Domo Arigato 3D

The name Arch Oboler is synonymous with 3D. With his thin retelling of the events surrounding the Lions of Tsavo in Bwanana Devil, he ushered in the first wave of Hollywood’s infatuation with three-dimensional cinema. After the fad faded in the late 1950s, the format would live on in sporadic features here and there. But Oboler never got over three-dimensional filmmaking, returning with 1966’s The Bubble and wrapping up his feature career with this 1973 travelogue romance Domo Arigato. 

Our story centers on med-school dropout/former G.I. Doug (Jason Ledger) on his way home from Vietnam encountering wayward American tourist Tara (Bonnie Star). As strangers in a strange land, their chance meeting is a measure of comfort, and the two become companions from one scenic location to the next. As they take in the sights the pair grow closer Doug will learn Tara’s personal secrets and the budding romance will be tested with their mutual insecurities. 

In all honesty, there’s something difficult about calling Domo Arigato and actual “film.” As a first-time viewer, the experience of watching this plot unfold left me thinking this was more like Arch Oboler’s attempt at a working vacation. He gets to tour all of the beautiful locations in Tokyo and the film is merely a means to cover travel expenses. The plot and the script for our lead characters are paper thin, but the photography of the various sights and the psychedelic interstitial effects certainly catch our attention and hold our interest. 

Part of the issue is it’s hard to believe Jason Ledger and Bonnie Star as romantic interests. As written Doug is pretty much a jerk at all times, always saying the wrong thing, being offensive, and never really seeming sorry for it. In contrast, Tara is a bit of a wet blanket drip of a character, her motivations are oddly drawn with her own rather silly secret that goes beyond simple diabetes. In between the impressive visuals, we have these moments of character revelation and drama that are pretty undercooked and only work to motivate our lead characters to go and see another spot in Tokyo. 

As far as Travelogues go, Domo Arigato isn’t terrible. The drama might not be the most interesting piece of work ever written, but the visuals and the location are what catch our attention. Think of a recent effort like Lost in Translation. Similar setup, a young woman trying to find herself meets a man trying to figure out what he’s done with his life in Japan. The difference between Lost in Translation and Domo Arigato is we like the characters and it’s not in 3D. That said, I can't help but admit I enjoyed my tour of Japan in Arch Oboler's Domo Arigato, 3D glasses and all.

Vital Disc Stats: The 3D Blu-ray
3-D Film Archive and BayView Entertainment return for another pairing for Arch Oboler’s final 3D Domo Arigato. Pressed on a BD50 disc, the disc is housed in a standard Blu-ray case and comes with one pair of anaglyphic glasses. If you’re still rigged up for 3D screening, the digital 3D option should kick in automatically, but it if doesn’t the main menu lets you select which option you’d like to run. This copy on review is my Kickstarter pre-order. As of yet, the general release hasn't gone live, but as soon as it does, we'll let you know where you can score your copy. 

After a successful crowdfunding effort, Domo Arigato is ready for home 3D consumption. The film’s 2.40:1 image is a bit rough around the edges, this was a fairly low-budget effort, but it is often striking. There are still some lingering small age-related abnormalities, speckling is the most notable issue, but overall the 3D experience is quite impactful. Oboler’s Space-Vision created some impressive effects allowing some superimposed objects to float out of the screen between plot setups or location changes. Some are a little more effective than others with a dizzyingly impressive feel for depth, others are a little more restrained and don’t quite pop. Much of the film’s scenic locations are the two leads wandering the area and it’s incredible to see 1970s Japan in 3D like that. Like watching the best homemade vacation movie ever budgeted. There is a pretty wild sequence when Doug goes to a bar to get drunk and watches a series of dancing ladies in various stages of undress. As the scene progresses it becomes more psychedelic and the 3D really lands well. There's a little bit slight ghosting but those effects mostly pop for some of the superimposed transition sequences. Most are perfectly fine, others don't quite fully stick but thankfully there isn't any eyestrain in these instances. Kicking over to the Anaglyph version, it’s an easy viewing experience as well. 3-D FIlm Archive really does a magnificent job with those conversions so even if you don’t have a full digital 3D screen or projector rigged up, you can still enjoy the film as it’s meant to be seen.

On the audio side, we have an uncomplicated DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. I say “uncomplicated” because mostly the dialog is kept to a minimum since the visuals are the selling point. When we do hear our cast, everything is cleanly heard, but also has a feel like the dialog was dubbed in later. I couldn’t find any information about that but there’s something about the exchanges that doesn’t sound like diegetic sync sound. I could be totally wrong about that though, and welcome the correction. Regardless, the combination of location audio effects and music elements is nicely prioritized. The track is relatively clean, I didn’t notice any serious pops or dropouts and there are no real hiss issues to speak of. 

On the bonus features front, this disc sports a pretty nice package of oddities. The big get for the curious will be the commentary track between Arch Oboler expert Matthew Rovner with guest Mike Ballew. Then we have the wild Ed Wood-written short Cleoptatra Follies or “Flame of Islam” that hasn’t been seen in over 70 years! There are some outtakes from the main film and another 3D burlesque short from 1953 called Skid Row Holdup to enjoy as well. So once you’re done with the main feature, you’ve got some more fun ahead of you. 

• Audio Commentary featuring Matthew Rovner and Mike Ballew
• Cleopatra Follies (HD 10:52)
• Skid Row Holdup (HD 10:39)
• Outtakes (HD 2:45)

Domo Arigato isn’t a great film, but its certainly watchable. It’s not as exciting as Arch Oboler’s Bawana Devil nor is it as interesting as The Bubble. However, as a somewhat dopey romantic travelogue, it’s at least very pretty to look at. The romance between our leads may be a non-starter, but really we’re here to see 1970s Tokyo in 3D. I may be harshing on the film for being dopey, but the romantic angle serves its purpose enough to hold our attention from one scenic location to the next. Once again the 3-D Film Archive makes magic out of mud with a lovely restoration effort. The 3D experience is the draw of the feature and Oboler’s handling of the visuals makes for an often striking experience. Whether you get to watch in digital 3D or anaglyph, you can at least experience the film as it was meant to be seen. Throw in a very informative commentary with two shorts and some outtakes, and you’ve got another disc worth grabbing the glasses for. Recommended