Edogawa Ranpo ryôki-kan: Yaneura no sanposha (1976)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Noboru Tanaka

Writers:

Rampo Edogawa (short story "Yaneura no sanposha")
Akio Ido (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 June 1976 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

The landlord of a boarding house in 1923 Tokyo, is keen on spying on the bizarre close encounters taking place beneath his roof. One day he sees a prostitute killing a customer, and decides he's found his soulmate. |

Plot Keywords:

Landlord | Spying | Prostitute | Based On Short Story | Cab

Cast

Junko Miyashita	...	Minako Sayanomiya
Renji Ishibashi	...	Saburo Gouda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hiroshi Cho	...	Koichiro Kiyomiya
Aoi Nakajima
Toshihiko Oda	...	Hiruta
Yumemura Shiro	...	Pierrot
Kazuko Tajima	...	Ginko
Tokuko Watanabe	...	Tomita Miyuki
Yasuji Yashiro	...	Endo

Also Known As:

Watcher in the Attic (Europe: English title) (International: English title) (video catalogue title)
Edogawa Rampo ryôki-kan: Yaneura no samposha (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
The Stroller in the Attic (USA) (informal English title)

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Nikkatsu

Movie Connections:

Version of Yaneura no sanposha (1994)

but when killing joins sex on the menu and the watcher joins the watched

Decidedly odd, this 1923 set movie begins slowly with the man of the title peering from his enclosed upper space at those approaching from without and those dwelling below. At first this looks like being an unusual but fairly predictable 'pink' but when killing joins sex on the menu and the watcher joins the watched this turns a little more hard edged. Slightly confusing at the start, with a lot of black screen and changing faces but soon we are down to the main protagonists and there is little room for ambiguity. The dramatic ending gives explanation for the 1923 setting and concludes what in the end is an erotic and powerful exploration of human nature's darker side. Not without faults but well worth a watch.