DVD : Onmyoji (Special Edition)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0013023204393
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Geneon [Pioneer]
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Geneon [Pioneer]
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Running Time: 116 minutes
Sales Rank: 66916
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Studio: Geneon Entertainment Release Date: 08/12/2003 Run time: 176 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com:
A mystical tale set in Japan's Heian era (794-1185 A.D.), when demons and sorcery lent intrigue to the business of ruling the kingdom, Onmyoji was Japan's box office king in 2001. The emperor Mikado and his infant son are the targets of evil spells, and someone amidst the Onmyoji, the longtime supernatural guardians of the kingdom, is suspected of betrayal. A bumbling and somewhat cowardly court official named Minamoto no Hiromaki recruits the famed Japanese folk hero SeiMei, an easygoing yin-yang sorcery master, to help solve the mystery. The two develop a Holmes and Watson relationship while trying to thwart the conspirators. The movie fails to achieve much dramatic tension over a long two hours. With the exception of Mansai Nomura as SeiMei, the acting is exaggerated, as in bad theater. Some shoddy scene and sound editing leads to some clumsy transitions, and the special effects and fight scenes are of the made-for-TV quality. Still, with a lineup that includes Japanese pop idols Kyoko Koizumi and Eriko Imai and villains that cackle with such enthusiasm, Onmyoji nearly qualifies as a campy guilty pleasure. --Eugene Wei
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
Abe no Seimei is sort of the Japanese equivalent of Merlin. He lived a thousand years ago, was an onmyodo pecialist, and was supposed to have been the offspring of a man and a fox demon.
So it's not exactly surprising that "Onmyoji" is soaked in fantasy, with shapeshifting butterflies, ghosts, immortals, evil sorcerers, demons and armies of ogres. It has some distinctly hokey special effects (is that a feathered Muppet?), but the complex plot is kept afloat by solid direction, and some truly brilliant acting from Mansai Nomura as the foxy lead character.
Heian-era Japan is infested with demons, monsters and spirits, which are regularly dealt with by the Onmyoji (sort of astrologer/sorcerers). The greatest of these: Abe no Seimei, whose magical heritage gives him a distinct advantage over his fellows.
Hiromasa no Minomoto (Hideaki Ito) is initially nervous when he's sent to fetch Seimei, for some friend who is being haunted by an angry ghost. But the earnest young nobleman is impressed by Seimei's power, insight and deft handling of delicate cases. So when the emperor's newborn son is suddenly possessed by a demon, Hiromasa immediately comes to Seimei for help.
With the help of a strange immortal woman, Seimei saves the day. But his archrival Doman (Hiroyuki Sanada) is still working behind the scenes, using spells and demons in assassination attempts, and even trying to have Seimei arrested for treason. And despite his immense ... Read More
Rating:  -
Gave it away as a gift; the one who received it, said it was a good movie, good story line, and wonderfully done. I rated it according to her response, she wants to get one for a relative.
Rating: -
I am a HUGE fan of Japanese historical-period films, and I absolutely LOVE this movie.
I think it is so much better than the sequel, Onmyoji II, and do not understand why it received an inferior rating. This film has a touch of the fantasy seen in "Crouching Tiger", but this movie has a happy ending! (and is Japanese).
The cinematography is excellent, the costumes are phenomenal, the story line is heart-rending with multiple love stories intertwined, mixed with power struggles and the supernatural. What more could one ask for?
I love this film a little more each time I see it, and whole heartedly recommend it to anyone.
Rating: -
This is obviously not a movie for everyone. If you go into this movie expecting it to be like a western fantasy movie then you'll be disappointed.
As a number of other reviewers have pointed out. This movie is meant to be stylized, there are many references to traditional Japanese dramatic styles (including both Kyogen and Noh) particularly in the manner in which the characters act.
Translating classical genres into modern contexts such as the monster movie is always a bit fraught. On balance I liked what director Takita Yojiro did with this movie despite it's clunkiness for the modern viewer.
The stand out for me was the acting. Nomura Mansai was particularly good as Abe no Seimei. I thought his "foxy" persona was spot on. I also liked Ito Hideaki's flute-playing nobleman sidekick. The two of them have great rapport together.
For people interested in Japanese culture there are several other really interesting aspects to the movie (as pointed out to me by my colleague Alex Golub of Golublog and Savage Minds fame):
Firstly, the whole issue of where demons come from and how to destroy them. This revolves around the issue of social harmony. When harmony in relationships is upset through anger, envy, jealousy or whatever, the negative emotions create the demonic aspect of the person which then takes on a life of its own. Exorcising the demon primarily involves the restoration of harmonious relationships (and not ... Read More
Rating:  -
There's an evil prince and a good prince, aided and abetted by evil and good wizards. Butterflies turn into beautiful maidens. Beautiful maidens either live forever young (forget it - got to eat merman sushi to qualify), turn into delicate paper dolls, or, if the wizard is prankish, turn back into butterflies.
Our hero, Hiromasa, is a young, junior grade wizard, a wise man in waiting, an onmyoji in ONMYOJI. Spends most of his time playing flute solos in front of closed carriage of a mopishly beautiful, eternally youthful maiden. Falls in love with her, apparently by osmosis - how do you fall in love with a sigh machine, anyway? Hiromasa's boss is Seimei, a yin-yang master of the complex spells with a strange sense of humor who may, or may not, help the Mikado when his newborn son is threatened by the evil machinations of boss bad wizard Doson.
With plenty of supernatural elements, the plot is both busy and superficial. The characters are pretty shallow, and production values are campishly low. There's a supernatural bird and a sick animatronic baby that look like they were purchased at a dollar store. ONMYOJI recalls the spirit, if not the particulars, of the old Gene Autry and Roy Rogers programmers of my Saturday morning television youth. No central love story, or much graphic violence. Target audience, adolescents. With its indifferent acting, stylized and unambitious action it seems more or less the same as those bygone cookie cutter westerns. ... Read More
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starring: Mansai Nomura, Hideaki Ito, Eriko Imai, Yui Natsukawa, Mai Hosho
directed by: Yojiro Takita
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0013023204393
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Geneon [Pioneer]
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Geneon [Pioneer]
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Running Time: 116 minutes
Sales Rank: 66916
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
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