Wakamatsu/Image Forum [was Tomato kecchappu otei]

[Miles Wood]

----- Original Message -----
From: Arnold M <ma_iku at hotmail.com>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 4:25 AM
Subject: Re: Tomato kecchappu otei

> I bought tape #7 for the full-length version, and the picture quality
isn't
> very good (a problem with the source, I think).  The picture is very
> overexposed and washed out for most of the film.  It's much easier to see
> where the characters are and what they're doing in the shorter version on
> video #1

Sounds rather like their Wakamatsu VHS releases.I held on to THE EMBRYO, but
didn't invest in any more of their tapes after seeing the quality of this
and VIOLATED ANGELS, which I offloaded.

The Uplink DVD of JOJI NO RIREKISHO is also disappointing in this regard.
Slightly sharper but otherwise very indistinct in the darker passages. I
presumed Wakamatsu was shooting in 16mm but obviously not as the 4:3 framing
is clearly cropped (unless we're seeing a 35mm blow-up).

I understood their was a fairly complete Wakamatsu retrospective not that
long ago, so even if the original neg's are lost shouldn't there be prints
available to master these releases from? Uplink's DVD of Sato's MIMITSU NO
HANAZONO is not much better either, and consequently I've held off from
buying any other of this series..

Miles