ACF 111: Death Note @ 300+ theaters!

Light (left) and the enigmatic detective known as L (right)

Death Note / Desu noto
Japan, 2006
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko

Death Note was a big hit at last year's New York Asian Film Festival. On Tuesday, May 20th and Wednesday, May 21st, VIZ Media and NCM Fathom will present the film at over 300 theaters across the United States! The film will be shown at 7:30 pm local time both nights at each theater.

When Ryuk, a Shinigami God of Death, drops his notebook, it's found by a young law student named Light, whose father just happens to be a cop. Light has become cynical about the normal legal system's ablity to mete out justice. When he discovers that he can kill criminals by remote control, as it were, simply by writing their names in the notebook, he embarks on a mission to rid the world of crime.

Ryuk hangs out with Light in his bedroom

Seeking to arrest this vigilante, the police enlist the aid of legendary detective L, a youth who likes to squat barefoot on furniture and who has perhaps the world's biggest jones for sweets. Soon Light and L are engaged in a battle of intellects, one to carry on his own brand of justice at all costs, the other to hasten his arrest.

This special two-night even will feature an English-dubbed version of the film, which was based on the manga written by Tsugumi Oba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. I've only seen the subtitled version, so I can't attest to the quality of the dub. However, VIZ is pretty conscientious about their product, so I'm optimistic that it'll be of good quality or better.

I rate Death Note at 3.5 out of 4 stars (highly recommended), and I hope that lots of you manga, anime, and Asian cult film fans out there will go see it in a theater. This special event, multi-city distribution marks a departure from VIZ's past practice of a limited release, usually three cities (New York, Seattle, and L.A.). So if you want to see a really fine film in a theater with like-minded fans, make plans to attend a screening.

To find a participating theater, click here for the NCM Fathom website.

P.S. I recently learned that select Hot Topic stores are doing a special promotion in connection with these screenings. While supplies last, customers who purchase a Death Note t-shirt or DVD (I think this refers to the anime DVDs that are already out) will receive a free ticket to attend the film event.