When I decided that in July 2020 I would view every Arrow Blu-Ray dedicated to auteur film maker Seijun Suzuki by starting with Eight Hours of Terror (1957-also reviewed),I looked forward to ending with the first Suzuki box set I had purchased.
View on the film:
Ending their first box set dedicated to the film maker on a strong note, Arrow present a terrific transfer with a clean image, a smooth soundtrack and detailed extras on the title.
Taking a decade after the second to be filmed due to the producer having money trouble, and the last full solo feature the film maker would make for a whole decade, ( Pistol Opera (2001) being what broke the silence) directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reveals that he used the gap between both parts, to create new methods to expand his distinctive surrealist motifs, as Suzuki & cinematographer Jun'ichi Fujisawa draw Yumeji Takehisa's painting with incredibly fluid tracking shots swinging through the icy dream-logic atmosphere going upwards to wide crane shots across the outdoor dour Gothic landscape.
Reuniting with his long-term editor Akira Suzuki, Seijun Suzuki continues to spread Japanese New Wave jump-cuts scattering paintings across the walls,and elegantly framed dissolves bringing a ghostly presence into Takehisa's paintings.
Marking a huge departure from the vibrant colours of his other features, Suzuki strips the walls bare white,and hang the camera at floor level precisely centered, straight-on framed shots, held in long takes by the Suzuki's that brush into the distortion of Takehisa.
Joining with the Suzuki's to complete the trilogy, the screenplay by Yozo Tanaka blends a loose examination of Yumeji Takehisa's paintings, with a thoughtful conclusion to the doppelgänger psychological doubts, unshakeable ghosts keeping Tskehisa haunted by the past, and sensual paintings running red to a glittering final shot drawing a end to the Taisho era.
View on the film:
Ending their first box set dedicated to the film maker on a strong note, Arrow present a terrific transfer with a clean image, a smooth soundtrack and detailed extras on the title.
Taking a decade after the second to be filmed due to the producer having money trouble, and the last full solo feature the film maker would make for a whole decade, ( Pistol Opera (2001) being what broke the silence) directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reveals that he used the gap between both parts, to create new methods to expand his distinctive surrealist motifs, as Suzuki & cinematographer Jun'ichi Fujisawa draw Yumeji Takehisa's painting with incredibly fluid tracking shots swinging through the icy dream-logic atmosphere going upwards to wide crane shots across the outdoor dour Gothic landscape.
Reuniting with his long-term editor Akira Suzuki, Seijun Suzuki continues to spread Japanese New Wave jump-cuts scattering paintings across the walls,and elegantly framed dissolves bringing a ghostly presence into Takehisa's paintings.
Marking a huge departure from the vibrant colours of his other features, Suzuki strips the walls bare white,and hang the camera at floor level precisely centered, straight-on framed shots, held in long takes by the Suzuki's that brush into the distortion of Takehisa.
Joining with the Suzuki's to complete the trilogy, the screenplay by Yozo Tanaka blends a loose examination of Yumeji Takehisa's paintings, with a thoughtful conclusion to the doppelgänger psychological doubts, unshakeable ghosts keeping Tskehisa haunted by the past, and sensual paintings running red to a glittering final shot drawing a end to the Taisho era.