'Warm Water Under a Red Bridge' DVD REVIEW

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

( aka 'Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu' )

directed by Shohei Imamura
Japan 2001

"Warm Water Under a Red Bridge" has modern automobiles and supermarkets, telephones and pepper cheese imported from Europe, but it resonates like an ancient Japanese myth. Imagine a traveler in search of treasure, who finds a woman with special needs that only he can fulfill, and who repays him by ending his misery.

Shohei Imamura, one of the greatest Japanese directors, tells this story with the energy and delight of a fairy tale, but we in the West are not likely to see it so naively, because unlike the Japanese, we are touchy on the subject of bodily fluids. In Japan, natural functions are accepted calmly as a part of life, and there is a celebrated children's book about farts. No doubt a Japanese audience would view "Warm Water" entirely differently than a North American one--because, you see, the heroine has a condition that causes water to build up in her body, and it can be released only by sexual intercourse."

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review HERE

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DVD Review: DeltaMac Region 0 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		Order from:
Distribution	DeltaMac Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:59:44
Video	1.70:1 Widescreen non-anamorphic Video Sourced! Average Bitrate: 7.49 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Bitrate: DeltaMac NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	White removable English subtitles (with black backing) are easy to read and well timed. Also included are traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles.
Features	Region Code: ALL Aspect Ratio: 1.70:1 non- anamorphic VIDEO Sourced Audio: Japanese, DD 2.0 Company: DeltaMac Running Time: 1:59:44 Special Features: Cast & Crew Info Cast and Crew Information Trailer (2:00) Chapters (12)
Comments:	Letterboxed presentation at 1.70: 1 features accurately-rendered colors and skin tones. The print appears to be clean although video as opposed to film sourced. Trailer, plus director & cast information (director's note about his cinematic vision for the film, incomplete biographies and film listings for Imamura and the two lead actors). The film premiered at the 2001 Cannes. After playing in a few festivals, it opened in Japan in November 2001. It played in Hong Kong cinemas earlier in 2002, and had a limited release in the United States in May, 2002. The DeltaMac DVD has a slight greenish tinge to it, otherwise the sound and picture are adequate with minor edge enhancement. It occasionally is somewhat dark and there are no extras to speak of. out of
	DVD Release Date: Summer, 2002 Transparent Snap Case Chapters: 12