compartments, the centre three seating 8 in two stepped rows with long tables in front, the side boxes seating 9 in 3 rows. The compartments have dividing walls between them and a curtained entrance at the rear, but they have a clear view of each other so if it's privacy you're after pick the extreme side ones. They also have a little snack bar on the upper level selling food and alcohol - very civilised! The stage looks like a proper stage, and I would have loved to have been able to have a look round there to see what it was like. As the screen looks like just a drop at the front of the stage, I did find myself wondering if the place was originally opened as a theatre. The ceiling and chandelier are wonderful deco artworks, and subtle deco touches can be seen all over the place, down to the end panels of the seats in the stalls. The balcony is quite a way from the screen so you won't find this as immersive an experience as your local multiplex. I also thought that the sound system wasn't quite up to normal cinema standard - although they do have surround speakers installed, I found the centre speaker a bit mushy at times and it was hard to make out some of the lines in the dialogue. But that's a small price to pay. You're here for the ambience, the vintage experience and the feeling of soaking up some 30's era glitz. Such a wonderful building deserves your support. Revel in it. read more

Criterion Theatre - Classic frontage. - Cinema Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

i went to see wicked with my friends and they had this thing where is you wore green you could get free popcorn and my friend didn't get hers so i went up and the person working there rudely said no so while the actual building is good and like movie and all that is cool, that one employee could've been way less rude and about have ripped my friend off, also the popcorn was tastless and WAYY overpriced it's ridiculous read more

Perfect spot if the weather is not cooperating in Bar Harbor. Pay the extra buck to sit in the balcony. My wife and I had a blast ordering a couple Allagash Whites and enjoying popcorn in basically our own balcony section. If you are into cool old theaters, definitely check out this place. It's also fun if you need something to do to pass time in Bar Harbor. read more

Criterion Theatre - Snacks and beers in the balcony! - Cinema Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Really awesome place. Old fashion theater from the 30s. They have movies here along with other live events. The place is beautiful, a gem from the past. I got myself the balcony seat and enjoyed sitting up high with a great view for the show. They serve alcohol, along with the usual movie fair of popcorn, soda, and candy. I saw a great movie in a great theater and it made all the difference. If you are in Bar Harbor dont miss out on this. Its non profit and a whole lot cheaper than any regular movie theater. read more

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The Criterion Theatre is beautiful! It's recently been renovated and you can tell they put a lot of work into keeping the theatre's charm. SO and I came here in August for the Samba Meets Jazz Concert. The band was fantastic! The Criterion was a great backdrop to host this jazz concert. Great place to spend an afternoon or evening watching a movie or one of their many live performances if the weather isn't cooperating. read more

Wow! I have visited before and after their 2015 renovation, and the difference is incredible. They have redone the seats so they are not god-awfully hard anymore, and even taken out some rows so there is more legroom. The theatre looks amazing now and they have added a bar for prepared food and alcohol upstairs, in addition to the general cinema food (candy, soda, and popcorn) downstairs. The sound was a little weird, but they are still finishing up some projects so hopefully its on the list. They lose a star for the manager/owner or whomever treating the staff like crap in public (I don't approve of treating staff like crap period, but at least try to maintain a semblance of professionalism). Worth the ticket price $7-$8 to see how beautiful the space is. read more

NOT A PLACE FOR HEARING IMPAIRED PEOPLE. First off, I wanted to say the inside of the theater is beautiful and the Art Deco remodeling is wonderful!! That being said, I went in today excited to see a film and I'm hard of hearing and when going to the movies I usually get listening devices. Criterion Theater does not have listening devices and by ADA law, they are required to provide listening devices if they do any remodeling or sound system updates. They failed on this part and I was told they would have them when they reopened and today I went in and they didn't have them and never even bothered looking into it. This is breaking federal law and I don't know if the owner is still living in the silent movie era, but most movies these days have sound. Spend your money Reel Pizza where they have listening devices and foreign films with subtitles. read more

We loved this theater! Built in 1932 and they retained a lot of the original Art Deco details. The current owners are restoring it to its original glory. They even got a carpet company to duplicate the original carpet pattern! And the balcony has separate sections! read more

Alright, this place was awful!!! I went here on a stormy winter day last year to see "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", Swedish version!! As a hard of hearing person, they do not have the assisted listening devices. By the law they're suppose to have them and instead they brought a neon light sign instead of helping the disabled enjoy the movie, which I find more important. Now Cottage Street in Bar Harbor looks like a casino along the Atlantic City boardwalk. Anyway, I go in and some weird dude is acting all creepy on me. It's like the Twilight Zone and was like visiting the Hollywood Hotel in Disneyland. No one else was in the theater that was dark, empty, cold, and quiet, except for some rats running about. Leonard Cohen music was playing loudly and had nothing to do with the film I was gonna watch. I ordered popcorn and the guy said he didn't know how to work the popcorn machine. He was creepy, but in a nice way. Not rude, but quiet and like a hotel desk clerk out of Burton Fink. Anyway, the movie started, but because the screen is so huge and the theater was empty, it was weird watching it. Guess for seeing "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" it was alright. Sure added to my experience, but if I was seeing a romantic comedy, I don't think the creepy theater would do much. Twenty minutes later, the popcorn ready and it's wet and soggy!!! So, I thew it away and asked for coffee. Twenty minutes later, coffee ready and that was okay!!! But the cream was sour and in chunks. Nasty!!! Luckly i got this for free and a refill of coffee. There's a nice theater called "Reel Pizza" up the street, so skip this one. The big lit up light may fool you, but you are walking into Hotel California. Trust me!!! read more

Went to an unplanned Jazz show on August 10 at the theatre and was pleasantly surprised. The theatre, recently renovated is beautiful and draws world renowned jazz musicians among other types of entertainment depending on the night. Also the beer selection is great! read more

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i had not been here since the renovation but caught a live show in february...james mcmurtry in BH in the middle of winter (who knew?). very nice venue w/good sound...we were 4th or 5th row center. this was jm solo w/just an acoustic guitar so the sound might vary w/a different kind of performance. audience had more than its fair share of a**h**** who felt the need to babble throughout the show...offset by the middle-aged dancing ladies down front during choctaw bingo. so, great venue for this kind of show. support the criterion, it's well worth it! read more

OK, to be fair, the theater is old and money for upkeep has been tight for a while. It is still a cool place to see a movie. The ticket price is relatively low and they don't gouge you on concessions. The popcorn is also not soggy as one very objective reviewer would like you to believe. Get there early and take in a bit of the nostalgia. It really is a neat movie-going experience and you'll leave entertained with a few bucks left in your wallet. The bottom line, though, is that if you feel like the surroundings are too dated the only solution is to support it. Buy your ticket and buy some popcorn. You can also make a donation if you are so inclined. Try to catch a little bit of the spirit of the place. It's gone through so many periods where they've had to close or cut back on services because of finances. There's only one solution if you want to see the place get a facelift: patronize it. Spend money there. You'll have a good time. read more