What's The Point?

A requiem for Britain's first multiplex cinema

 

An iconic local landmark that played an important role in my childhood has just closed after less than 30 years and is scheduled for demolition, so as yet another part of our heritage bites the dust I take a fond look back at The Point, the UK's first multiplex cinema. I'm sure I am not alone in having so many fond memories of that place: countless cinema trips, often to see the latest Roald Dahl or Disney animation, were part of the routine when I was young, sometimes with a group of friends as a birthday treat, sometimes just as a family outing, and the sight of that big red neon pyramid glowing against the night sky always filled me with excitement. Although I haven't set foot inside for years I can still vividly recall it: the wide staircase leading down from the entrance to the foyer with its central box office, the smell of popcorn, the illuminated signs above the auditorium doors spelling out the names of what seemed like exotic films I was far too young to watch, and the red tip-up seats.

The Point opened a couple of months after I was born so it has always been there on my many trips to Milton Keynes, a reassuring presence in this ever-changing city and one of the last links with a childhood long gone. It is such an unmistakable icon and one of the first things to be seen when getting off a bus in the city centre that it has become a familiar and accepted part of the landscape and things just won't be the same without it, although it has been very sad to watch its decline in recent years.

Getting to the Point...

Picture the scene: it's the mid-1980s and Britain's traditional small single-screen cinemas are in terminal decline against the increased number of television channels and rising popularity of home video recorders. Suddenly a revolutionary new innovation sweeps in from the USA: a multiplex cinema that can appeal to much larger audiences at the same time by simultaneously showing several different films. Not only is this an exciting concept but the building that houses it looks like nothing ever seen before: three mirrored glass boxes stacked on top of each other and surrounded by a pyramid of steel girders lit up at night by red neon. This is The Point, a soon-to-become iconic new addition to the vibrant new city of Milton Keynes, opened with great fanfare in November 1985. 

Love it or hate it, The Point is certainly unmistakable if not necessarily attractive and there's nothing else like it. In 1985 it must have been quite startling.

Inside could be found no fewer than ten of the latest cinema screens, typically offering a wide choice of entertainment to suit all tastes from children's films to the latest Hollywood blockbusters. There was far more to The Point than just a cinema though: a bingo hall located in the basement was a permanent fixture throughout its life, and the building also housed a pizza restaurant, a gaming arcade, a health club and the once-thriving Oasis bar and nightclub that was among the first mainstream clubs to play house music. This combination of so many different leisure activities under one roof, although commonplace nowadays, was unique at the time and contributed much to the venue's early success, attracting around a million visitors a year. 

For its first year, the cinema was operated by AMC Theatres in conjunction with Milton Keynes Entertainment Corporation, the latter taking the profits from ticket sales and the former from the refreshment concessions. From 1986 onwards its operation was in the hands of United Cinemas International, initially continuing the arrangement with MKEC, and it is as a UCI cinema that The Point is best known. Over the years it played host to countless premieres and was visited by an array of stars including Harrison Ford and Meg Ryan, even hosting a royal premiere attended by the Duchess of York in 1991.

So many memories - UCI cinema, Deep Pan Pizza Co and the Oasis Bar. Those were the days...

The Point is widely regarded as almost single-handedly breathing new life into the country's flagging film industry that was on the point of collapse: it was an instant hit and similar entertainment complexes soon sprang up around the country, the outdated, uneconomic and poorly-patronised traditional cinemas being all but eliminated as a result and a whole new generation of cinema-goers coming to the fore. Although now a pale shadow of its former self, it is this immense historical importance that makes its impending destruction all the more tragic.

A lucky Xscape and a far from easy ride

The Point's heyday came to an end in 2002 and a slow but steady decline set in with the opening of the all-new Xscape leisure complex, which included a state-of-the-art cinema operated by UCI's arch-rival Cineworld. The Xscape assumed The Point's role as the city's premier leisure facility and from then on the latter seemed to become the poor relation. Visitor numbers dropped steadily, despite UCI slashing their ticket prices in a desperate attempt to stem the tide, and the company called it a day less than a year later, closing the cinema and putting it up for sale.

The Xscape started the decline that ultimately killed off The Point.

That could have been the end but salvation came in the unlikely form of easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who was looking to adapt the easyJet business model to the film industry with his 'easyCinema' concept. UCI rented The Point to easyGroup and it was given a makeover with the white external walls repainted in Stelios's trademark bright orange and the overpriced food and drink stands ripped out in favour of encouraging customers to bring in their own refreshments. With ticket prices starting from just 20p if booked far enough in advance, Stelios's intention was to show films that had just ended their premiere showing elsewhere for a fixed fee rather than a percentage of the ticket sales, but the distributors refused to accept this business model and that one action effectively killed this promising and potentially revolutionary concept.

Making it easy: Stelios relaunches a bright orange Point as the first and only easyCinema. Alas his bright idea was not a success.

Another turning Point

The failure of The Point as an easyCinema scuppered Stelios's plans to expand the brand into a national chain, and it struggled on alone for three years, trading largely on its novelty value and making substantial losses, before he gave up and handed the building back to its owner when the lease came to an end in 2006. It once again escaped closure though: by this time, UCI had been taken over by venture capitalists Terrafirma, who also owned the better-known Odeon brand, and The Point soon reverted to its previous guise as a conventional cinema under the Odeon name.  

Since then The Point has lived an unremarkable and low-key life as an Odeon cinema and a Gala bingo hall, its glory days far behind it but still just about attracting enough custom to justify its existence, and in recent years the once-impressive but now ageing structure has taken on a very careworn and neglected appearance. The faded paintwork and accumulated grime did nothing to entice visitors and the buzzing atmosphere and crowds of people had long since disappeared to be replaced by a feeling of emptiness and decay, so it has become something of an embarrassment to those responsible for its upkeep, rather than the source of local pride it should rightfully be. Although old-fashioned in appearance, the facilities inside were by no means outdated however, its owner having kept up with trends and invested in technologies such as 3D and surround sound, so the viewing experience was not totally inferior to more modern cinemas and all ten screens remained in use until the end showing the latest releases.

A sad state of decay. Those ventilation ducts sticking up out of the ground are another very distinctive feature of the site.

The Point of no return

The demolition plans first became public in 2012 when the site's current owners Hammerson announced proposals for redevelopment as a retail complex, sparking an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to have the building listed by English Heritage. The rejection of this bid on the basis that the interior had been heavily modified from its original form remains a mystery to me as it is the unchanged exterior that is significant, and at the same time the adjacent shopping centre, a functional building of far less architectural interest or historical significance, was granted Grade II Listed status when arguably The Point was the more deserving candidate.

How come this boring glass box is worthy of listing but The Point isn't?

 
Shamefully for those who should have pride in their city's heritage and despite a local outcry, Milton Keynes Council approved Hammerson's proposal in March 2014 and the site looks set to become yet another bland and charmless retail building as Primark is the likely new occupant. Ironically, the city already has a Primark store situated at Stadium:MK, the location of the new Odeon cinema that has replaced The Point. The developers argue that demolition is the only sensible option due to the building's characteristics: it is built on several floor levels, which hampers access for the disabled, and the distinctive shape restricts its usability. These are hardly insurmountable problems though and it is these very features that give The Point its own special and unique charm, so they could surely be worked around by an enterprising architect. 

The official reason for the closure is given as declining patronage as a result of the long-fought battle against home cinema and now internet streaming services, but this argument is surely negated by the opening of an all-new replacement Odeon at the Stadium:MK retail park, a less central location that seems not as well placed to pick up trade. It seems more likely that Odeon simply got fed up of operating an elderly building in worsening condition that was poorly suited to modern requirements and difficult to develop, and instead of making an investment in it went for the easier option of commissioning a new building elsewhere, thus condemning a historic site that could have been revitalised with a bit of much-needed TLC.

A Pointless future

Having been doomed to destruction for almost a year, The Point's use as a cinema came to an end on 26th February 2015, just a few months short of its 30th birthday, and the new Stadium:MK premises opened for business the following morning. For now the building still stands hosting the bingo hall and a small kiosk, but without the cinema it is unsustainable and it is only a matter of time before they too close, leaving an empty shell ready for demolition. The final day's lineup comprised the following films:

• Big Hero 6
• Fifty Shades of Grey
• Jupiter Ascending
• Kingsman: The Secret Service
• Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots
• The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Selma
• Shaun the Sheep Movie
• The Theory of Everything
• The Wedding Ringer

And that was that: at 9pm on an unremarkable Thursday night, the last film ever to be screened at The Point began without ceremony in the form of The Wedding Ringer, described as a "crude and mirthless comedy squandering otherwise talented performers" including The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting. It didn't even go out with a bang and a blockbuster, a sad end to a once great and innovative cinema.

In my view, the council should have capitalised on The Point's unique history and promoted it as a tourist attraction in its own right, and the country's first multiplex cinema is surely something far more worthwhile to be known for than the soulless concrete cows and roundabouts that outsiders typically associate with Milton Keynes. My own vision for the future of the building would be a full restoration to its former glory as a museum of cinematic and entertainment history, showing not only the latest blockbusters but also classic movies from the past, alongside interactive displays of artefacts charting the history of the British leisure industry and the significant role played by The Point itself.

It seems to be a peculiarly British affliction that we neglect our more recent heritage to the point (pun sadly intended!) of losing it through apathy, and those who should be responsible for its preservation don't seem to care, but elsewhere in the world even relatively modern historic buildings such as this are something to be celebrated rather than embarrassed about. One can imagine the American attitude to The Point: "Hey, we've got the first multiplex cinema, this place revolutionised the country so come and see how fantastic it is!", whereas over here it gets quietly ignored as an irrelevant relic of the past and eventually destroyed in the name of progress. I can't help feeling that in 20 or 30 years time the decision to demolish The Point will be bitterly regretted, but once it's gone there's no way back.

There will soon be no Point. Farewell old friend and thanks for the memories.