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| Onmyoji [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) | ![Onmyoji [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AY3SMK6VL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Yojiro Takita
Actors: Mansai Nomura, Hideaki Ito, Hiroyuki Sanada, Eriko Imai, Yui Natsukawa
Studio: Geneon
Category: DVD
Buy Used: £15.67
New (4) from £17.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 122204
Format: Animated, Colour, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Running Time: 112 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: PLDD12043D
UPC: 013023204393
EAN: 0013023204393
ASIN: B00009RXI7
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: DVD Allow 6-14 work days for delivery. Ships from NEW YORK-USA by AIR-MAIL. No VAT or extra charges. Excellent Customer Service. Email confirmation of order * LABEL: GENEON [PIONEER] !u!
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| Customer Reviews:
He's not even human June 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Abe no Seimei is sort of the Japanese equivalent of Merlin. He lived a thousand years ago, was an onmyodo pecialist, and was supposed to have been the offspring of a man and a fox demon.
So it's not exactly surprising that "Onmyoji" is soaked in fantasy, with shapeshifting butterflies, ghosts, immortals, evil sorcerers, demons and armies of ogres. It has some distinctly hokey special effects (is that a feathered Muppet?), but the complex plot is kept afloat by solid direction, and some truly brilliant acting from Mansai Nomura as the foxy lead character.
Heian-era Japan is infested with demons, monsters and spirits, which are regularly dealt with by the Onmyoji (sort of astrologer/sorcerers). The greatest of these: Abe no Seimei, whose magical heritage gives him a distinct advantage over his fellows.
Hiromasa no Minomoto (Hideaki Ito) is initially nervous when he's sent to fetch Seimei, for some friend who is being haunted by an angry ghost. But the earnest young nobleman is impressed by Seimei's power, insight and deft handling of delicate cases. So when the emperor's newborn son is suddenly possessed by a demon, Hiromasa immediately comes to Seimei for help.
With the help of a strange immortal woman, Seimei saves the day. But his archrival Doman (Hiroyuki Sanada) is still working behind the scenes, using spells and demons in assassination attempts, and even trying to have Seimei arrested for treason. And despite his immense power, even Seimei does not suspect the malignant magics that Doman is going to use....
Though it has a lot of the trappings of cliche fantasy -- evil sorcerers, vengeful ghosts, a plucky young hero -- "Onmyoji" is a pretty unique experience. It's soaked in Japanese folklore, costumes and history, but at its heart it's really just about the growing friendship between two very different men, and the ways that Hiromasa's innocent outlook affects the jaded, languid Seimei.
Obviously for that, you need some excellent actors, and Nomura gives a mischievous, lazily sly performance as the vaguely vulpine Seimei. But he can handle more dramatic scenes, such as Seimei's childlike panic when Hiromasa is shot. And Ito plays the naive Hiromasa as a young, romantic, idealistic nobleman (also loosely based on a real person), whose bright personality is enough to endear him to Seimei. By the climax, their odd friendship feels real and solid.
And director Yojiro Takita does an excellent job bringing this slow-moving storyline to life. Juggling fantasy, horror, romance and political intrigue at a slow pace isn't an easy task, but Takita manages it quite well. He unwinds the plot slowly, peppering it with lots of supernatural plots and nasty little ghoulies and ghosties. But about three-thirds of the way through the plot, things suddenly pick up -- and we're in for battle scenes and magical duels.
And Takita has an eye for bringing medieval Japan alive -- he weaves in scenes of pure beauty (Hiromasa playing his flute for his melancholy "lady of the moon") in with the horror. And that horror is pretty diverse -- we have everything from a lady ghost cuddling her ex to the exorcism of a veiny many-headed scarlet demon in Seimei's garden. Even odder, all this is handled in a matter-of-fact way, as if there's nothing too unusual about hauntings and demons.
Problems? Well, some of the special effects are terribly hokey, such as Doman's feathered familiar (hello, animatronics!) and the corkscrew ogre fangs. When one character started chewing on Hiromasa with those funky teeth, it was hard not to laugh.
"Onmyoji" suffers from some distinctly silly special effects, but the bulk of this solid fantasy movie is all good -- lots of Japanese folklore, a touch of horror, and a very foxy anti-hero.
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