Death Trance
by Yûji Shimomura
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ben Hiura, Chuck Johnson, Honoka Asada, Tak Sakaguchi, Yôko FujitaDirector: Yûji Shimomura
Brand: Media Blasters
Writer: Yûji Shimomura
Producer: Kana Takeuchi
Producer: Kumi Kobata
Producer: Yoko Hayama
Producer: Yoshinori Chiba
Writer: Junya Kato
Writer: Seiji Chiba
Writer: Shinichi Fujita
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-27
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Tokyo Shock
Movie Reviews of Death Trance
Movie Review: This divisive film drips style!
Summary: 5 Stars
Even in my house, this film gets mixed reviews. My husband found it mediocre. He walked away with a puzzled sense of incompletion, while I'm left wanting to chew over metaphor, color, design. I loved it.
Maybe it has to do with what you're looking for. Great acting? Not really. Tak Sakaguchi is gorgeous, but seems fairly stiff. He doesn't stray far here from his role in _Versus_ (which I also loved.) Great plot? Not if what you're looking for is a traditional, linear story. Familiarity with Japanese mysticism could help; the writers presume a certain knowledge base that many western viewers will lack. But more than that, they allow viewers to interpret elements on their own...or not. My husband saw meaningless distraction in the emphasis on hunger; I saw metaphor, pointing to an insatiable appetite of a different kind. The cyclical plot made sense to me in the context of reincarnation/rebirth.
I think the plot as given is a template; you can use the little details dropped through the story to build something grander for yourself...but you don't have to, because arguably the story isn't the point. This film is much about style over substance. It's all sensation--sounds, visuals, movement. Sometimes it's heavy-handed and clumsy, yes, but on balance it does an excellent job. It's like an early Mark Romanek video, "Closer" with martial arts. Set design, color and costume are at least as important as dialogue. Composition is striking, but organic. Why are these women dressed like that? Who cares? In the universe of _Death Trance_, they belong!
A lot of different influences seem to have gone into this production. The director and star share a deep love of traditional Japanese set pieces, the "jidaigeki" epitomized to Western audiences in the work of Akira Kurosawa. (Trivia: George Lucas cobbled the word "jedi" out of the name of this genre). In the "making of" documentary on the disc, both discuss their desire to update the form with the inclusion of modern (but highly stylized) weaponry. George Miller's _Mad Max_ seems to have played some part in informing the aesthetic of the film, as far as some of the costuming at least. Even the "spaghetti western" makes an appearance, with Grave a post-apocalyptic Django hauling his coffin of death behind him.
I found the movie tremendous fun. For the most part bloodlessly violent (ENDLESSLY violent), it was an adrenaline release with just enough suggestion of more to set fire to my imagination. I recognize it won't suit all tastes (didn't suit the husband's), but I will certainly be recommending it to my friends. And watching it with them, when I can.
Summary of Death Trance
In an unknown place and unknown time, a lone Samurai known only as Grave (Tak Sakaguchi) thirsts for the ultimate battle. Grave has stolen a mysterious coffin from the holy Tougan Temple ? a coffin said to contain a great power. Trapped inside the sealed coffin is the Goddess of Destruction, confined and held at bay from laying waste to this world. Grave fearlessly travels the land dragging the coffin behind him, aware that what lies within is what he seeks ? if only he can open it. Unknown to Grave, a young temple monk has embarked on a quest to return this relic to its proper home before anyone can unleash an unstoppable cataclysm. So begins the race to claim the coffin...but who will get there first?Similar DVD Movies
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