Perhaps Japanese movies are best known as the remakes of thrillers such as The Ring and The Grudge ; however, Japan has a vibrant film industry which produces a wide array of compelling films, the most popular being coming-of-age dramas, action-hero stories, and of course, thrillers. Anime , that particular Japanese style of cartoon animation, is known and loved worldwide. On the one hand there is comedian-turned-director Beat Takeshi with his slow but violent gangster films, on the other are the painted heroes and castles of Miyazaki Hayao. Japanese movies have a lot to offer for the person who is willing to try them.
Discounted tickets :
In Tokyo , regular fee of a film ticket is 1,800 yen.
Don't you think it's expensive?
You might hesitate to dine out after the movie. Don't you know it would be nicer if you know discount of days to see films?
At most movie theatres have particular days you can see films in discount price. For instance, first day of every month and every Wednesday, if you are female, you would be able to see a film only for 1,000 yen. Also the price of a ticket would be 1,200 yen after 9:00pm.
Another option is getting cheaper tickets at discount ticket shops in a town. (They sell not only movie tickets, but also train tickets, amusement park passes, concert tickets and so on.) The price range is depending on the movie, but usually around 1,000-1400 yen.
Film festivals:
Quite a few film festivals are held throughout the year in Tokyo. We picked up some of them to get some idea of film festivals.
"PIA Film Festival (PFF)"
The "PIA Film Festival"(PFF) has been running since 1977 under the theme of "The Discovery and Development of New Talents in Film". The "PFF AWARD COMPETITION", the competition section of the festival aiming to "Discover New Talent", has received 14,880 applications and the number of accepted works has reached over 436. Over 50 film directors have begun their careers from this competition.
The "PFF SCHOLARSHIP", is a competition started in 1984 with an aim of supporting the award winners of the finalist films and establish them as film makers. To date, it has produced 15 films.
"Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF)"
TIFF was established in 1985, and celebrates its 18th anniversary this year. As one of the largest international film festivals in the world, TIFF has left a large footprint in the Japanese film industry and culture in general.
"Short Shorts Film Festival (SSFF)"
The Short Shorts Film Festival made its Japan debut in June of 1999 at the LaForet Theatre located in Tokyo's famous Harajuku/Omotesando area. In the four years since, the festival has attracted more than 80,000 people, making it Asia's largest annual short film festival event.
Every year the SSFF features short films of some of the most respected filmmakers such as George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and Jane Campion. In addition to screening at its original "home" at Harajuku's LaForet, the SSFF tours through Los Angeles, Singapore and six other cities in Japan annually, fulfilling its original goals and ideals on which the event was founded: to bridge cultures and encourage artistic collaboration through visual media, to seek out new talents, to expose audiences to the best short films, and to promote the short film format as a valuable form of entertainment.
"Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF)"
It doesn't hold in Tokyo, but this unique documentary film festival worth to get yourself down to Yamagata in north-east part of Honshu island. (Tohoku region.) Taking place every two years since 1989, "Asia's first international documentary film festival.
At the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, there are no fixed ideas of what defines a documentary film. In the competitive categories, all works that are intended as documentaries by their producers are considered eligible. Through the screening of films at the festival, we hope to provide a space for greater discussion and contemplation of the question "What is documentary?" as well as for opening the way to new possibilities in documentary film and consequently filmmaking as a whole. Hundreds of people gather from around Japan and overseas for the YIDFF, viewing films together and cultivating exchanges. This year's festival features yet another comprehensive lineup, from the familiar categories to the special programs.
Tsutaya
For those older movies that have left the theatres, easily the largest movie-rental chain in Japan is Tsutaya. Started in 1983 as a 2-floor rental shop built under the train tracks of a small city in Osaka prefecture, Tsutaya has expanded to have over 1200 rental locations across all of Japan . You can rent a movie for same-day returns for as little as 220Y, or for as long as a week for around 400Y. They carry as many Japanese films as they do foreign, and the bigger stores like the JR East Exit location in Shinjuku carry a number of hard-to-find movies.
In addition to movies Tsutaya also rents CDs, though typically releases that are still new will take some time to hit the rental shelves. Larger Tsutayas will also buy and sell used CDs and video games, but it is worth noting that though they rent CDs they do no rent video games.
Unfortunately the rental layout is in Japanese, along with the titles of the films, and so it might be best to get a Japanese-speaking friend to help you hunt down any difficult titles. The typical store clerk speaks no more English than the typical Japanese, so if you aren't familiar with what to put on a Japanese contract it might take a lot of one-word conversations and wild gesturing to fill out a membership.
Local Rental
For every Tsutaya there's also a local shop somewhere, ready to serve your movie-watching needs. Where these shops differ from Tsutaya is usually in being slightly more expensive and having smaller selections; their selling point is that many are open 24 hours, and they are located much closer to the neighborhood than a Tsutaya, which is usually right by the station. Some local stores focus on having a selection of rare films, while most carry popular movies along with a smattering of older stock.
