Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2014

Cinema Qualite

Cinema Qualite (3-37-12 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku; http://qualite.musashino-k.jp), which opened only last December, has already earned a reputation for the broad range of films it screens. Now the art house will celebrate its own awesomeness with The Cinema Qualite Collection, a mixture of old and new releases, running May 17-June 13. Highlights include Easy Rider, St. Elmo’s Fire, the British true story drama uwantme2killhim? (pictured) and Rewind This!, a documentary on the cultural impact of the VHS, and the people who collect  the format in the age of video streaming.

Silent Tongue

Sam Shepard is a revered American playwright who also happens to be a beloved actor. What is less known is that he occasionally gets behind the camera. One of Shepard’s films as a director, Silent Tongue (1993), is screening from May 3 at Eurospace in Shibuya (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp). The Western features one of the last performances of River Phoenix, whose Dark Blood will also be at the theater.

Goal of the Dead

In case you still haven’t had enough zombie flicks at this point, the French film Goal of the Dead, which combines brain-eaters with soccer, is screening from May 3 at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya (Cocoti Bldg. 7-8F, 1-23-16 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku; www.ht-cinema.com).