The Mystery of Rampo (らんぽ) 28 years old

So provocative the censors banned it. So powerful it came true.

The Mystery of Rampo

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.

Credits

The Mystery of Rampo Cast

Name Character
Julie Dreyfus She was 29, now 58 years old
Yoshio Harada He was 55, 71 years old when he died
Hiroshi Abe He was 30, now 59 years old
Ittoku Kishibe He was 48, now 77 years old
Tetsuya Bessho He was 29, now 58 years old
Masahiro Motoki He was 29, now 58 years old as Kogoro Akechi
Kinji Fukasaku He was 64, 72 years old when he died
Teruyuki Kagawa He was 29, now 58 years old as Masashi Yokomizo
Kōji Wakamatsu He was 59, 76 years old when he died
Shirō Sano He was 40, now 69 years old
Naoto Takenaka He was 39, now 68 years old as Edogawa Rampo
Kenji Otsuki
Mikijiro Hira He was 61, 82 years old when he died
Michiko Hada She was 27, now 56 years old as Shizuko
Kirin Kiki She was 52, 75 years old when she died
Kazuya Kimura He was 25, now 54 years old
Genjiro Arato He was 48, now 77 years old
Tomokazu Miura He was 43, now 72 years old
Nekohachi Edoya He was 73, 80 years old when he died

The Mystery of Rampo Crew

Name Department
Rampo Edogawa as Original Story. He was 100 (70) years old when He died Writing
Kazuyoshi Okuyama as Director. He was 41 (now 70) years old Directing
Kazuyoshi Okuyama as Writer. He was 41 (now 70) years old Writing
Yasushi Sasakibara as Director of Photography. He was 45 (now 74) years old Camera
Akimasa Kawashima as Editor. He was 45 (now 74) years old Editing
Kyôko Heya as Production Design. Art
Akira Senju as Original Music Composer. He was 34 (now 63) years old Sound
The Mystery of Rampo poster
The Mystery of Rampo (28 years)

So provocative the censors banned it. So powerful it came true.

  • Release day: Saturday, May 27, 1995
  • Runtime: 100 minutes