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The Red Spectacles: Mamoru Oshii's Live Action Debut Coming in 4K

Legendary former manga creator and director Mamoru Oshii's little-seen live-action debut, The Red Spectacles, is coming to the Metrograph in NYC.

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Article Summary

  • The Red Spectacles, Mamoru Oshii's 1987 live action debut, returns in a newly restored 4K version at Metrograph NYC
  • This surreal neo-noir blends film noir, political allegory, and existential mystery in a dystopian Tokyo
  • The 4K restoration was crowdfunded and overseen by Oshii, featuring remastered visuals and a new 5.1 mix
  • Screening as part of Mamoru Oshii Restored: Origins and Inspirations, alongside seminal influences

After premiering on Friday, November 21st, The Red Spectacles, an under-seen gem in master filmmaker Mamoru Oshii's revered career, ripe for reappraisal, opens for an exclusive weekend New York theatrical engagement at Metrograph Theater in Downtown New York City.  A philosophical blend of film noir, political allegory, and existential mystery, The Red Spectacles is a visually striking black comedy that meditates on justice, memory, and the cost of loyalty.

The Red Spectacles: Mamoru Oshii's Live Action Debut Coming in 4K
Poster art: Bandai

Though Oshii is more widely known as one of the titans of Japanese anime, with classics like Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999) to his name, his excursions into live-action filmmaking are no less distinguished, as is attested to by this new restoration of his first non-animated feature The Red Spectacles, the second entry in his multimedia "Kerberos Saga" franchise. Three years after the disbanding of his unit, former Panzer Cop Koichi Todome (Shigeru Chiba) returns to Tokyo to reconnect with his old colleagues only to find the city in an advanced state of dystopian desuetude, a haven for swindlers, hired guns, femme fatales, and other unusual and unsavory characters. A surrealism-tinged neo-noir with a decidedly philosophical and literary bent, and appointment viewing for both Oshii completionists and curious newcomers. The new 4K restored version of The Red Spectacles (1987) was produced in 2024 through crowdfunding from 2,953 supporters. The image was scanned in 4K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative, which was then digitally restored and color graded. The original monaural soundtrack was digitized from the 16mm magnetic track at Imagica Entertainment Media Services Inc. The new 5.1 mix was remixed at Sony PCL Inc. Both the image and sound restorations were completed under the supervision and approval of director Mamoru Oshii.

This weekend engagement screens as part of Mamoru Oshii Restored: Origins and Inspirations, a six-film program that includes two new restorations—Angel's Egg and The Red Spectacles—alongside Mamoru Oshii's carte blanche selection of films that shaped his singular vision. Running from November 15 to January 1, titles include Alphaville, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Branded to Kill, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands, and Stalker.

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Adi TantimedhAbout Adi Tantimedh

Adi Tantimedh is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote radio plays for the BBC Radio, “JLA: Age of Wonder” for DC Comics, “Blackshirt” for Moonstone Books, and “La Muse” for Big Head Press. Most recently, he wrote “Her Nightly Embrace”, “Her Beautiful Monster” and “Her Fugitive Heart”, a trilogy of novels featuring a British-Indian private eye published by Atria Books, a division Simon & Schuster.
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