Cinema Experience

For all my film school friends out there who complain about the American movie experience (stupid people in the crowd being loud, cell phones going off, etc.) may I recommend flying several thousands miles to experience a movie in Japan? I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One last night and was just as impressed with the theater as I was the movie itself (which, being the HP fan that I am, I loved). Maybe all theaters aren't like the one I went to, but here's what I liked about the one I went to:

First, you get to pick your seat when you buy your ticket. The computer screen faces you, and after you tell the friendly cashier (or surly cashier who maybe hates gaijin) what movie you want to see, the available seats pop up on the touch-screen. Your seat number is printed on your ticket, so no one argues over seating.

Second, the previews and commercials are funny because you don't understand them. There were about 10 minutes of commercials, some which were really weird. What is really up with that Honda commercial and the guys in superhero costumes? I was also impressed with the 5-minute presentation on UNICEF's Clean Water Project that this theater is helping with. Maybe they just showed it because it's almost Christmas, but it was nice to see theaters chipping in with a very noble cause to help communities in various countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. But none of the previews for American movies looked good to me at all--sorry, Tron fans.

Most theaters have a cheesy intro right before the movie starts, requesting movie-goers to turn off their phones and please go get some Coke, because aren't you sooooo thirsty? But the intro at this theater was very. . . Japanese. Simple and to the point. Black and white pictures showing a cell phone, a couple talking, and a cigarette, all with a "no" signs across them. Violin music in the background. "Please refrain from talking during the movie kudasai," "Please refrain from smoking in the theater, kudasai." So kind and polite, in English and in Japanese. Everyone in the theater in silent, rapt attention, a state in which they stayed for the two-and-a-half-hour running time of the movie.

After Harry Potter ended with [spoil spoil spoil], I expected the house lights to come on and the people to start scurrying out before "Daniel Radcliffe" and "Rupert Grint" even flashed across the screen. But no such thing. Only ONE COUPLE snuck out, but the rest of the crowd remained in the still-dark theater throughout the entire credit roll, silently reading the list of gaffers, best boy grips, and stunt performers. I doubt that many of people in the audience could read all that English--I mean, I wouldn't want to watch the credits rolling in a language I didn't understand--so I'm doubly impressed. I've never been to a mainstream movie theater (and this one was on the third floor of a *mall*) where 99% of the crowd watched the credits and the theater stayed dark during them. I wished you UNCSA people could have been there to see it. You would have been so proud.