[Mini Theater Revisited] No. 26 Shibuya style trend, hot summer of mini theaters... Part 3 Shibuya's pioneering mini theater, Cine Saison Shibuya

Cine Saison Shibuya, started by Cine Saison in the 1980s, is a pioneering mini-theater in Shibuya. Initially, many American independent films and European films were screened, but at one point it lost momentum and became an expanded roadshow theater.

However, in the 1990s, revival screenings began to show their individuality, and films that had previously failed at the box office, such as Kon Ichikawa's ` `Ten Dark Women '' (1961) and `` The Big Blue '' (1988), began to show their individuality. It found new life in this theater and became a huge hit.

I once interviewed director Ichikawa before his death, and at that time he also talked about a revival of the 1990s. ``Yasuhi Konishi really praised it and said it was going to be revived, so I went to see it again in Shibuya.It's nostalgic,'' said the director.

On the other hand, the longer version of ``Grand Bleu,'' previously released under the title ``The Big Blue'' (1988), was also popular among young people, creating an unprecedented Luc Besson boom.

Former manager Hiroyasu Hirano and other people involved looked back on the excitement at the theater at the time.

*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

• Closed in 2011
• Opened in Dogenzaka in 1985
• Revival has personality
• Shibuya-kei and Kon Ichikawa
• luc besson boom

Closed in 2011

Cine Saison Shibuya, a pioneering mini theater in Shibuya, closed on February 27, 2011.

The theater was located in The Prime, located next to the fashion building 109 in Dogenzaka, Shibuya. Across the street is the Toho movie theater, Shibuya Cine Tower. There is now a Uniqlo store on the first floor of The Prime, and when you walk past this building at night, it is filled with bright lights.

Curious about what was going on at the site of Cine Saison, I took the elevator up to the 6th floor and found a completely different scene than I had seen before. There used to be two movie theaters. The one on the left used to be the Shochiku-affiliated expanded roadshow hall, but it is now the live house "Mt. RAINIER HALL" (then/currently Shibuya Pleasure Pleasure).

On the other hand, the theater on the right, which used to be Cine Saison Shibuya, is "CBGK Shibugeki!!", a place for plays, vaudeville, and live viewing. This theater is run by the entertainment agency Cube, and there was a time when Arata Furuta, an actor who works for them, served as a theater advisor.

The entrance is narrower than when it was Cine Saison Shibuya, giving it a more compact feel.

By chance, the person in charge was checking the Rope in front of the theater, so I asked him a little bit about it, and he replied, ``Thank you so many people for coming.'' The live house next door also seemed to be quite lively, with young customers entering the venue one after another.

Cinemarise, a mini-theater located in the same Udagawa town, has one of the two theaters used as a live music venue, but they also have one thing in common: they show live performances.

Are former movie theaters being transformed into spaces for live performances?

◉Precious photos of Cine Saison Shibuya from the past. When I entered the entrance, there was a door. The screen was quite large.

Opened in Dogenzaka in 1985