Product Description In this ravishing film of mystical beauty, master animator Kihachiro Kawamoto s tour de force adventure tale tells the story of a young noblewoman in 8th-century Japan who leaves her home to follow the apparition of an executed prince. THE BOOK OF THE DEAD takes place as Buddhism is being introduced to Japan from China. Iratsume, a woman of noble descent, becomes obsessed with this mysterious new religion. One night, in a rapturous trance, she sees a luminous vision that she believes to be the Buddha, compelling her to leave home and journey to a sacred temple. Once there, she sees Otsu, a young prince who was executed 50 years earlier. While Iratsume mistakes the prince s spirit for the incarnation of the great Buddha, the ghost mistakes Iratsume for the last woman he saw at the moment of his death. As an act of great devotion, she decides to make a giant shroud for the prince to heal his soul, after which he begins to haunt the young woman and those around her. The pair embark on an impassioned battle of wills, one longing for the material world, the other striving for the spiritual. This strange story of otherworldly romance is the work of stop-motion animator and puppet-maker Kihachiro Kawamoto, a former student of the master Czech animator Jiri Trnka. Already a legend in his own right, with The Book of the Dead he has created an intricately detailed magnum opus, a summation of the themes explored in all of his work: the transience of existence, the ambiguity of human behavior, and the search for perfection and beauty in an imperfect world. One final note for animation buffs: The film also features work by the acclaimed Russian animator and director Yuriy Norshteyn, who was involved in The Book of the Dead as a guest animator. .com Based on a story by early 20th century writer Shinobu Origuchi, The Book of the Dead (2005) suggests summary of puppet animator Kihachiro Kawamoto's previous work. The learned and beautiful Lady Iratsume of the aristocratic Fujiwara clan receives a vision of a deity when she contemplates Mt. Futakami. Leaving her mansion for a temple at the base of the mountain, she learns that her vision is a manifestation of Prince Otsu, who was treacherously murdered decades earlier to prevent his accession as Emperor. Lady Iratsume weaves a miraculous garment to clothe the figure in her vision, using thread spun from lotus plants (a symbol of rebirth). The setting in 8th century Nara provides Kawamoto with a showcase for his delicately beautiful puppets and nuanced animation. The design of Lady Iratsume recalls the tragic heroine of House of Flame, but the animation of the figure is even more subtle: when Iratsume copies a Buddhist sutra or sews the enchanted fabric, every movement is rendered with consummate grace. Kawamoto's mastery of design and motion offers a model for all students of animation. His earlier work is available on The Exquisite Short Films of Kihachiro Kawamoto (1968-1979).(Unrated, suitable for ages 14 and older: mature themes) --Charles Solomon
W**D
Incredible stop animation
Everything about this stop animation works beautifully. The puppets themselves have more personality and individuality than some live actors I can name. Painted backgrounds, when they appear, are the best I've seen since some from the big studios of the 1930s. Models to go with the puppets are exquisitely made. A puppet works a model loom in one passage, and I'm convinced that the model actually works. Motion is some of the most elegant I've seen in stop animation - robes even flutter convincingly in the non-existent wind.The story itself does not reveal itself easily, at least not to a Western eye. It follows a high-born daughter of a major feudal house, religious retreat, and a boddhisattva transcending life and death. This arises not only from a wholly Japanese cultural and historical background, but from a long tradition of Buddhist thought and myth. As a result, I can only appreciate this as a cultural outsider. The ending, clearly a crescendo in the story, carries meanings that eluded me. I am not criticizing - far from it, I appreciate the depths of the story, even if I can't see all the way into them myself. That just adds a wonderful, foreign sense of mystery to the technical mastery of this amazing movie.-- wiredweird
C**N
The Book of the Dead
This movie is not what I was expecting. I still enjoyed it, I don't regret buying it, but I'm a bit more open minded about some things. It is not dark, or eerie, it is not like the Nightmare Before Christmas in it's animation, other than they use the same stop motion camera work to produce it. The review titled Buddhist Fable is misleading in that sense, but it's description is accurate on everything else. If there was a rating on this, it would be "G". It is acceptable for small children to watch.
G**Y
Superbly Crafted Buddhist Fable
Although we are all familiar with three dimensional animation, either in the stop-motion style of Tim Burton or the computer designed efforts ofPixar, Kihachiro Kawamoto's films are unique. He combines original puppets, Noh masks, traditional Japanese flute/ string melodies, natural sounds, lovely textiles, and Asian watercolor paintings to tell his stories. Altogether, it is a richly visual experience.This movie is the tale of Japanese noble lady who leaves her home in search of a spiritual vision whereas that same vision is in search of an earthly experience. To see this film is to be immersed in Japanese textures and rhythms. Lovely, sensual, and exotic...and highly recommended.
N**X
Brilliant
Brilliance
L**Y
Four Stars
difficult to watch attention required
S**R
A Treasure for Any Collection
I defy anyone to 'get it', but who cares? This is an exquisitely rendered work,
C**L
Amazing
I love this film ... It's such a beautiful work of art ........
B**E
disappointed about the narration
A wonderful production, I have no complain about that. However, my disappointment came from the narration part. The original one was done by late great Kyoko Kishida, who was the actress did "Woman in the Dune", and her mysterious voice should have been so suitable for this kind of story, yet it was replaced with an English narration by some unknown actress. I do not say that English narration is bad, but at least we should be given a choice for the original Japanese one or the English one. And strangely enough all other dialogues are subtitled and there is no choice to turn off that either. On the back of the case, it is said that the subtitle is optional, but it is not true. I do not know why Kino Video did this way. If they wanted to overdub this, they should have done the entire thing, and then given us a choice. This is so stupid and disapponting to me although I still recommend this beautiful animation.
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