Cops in Tokyo + Yuheisha

[M Arnold]

From: <tim.iles at utoronto.ca>
> That wasn't _you_ they were talking about, was it? ;)

Maybe it was . . .

> _Yuheisha_ sounds quite interesting--does anyone have any idea what sort 
> of
> release it may receive?

Adachi gave a short introduction before the movie and said that he wasn't 
completely sure whether or not it would be commercially screened at all, but 
that they were "moving in the direction" of a proper release. It sounded 
like there might have been some final editing work to do though, and once 
they get everything finished the movie still needs to be transferred from DV 
to film, so it could be a while.

The fact that Yuheisha was shot (and screened this time) on digital video 
was a point of contention for some of the viewers. After the screening, I 
heard several people complain about the harsh colors and details of the 
video image, and say they were looking forward to seeing how the movie 
looked once it had been 'softened' by film. Late in the night in the 
Golden-gai, one young pink director tried to convince an older film critic 
that the movie should have been shot on film because of the way it was 
photographed (close ups, harsh shadows, cramped spaces). The critic, a 
contemporary of Adachi's, didn't think there was a significant difference, 
but the pink director, who said he had worked in video and film, insisted 
that videos require an altogether different kind of photography--not just 
technical differences like lighting, focus, etc., but angle, distance, and 
even subject as well. (Some of those younger pink directors sure are picky 
about their film . . . )

Yuheisha, by the way, is not the same as the "Thirteenth Month" (13 gatsu) 
film that Adachi has also been working on. Sounds like he's still trying to 
get the funding for TM. http://www.geocities.jp/eiga13gatsu/kinkyu.html

There doesn't seem to be a lot of info about Yuheisha on the net yet, but 
here are a few sites and blogs:

http://yamanoweb.exblog.jp/3888607
http://www.cdjournal.com/main/news/news.php?nno=10832
http://dan21.livedoor.biz/archives/50318071.html
http://tawagt.cocolog-nifty.com/log/2006/01/post_4024.html

Michael Arnold