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Over the past
few months I've been writing about the sequential
releases of Showtime's "Masters of
Horror" series. As opposed to releasing
them in a full season set, Anchor Bay instead
has been putting them out as individual
DVDs. Normally I would balk at this, but
the overall quality of each release in terms
of the transfer and the treasure trove of
extra features justify their position. If
they were to release it as a set, the price
would have to be very high to cover the
costs of putting them together.
Sold separately this way, each release gives
the consumer his money's worth, and you
have the ability to pick and choose the
ones you want, after all, it is an anthology
series so none of the episodes are related
to the other. In essence, they are mini-movies
directed by the 'best of the best' from
the world of horror directors.
We're getting pretty close to the last of
the episodes from the first season; with
only three more to go after this month's
second release.
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And boys and girls, this one is a doozy. Directed
by Takashi Miike, "Imprint" wins the
contest for sickest and most depraved of the series
so far. Miike is very well known for his movies
having gratuitous scenes of torture, doesn’t
hold back in this visceral little tale. As a matter
of fact, "Imprint" was deemed so disturbing
as to warrant its being banned from airing on
Showtime. I couldn't imagine anything being so
bad that even Showtime ('No Limits' indeed) wouldn’t
air it. But such was the case here.
So instead of excising all of the offensive scenes,
producer Mick Garris opted to hold back and wait
to release the episode as part of the series'
DVD releases. I happened to get a copy a couple
of weeks ago and sat down to watch it for myself,
prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.
What I got was a little bit of both.
"Imprint" is a period piece that takes
place that revolves around an American (Billy
Drago) who is traveling through Japan in search
of his lost love (Michie Ito). He eventually stumbles
upon an old bordello where he finds more than
he could ever have bargained for. A disfigured
prostitute (Youki Kudoh) weaves a sordid tale
of his lost love's fate, which we witness in grotesquely,
yet beautifully filmed flashbacks. There is a
question in regards to how much of what is true
and how much is made up, but to the viewer it
makes little difference in terms of what he sees.
Even the most horrific sequence might be a falsehood,
but we still get to see it in living… color.
I didn’t think it was possible to come up
with a more disturbing tale than a couple of the
episodes that have already been released, but
there is no doubt that Miike was able to not only
hit rock bottom in the arena unsettling situations…
but drill a little further down. "Imprint"
is not for the squeamish… and in many ways
I'm not sure IS for the squeamish. What's unfortunate
is that the story ends up being overshadowed by
the need to make the viewer cringe. This is the
episode's weakness. The story has its moments
where the plot shines, but it is so mired in imagery
as to make you forget why you're seeing it and
focus more on what you’re seeing. In the
end, it’s not a bad episode, but it was
somewhat unfulfilling plot wise.
As is the case in all DVD releases from Anchor
Bay and especially those from the "Masters
of Horror" series, "Imprint" is
chock full of extra features. There is a making
of featurettes that offers interviews with Miike
and author Shimoko Iwai, whose original novel
was the basis for this story. The interviews are
sub-titled, and the pair share quite a bit of
interesting insight into the project and why they
chose to do tings in a certain way. There are
also interviews with Mick Garris and Billy Drago,
as well as comments from Nadia Vanesse, the dialogue
coach for the production. You'll also find a separate
interview with Miike where he goes into great
detail about the nature of Japanese horror and
how it is reflected in this project. Additionally,
there is a look at the special effects that were
created (which is a must watch). You'll also DVD-Rom
content that includes the script and a screensaver.
I was interested to also see a commentary included
on the episode, but not by anyone directly involved
in the project. Chris D.(American Cinematheque
Programmer) and Wyatt Doyle (NewTexture.com) kick
back and watch the episode along with you, throwing
in their two cents about the production, often
making some very good points and catching things
we as viewers might not notice.
The "Masters of Horror" series has been
offering noted directors an opportunity to do
what they do best, and even though there is a
bit of a rollercoaster in quality from film to
film, there has yet to be a real disappointment
in the bunch.
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Starring: Youki Kudoh, Michie, Toshie Negishi,
Billy Drago
Extras: Interview with Takashi Miike, The Make-up
and Special Effects of Imprint, The Making of
Imprint, Audio Commentary by Authors American
Cinematheque Programmer Chris D. and Writer Wyatt
Doyle of NewTexture.com, Trailers, Still Gallery,
Director Bio, DVD-Rom - Screenplay and Screen
Saver
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound,
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 9/26/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
We'll give Masters of Horror: Imprint a B-.
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