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Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald AKA Rajio no jikan
R2 - Japan - Toho Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (13th November 2015). |
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The Film
 "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald" AKA "Rajio no jikan" (1997) At the studios of Radio Beng Teng in Tokyo, rehearsals for a late-night radio drama has just wrapped up. The radio drama scheduled for the night was written by Miyako Suzuki (played by Kyoka Suzuki), a housewife who won a writing competition for the radio play “A Woman of Destiny”, about woman who works at a pachinko parlor in the seashore town of Atami that falls in love with a fisherman. The radio drama will be played live on air at 12:00 midnight, but things don’t go according to plan… * The main actress Nokko Senmoto (played by Keiko Toda) is not pleased with the character’s name for personal reasons, and requests it to be changed. She also requests for her newly released song to be played at the end of the radio drama. * The main actor Jo Hamamura (played by Toshiyuki Hosokawa) who gets irritated by the slight temperature change in the thermostat, is upset that Nokko is making demands so he starts making equal demands of character and name changes. * The producer Ushijima (played by Masahiko Nishimura) is desperate to please the actors and their demands so running back and forth prior to the start of the broadcast becomes a huge task. He also decides to make some script changes without telling Miyako, although she does agree to a few minor changes like character names and phrases. * With the studio’s library doors locked, the background and sound effect CDs they can use are limited to what is already in the control room. Nokko requests her character to be called “Mary Jane” and made a foreign character, which then angers Hamamura, who then demands his character to also be foreign, in which he is given the name “Michael Peters”, although he finds the name bland. But with foreign characters as the leads, the script must be changed to a foreign location, and eventually all characters must be changed to foreigners. Although this upsets Miyako, Ushijima promises that only the names and location would be changed and the story itself will stay as is. But that promise is quickly broken, as the staff start to find continuity problems arisen from the sudden changes. With the original story being drastically changed so much, it leads Miyako to frustration and disappointment, but will the staff and cast be able to repair the mangled mess they had started? “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald” was written and directed by Koki Mitani, one of the most popular writers critically and commercially in Japanese entertainment. During his days at university, he established the stage group “Tokyo Sunshine Boys” who were immensely popular that it was hard to get tickets to shows in their peak years. His work in television included the immensely popular series “The King’s Restaurant”, the Columbo inspired detective series “Ninzaburo Furuhata” making the title character played by Masakazu Tamura an iconic figure, as well as writing for the long running animated series “Sazae-san”, although for only 4 episodes. By 1997, he had worked on more than 20 TV dramas as a writer, more than a dozen stage plays, written two books, and was a well-known name and face in the entertainment world. For “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald”, Mitani along with Tokyo Sunshine Boys created a script that worked for both film and for stage, using a big ensemble cast, a limited environment, and a touch of Mitani’s trademark quirky chaos. (Dare we call him "Quirky Mitani"?) Mitani’s influences range from the Hollywood screwball comedy films such as “My Man Godfrey” (1936) and “The Philadelphia Story” (1940), the fine crafted scripts of Alfred Hitchcock films, the plays of Neil Simon, and hilarity of Billy Wilder directed comedies. The film’s Japanese title “Rajio no jikan” literally translates as “The Radio Time”, but as for the English title of the film “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald”, if you watch the film, you will understand the meaning. Mitani stated that he had to learn about the process of filmmaking while making the actual film, as he was not familiar about camera placement, the editing process, etc. Although it’s believed that was said jokingly, as his work with the camera and techniques are quite extraordinary. The film uses quite a lot of long takes, especially with the opening shot lasting 7 minutes, with almost all the lead actors crisscrossing the screen in one shot one take, with the camera moving and panning around the control room. Although critics compared the style of long takes and an ensemble cast to the films of Robert Altman, Mitani has said it was just because he didn’t know how to edit so he thought it would be easier to just leave cameras running and moving. Considering it was his first film directing, there are some incredibly complex staging of events, with multiple characters interacting and overlapping in scenes, but Mitani treats the camera as a character of its own, like a stage play in which all actors have their marks to step on, and the camera is no exception. Split diopter effects (that Brian De Palma frequently uses) is displayed, impossible tracking shots and other subtle techniques are used, but there is that questionably strange slow motion scene that was unnecessary. But then again, every first-time director wants to try that somewhere. The art of radio dramas has been lost over time, and at the time of the film’s release in 1997, it was a dying work of entertainment. In its heyday in the 1940’s, radio dramas featured major stars, both in Hollywood and in Japan, reenacting their roles in famous movies, with people gathered around their radio sets to listen to serial adaptations of books, condensed versions of feature films, superhero action stories, and anything you could imagine, with the hard work of the radio technicians recreating sound effects, the narrator guiding the audience, and actors putting their effort with only their voices. Orson Welles’ radio play of “The War of the Worlds” is still one of the most defining radio play works, to an almost legendary status of supposed mass panic (which was not as massive as it was reported). But with the advent of television, radio plays died down. Major actors were not available on the radio anymore, and content became limited. Sound effects were not created by foley artists but by prerecorded records and tapes to save on costs. “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald” is a film that makes us appreciate the creativity and the art of radio dramas which are now a part of entertainment history. The film could have easily been set in the 1940’s, but one element that made it great was the 1997 technicians having to rely on old fashioned sound effect techniques because they cannot get access to the sound effects library CDs. The art of foley art such as using pistachios for machine gun sounds (or dried corn), beans for sounds of the seashore, and using a coin and a magazine for fireworks are amazingly simple yet effective for radio listeners. Most people at the time had no idea such things were created in studio live. The film is both an homage to radio dramas of the past and an accurate behind the scenes look at the artform. But the script is as hilarious as it is fascinating. The snowball effect of the slight script changes at the start avalanche into absolute madness, with the rivalry of the main voice actors trying to outdo each other: the setting changed from Japan to New York to Chicago, the actors backgrounds being changed, all lead to varying continuity errors which the staff scramble to rewrite and fix while the show is on air. The construction of the impending disaster of a show is absolutely brilliant, with laughter and suspense throughout. The various actors also bring great characters to life. In addition to the previously mentioned actors, the director of the radio show Kudo, (played by Toshiaki Karasawa) has a pretty bland performance in the first half as he is not one to creatively care much about the show, but later in the second half has a huge role of importance in trying to fix the broken show. Miyako’s husband Shiro (played by Yoshimasa Kondo) who comes in for emotional support and how he almost entirely ruins the show by entering the program is hysterical. The narrator of the show Hosaka (played by Shiro Namiki) in the recording booth with his great voice is strictly professional but starts to show a personal emotional attachment to the show little by little is a magnificent one. Easily the most minor but most impacting was by the Truck Driver who listens to the radio play through his truck on the highway, (played by the now-world famous Ken Watanabe) who easily has some of the best moments even with the very limited screen time, mostly just shots of his reactions and comments in the driver’s seat. Each and every character in the supporting roles have quirks to be remembered. The film was nominated for 12 Japanese Academy Awards and won 3: for Best Screenplay, Best Sound, and Best Supporting Actor for Masahiko Nishimura. Nishimura had an incredible year in 1997, also starring in "Woman in Witness Protection" which was the final film directed by Juzo Itami before his suicide, and lending his voice for Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke". The film also won many other Japanese film awards, and was given a special award at the Berlin Film Festival, but unfortunately, did not catch the attention of foreign markets as it did in Japan, becoming a huge and influential hit film that cemented Mitani’s place as a film director. Note this DVD is coded region 2 NTSC, and can only be played back on region 2 or region free DVD players.
Video
Toho’s DVD for the film is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, in the NTSC standard. Considering the age of the standard definition source, it does not hold up so well. Also film shares disc space with 90 minutes of additional content, giving little room for breathing. Compression artifacts are around, but only with a magnifying glass to the screen. Colors are very drab and skin tones even look a bit faded. It may have been pretty good in the early DVD age when it was first released, but 15 years later on HD monitors, limitations show. The film's runtime is 103:45. 
Audio
Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Originally released in Dolby Stereo in theaters and for the Laserdisc, the soundtrack has been supervised by director Mitani for 5.1 surround. Dialogue comes in multiple directions depending on where characters are, with characters offscreen coming from the directional speakers, though it is mostly center based. The music, both the original score and the music from the recording of the radio program uses the left/right and surrounds well. There are a few more audio options offered on the disc, but that is covered in the extras area. There are optional English and Japanese subtitles for the main feature. Mitani was very careful about working with a good translator to get his humor across for the foreign marketplace and the English subtitles here are what were used for the international theatrical screenings, approved by Mitani.
Extras
Mitani was a huge fan of the Laserdisc format and put a lot of effort into both the Laserdisc, and also for the DVD of “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald”, as well as his subsequent films. Unfortunately for non-Japanese speakers, the extras are not English-friendly, except for one unusual extra… Audio commentary by director/writer Koki Mitani moderated by Akiko Yagi of Fuji TV Mitani is joined by Fuji TV news announcer Akiko Yagi who asks questions during the commentary, though it is mostly dominated by Mitani himself. He deconstructs scenes by explaining some of the technical challenges, points out adlibbed lines, references to other films, and various other anecdotes. In Japanese Dolby Digital 1.0 Laugh track in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 surround Laugh tracks are never used in Japanese TV dramas and are an “American” sound to Japanese. As a bit of American influenced humor, the entire movie can be watched with a studio library laugh track, which is labeled “for lonely people”. Radio Beng Teng full radio play and commercials in Japanese Dolby Digital 1.0 Ever wonder what it would be like to listen to the actual radio broadcast of the play in the film, along with radio advertisements? Easily the most creative extra on the DVD is this. While the film is playing, audiences can listen to the actual radio play uncut, with moments that are not available to hear in the film, such as when they cut off Bucky’s adlibbed rant in the courtroom, the series of commercials, weather report, and sound effects in full. During this option, all sound within the control room or other scenes are muted. Sadly, it is not subtitled. Cast of Characters - biographies and jump-to-scene - Yoshimasa Kondo - Kyoka Suzuki - Akira Fuse - Yasukiyo Umeno - Keiko Toda - Toshiaki Karasawa - Masahiko Nishimura - Toshiyuki Hosokawa - Jun Inoue - Zen Kajihara - Hiromasa Taguchi - Shunji Fujimura - Kaoru Okunuki - Moro Morooka - Takehiko Ono - Shiro Namiki - Somegoro Ichikawa - Kaori Momoi - Ken Watanabe - B-Saku Sato - Nobuko Miyamoto - Kumiko Endo Text biographies are offered, and if audience want to see the actor or actress in action, a simple jump-to-scene is offered by pressing enter on the film camera logo. in Japanese Staff - biographies - Koki Mitani (director) - Takayuki Hattori (music) - Koichi Murakami (producer) - Hideyuki Takai (producer) - Takashi Ishihara (producer) - Kenji Takama (cinematographer) - Junji Tozawa (camera operator) - Masamichi Uwabo (lighting) - Tetsuo Segawa (music) - Tomio Ogawa (production design) - Hirohide Abe (editor) - Staff List The staff members' bios are offered with short text biographies and photos. in Japanese Library The Library section is divided into “Movie Library”, “Sound Library” and “Storage Archive” - Movie Library This section has all the video content extras: -- "Making Of" documentary (30:09) This segment from a supposed British TV series hosted by Japan Times writer Mark Schilling (who is from the US) gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald”, an interview between Schilling and Mitani speaking English. There are clips of “The Radio Time” stage play, footage of the shooting of the film, and clips of TV shows and films that featured Mitani’s work. As stated, Mitani speaks English for the interview but this is all a gag, as he is not fluent in Japanese but is reading off cue cards making it seem like he is fluent, and the show is not a real TV show. But regardless, there is a lot of interesting information stated. in 1.33:1, in English and Japanese with Japanese voiceover for the English portions with burned-in English subtitles for the Japanese portions. -- Koki Mitani interviewed by Yasuo Baba (with Play All) (46:44) --- Act 1 (12:40) --- Act 2 (6:43) --- Act 3 (6:46) --- Act 4 (8:56) --- Act 5 (5:44) --- Act 6 (5:52) Mitani is interviewed by director/writer Yasuo Baba, most famous for the film “Take Me Out to the Snowland” (1987) which caused a massive boom in skiing culture in Japan. The two talk very casually, about television work, writing work, stage plays, the troubles of executives and times when their scripts don’t go according to plan like it happened in “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald”. In non-anamorphic 1.78:1, in Japanese -- "Koki Mitani Speeches" featurette (3:57) Various audio clips of speeches of Mitani accepting awards, with still photos and captioned Japanese, though the last one is at the Berlin Film Festival, so he accepts in broken German. in 1.33:1, in Japanese and German -- "Foreign Film Festivals Sketch" featurette (4:19) Home camcorder footage of screenings, on stage speeches, and audience reactions at various festivals outside of Japan, ending with the screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Mitani gives some funny comments with Linda Hoaglund translating. in 1.33:1, in Japanese, German, and English -- Teaser (0:30) As a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Mitani himself presents the film on camera, saying the film is not one of cheap gags such as people getting hit over the head with falling steel pans, but then steel pans start falling on his head… in non-anamorphic 1.78:1, in Japanese -- Trailer (1:04) A traditional trailer showing the panicked backstage shenanigans. in non-anamorphic 1.78:1, in Japanese -- TV Commercials (1:35) 6 TV spots are run continuously. in non-anamorphic 1.78:1, in Japanese -- Library Staff List Text page of credits. in Japanese - Sound Library This section has all the audio content extras: -- CM Monthly Domonjo (0:21) -- CM Kadomatsu Bunko (0:20) -- CM Je Taime Shokuhin - Bon Jour Ramen (0:20) -- CM Daisunda Koku (0:56) -- CM Kadomatsu Shoten - Akamatsu Series (0:20) -- Event - Osaru no Water Magic (0:28) -- Takako Nakaura no Midnight Japan (3:06) -- Beng Teng Denpa Shopping (1:44) -- Oo Sumo (0:20) -- Tenki Yoho (0:23) A series of radio commercials by the fictitious Radio Beng Teng specially created for the film. The radio spots can be heard on the “Radio Beng Teng full radio play and commercials” extra mentioned previously. - Storage Archive This section has all the photo and stills based extras: -- Photo Gallery (0:26) -- Artwork (0:09) -- Awards List -- Foreign Reviews translated to Japanese (text pages) -- Stage to Screen (text pages) -- Library Staff List (text page) And there are a few easter eggs too: "Koki Mitani introduces his next film" (0:42) - On the main menu press up, left, down, right, up up. Mitani comically runs to the camera and announces he is working on a new film. Although he doesn’t even mention the title… "Mary Jane!" (0:03) - On the staff menu, highlight "Main Floor", press right to highlight "Mary Jane!" and enter. Just the iconic scream… "DVD Staff List" - On the staff menu, highlight "Mary Jane", press right to highlight The Earth, press enter. "Recording footage of the song Watari ni Fune" (0:43) - On the Storage Archive menu, go to "Artwork", click through to the song lyrics of "Watari ni Fune", press up and press enter. The song which was to be played at the end of the radio broadcast can be seen and heard partially here. "Akira Fuse - No Problem" (0:41) - On the Cast menu, highlight Akira Fuse and press enter, press up to highlight his face, press enter to see the music and lyrics for "No Problem", then press up to highlight the music note and press enter to see the footage. Another music-based surprise. Mitani loads the DVD with extensive and creative supplements that surpass much of what is put on DVD or Blu-ray today. It’s very rare to see a director put this much effort into home video production, because of rising costs and lower sales, but all of Mitani’s directorial releases feature very creative extras and hopefully that will continue. It’s too bad the world outside of Japan has not been putting much interest in his work or with the extras…
Packaging
Early Japanese DVD cases were packaged in CD-size jewel cases and this one is too. Packaged in a jewel case with a cardboard slipcase, the jewel case features the great original poster artwork with a DVD guide. The simplistic slipcase is embossed.
Overall
“Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald” should have cemented Koki Mitani to international critical stardom, but Mitani is still a name that has not caught on with international critics or audiences. His popularity still rides high in Japan and his latest film, 2015’s “Galaxy Turnpike” was a box office topper (although a critical disappointment). The Toho DVD sports an adequate (dated) transfer, with good audio and excellent extras, though note only the film itself is fully English-friendly.
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