NYC’s Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is having a special showing of Satoshi Kon’s 1997 anime thriller, Perfect Blue on Nov. 4 and 5. Perfect Blue will be shown in a rare 35mm print, kicking off the theater’s “Anime After Dark 2” special event.
Perfect Blue’s plot famously inspired director Darren Aronofsky, who bought the film’s rights and lifted entire scenes for Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. On Nitehawk Cinema’s page, Perfect Blue is summarized as follows:
“A head-spinning thriller colored with shades of Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch, Perfect Blue chronicles the downfall of a popular singer, Mima Kirigoe, whose carefully controlled life and image unravels after she abandons her singing career to take on a small role in a sleazy crime drama. As she tries to cope with a disappointed fanbase, Mima begins receiving threatening messages and discovers a popular blog written in her name that chronicles every detail of her life. Shaken by her stalker and objectified by sleazeball industry types, Mima starts hallucinating and loses track of reality, which proves problematic when her co-workers start turning up dead.”
Check out a trailer for Perfect Blue below:
Other movies that will be shown during “Anime After Dark 2” include:
Macross Plus, Nov. 11/12
Akira, Nov. 18/19
The End of Evangelion, Nov. 25/26
The screenings start at 12:10am, with seating starting at 11:45pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Ticket prices range from $9 for kids (please don’t bring kids to see Perfect Blue ), $12 for general admission and $16 for movies with live entertainment or special guests.
According to the theater’s About page, “Nitehawk Cinema is New York’s premier dine-in theater, pairing exemplary first-run and repertory film programming along with tableside food and beverage service.” Interestingly, “Nitehawk Cinema is single-handedly responsible for the groundbreaking overturn of the prohibition-era New York State liquor law that made serving alcohol in motion picture theaters illegal.”
Looks like Williamsburg did something aside from pack the L train!
You can purchase tickets for Nitehawk’s “Anime After Dark 2” special midnight screenings here.
