Open air cinema screenings, under the great glass roof of Yebisu Garden Place, may be a perfect way to spend a summer’s eve.
The concept of Starlight Cinema is simple and has been successfully executed for the last 12 years – unless you consider the feelings of those people who miss out on the first-come-first-served tickets. It’s free, hence the demand, and it takes place on weekend evenings and national holidays throughout August (starting July 28), have a look at a selection from the timetable, below. Not quite the drive in but, with all that Ebisu has to offer (beer, anyone?) you are in for a nice evening out.
We’re not sure if you will actually see any stars – this is Tokyo, after all – but you can dampen your disappointment pre- or post-movie with a gin. Bombay Sapphire, with its ‘Blue Oasis’ bar on the site, seems to be sponsoring the event, and its emerald bottle is even influencing the film choices. That ‘blue oasis’ is the (loose!) theme for the program means that we will have oceanic epics, surfing flicks, marine biology documentaries and, well, films with ‘blue’ in the title.
For more info, check here. Turn up at or before 6:15 p.m. for the tickets, screenings start at 7:30 p.m.
Program highlights:
July 28: The Big Blue (Luc Besson, 1988); July 29: A Scene at the Sea (Takeshi Kitano, 1991); August 4: Blue Crush (John Stockwell, 2002); August 5: Earth (Alastair Fothergill & Mark Linfield, 2007); August 11: Tokyo Oasis (Kana Matsumoto & Kayo Nakamura, 2011); August 12: Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002); August 18: Catch a Wave (Nobuyuki Takahashi, 2006); August 19: Deep Blue (Alastair Fothergill & Andy Byatt, 2003); August 25: Mamma Mia! (Phyllida Lloyd, 2008); August 26: Rocketmen (Richard Dale, 2009)
