BLADE RUNNER ran by them, Star Wars failed to shine and Titanic sank without trace. Now after 30 years of missing Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, Hebridean islanders are to get their first permanent cinema.

In the past filmgoers in the Western Isles faced a 50-mile ferry crossing across the Minch, then another 60-mile drive to Inverness to see the latest releases such as Mr & Mrs Smith.

Now a modern 240-seater auditorium is to open as part of a £5.3m arts centre in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis.

It is expected that film fans from neighbouring islands, including Harris and Uist, will take advantage of improved ferry connections to use the new facility.

The last full-time cinema — in Stornoway — closed in 1975. For a while a discotheque in the town showed occasional screenings but that stopped in the early 1980s.

Since then the only other opportunity islanders have had to keep up-to-date with Hollywood has been a mobile cinema which set-up in the draughty Stornoway Town Hall once a month.

On one occasion police had to be called after a crowd of 400 fought over the 101 available seats to see The Perfect Storm. On another occasion, during a screening of Billy Elliot, the film broke down 10 minutes from the end. The following night 40 filmgoers reappeared just to witness the final scene when Billy gains a place at the Royal Ballet School.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and The Lord of the Rings drew the biggest ever audiences of 1,600.

Now, through Edinburgh Film House, cinemagoers will be able to enjoy the latest releasess.

“We have gone from famine to feast. There will be a complete broad range of mainstream and not so well-known films from the world of cinema shown. Few film audiences will be so well-catered for anywhere,” said Roddy Murray, director of the new centre.

The An Lanntair centre — Gaelic for lantern — will also include space to house live art performances. Among those earmarked to appear are Scottish Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland, Dougie Maclean, the folk singer and musicians Fergie Macdonald and Donald Black. Next month will see the Edinburgh-based Traverse Theatre company perform their world premiere of the drama, It Was a Beautiful Day, by Iain Finlay Macleod.

A joint venture by Western Isles Council and Western Isles Enterprise, it received national lottery and European Union funding as well as private sponsorship. Two years in the building, it is due to officially open on October 1.

Angus McCormack, a Western Isles councillor, is delighted at the prospect of purpose-built cinema returning to Stornoway. He said: “In my late teens and early twenties I used to go to the old cinema three times a week. It was a hugely important part of my life and I have a lot of good memories of that time.

“It was a great cinema and was extremely popular but I remember there being a bit of controversy around it shortly before it closed. There were some films shown that had biblical references in them and that was not popular with some people. I was very sad to see it close and become a bingo hall. It will be fantastic to have a purpose-built cinema once again.”

The building was designed by Nicoll Russell Studios of Dundee, creator of the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.

The original An Lanntair was set up on the top floor of crumbling Stornoway Town Hall in 1985. The new building has two galleries, a bar, a 50-seat restaurant, small conference and concert rooms, education workshop spaces and offices.

“It will be the first multi-purpose built arts centre in the Western Isles and of great benefit to the whole community for many years,” said Murray.

“It is always hard to show a direct cost benefit from the arts but the arts enrich people’s lives, which you can’t measure in pounds, shillings and pence . . . It was a brave decision by Scottish Arts to back it but it shows they were prepared to develop art at the edge of the country.”

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