Watching Violet Evergarden the Movie at a Dolby Cinema

Violet Evergarden the Movie is the first new anime movie to ever be screened at Dolby Cinemas in Japan. "New" as in the movie is still showing in normal theatres. There have been other anime movies screened at Dolby Cinemas, but they are not new, being screened in Dolby Cinemas after their runs at normal theatres ended. Naturally, I had to see what is so special. So I booked a ticket for this morning (it started showing yesterday, but the morning and afternoon shows were both fully booked then).

 

To commemorate this screening, they were handing out special "tickets".

You know it is a Dolby Cinema because this is the screen that greets you inside.

I must say, I am impressed. Before the movie started, there was a short video that showed the difference between normal theatres and Dolby Cinema. One is the range of colours. The other is the fidelity of the sound source.

 

And watching the movie, I must say, it was impressive. I have watched the movie five times before this, so this is my sixth viewing. But you can really notice the difference. The colours were really rich and dynamic, and the sound was superb. The visual and audio experience further enhanced a masterpiece that is already great in normal theatres. If you ever have a chance to choose between watching Violet Evergarden the Movie in a normal theatre or Dolby Cinema, choose the Dolby Cinema. You will not regret it.

By the way, starting from yesterday, viewers get a postcard from the remote island featured in the movie.

I will decode the text in another post.

 

Six times... go watch it. It is that good. I really envy the fan who watched the movie 43 times in 56 days. His or her 43rd viewing was in Kyoto at the first Dolby Cinema screening with a staff talk event after the screening.

前乗り👍 pic.twitter.com/nLvtp5oW34

— Klose🦅 (@Klose_Rinz_) November 11, 2020

He/she even traveled all the way from Yokohama to Kyoto just for this...

My review of Violet Evergarden the Movie (2020) can be found here.

 

Update (January 8, 2021): On the movie's official website, an article has been published talking about the production of the Dolby Cinema version of the movie. The original version was made in HD (aka 1080p) but was converted to 4K for screening in Dolby Cinemas. Work was done to make sure that the Dolby Cinema version conveyed the same impression as the original version, with attention paid to the portion between scenes and the darker areas. This is especially because Dolby Vision allows much sharper colour contrast, which may not be what is actually intended in the movie itself. Personally, I think they managed to strike the right balance in the conversion process. The Dolby Cinema version retains the original flavour while making use of the greater visual details allowed by 4K and the high fidelity Dolby Atmos sound.