Glossy Color Photo Collection for Fans of Hana to Hebi
The following is a post I made at the Kinbaku group at FetLife. I'm reprinting it here on the assumption that not everyone who follows this blog is also a member of the Kinbaku group and vice versa.
Thirty years after the original Flower and Snake film starring Tani Naomi was released, director Ishii Takashi cast the beautiful Sugimoto Aya in a new version of the classic, employing the same name while exercising some artistic license with the plot. The original movie was based on a novel by Oniroku Dan. The original director was Konuma Masaru.
I quite liked the 2004 version. Wasn't as impressed with the follow-up 2005 version which saw Ms. Sugimoto travel to Paris.
I have read that the 2004 movie was a hit and seems destined to achieve a certain cult status all its own. After the movie came out, the producers released a glossy collection of color photographs depicting the juiciest SM scenes from the film.
I finally broke down and bought this collection. This is not a photo book. The pictures are loose, printed on photographic paper and come well-protected in a thick cardboard container.
I'm not sure how many pictures there are in all (haven't counted them), but there are a lot. Brand new, this collection costs 4700 yen and I would say it's money well spent for the serious aficionado/collector.
One thing: the photo quality is, I would say, a bit less than if they had been shot with a high quality stills camera. It appears these photos have been taken directly from the print of the movie. The film was shot in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on 35mm movie film. The film passes in front of the lens at (probably) 24 frames a second.
Watching the pictures fly by on the movie screen yields a satisfactory experience. Printing photos from the film negative is somewhat less satisfactory. Was there no dedicated photographer on set? I'm not sure how these things work.
But that's a minor quibble. I still love the photos.
Undoubtedly, many of you have come across some of these photos on the internet. But this collection is the whole enchilada and a worthy companion to the DVD of the film itself.
Now I'm just wondering if they're ever going to put it out on Blu-ray.
KabukiJoe
Thirty years after the original Flower and Snake film starring Tani Naomi was released, director Ishii Takashi cast the beautiful Sugimoto Aya in a new version of the classic, employing the same name while exercising some artistic license with the plot. The original movie was based on a novel by Oniroku Dan. The original director was Konuma Masaru.
I quite liked the 2004 version. Wasn't as impressed with the follow-up 2005 version which saw Ms. Sugimoto travel to Paris.I have read that the 2004 movie was a hit and seems destined to achieve a certain cult status all its own. After the movie came out, the producers released a glossy collection of color photographs depicting the juiciest SM scenes from the film.
I finally broke down and bought this collection. This is not a photo book. The pictures are loose, printed on photographic paper and come well-protected in a thick cardboard container.
I'm not sure how many pictures there are in all (haven't counted them), but there are a lot. Brand new, this collection costs 4700 yen and I would say it's money well spent for the serious aficionado/collector.
One thing: the photo quality is, I would say, a bit less than if they had been shot with a high quality stills camera. It appears these photos have been taken directly from the print of the movie. The film was shot in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on 35mm movie film. The film passes in front of the lens at (probably) 24 frames a second.
Watching the pictures fly by on the movie screen yields a satisfactory experience. Printing photos from the film negative is somewhat less satisfactory. Was there no dedicated photographer on set? I'm not sure how these things work.
But that's a minor quibble. I still love the photos.
Undoubtedly, many of you have come across some of these photos on the internet. But this collection is the whole enchilada and a worthy companion to the DVD of the film itself.
Now I'm just wondering if they're ever going to put it out on Blu-ray.
KabukiJoe
