Mamoru Oshii's "The Red Spectacles" (1987)
Added 2025-07-04 00:05:37 +0000 UTCYou might've heard of "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade". Did you know it's part of a multi-decade, multimedia alternate history series? Here for your edification we present a discussion on the first entry in Mamoru Oshii's (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell) "Kerberos Saga", a surprisingly surreal live-action psychodrama slapstick comedy neo-noir. None of us being experts in Japanese culture or political history, we attempt to untangle this highly allegorical film and it's themes regarding authoritarian politics, post-war Japan, self-delusion, fascist iconography and diarrhea-inducing noodles. It's a digressive, speculation heavy episode on a beautiful and strange film.
This is a spoiler-heavy episode so please consider watching the film before listening. A crowdfunded 4K restoration was produced for the Japanese market a few years ago, and copies can be found if you know where to look.
Comments
Watanabe did not direct the 3-D Blade Runner anime. He directed the Blade Runner short “Blackout” that was a prelude to the 2049 sequel.
Ali Motamed
2025-07-10 01:09:10 +0000 UTC
