[Mini Theater Revisited] Part 1 1981...Part 1

1981 is a memorable year in the history of Tokyo's mini theaters. This is because three commercial mini-theaters opened one after another. Haiyuza Cinema Ten in Roppongi (March), Parco Space Part 3 in Shibuya (September), and Cinema Square Tokyo in Shinjuku (December). With the advent of these theaters, the situation changed, and Tokyo's mini-theater culture gained momentum.

Mini theaters at the time were trying new things. At the time, ordinary movie theaters had their last showings around 7 p.m., but CinemaTen was an attempt to change that situation, becoming ``Tokyo's first late-show theater.''

Furthermore, although there is a large Toho-affiliated cinema complex in Roppongi today, in the early 1980s there were no movie theaters in this town, and it was even said that a movie theater would not be successful in Roppongi.

Cinema Ten is striving to change this trend. It was also "the first successful movie theater in Roppongi." This theater also produced a blockbuster hit called `` A Room with a View '' (1986).

*The following articles were serialized on the website operated by Geijutsu Shimbun between 2013 and 2014. This time, we have received permission from Sawako Omori and Geijutsu Shinbunsha Co., Ltd. to reprint this work.

Index

• Roppongi theater space turned into a mini theater
• Aiming to become Japan's first late show hall
• Visconti's unreleased work ``Bellissima'' was a turning point.
• British costume film ``A Room with a View'' becomes a big hit

Roppongi theater space turned into a mini theater

When you get off the Roppongi subway station and head toward a large intersection, you will see a crosswalk. There used to be a bookstore called Seishido on the corner, where we often used to meet up, but now it has been replaced by a mobile phone shop.

Cross the road with your back to the store, walk straight for a while, and the Haiyuza Theater will be on your left. There is a round ticket booth, and when you enter through the glass door, you will be greeted by a circular lobby. Beyond the lobby is the counter of HUB, a pub called British style.

There were people who turned Haiyuza Theater into a movie theater. Although it was called a movie theater, it did not have a separate room; movies were shown there after the play was finished. The movie theater started out as ``Hyūyuza Cinema Ten,'' and changed its name to ``Hyūyuza Talkie Night,'' which lasted for over 20 years.

Even if you look at the theater from the outside today, there is not a single trace of the movie theater that once existed. Since the original playhouse was used as a movie theater, there was no way the exterior would have changed, and if you look at it as a theater, it would have simply returned to its previous state. However, for those who know that a mini-theater existed there, the (now outdated) theater must evoke a variety of emotions. Precisely because the exterior has not changed, the absence of a movie theater makes me sad and makes me want to relive the memories of the past...

Aiming to become Japan's first late show hall