[KineJapan] 109 Cinemas Premium

[Markus Nornes]

Yesterday, I went out to catch Killers of the Flower Moon before it
disappeared from theaters. A quick search revealed a well-timed show at the
new 109 Cinemas Premium. This is in the new Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, the odd
new sky scraper in the heart of Kabukicho that looks like it has frosty
spikes midway and up tip top.

This sits on the footprint of the old Milano Theater. This was one of the
grand theaters of postwar Tokyo. With 1,500 seats, it was a great place to
watch films. People still talk about their swan song in 2014, when they
showed all their biggest hits over the years on 35mm. The building went
down shortly after that.

The new theaters are on the 9th and 10th floors. I worried upon arrival, as
the first few floors are a very strange restaurant with a DJ playing anime
tunes, and a very noisy game center. Thankfully, the chaos recedes when you
go upward. The surprisingly small lobby has  stunning views of West
Shinjuku, a staff desk and kiosks. Huh.

I pull up to a kiosk, select the film, then my seat, and then the bill
comes up: ¥4,500! I actually asked the desk attendant if that was for real.
He smiled and affirmed the price. This was probably my last chance to see
the Scorsese on a decent screen, and I was curious what this pricepoint was
all about. So I hit the buy button and entered.

It was interesting.

Low lighting. High end seating. Stunning views of Kabukicho, the Toho
Godzilla down below. It's an attempt at making the architectural space a
big part of the movie-going experience, not unlike the strategy behind the
silent era movie palaces. In interior corners of both floors, there are
spaces with completely different interior designs that evoke different
eras.

The million dollar view isn't worth the price of the ticket, but then I
discovered another part of the strategy. Popcorn and non-alcoholic drinks
are free and tabehodai. There's also a bar with beer, wine, whiskeys and
some mixed drinks, but those cost.

Over at one of the entrances, I noticed they were playing Merry Christmas
Mr. Lawrence. As I approached, I saw that it's a 35mm screening room, and
they'll be showing films on 35 into the future. (A sign outside warns
people that analog prints sometimes have scratches.)

The theater itself has steep seating and wide reclining seats, each with a
little table space next to the arm rest. There's a special trailer on the
sound system, which they claim is the best set-up in Japan. It was
"installed and checked" by Sakamoto Ryuichi, who gives a speech in the
sound system trailer. They are selling a lot of Sakamoto goods in the gift
shop, including LPs and programs from all the films he scored. The sound
was, indeed, good.

All in all, a wonderful, overpriced theater. Not sure I'll go again, unless
I really feel like gorging out on the popcorn.

The theater also had a strip of seats that were even wider, with wood
cube-like enclosures to separate you from the people next to you. I asked
about these on my way out. They're ¥6,500 (!). But after the film, you can
move to an incredibly cush lounge with city views. The first drink is free
and the lounge is open until 3:00am.

I wonder if this will work?

BTW, the film was great. But I was annoyed at the subtitles. They pulled
punches around issues of race. For example, Scorsese's references to
anti-Semitism were all erased by substituting 奴 for "Jew."
Considering what's going on in the world today, I thought this was really
unfortunate and obnoxious.

Markus
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