THE RED SPECTACLES
Special Features: New 4K Restoration
[紅い眼鏡] [AKAI MEGANE]
In a dystopian near-future Japan, law and order is enforced by a brutal paramilitary police unit known as the Kerberos Panzer Cops, equipped with heavy weaponry and reinforced body armor. When their extreme methods spark public outcry, the government moves to dismantle the unit. Disobeying orders to disband, a trio of officers stage a rebellion — but only one, Kōichi Todome (Shigeru Chiba), escapes. Three years later, Kōichi returns to Tokyo to reunite with his former comrades and uncover the truth behind the crackdowns, but he soon finds himself in a surreal and dreamlike city — a shadow of its former self, filled with strange characters, elusive memories and Kafkaesque absurdity. As reality begins to unravel, Kōichi descends deeper into paranoia, unable to tell friend from foe, truth from illusion. A philosophical blend of film noir, political allegory and existential mystery, THE RED SPECTACLES is a visually striking black comedy that meditates on justice, memory and the cost of loyalty. It also marks Mamoru Oshii’s first foray into live-action filmmaking and his first feature installment in the Kerberos Saga. (Note adapted from Small Sensations.) DIR/SCR Mamoru Oshii; SCR Kazunori Itō; PROD Shigeharu Shiba, Daisuke Hayashi. Japan, 1987, color, 120 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
The new 4K restored version of THE RED SPECTACLES (1987) was produced in 2024 through crowd funding from 2,953 supporters. The image was scanned in 4K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative, which was then digitally restored and color graded. The original monaural soundtrack was digitized from the 16mm magnetic track at Imagica Entertainment Media Services Inc. The new 5.1 mix was remixed at Sony PCL Inc. Both the image and sound restorations were completed under the supervision and approval of director Mamoru Oshii.
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, May 01, 2026
Genre: Sci-fi action
