Product: The Mystery of Rampo (1995)
Rating: 3.0
for fellow aficionados
I own the VHS-version of this movie as well and pre-ordered the DVD. First, there is no extra/new feature (except for a short theatrical trailer and the widescreen format) in this DVD, which is not a big deal in itself; however, the DVD version of this movie has a couple of significant problems.(1) There's a problem with the color transfer that practically ruins the role that colors play in the movie. The problem is especially pronounced in those scenes around the Marquis' mansion. Colors change so drastically and erratically from scene to scene that they no longer have any coherent meaning at all.(2) The DVD has a new translation. On one hand, this could be a good thing for those of us who don't speak Japanese. It's good to have an alternative translation so we can triangulate the original meaning using this and the VHS version's translation. On the other hand, the new translation is very poorly done. For instance, Rampo's monologue near the beginning of the movie was artfully done (as it had to be to anchor the entire movie) in the VHS version, but in the DVD version it is incoherent and incomprehensible.If you are crazy about this movie, you might still want to buy the DVD just for the alternative translation and the widescreen format. Don't throw away your VHS copy though. You won't want to make this DVD the copy you show to your friends, who won't be able to appreciate the movie as fully as you were able to with the VHS version.