Rampo Noir (2005) Blu-ray Review

Anthology films are always so much fun. I have always enjoyed them a couple of my favorites would have to be Tales of Terror, Twice Told Tales, History of the World Part I, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. We even recently seen an Anthology Movie arrive on 4k from Arrow Video. That film was Trick 'r Treat. 

Now as a new year is upon us Arrow Video is bringing us another anthology movie to home video. That film is 2005's Ramp Noir. This 2005 feature brings four filmmakers from different backgrounds to celebrate the stories of Edogawa Rampo, a Japanese author who helped develop the genre of mystery and thriller fiction in Japan.

Mars Canal: A naked man wanders through a depressing and desolate landscape recalling memories of his former lover.

Mirror Hell: Detective Kogoro Akechi tries to find out why several women are being found dead with burnt faces and charred skulls. During his investigation he finds an odd hand mirror at the scene that starts unraveling the mystery.

Caterpillar: A war hero returns home with severe injuries. He is deaf with no limbs and only his eyesight remaining. His beautiful wife, tired of taking care of him, turns to torturing him for her amusement.

Crawling Bugs: An actress is returning home from a successful night on stage, until her limo driver decides that she should be coming home with him.

As with a lot of Japanese horror films there is images that evoke nightmares including violence and nudity, but the films are lavishly stylish and beautifully shot. The four film also Japan's top stars, including Tadanobu Asano (Maboroshi, Silence) and Ryuhei Matsuda (Blue Spring, Gohatto). 

Rampo Noir has been transferred to Blu-ray™ in 1080p and is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The audio track is Japanese language LPCM 2.0 stereo track. There is also the option for a newly translated English subtitles. 

Rampo Noir looks stunning in HD on this Arrow Video Blu-ray. There is not digital artifacts or audio anomalies that I saw while screening this Blu-ray. But as always Arrow Video doesn't stop with just a nice copy of a film. that is simply not enough for their releases. So they added some great bonuses to this release. Take a look at the special features.

* Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film experts Jasper Sharp and Alexander Zahlten
* Another World, a new interview with Suguru Takeuchi, director of “Mars’s Canal”
* A Moving Transformation, a new interview with Hisayasu Sato, director of “Caterpillar”
* Butterfly Queen, a new interview with Atsushi Kaneko, manga artist and director of “Crawling Bugs”
* Hall of Mirrors, a new interview with cinematographer Masao Nakabori about working with Akio Jissoji and “Mirror Hell”
* The Butterfly Effect, a new interview with Akiko Ashizawa, the cinematographer of “Caterpillar”
* Looking in the Mirror, a new interview with actor Yumi Yoshiyuki about “Mirror Hell”
* Archive stage greeting footage with the cast and directors from the Japanese premiere of Rampo Noir
* Crossing the Lens, a feature-length making-of documentary by Tatsuya Fukushima from 2006
* Image gallery
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Insect
* Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Eugene Thacker and Seth Jacobowitz

Now honestly Rampo Noir is not going to be for everyone. This is for a very niche audience. But that audience is out there and when member of that audience get their hands on this Blu-ray release they will be in 7th heaven as they view this wonderful copy of the film and enjoy the interviews, documentaries, commentaries and so much more.

So if you love J-horror this new Limited Edition Blu-ray of Rampo Noir is going to need to be in your collection. Head over to MVD Shop or Amazon and order your copy today.


Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) Arrow Video's Blu-ray of Rampo Noir receives.....