Tsukamoto Shinya's "A Snake Of June"

[xdavidx]

i'm gonna watch it soon.

did you like it?

[Midori no Saru]

Tell us how you get on with this, xdavidx. It sounds a fascinating film, if a bit etchi.

[xdavidx]

and this one was pretty different from all the other movies i've seen lately. i dont know if it one can be qualified as extreme (but maybe because of the sexual content, and well, shinya tsukamoto directed it and appeared on it). beautifully shot in black and white, the main theme of the movie is about a dysfunctional marriage. really bizarre movie, i recommend it but not everyone will find it interesting.

[ghevans]

i have the 2 disc set from japan pre-ordered for this baby (due out in a week or so) very much looking forward to this as i havent been disappointed by Tsukamoto so far (even found Hiruko to be a great bit of mindless entertainment) Tetsuo blew my mind, Tokyo Fist was superb, Bullet Ballet was a real understated masterpiece of emasculation and Gemini was just stunning cinema.

suffice to say im looking forward to this one.

[Mandi Apple]

Please can we keep discussion to A Snake of June here? There are already threads for Shinya Tsukamoto and many others of his movies on the boards.

[ghevans]

no worries mandi - i was just saying that id ordered it and was looking forward to it based on his back catalogue wasn't meaning to divert the topic.

i'm really looking forward to seeing this movie, it's shot in monochrome of black and blue and from the trailers the cinematography looks stunning with some typical Tsukamoto surrealism.

the 2 disc set comes with english subs for the film and a 2nd disc of extras (no doubt unsubbed) but until Tartan release more details on their upcoming January release of this i'll stick with the r2jp dvd.

i wanted to see this ever since it was announced that it would feature as part of the UGC/Tartan Asia Extreme season - however, Cardiff didnt seem to count for them so i've been waiting ever since, hope its worthwhile.

[Vertigo]

Started watching the Tartan DVD release of this earlier.

What's with the 4:3 screen ratio? I went to see this last year at the UGC in Glasgow and it wasn't, if my memory serves, anything like a 4:3 aspect ratio. Unless the cinema was projecting a matted print or something. Normally I don't moan about these things because if that's the way the director intended it to be seen then so be it. I just don't like to think I've been cheated out of a nice widescreen print if one was, as I suspect, available. I see the Japanese release is 4:3 too. Weird.

[ghevans]

yes the jp release is 4:3 too, i think that is the original aspect ratio seems odd that the cinema print would be different.

great movie though !

[Vertigo]

I suspect the DVD's are open-matte transfers.

[ghevans]

im gonna smile, nod and agree cos i have no idea what that means

was the original Tetsuo 4:3 also ?

were there any extras worthy of note on the tartan release?

[Alex Apple]

When FilmFour screened Tetsuo, it was broadcast in 4:3. Bearing in mind this was the days when they actually showed decent films, and seemed to care about them, I'd suspect that was the original ratio.

[Vertigo]

Originally Posted by ghevans

im gonna smile, nod and agree cos i have no idea what that means

Vertigo's School of Film-Making volume 3. (and just a little OT)

In some instances, normally when a movie is projected at a 1.85.1 ratio (or shown on DVD in the 16:9 aspect ratio) the visible screen information is created artificially by covering the top and bottom parts of the image. The result is an actual widescreen release and is normally the framing that the director intended. Sometimes, when these movies are released to television or made available on home video or DVD, they are presented as an Open Matte transfer - the matting (or masking) of the top and bottom portions of the screen is removed, essentially making the previously covered areas visible (and creating a 4:3 screen ratio). This is why, when some movies are broadcast on TV, the boom-mike shows in the shot or cabling and dolly track is visible on the floor - it's not a sign of bad film-making, it's a sign that the movie's aspect ratio has been re-framed from the director's original intended presentation.

There are also instances of 'reformatting' from a 2:35.1 aspect ratio - when both Titanic and LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring were released to home video, the 'Fullscreen' releases were not 'Pan and Scan' versions but open-matte transfers. Both had to have extensive digital work applied to the top and bottom section of the picture to remove extraneous picture information, or in the case of Titanic, to add some information that was not present in the original version (mostly augmented effects work).

were there any extras worthy of note on the tartan release?

The usual Tartan Treats - theatrical trailer, film notes and a batch of other 'Asia Extreme' trailers.

[ghevans]

excellently explained - cheers for the info.

i think i'll stick to my jp 2 discer - extras arent subbed but they're there (note to self - learn japanese....quicker)

[Vertigo]

Originally Posted by ghevans

excellently explained - cheers for the info.

No probs.

[Yani]

Bizarre indeed. It wasn't what I thought it was, and this movie might be considered as extreme cinema (due to the sexual content). I guess this wasn't my kinda movie, and it didn't have much effect in me. Movie is shot in black & white and looks great in that aspect. Directing is well done too, and director creates interesting atmosphere at times. In the end, I was very neutral about the movie.

This was the first movie I saw from Tsukamoto.

[mkp]

A Snake of June, written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto is one sensual movie. One of the notable aspects of the movie is, it being a monochrome cinematography. It fully engages your mind owing totally to the mere fact that it is good to look at. As the movie is filled with black and white photography tinged with blue, all the Shots are alluring. Though I wouldn’t suggest it as a must watch, for a low budget movie it does seem pretty neat.

[Midori no Saru]

I bought it a while ago, and I recommend it very highly - especially if you happen to be a photographer.

It's a pink film so it's a bit etchi and weird, but it's also beautiful, and just a bit scary at times, with some interesting themes.

[tylerrobbins]

This was one of my first reviews, and I will defend it to the death. I'm not sure what it's meant to "mean" entirely but the claustrophobia of the city in the midst of the rain storm is so palpable and eerie. And I love love love the use of architecture and lines in a lot of shots.

[evilmingdoctor]

hmmmm - it's an odd one - artisitically the film definitely holds merit and there is a certain atmosphere to the film - i just didn't particularly enjoy it - moreover to say i've enjoyed other shinya tsukamoto films more (bullet ballet, nightmare detective etc.)