At the movies: 'Ben Hur' and 'Wizard of Oz' as Japan reopens (updated)

Toho Co (Tokyo)

19/05/2020 07:27

(Updates with company announcement; paragraph 3)
    By Chris Gallagher
    TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - The chariots of 1959 epic "Ben
Hur" and the yellow brick road of 1939 fantasy "The Wizard of
Oz" are back on the big screen in Japan as cinemas begin
reopening from the coronavirus crisis with a slate heavy on
Hollywood classics.
    James Dean starrer "East of Eden" (1955), crime drama
"Bonnie and Clyde" (1969) and disaster film "The Towering
Inferno" (1974) are among other titles playing, after Japanese
chain Toho Cinemas reopened 10 of its 66 theatres in areas
deemed relatively safe from the coronavirus.
    The unit of Toho Co  9602.T , which also runs a film studio,
said it would reopen 23 more cinemas on Friday in prefectures
where the government has lifted the state of emergency.
    Cinemas in Tokyo remain shut.
    Toho Cinemas, which had closed all of its theatres as of
April 18, has implemented safety measures including keeping
every other seat empty and making staff and customers wear
masks.
    Reopening theatres leads to another challenge, however: what
films to show after movie studios delayed new releases because
of the pandemic?
    Toho's reopened theatres mostly offer a mix of old
Hollywood, recent Japanese hits and holdovers like Oscar-winning
"Parasite" that were in cinemas before the closures, although
that mix varied between theatres, its website showed.
    Its Sendai cinema in northern Japan on Tuesday was screening
the American classics mentioned as well as neo-noir sci-fi
classic "Blade Runner" (1982), prison drama "The Shawshank
Redemption" (1994) and several Japanese films including "Shin
Godzilla" (2016).
    Its Sun Street Hamakita theatre in central Japan's Shizuoka
skewed more towards local films headlined by multiple screenings
of Makoto Shinkai's animation megahit "Your Name" (2016) and his
follow-up "Weathering With You" (2019). 
    But Sun Street Hamakita was also showing Steven Spielberg's
sci-fi classic "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), romantic
drama "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982) and musical "West Side
Story" (1961).
    Western "Rio Bravo" (1959), starring John Wayne, was also
playing in some theatres.
    Asked about the selection of films on show, a Toho official
simply said: "We're playing films that are popular."

 (Reporting by Chris Gallagher
Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)
 ((chris.gallagher@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-4563-2714;))