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 Post subject: Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987) (Uncut) [LVD9201]
PostPosted: 18 Dec 2020, 12:19 
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Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987) (Uncut) [LVD9201]

I am fortunate enough to own a 'luxury' timepiece. Yes it is essentially a watch face, some hands and some other bits and bobs squashed in to a case and wrapped in a stainless steel bracelet. But it's the complication of the movement where the beauty (and the value) tends to reside. All of the different layers and components of a timepiece are fused to that one central beating heart. I found Twilight of the Cockroaches to be constructed in a similar fashion. One beating, complex heart but with many different components that convey different meanings in it's storytelling. It's quite brilliant.

I'm wondering where the heck to start with Twilight Of The Cockroaches. It's not some sort of twisted, esoteric bundle of Lynch spaghetti to unravel, decipher or just plain accept. Rather it's a complicated film on it's own merit, packed with so many different layers of meaning or messaging but not in a way that leaves you massaging the fallout of brainache. At least that's what I thought about this tandem of animation and live action packed in to 100 or so minutes.

That's not to say that the film is a glorious, resounding masterpiece. I don't think it is. I didn't find the animation to be particularly great. In some moments it looks fairly crude, but it does hold a certain charm and as the film progressed I got used to it. The live action world that the animated characters live in is the total opposite. The camera work is superb, getting right down to 'cockroach level' exposing huge angles and heights that, while microscopic for humans, showcase the massive challenges that a cockroach or a similar small insect has to face. The fusion of live action and animation is nothing new, but I do feel it works well here despite my personal preferences.

At it's core you have a tale of cockroaches living in an apartment with a human, Saito, who's wife has recently left him and taken their child with her. Saito slips in to depression and let's his standards of living slip. His home is a mess, food and litter everywhere. Perfect refuge for a cockroach. It's the cockroaches belief that humans are their friends, and that there is a mutual respect. One evening Saito meets a lady in an apartment across from his. Sparks fly and the two soon become a couple. Saito's new girlfriend Momoko cannot stand dirt or cockroaches and upon discovering Saito's friends in his apartment, quickly helps him to clean his home and change his ways.

That's the outer crux of the story, but Twilight of the Cockroaches is so much more than that. The film is presented entirely from the cockroach point of view, narrated by Naomi, a cockroach due to marry her long term boyfriend Ichiro. Presenting the film from this perspective adds a layer of meaning, one of several that emerge as the film progresses. From a simple story about a man living in an infested apartment we're suddenly dealing with insects views on relationships, marriage, childbirth, mass genocide, racism, spiritualism and so much more. It's overwhelming at times but also refreshing to see a feature film such as this tackling so much subject matter.

Downsides are ever present though. The presentation, while letterboxed and in surround sound is a bit of a mess. The picture is very soft and overly bright. I found myself reducing the brightness greatly and tweaking the contrast slightly to get a better picture (DVDO Edge). Sound is fairly flat too. You get a Dolby Surround track here but there isn't anything that really warrants such a track except perhaps some of the aerial sequences or the mass genocide. Stay tuned for after the end credits and you will find a 4:3 trailer for the US theatrical release. This is a real kick in the choskers because the trailer looks superb. Sharp, detailed, full-bodied like a fine tea or coffee. It's covered in dirt, scratches and is lopped off at both sides for the 4:3 aspect (note a cut off Dolby logo on the trailer to see what I mean) but you can't have everything can you? If only the negatives were available for this source and not the mess that is used for the main presentation. The main feature looks like a direct telecine, completely open framed too, recorded to SVHS and then reduced by about 3 or 4 generations before arriving on the source eventually used for this Laserdisc. There's no comparison between the main feature and the trailer, it's 100% night and day and that's a real shame. Even worse is that the original negatives are presumed lost, so for now this is the very best it's going to get for the foreseeable. That's not to rule out an HD release completely, look at the Palmer Rockey film coming out soon on Blu Ray. That was presumed lost forever until someone found it in a library in California in 2015. Perhaps Discotek or Failimation might do a Domesday capture of the Laserdisc and 'remaster it'? Maybe the US theatrical negatives will be found if the Japanese ones have been destroyed? We live in hope...

This is not a perfect film either. While the story is beautiful and the voice acting especially engaging, the whole thing does have a tendency to drag on a bit. It's all a bit stop start. When it's all over and you take stock of what you just watched, you can forgive the lulls because it really is a wonderful piece of work. Not a 4 or 5 star film, but certainly something original, engaging, meaningful and worthy of plaudits. It's a disc I am very pleased to have in my collection, I just wish it wasn't soo poo. I hope that one day I'll be able to upgrade to a high definition edition. Fingers crossed...
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 Post subject: Re: Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987) (Uncut) [LVD9201]
PostPosted: 18 Dec 2020, 15:55 
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teddanson wrote:
If only the negatives were available for this source and not the mess that is used for the main presentation. The main feature looks like a direct telecine, completely open framed too, recorded to SVHS and then reduced by about 3 or 4 generations before arriving on the source eventually used for this Laserdisc. .


While I feel the film is better than you have mentioned its still really poor quality, I think 2nd gen SVHS :lol:

Still its amazing that this is actually better than the DVD and the streaming that I've seen, those are horrible rips off of this
without any corrections of anykind.

The animation in this is odd since it doesn't fit into the regular anime style of mecha, cute girl etc its more of the live action/animation
combination.

I had this film over 12 years ago, picked it up in a lot and had never seen it, watched it and then decided I could sell it.
FF about 10 years and I've been thinking about it all the time so I had to buy it again and will always cherish this one in the top
of my film collection, probably top 150 titles.
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 Post subject: Re: Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987) (Uncut) [LVD9201]
PostPosted: 18 Dec 2020, 16:11 
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It's the kick in the balls delivered when you see the trailer tacked on at the end of the disc that hurts so much. It looks in a completely different league to the main presentation.

The trailer is The Show and makes the main feature look like the GM has sent it DFA to the AAA's! :sick:
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