Comments on: Koji Wakamatsu challenges merits of war with ‘Caterpillar’

By: Dissidenz International

Dissidenz International — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:20:49 +0000

Hello, I am the sales agent of “Caterpillar”. And actually the film starts indeed like Edogawa Rampo’s short story, that is with the return of a soldier deprived from his ams and legs. But that’s about it. “Caterpillar” is NOT an adaptation of Rampo’s short story. The wife does NOT end up torturing her husband as a revenge. It is NOT the same story at all. The film is inspired by Rampo’s short story indeed -it really is a starting point- and freely adapted from there. But Wakamatsu never looked into adapting Rampo’s short story. The idea came from “United Red Army” -Wakamatsu wanted to explain what the generation of the parents was like.

By: Tokyo’s ‘pink’ Ueno Okura Theater goes out in style | The Tokyo Reporter - News, Features, and Photography from Tokyo

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 05:22:03 +0000

[...] to break into one of the major studios, will often look to pink eiga for their start. In the 1960s, Koji Wakamatsu (“The Pink Godfather),” whose period war film “Caterpillar” opens today, [...]

By: New wave of Japanese cult films look overseas | The Tokyo Reporter - News, Features, and Photography from Tokyo

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:59:16 +0000

[...] (TR) – Japanese arthouse dramas and comedies routinely receive substantial critical acclaim internationally, but slipping under the [...]

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:12:54 +0000

I think you are correct. It’s a good point, and it should have been mentioned.

By: Tom Boatman

Tom Boatman — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:20:56 +0000

Why doesn’t this story mention that the movie idea and story comes directly from a short story by Edogawa Rampo (Hirai Taro), which was boldly written in 1939, DURING the war? From the text above it sounds like this was an original idea from Wakamatsu, when in fact it is nearly identical to the original. Moreover, because the story was banned by Japanese censors at the time (fearful it would harm the war effort), Rampo missed out on some of the royalties that sustained his career.

By: Global Voices in English » Japan: Caterpillar, by director Wakamatsu

Global Voices in English » Japan: Caterpillar, by director Wakamatsu — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:10:45 +0000

[...] The Tokyo Reporter gives an overview [en] on the latest movie by Japanese director Koji Wakamatsu Caterpillar [ja], a film that “attacks the hypocrisy inherent in nationalism and the suffering of innocent civilians.” [...]