This 1994 production, also known as simply Rampo follows the story of author Edogawa Rampo (say it out loud a few times to find out which influential American horror author he took his name from!), whose latest novel has run into a few snags. The Japanese government has declared that his latest work of fiction (which essentially is the account of a woman who murders her husband in cold blood) is not only disturbing, but that it might actually cause harm to the general public if it were actually released.

Rampo set about to burn his rough drafts of his book so that it will cause no harm, and he succeeds. Curious events begin to unfold though, when his publisher, who also published a local newspaper, shows him a series of article clippings that essentially reenact the events that unfolded in his now destroyed novel.

What happens from here on out borders on the surreal as it deftly blends reality and fiction into on seamless film, but in a nutshell, he has to write a conclusion for the story so that the murderous woman, who he may or may not be falling in love with, can get on with her life.

But there's sooooo much more to the movie than that brief plot description can even begin to infer!

The film was initially directed by Rintaro Mayuzumi but the producer, Kazuyoshi Okuyama was unhappy with the end results of what Mayuzumi had created and set about on his own to re-shoot roughly an hours worth of the movie. The end result is essentially a film that was sent into two different directions by two very different directors but one that somehow manages to not only come out on top, but do so in an elegant and sophisticated manner.

Now, not knowing who is responsible for what footage makes it difficult to praise/blame either director but what I will state factually is that this film is exceptionally beautiful. I don't mean beautiful in the traditional sense. The normal boundaries of the typical Hollywood production do not apply here. But beautiful in the way that only a truly unique work of art can be. This film not only requires repeat viewings, it demands it. There is so much detail layered into it, directly or indirectly through the result of the two different directors involved in the project, that it would seem to me impossible to take it all in in one sitting.

Part drama, part thriller, part romance and all cinema in its purest form, The Mystery Of Rampo is elegant and sophisticated with a clever eye for costumes, settings and color and a sense of composition that would do any artist proud. Throw in a few scenes of intense eroticism and you've got yourself a winner of a film that far too few people are aware of. Yes, it is distinctly Japanese in flavor and a rough idea of who/what Rampo was is a nice primer for setting the film up, but even going in blind there is simply so much to take in both in terms of style and narrative that it would truly be a crime if this film, upon it's DVD release, did not find a larger audience.

MGM has give The Mystery Of Rampo a wonderful 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that makes full use of the movie's rich color scheme and breathtaking visuals. The blacks pixilated just ever so slightly resulting in some mild compression artifacts in a few of the darker scenes, and there is some extremely minor print damage present in a couple of scenes, but for the most part, this movie looks great and MGM has done an admirable job on this transfer.

The film is presented in its native Japanese language (as it should be!) in a lively Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound mix with removable English subtitles. The soundscape on this DVD is rich and vibrant and truly brings the movie to live. Low end response from the subwoofer is dead on and never overbearing while the dialogue in the film, which is mainly restricted to the front channels, is crystal clear without any evidence of hiss or distortion to note. There is some minor grain in a few scenes (more noticeable when it's darker) but for the most part, this movie looks very nice.

Sadly, the only extra on the DVD is the original theatrical trailer. It's not even the Japanese trailer, either. It's the American one, featuring some typically trite narration that cheapens the movie and makes it sound rather ridiculous.

The Mystery Of Rampo is an absolutely beautiful film the likes of which I haven't seen in quite some time. The Composition are drop dead gorgeous, the story is rich and engaging, and the character? Well, by the end of the movie you actually care about them. This is what cinema is all about. It was a huge hit in Japan and remains relatively unknown in North America. That should change. See this movie. Highly recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.