Rampo (1994)

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts... See full summary »

Directors:

Rintaro Mayuzumi, Kazuyoshi Okuyama

Writers:

Rampo Edogawa (story), Yuhei Enoki,

Stars:

Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka, Michiko Hada

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Masahiro Motoki	...	Kogoro Akechi
Naoto Takenaka	...	Edogawa Rampo
Michiko Hada	...	Shizuko
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Masashi Yokomizo
Mikijirô Hira	...	Marquis Ogawara
Shirô Sano	...	Officer
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Cafe owner
Nekohachi Edoya	...	Antique shop owner
Jun'ichi Takagi	...	Fujimori
Charlie Yutani	...	Driver
Kirin Kiki	...	House wife / Head of maid
Julie Dreyfus	...	Mademoiselle
Yoshio Harada	...	Big Star
Kinji Fukasaku	...	Film Director
An Actor	...	Movie Actor

Storyline

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | censorship | love | case | transvestite | 

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Taglines:

So provocative the censors banned it, so powerful it came true.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for images of bizarre sexuality

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mystery of Rampo

Box Office

Gross:

$305,434 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiwa Building, Daiwa Securities Group, Obayashi Corporaion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Beautiful, stylish, and spectacular!

Beautiful, stylish, and spectacular. It's not the way we usually use to describe mysteries. This one is an exception. Actually I saw both the original version released in Japan and the one released here in the States. The major difference between the two is the sound effect, and the cut was slightly different. As the results, the original one is more mysterious, and the latter is, ..., more beautiful. I'll highly recommend you take a look at the first one if you can find a copy and understand Japanese. Pay special attention to the sound effect and the ending. I think this is the best modern Japanese film (after the Akira Kurosawa era) you can find in America. Personally, I like the original Japanese version. The music isn't as beautiful as in American version, though. There is one final line being cut off in American version:

"Goodbye, Mr. Yokomizo."

The writer said this one last line to his publisher friend as the image disappeared. I think that is the point of the whole story, to make you not be able to tell what you just saw is for real or just a story. After all, the writer, and Yokomizo, were real people. Too bad, they cut the line off............