Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Mystery of Rampo (1994)
Director: Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This became a cause célèbre in 1994 when producer Okuyama objected to the work of director Rintaro Mayuzumi and remade it the way he wanted. The two versions were released side-by-side in Tokyo; the 1995 London Film Festival, predictably, showed only the producer's cut. Edogawa Ranpo ('Edgar Allan Poe') was the pen name of Hirai Taro (1894-1965), writer of erotic/fantastic mystery fiction; the wheeze behind this imaginary episode from his life is to trap him inside one of his own bizarre and enigmatic stories. Okuyama has cast and designed it expensively, and the animated prologue is quite cute. But it's basically piffle, founded on a lamentably dated idea of what images of Japan foreign suckers might pay to see.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Producer: Kazuyoshi Okuyama, Yoshinobu Nishioka, Yoshihisa Nakagawa
Cast: Naoto Takenaka, Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka, Michiko Hada, Mikijiro Hira full cast
Duration: 100 mins
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now