DOGRA MAGRA (1988)
Label: Radiance Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 109 Minutes 10 Seconds
Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Toshio Matsumoto
Cast: Yoji Matsuda, Shijaku Katsura, Hideo Murota
The surreal Gothic psychological mystery film Dogra Magra (1988) is an adaptation of the novel by Kyusaku Yumeno, and the final feature film by director Toshio Matsumoto (Funeral Parade of Roses). In it a young man named Kure Ichiro (Yoji Matsuda) wakes up in a a locked room inside of an asylum with no memory of his past. Two doctors, Prof. Wakabayashi (Hideo Murota) and Prof. Masaki (Shijaku Katsura), attempt to help their patient recall his past in which he is told he killed his bride on their wedding day, each using different methods to help him reclaim his lost memories.
In this labyrinthine story it's somewhat difficult to know exactly what the truth of his past is as he's an unreliable narrator, and the film is quite content to blend reality and fantasy, blurring the lines of the real and the imagined with a dreamy sense of dread, buried in layers of intoxicating cinematography and dazzling imagery. It's a puzzle box of a film for sure, and one that I think that can and should be interpreted in different ways. While I found myself lost inside the story a few times I was only to happy to let it wash over me with it's blend of psychological puzzlement and painterly Gothic imagery. The Gothic period environs looks wonderful, bursting with color and symbolism, an abundance of gorgeous lighting composition filling every frame, with a fragmentary and fluid timeline that seems to slip back and forth without warning.
As memories start to come forward the young man is left to deal with a macabre family history and the implications of his own murderous actions, but the fragmentary nature of the narrative, and the protagonist's own unreliable mental state, make this puzzler, well, quite puzzling, so much so that I think I shall need to revisit it again, happily so, after a period of digestion, to get the full appreciation of it's beautifully dark mysteries.
Audio/Video: Dogra Magra (1988) makes it's UK and North American debut on Blu-ray from Radiance Films in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, advertised as a new HD digital transfer supervised by director of photography Tatsuo Suzuki and producer Shuji Shibata. The film maintains a natural thin layer of grain throughout, detail and textures look terrific, and the often quite striking colors are well-saturated. Black levels impress, as do the depth and clarity of the image. Audio comes by way of Japanese PSCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles.
Extras include an archival Audio commentary by director Toshio Matsumoto (2003), as well as a 21-min archival
Interview with Toshio Matsumoto (2003). New is the 13-min Dogra Magra Through the Eyes of Tatsuo Suzuki - A visual essay by programmer and curator Julian Ross (2024); the 16-min Instructions on Ahodara Sutra (a popular Japanese chant delivered by Dr. Masaki in the film) by legendary street performer Hiroshi Sakano; and the 2-min Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring both original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow. We also get Radiance's signature Removable OBI Strip which leaves packaging free of certificates and markings if you so wish. With this initial Limited Edition (of 3000) pressing we also get a 52-Page Illustrated Booklet featuring new writing by Hirofumi Sakamoto, president of the Postwar Japan Moving Image Archive and author Jasper Sharp on screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya, plus an interview with producer Shuji Shibata, and Matsumoto's director's statement, as well as notes about the cast, crew, transfer, and release credits.
Special Features:
- High-Definition digital transfer supervised by director of photography Tatsuo Suzuki and producer Shuji Shibata
- Audio commentary by director Toshio Matsumoto (2003
- Interview with Toshio Matsumoto (2003) (21:23)
- Dogra Magra Through the Eyes of Tatsuo Suzuki - A visual essay by programmer and curator Julian Ross (2024) (13:26)
- Instructions on Ahodara Sutra (a popular Japanese chant delivered by Dr. Masaki in the film) by legendary street performer Hiroshi Sakano
- Trailer (2:03)
Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray:
