Gantz II: Perfect Answer (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

February 4, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The sequel and conclusion to the “Gantz” films, “Perfect Answer” is more exciting and features a lot more action than the original film and a more engaging storyline with plenty of twist and turns. The Blu-ray release features a fantastic lossless and immersive soundtrack that compliments the action onscreen. Fans of popcorn sci-fi action flicks will enjoy “Gantz II: Perfect Answer”. Recommended!

TITLE: Gantz II: Perfect Answer

FILM RELEASE: 2011

DURATION: 142 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: New People Entertainment

RATED: Not Rated

RELEASE DATE: January 17, 2012

Directed by Shinsuke Sato

Based on the Manga by Hiroya Oku

Screenplay by Yusuke Watanabe

Supervising Executive Producer: Hiroshi Miyazaki

Produced by Takahiro Sato

Music by Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by Taro Kawazu

Edited by Tsuyoshi Imai

Casting by Yumi Minamidani

Production Design by Yasuaki Harada

Starring

Kazunari Ninomiya as Kei Kurono

Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Masaru Kato

Yuriko Yoshitaka as Tae Kojima

Kanata Hongo as Joichiro Nishi

Go Ayano as Kurofuku-Ichi

Ayumi Ito as Eriko Ayukawa

Takayuki Shiada as Masamitsu Shigeta

Natsuna as Kei Kishimoto

Tomorowo Taguchi as Yoshikazu Suzuki

The GANTZ saga meets its ultimate conclusion in GANTZ II: Perfect Answer, which offers an intensely gripping story-line yet to be known to even readers of the original manga series. Determined to resurrect his friends who have died on previous missions, Kei and other members trapped in the world of GANTZ aim to score the 100 points needed to break through and regain their freedom. But with the emergence of a mysterious man investigating the Gantz members, Gantz begins to act up and the next target shocks the members. Some fight for love, some for justice but what will each member sacrifice?

In 2000, mangaka Hiroya Oku created the “Gantz” manga series. A series which is still ongoing to this day.

The 26-episode, two season anime series was released in 2004 and for many Americans, it was among the popular series to be released on DVD due to its sci-fi action, adult humor and violence.

Five years later, it was announced that two live action “Gantz” films were being created and starring in the film is actor and idol singer and ARASHI member Kazunari Nonomiya (“Letters from Iwo Jima”, “Yamada Taro Monogatari”, “Ryusei no Kizuna”), actor Kenichi Matsuyama (“Death Note” films, “L: Change the World”, “Kamui Gaiden”) and the film would be directed by Shinsuke Sato (“The Princess Blade”, “Tokyo Lullabye”, “Sunadokei” and also character and scene developer for the video game “Tekken 4″).

The film was shown in America first as it was simulcast in theaters in 46 states, in Japan, the first film was released in theaters on Jan.2011 and followed with a Blu-ray and DVD release in the U.S. courtesy of New People Entertainment. Now the second film “Gantz II: Perfect Answer”, the conclusion of the film series, will be released on Blu-ray on Jan. 2012.

It’s important to note that the films are loosely-based on the manga and anime series.

A summary of what Gantz is about

“Gantz” begins with college student Kei Kurono (played by Kazunari Ninomiya) awaiting a train as he prepares himself for a job interview. While waiting, he sees an old friend of his, Masaru Kato (played by Kenichi Matsuyama) awaiting for the train.

When a drunk man falls over to the train tracks, Kato goes to help him back up. He screams for Kurono to help him but he pretends he doesn’t know the man. But with the help of bystanders, the drunken man is saved but with the train coming, Kato needs help getting back up the platform. Kurono tries to help him back up but instead is pulled down and both are in the direct path of the oncoming train.

Next thing you know, both re-materialize in a room with a few people watching them and a black orb sitting in the middle. After the two arrive, a woman named Kei Kishimoto (played by Natsuna) rematerializes in the room without any clothes on. Kato covers her up and tries to protect her from a yakuza looking man who tries to approach her.

Immediately, they see the orb start playing music and telling them to prepare for their new lives. Everyone in the room at first are thinking they are dead, because their last memories were either being hit by a vehicle or trying to kill themselves but others think they were drugged in a hospital and are now part of a group experiment.

Meanwhile, the orb known as “Gantz” opens up and inside are suitcases with the names of the people inside the room, as well as weapons. Inside is a live being, that is on a breathing apparatus. No one knows what is going on but they are told they must kill an alien child who eats green onions.

While Kei Kishimoto puts on her Gantz outfit, the others are not so sure if they should wear it.

Each of the people inside the room materializes to a new destination and they spot the alien child. One of the people of the group, Nishi (played by Kanata Hongo), tells them that it’s all part of a game show and whoever catches the kid will win a lot of money. With many of the men unemployed and needing the money, they go after the kid with their weapons.

And the three of the men end up killing the child. But not long after, a huge alien man comes (who appears to be the brother of the alien child) and he begins to brutally kill each of the people of the group. Kato who tried to stop the people from shooting the alien child is left panicking. Meanwhile, Kurono just looks from afar and not sure what is going on.

As the alien tries to kill Kato, Kishimoto kicks him and sends the alien behemoth flying. They then know that the suits given to them by Gantz is quite powerful and gives them some special abilities.

Nishi comes and kills the alien and now everyone who survived the fight rematerializes back into the room. Everyone is frustrated and shocked of what happened and Kato is angered that Nishi didn’t come to save the others who were killed by the alien. But Nishi tries to explain to them that they are part of a game, where many have been killed.

Eventually, the group learns from Nishi that with each battle of eliminating aliens, Gantz chooses the individual and give them points. The overall goal is to reach 100 points. With 100 points accumulated, they can be set free and their memory of Gantz wiped out. Or they can revive another person that has been killed.

With every night, each of them having to be sent to the battlefield, they are joined by other people who have recently been killed or just died and try to prepare them for the battle that awaits them. But with each battle, these alien beings become more deadly.

With “Gantz II: Perfect Answer”, the film is set five months later after many of the people were killed including Masaru Kato, Megumi Kishimoto and other friends of Kei’s.

Those who survived to fight for another day includes Kei Kurono and the older Yoshikazu Suzuki. For Kei, his goal is to revive his friend Masaru Kato but also to fight as long as he can and revive everyone.

But unusual situations have been taking place as Masaru Kato has been revived but according to Gantz, he is still dead.

Also, battles are now taking place in public places instead of the dimension that the group have been fighting in, so now anyone innocent can be slaughtered during the battles.

Meanwhile, as Kei and Tae begin to get closer, all hell breaks loose when a few of the top members who were able to escape Gantz (by reaching 100 points) are all brought back into Gantz together for some unknown reason. And to make things worse, their target are not just aliens but Kei’s friend Tae Kojima. To make things much worse, there has been an appearance of a smaller version of Gantz which is in the possession of a group of aliens and their instructions were also to kill Tae Kojima.

As Kei tries to protect the girl that he loves, that means he must fight against the powerful aliens but also his fellow members.

Will Kei, Tae , Masaru and Kurofuku-Ichi survive this onslaught?

VIDEO:

“Gantz II: Perfect Answer” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). The picture quality for the film is actually very good. The picture quality features cool colors leaning to more blues and blacks, detail is very good and there is a fine layer of grain that can be seen. Some scenes are darker than I would have like but there is a good amount of detail on closeup shots.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Gantz II: Perfect Answer” is presented in Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and I have to say that the most shining aspect of this Blu-ray release is its lossless soundtrack. The soundtrack is absolutely immersive as this second film is action-intensive and there are explosions, gun shots, sword fights and destruction galore in this film. The surround channels and LFE are heavily used throughout the film and for the most part, fans with a solid home theater setup will no doubt enjoy this film’s soundtrack.

As for the English dub, I prefer to watching live action Asian films in their original language but with that beings aid, New People Entertainment and Viz Media are known for hiring the most talented voice actors in the industry and I’m sure the English dub will appeal to those who prefer an English dub.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“Gantz II: Perfect Answer” features a third bonus DVD featuring special features such as:

Exclusive Director’s Interview 2 – (22:01) Behind-the-scenes footage and an in-depth interview with director Shinsuke Sato.
Cast Profiles – text biographies on the cast.
Trailers – (4:04) Original “Gantz: Perfect Answer” theatrical trailers from Japan.
New People Presents - New People trailers.

EXTRAS:

“Gantz II: Perfect Answer” comes with a DVD version of the feature film.

Exciting and more action-packed and satisfying than the first film, the sequel “Gantz II: Perfect Answer” is a popcorn action-flick with a lot of twist and turns. A fitting and exciting conclusion to the “Gantz” films.

What one can expect from a popcorn action film starring a few of Japanese top young talents! “GANTZ II: Perfect Answer” features constant action that will thrill you! Definitely one of the better film adaptations from a manga series in terms of visual effects and costume design.

I personally enjoyed “GANTZ” for the reason that I’m familiar with the talent on the film. Kazunari Ninomiya of ARASHI fame is very popular as with actor Kenichi Matsuyama, but even before I watched this film, I always felt that the costumes of “GANTZ” was the coolest costumes since the Matrix!

But with that being said, this is a popcorn action film with a lot of action and visual effects but at the same time, it’s a film that is quite different from the manga/anime series. There is a lot of violence, even sexual perversion in the original manga release but because the manga is ongoing in Japan, for the film, things had to be different.

The first film featured a lot of time showing the viewers of the relationship between Kei and Kato and how they were good friends and how they stopped being friends and then trying to become friends once again. But most importantly, there was a bit of ego stroke on Kei’s part as he was the person that is typically not seen as a hero and thus, granted powers via the suits from Gantz, he started to gain an ego but learned a big lesson.

In the end of the first film, the major characters were killed after fighting a killer Buddha.

But in “Gantz II: Perfect Answer”, we know with the big Gantz, he sends out people who were just killed, on missions of killing of an alien. It’s part of their mission in order for them to survive but also to gain points necessary to live a free life once again or to resurrect someone. And with Kei now nearing 100 points, he intends to bring back his friend Kato.

But what happens when he comes face-to-face with Kato, who revived him? Obviously Kei didn’t, so who did? Or is it Kato?

And as Kei and the others take order from Gantz, we are introduced to a group of aliens who also take orders but this time, a smaller version of Gantz and similar to Kei and the others, they must kill as part of their mission.

And possibly taking a page from terrorist attacks that would seem more fitting for a “Call of Duty” film, “Gantz II: Perfect Answer” has one of the most violent scenes in a Japanese film (which no one hopes will happen ever in Japan) as Kei and the others are transported into a train, but instead of taking place in an alternate dimension, they are put into the public.

And when the Gantz group and the aliens are battling, there is always massive destruction. So, you can imagine how chaotic things get now that the battles are taking place in areas where a lot of people are.

To make things much more interesting, both the aliens and the Gantz group receive a mission but it’s to eliminate Kei’s girlfriend (or female friend that he is trying to get close with). You know Kei is not going to let that happen and it becomes a chaotic slaughter-fes.

While Kei is the character that is focused on in the sequel, Actor Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Masaru Kato plays a different type of role in this second film. As Kato, he is much more restrained, but when his other self is revealed to be an imposter alien, Matsuyama plays a crazy killer.

We also get more of actress Yuriko Yoshitaka (who plays Tae). In the first film, she was interesting because she was the manga fan who secretly likes Kei. In the sequel, their friendship is now growing to the point where they start having feelings for each other. But when orders are given by both Gantz to have her eliminated, you can only hope that her well-liked character survives.

Last, we are treated with a storyline with an investigator named Masamitsu Shigeta, who is trying to find out how these dead people are coming back alive. While the character adds some drama in the film, we know that he’s just human and compared to those in the Gantz suits and the aliens, he’s just not strong enough. And his storyline is possibly the weakest in the film. As the screenplay utilizes him more to give a break to the action.

But “Gantz II: Perfect Answer” is in-your-face, all-out action that fans will probably enjoy much more than the first film. The first film tried to play more on character development and relationships and establish Gantz and the missions but with that part being over, it’s all about the actions and missions this time around. And with the twist and turns in the storyline, you can’t help but be captivated with all this crazy action and this destruction happening in the film.

It’s important to note that while this film is not rated, this is a violent film. You see people being stabbed and cut up with swords, a woman getting shot point blank in the head, it’s a violent film. So, definitely don’t have your children around while watching this movie.

But for fans who enjoy popcorn action films, the sequel to “Gantz” is much better this time around. While manga/comic book film adaptations are never exact, still..I can’t but help but saying that I enjoyed the “Gantz” films. Yes, they are different and while I thought the first film was OK, I enjoyed the sequel even more. Much more to be exact!

As for the Blu-ray release, you get the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film and several special features as well. The picture quality is good (sometimes too dark) but the best part of this Blu-ray is its lossless immersive soundtrack which is fantastic!

Overall, fans of the first film, those who are looking for an exciting Japanese popcorn action film or people who are fans thatcan separate themselves from the original storyline of the “GANTZ” anime and manga series will enjoy “Gantz II: Perfect Answer”.

Recommended!

Branded to Kill – The Criterion Collection #38 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

December 15, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Unique and brilliant, Seijun Suzuki’s masterpiece… “Branded to Kill” is a film that was ahead of its time, misunderstood but now highly appreciated. This 2011 DVD release improves upon the original 1999 DVD in picture quality clarity and detail but also comes with wonderful special features as well! “Branded to Kill” (2011) is another highly recommended Criterion Collection release!

TITLE: Branded to Kill – The Criterion Collection #38 (Koroshi no Rakuin)

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1967

DURATION: 91 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural in Japanese with English Subtitles, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: December 13, 2011

Directed by Seijun Suzuki

Written by Hachiro Guryu, Takeo Kimura, Chusei Sone, Atsushi Yamatoya

Produced by Kaneo Iwai, Takiko Mizunoe

Music by Naozumi Yamamoto

Cinematography by Kazue Nagatsuka

Edited by Matsuo Tanji

Art Direction by Sukezo Kawahara

Starring:

Jo Shishido as Goro Hanada

Koji Nanbara as No. 1

Isao Tamagawa as Michiko Yabuhara

Anne Mari as Misako Nakajo

Mariko Ogawa as Mami Hanada

Hiroshi Minami as Gihei Kasuga

When Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. Branded to Kill tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin with a fetish for sniffing steamed rice (the chipmunk-cheeked superstar Joe Shishido) who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most extreme—the flabbergasting pinnacle of his sixties pop-art aesthetic.

“Branded to Kill”, Seijun Suzuki’s masterpiece but also a film that led to the filmmaker’s firing.

While we are graced with films with visual style, humor and coolness by Beat Takeshi, Takashi Miike, Kazuaki Kiriya to name a few… Seijun Suzuki was part of the Nikkatsu company that churned two movies a week and had to work with a low budget, be creative and churn out a film within 25 days. Needless to say, executives didn’t understand Suzuki’s style, they criticized him, they talked down to him but what they didn’t know was that his style was not being rebellious, it was his style.

Perhaps Suzuki’s style was too surreal because what Nikkatsu wanted was traditional Japanese films that they were used to making. Seijun Suzuki who created 40 B-movies for the company between 1956 and 1967 was anything but traditional, not necessarily a rebel but he created films that he wanted to make,each film being different and now respected as films that were ahead of its time.

Prior to releasing his final film, “Branded to Kill”, for Nikkatsu, they were growing tired by his inability to create traditional films that the executives were used too. But by the end of “Branded to Kill”, the executives of the company had enough of Suzuki’s style of filmmaking. While he never complained, he was fired from his job. And Suzuki was not a man to let the studio run all over him. In fact, he successfully sued the company for wrongful dismissal but in Japanese business tradition, if you sue an entertainment company, you will be blacklisted (which still goes on today in Japan) and in this case, Suzuki was blacklisted for ten years.

In Japan, because he stood up to the big entertainment company, he became a counterculture icon and his films were shown at midnight screenings to a packed audience.

In America, many cinema fans appreciated Suzuki’s work because of its visual, surreal style that was not as common to see in Japanese gangster films.

And while his two better known films, “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill” have been released in America on LD and DVD from the Criterion Collection, in Dec. 2011, the Criterion Collection released both of Seijun Suzuki’s films “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill” on Blu-ray and DVD which features improved video quality plus a new interview with Seijun Suzuki done exclusively by the Criterion Collection in 2011.

“Branded to Kill” is a film about an assassin named Goro Hanada (played by Jo Shishido), better known as assassin No. 3 in rank.

Whenever someone needs to be killed, these assassins are called in. But if they mess up a job, they immediately will become a target. And there are some who are concerned by their rankings. You want to be No. 1, you have to kill No. 1. Problem is… no one really knows who No. 1 is.

Goro is calm, cool and collected and excellent with a gun. But he also has an unusual fetish of sniffing rice before he can engage in sex with his wife Mami Hanada (played by Mariko Ogawa), a woman who appears to be having sex with his friend Michihiko (played by Isao Tamagawa) and a woman that Goro only sees as a plaything.

But this is the underworld, a life of making money through killing people and for Goro, this is the life that he has lived and has no problems on taking a job.

One day after successfully killing a list of people, he is contacted by a mysterious woman named Misako Nakajo (played by Anne Mari). She is attractive, sexy but shows no emotion and immediately, Goro is sexually attracted to her. But she knows something about him, and that makes him wonder about her.

Misako asks for him to assassinate a man that she is with but he only has a three second window and he would be paid quite nicely.

But Goro’s sniping skills is disturbed by a butterfly and he ends up killing an innocent woman, while Misako ends up shooting the man but not killing him.

When Misako and Goro encounter each other, she tells him that because of his mistake, he will be killed. And it is revealed that Misako maybe an assassin herself and also has an unusual fetish of butterflies in her room and also a fetish of using poisonous needles which she has killed several of her birds with. And when he tries to threaten to kill her, she pulls out her poisonous needles and tells him that she knows he won’t kill her because he wants to ravage her. And she plays mind games with Goro, making him think that he can engage in sex with her but also teasing him that if he does, he will die.

Meanwhile, Goro’s wife hates Misako with a passion and is angered that her husband has found a new “plaything”.

But it doesn’t take long for Goro to know that No. 1 will be responsible in killing him and from there on, No. 1 starts to use psychological tactics to make Goro uneasy. Torturing him by teasing and even putting a movie of a nude Misako bounded and being threatened by flames.

Goro knows there are assassins after him, including No. 1 who tries to wear him down.

But in unusual fashion, No. 1 goes straight to Goro’s home and doesn’t kill him immediately. In fact, No. 1 stays with him in his apartment using psychological tactics to make sure that Goro knows not to pull anything while he’s there. Even when they are sleeping, Goro feels uneasy as No. 1 sleeps with his eyes open.

But as No. 1 tries to use these tactics to instill fear in Goro, Goro who is slowly losing it realizes, if he kills No. 1, he will then become No. 1.

Who will emerge victorious and become the #1 killer?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Branded to Kill” is presented in 2:35:1 aspect ratio, black and white and audio is presented in monaural. It’s important to note that with the 2011 release, the release signifies the HD release of “Branded to Kill” on Blu-ray and for those wanting the best picture and audio quality, the Blu-ray is the version to buy.

But many may wonder if they owned the older 1999 DVD release and don’t own a Blu-ray player, should they upgrade to the 2011 DVD release? I can tell you right now that the 2011 version takes advantage of newer remastering technology. The contrast is much better, whites and grays are well-contrast while black levels are nice and deep. The picture quality is so much better than the older DVD but if you can, I highly recommend going for the Blu-ray release as you will get more detail and clarity.

According to the Criterion Collection, the new high-definition transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS and Pixel Farm’s PFClean, while Image System’s DVNR was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

As for the monaural soundtrack, the new release was remastered at 24-bit from the original soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

Audio-wise, dialogue was clear and I detected no problems or crackle. Doing tests of the 1999 DVD release and the 2011 DVD release, there is a slight distinction of clarity in audio but for the most part, the difference is more apparent in the video.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Branded to Kill”, the 2011 DVD release comes with the following special features:

Seijun Suzuki and Masami Kuzuu – (12:10) A 2011 Criterion Collection interview with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu discussing “Branded to Kill”.
Joe Shishido - (11:01) An interview with main actor Joe Shishido conducted in July 2011 by the Criterion Collection.
Seijun Suzuki – (14:07) An interview with director Seijun Suzuki recorded during a retrospective of his work by the Japan Foundation and the Los Angeles Film Forum at the Nuart Theatere in Los Angeles in March 1997.
Trailer – (3:09) The original theatrical trailer for “Tokyo Drifter”.

EXTRAS:

20-Page booklet – Featuring a new essay titled “Reductio Ad Absurdum: Suzuki Seijun’s Branded to Kill” by film critic Tony Rayns.

This is the film that defied Nikkatsu and led to Seijun Suzuki’s termination with the studio. But it’s also the film that can be considered Seijun Suzuki’s greatest masterpiece!

While “Branded to Kill” could have been the typical banal yakuza film and be the “King of the Mountain” type of story of individual assassins try to reach the #1 position in killer rating, that would have made a fine traditional Japanese gangster film. But for those who are familiar with Seijun Suzuki’s work, Suzuki is not your traditional filmmaker. Many look at his work as surreal filmmaking, even though Suzuki never thought of it that way. It was just his style, of being creative and not wanting his films to be just like any other film. And in this case, making each film different and doing the best he can no matter how much Nikkatsu would cut from his budget or force him to shoot in black and white as a sort of punishment for not following their rules.

From the opening scene, we are treated with the usual stoic man, full of bravado, suave and cool with his Rayban sunglasses and excellent shooting, but its the characters that literally make things surreal.

From when you are reminded of Goro’s fetish with sniffing rice, the film would then become a showcase of kinky sex and surreal violence. Goro Hanada is a killer, an assassin who will take on the best paying assignments and typically succeeds. During his offtime, he can always find his wife fully nude, and whether he’s having sex with her in various positions or slapping her around, this is the character that Suzuki focuses on.

What about the other characters such as Misako, the emotionless and beautiful killer who also has a fetish with her poisonous needles as we see her dead birds penetrated with needles or her love for butterflies. Or even No. 1, the #1 ranked assassin who uses psychological tactics to the point where he confronts Goro at his home and even stays with him, including making sure they go to the bathroom a certain way… together.

With intriguing editing, compositions and creative camera angles, Suzuki is able to merge commercial mainstream filmmaking with avant garde style. Making a gangster film artistic and despite the film being a violent film, especially for 1967 audiences, he manages to pull off one hell of a perverse, surreal, violent but yet fantastic film that is unlike other gangster films, especially films coming from Nikkatsu.

I have watched “Branded to Kill” countless times before including Suzuki’s film “Tokyo Drifter”, as these two films were ahead of its time. If people can respect the David Lynch, Takashi Miike and the Quentin Tarentino style of films today, they will love Seijun Suzuki’s films. This is a man who worked for a studio that made things as difficult as possible for him to be successful but because he and his crew were good at adapting to their economic situations, they used creative styles of storytelling, filming, costume and set design in order to achieve success in their mind, even if the studio execs felt Suzuki’s films were “incomprehensible”.

As for this latest 2011 release on Blu-ray and DVD, personally…the point of this new release is the Blu-ray! Criterion Collection has done a magnificent job of remastering this film in HD but since I’m reviewing the DVD version, I’m confident to say that this film is still worth it (especially if you don’t own a Blu-ray player) as the DVD looks great, especially compared to the old Criterion Collection 1999 DVD which lacks the color, detail and clarity. This DVD’s picture quality is much better than the original DVD and you get more special features as well!

Overall, “Branded to Kill” is a unique, brilliant masterpiece from Seijun Suzuki and a Criterion Collection release that is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Tokyo Drifter – The Criterion Collection #39 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

December 13, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Stylish, cool and all-out entertaining! Seijun Suzuki’s classic gangster film “Tokyo Drifter” is magnificent! And for those who owned the original 1999 DVD, the Criterion Collection’s 2011 release of “Tokyo Drifter” is a major improvement in picture quality and special features. Definitely recommended!

TITLE: Tokyo Drifter – The Criterion Collection #39 (Tokyo Nagaremono)

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1966

DURATION: 82 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, Monaural in Japanese with English Subtitles, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: December 13, 2011

Directed by Seijun Suzuki

Written by Kohan Kawauchi

Produced by Tetsuro Nakagawa

Music by Hajime Kaburagi

Cinematography by Shigeyoshi Mine

Edited by Shinya Inoue

Production Design by Takeo Kimura

Starring:

Tetsuya Watari as Tetsuya “Phoenix Tetsu” Hondo

Chieko Matsubara as Chiharu

Hideaki Nitani as Kenji Aizawa

Ryuji Kita as Kurata

Tsuyoshi Yoshida as Keeichi

Eimei Esumi as Otsuka

Tamio Kawaji as Tatsuzo, the Viper

Eiji Go as Tanaka

Tochiko Hamakawa as Mutsuko

Isao Tamagawa as Umetani

Michi Hino as Yoshii

Shuntaro Tamamura as Koyanagai

In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Tetsu’s attempt to go straight is thwarted when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. Director Seijun Suzuki’s onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors is equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima—an anything-goes, in-your-face rampage. Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties.

In Japan, what kind of film would ever feature a stoic, cool tough former gangster that can whistle or sing a song while guns are pointed at him?

The answer is “Tokyo Drifter”, the 1966 film directed by Seijun Suzuki who has earned a worldwide following of cinema fans due to his experimental visual style, humor and nihilistic coolness that his style of films were ahead of its time.

You can call his style “surreal” but what Nikkatsu wanted was traditional-style filmmaking, Seijun Suzuki who created 40 B-movies for the company between 1956 and 1967 and he was anything but traditional.

After “Tokyo Drifter”, he created two movies including his masterpiece “Branded to Kill” and the company had enough of Suzuki’s style of filmmaking. While he never complained, he was fired from his job and successfully sued the company for wrongful dismissal but in Japanese business tradition, if you sue an entertainment company, you will be blacklisted (which still goes on today in Japan) and in this case, Suzuki was blacklisted for ten years.

In Japan, because he stood up to the big entertainment company, he became a counterculture icon and his films were shown at midnight screenings to a packed audience.

In America, many cinema fans appreciated Suzuki’s work because of its visual, surreal style that was not as common to see in Japanese gangster films.

And while “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill” have been released in America on LD and DVD from the Criterion Collection, in Dec. 2011, the Criterion Collection released both of Seijun Suzuki’s films “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill” on Blu-ray and DVD which features improved video quality plus new interviews conducted by the Criterion Collection in 2011.

As for “Tokyo Drifter”, the film was to be made to propel the career of pop star Tetsuya Watari (who sang the theme song “Tokyo Nagarerumono”) and according to Suzuki, he only had 28-days to shoot the film including editing and post-production. Because Nikkatsu was growing tired of Suzuki’s bizarre visual style, they cut the film’s budget in hoping that it would make things much more simpler for the filmmaker. But instead, it pushed Suzuki and art director Takeo Kimura to look for creative ways to making the film look cool.

For the intro, he wanted to experiment with expired film and because they were shooting on a low-budget, in order to be creative using a single set, they used a variety of colors. And also, Suzuki wanted to stray away from the typical yakuza film by giving the main protagonist warmer colors instead of wearing the typical black suit.

Suffice to say, once again, upon completion, Nikkatsu executives were not pleased. They felt that the film did not promote Tetsuya Watari and that the film was “incomprehensible” and he was ordered to reshoot the ending.

Needless to say, the film was ahead of its time and it introduced many cinema fans of his work and also creating demand for his older Nikkatsu films.

“Tokyo Drifter” is a film that revolves around Tetsuya “Phoenix Tetsu” Hondo, a former yakuza member who has gone straight along with his boss Kurata (played by Ryuji Kita). Out of loyalty, Tetsu has done everything that his boss has told him and not to get involved in any fights that would cause harm.

In the beginning of the film, he is assaulted by a gang led by rival boss Otsuka (played by Hideaki Esumi), who do all they can to recruit Tetsu into their organization by beating on him but Tetsu continues to remain loyal to Kurata. For Otsuka, Tetsu has become the major thorn on his side in winning the war against his rival Kurata and thus, it is important to get Tetsu to join their gang or eliminate him.

As Tetsu tries to live the straight-life and doing business legit for his boss and also maintain a relationship with a singer named Chiharu (played by Chieko Matsubara), Otsuka wants to inflict revenge on his rival Kurata by taking over a building that they are leasing from a businessman named Yoshii (played by Michio Hino).

Kurata intends to buy the building but instead, Otsuka organizes a sham meeting with Yoshii, who is leaving to meet with Kurata.

Yoshii finds out that Otsuka has lied and wants him to sign documents saying that Otsuka has bought the building and thus Kurata must make payments to Otsuka. Yoshii refuses but when he is beaten and threatened to be killed, Yoshii has no choice but to sign.

When Tetsu catches word that Yoshii has sold Otsuka the building, Tetsu knows something is awry and goes to confront Otsuka. But when he arrives, Otsuka has shot Yoshii to death and when Tetsu tries to get at them, he falls into a hidden pit and is unconscious, Otsuka and his gang use the Yoshii deal and Tetsu capture as leverage against Kurata.

And as Otsuka tries to blackmail Kurata, in the process, Kurata tries to shoot at one of Otsuka’s gang members but instead, shoots his girlfriend to death. Now Otsuka threatens to call the police, but Tetsu manages to escape from the pit and rescue his boss from harm.

Showing loyalty to his boss, Tetsu tells him that he will take the fall for the woman’s death and to stop causing problems for his boss, he will become a drifter and leave immediately.

As Tetsu leaves his former life behind, including his girlfriend Chiharu, Tetsu is unaware that Otsuka’s gang is on his tail and are planning to eliminate him.

Will the Tetsu, the “Tokyo Drifter” survive against the rival gang?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Tokyo Drifter” is presented in 2:35:1 aspect ratio, color and audio is presented in monaural. It’s important to note that with the 2011 release, the release signifies the HD release of “Tokyo Drifter” on Blu-ray and for those wanting the best picture and audio quality, the Blu-ray is the version to buy.

But many may wonder if they owned the older 1999 DVD release and don’t own a Blu-ray player, should they upgrade to the 2011 DVD release? I can tell you right now that the 2011 version takes advantage of newer technology. Colors and detail are more apparent than the older DVD and you also get newer special features. The picture quality is so much better but if you can, I highly recommend going for the Blu-ray release as you will get more vibrant colors and better picture quality.

According to the Criterion Collection, the new high-definition transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35 mm low-contrast print. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS and Pixel Farm’s PFClean, while Image System’s DVNR was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Tokyo Drifter”, the 2011 DVD release comes with the following special features:

Seijun Suzuki and Masami Kuzuu – (12:12) A 2011 Criterion Collection interview with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu discussing “Tokyo Drifter”.
1997 Interview - (20:12) The following interview with Seijun Suzuki recorded during a retrospective from 1997 courtesy of the Japan Foundation and the Los Angeles Film Forum.
Trailer – (2:47) The original theatrical trailer for “Tokyo Drifter”.

EXTRAS:

16-Page booklet – Featuring a new essay titled “Catch My Drift” by writer Howard Hampton.

Visually stylish and cool, “Tokyo Drifter” was an avante garde film that was ahead of its time!

Each time I have watched “Tokyo Drifter”, it’s one of those films that I never grown tired of watching. When I was younger, I used to equate “Tokyo Drifter” almost like a James Bond film. Stylish in presentation, suave protagonist that is always calm, cool, collected and great with a gun and isn’t afraid in getting into a brawl.

Granted, the film is a yakuza story after all, but what I enjoyed about this film is its presentation that is so awkward and sometimes unusual, but in a very cool way!

For example, the introduction of the film is shown in black and white. But the contrast of the black and white is done in a way that looks nothing like your typical B&W film and then he spots a toy gun in red, how often do you see a gangster film with this type of artistic presentation. Never.

Another scene features an accidental shooting as one of Otsuka’s gang member’s girlfriend is shot and killed. Typically, you would see the girl shot, perhaps a closeup of the face and then the character falling to the ground. For Suzuki, we get a shot from high above. She gets up, feels the shot, rips the top of her dress up, falls and dies and then we get a close up shot as we see the blood flowing down the top of her breast.

Another shot features Tetsu walking through a snowy path with his light blue suit, on white snow but on the right is a red mailbox. There are several of these artistic shots that I absolutely love looking at.

And then you have the action, from the perfectly posed Tetsu shooting off his gun at an enemy to a scene where the enemy thinks they got him down, but then he starts singing or whistling his “Tokyo Nagaremono” song and eventually escapes death.

This is your bonafide anti-hero and while he looks like a normal guy, it’s how he’s characterized. Cool, focused and no matter if he gets shot, hit and falls on the ground multiple times…his suit is still pristine and he’s still singing before kicking some ass!

Even the other characters have their own distinction. Otsuka is shown primarily with the camera focused on his sunglasses, his henchman Tatsuzo, known as the Viper, is often seen with his silencer, Keiichi the loner is seen with his forest green jacket and Umetani, a friend of Kurata is seen with his suit and leather gloves.

And the set design, while the same set is used, Suzuki and his art director went for creative lighting in order to continue to give this impressive visual style despite the studio cutting their budget in hopes that Suzuki would not be so creative and kept to traditional filmmaking.

So, suffice to say, I love this film! From the first time I watched it to so many multiple viewings leading up to this 2011 release, I’m so thrilled that the Criterion Collection has chose to give the film the HD treatment.

Granted, I’m not reviewing the Blu-ray release, but since I owned the original release and now reviewing this 2011 release, I can tell the difference in quality as this 2011 DVD looks very good and I can only think that the Blu-ray is so much better! The vibrant colors, the clarity and detail…I’m impressed of how this film looks compared to the original DVD release.

And also you get special features which is a major bonus!

Overall, “Tokyo Drifter” is a film that is worth the purchase, mainly for those who love classic Japanese cinema, especially the gangster films. But in this case, it’s not your typical banal yakuza film, it’s stylish, visually creative and surreal and it’s a wonderful film from filmmaker Seijun Suzuki. And for those who thought the old DVD release from Criterion Collection was not that great in picture quality, well…you’re going to love how this film looks with this latest release on DVD, especially on Blu-ray!

“Tokyo Drifter” is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

The Treasure Hunter (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

October 29, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

If you watched filmmaker Yen-ping Chu and Jay Chou’s first collaboration in the 2008 film “Kung-Fu Dunk”, it doesn’t get any better with “The Treasure Hunter”. Visually, it’s a pleasing popcorn action film but as far as its story goes, unfortunately it’s confusing and not that good.

TITLE: Treasure Hunter (Ci Ling)

FILM RELEASE: 2009

DURATION: 105 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Dolby True HD Mandarin and English 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Eleven Arts/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Directed by Yen-ping Chu

Produced by Yang Du

Music by Ricky Ho

Starring:

Jay Chou as Qiao Fei

Chilling Lin as Lan Ting

Eric Tsang as Pork Chop

Daoming Chen as Master Hua

Chu-he Chen as Desert Eagle

Will Liu as Friday

Pu Miao as Swords Thirteen

Ian Powers as Russian Smuler

Kenneth Tsang as Tu Lao-dai

Qiaofei (Jay Chou) is a relic expert with a gritty past. When his mentor’s daughter is held hostage over a map with a deadly history, the rugged warrior whips into action! Chaos erupts as he swoops in to the rescue and scours the sands for legendary riches buried deep in China’s northwest desert. Chased down by the shadowy Sandstorm Legion and challenged by countless greedy, bloodthirsty foes, Qiaofei faces danger at every turn to find the tomb – but some treasures aren’t meant to be found.

Jay Chou is a talented, chart-topping singer/musician from Taiwan.

Known in America for his role as Kato in the 2011 film “The Green Hornet”, most of Jay Chou’s previous films were films that I guess many people can call them “growth” films. A musician turned actor who grows with each film. Beginning with his starring role in “Initial D”, starring with two powerhouse talent in “Curse of the Golden Flower” with Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li but to create more “growth” films with “Kung Fu Dunk” (2008), followed by “The Treasure Hunter” (2009).

And now, “The Treasure Hunter” receives its Blu-ray and DVD release in America courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

The film begins with a tale of two men who fight on the dunes. While one will win the title of “Desert Eagle”, the other would lose and never come back.

We then learn about how many have searched for hidden treasure in the dunes but many have literally been unsuccessful.

For Lan Ting (played by actress Lin Chi-ling), her father is a well known archaeologist/treasure hunter searching for the treasure. But not more to steal it, but to make sure no one takes it. As Qiao Fei (played by Jay Chou) works for Lan Ting’s father, his goal is to find treasure and return it back to their respective owners.

Qiao Fei is a man who has excellent martial arts fighting skills but he is also a man of mystery.

During one inspection of stolen treasure, Qiao Fei takes on a supernatural knight who rematerialized after he rings a bell (which he was told not to do). But during the inspection, he discovers a map, the map that would lead people to the lost treasure in the dunes. A map that must be protected at all cost.

But for Lan Ting, she has nothing but ill feelings towards her father because he has chosen his career and dedicated his life to finding the treasure in the dunes than being there for his family.

One day, Lan Ting’s father asks Qiao Fei to talk to his daughter about coming to visit him for dinner and we quickly learn that both Lan Ting and Qiao Fei have this not-so-kind relationship but he is the middleman to both as he tells them what both are up to.

Meanwhile, as Lan Ting decides whether or not to visit her father, he is visited by the notorious crime group known as “The Company” who are looking for the map. Meanwhile, another group led by Pork Chop (played by Eric Tsang) kidnaps Lan Ting in order to blackmail her father in giving the map to them. And to assist them in finding the treasure area, a man named Master Hua Ding Bang (played by Chen Daoming), who was the sole surviving member of an expedition crew that last searched for the treasure will be joining them.

Because Lan Ting was kidnapped, Qiao Fei is forced to give the map to Pork Chop’s crew but to give her the bad news that her father has been killed. Pork Chop is shocked and tells them that they have nothing to do with it as they just kidnapped the daughter.

But immediately, a man from nowhere comes and steals the map which leads to a battle between Qiao Fei and the assailant. Meanwhile, out of nowhere, a child steals the map and brings it to his mysterious boss in the desert.

Having to face all sorts of dangers in the dunes, now the treasure hunter Qiao Fei, along with Lan Ting (with Pork Chop crew not far behind) must find the map before anyone steals the treasure.

VIDEO:

“The Treasure Hunter” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1). The picture quality is quite warm and sports plenty of detail during the daytime, cooler colors during the night time. Detail is very well-done as we can see the detail around the treasure relics, to the detail of the cool special effects featured in the film. Black levels are deep and overall, picture quality for the film is very good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Treasure Hunter” is presented in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mandarin and English. I was surprised that this film was only a 2.0 mix but for the most part, the front channels definitely get a lot of work in showcasing the many sound effects during the intense action sequences of the film. From windstorms, to shrieks by possessed characters and more!

It’s important to note that I did not listen to the English dub track as I prefer to watch Asian films in their original language. With that being said, despite not liking English dialogue for Asian cinema, FUNimation Entertainment is well-known for their English dubs and doing a great work with them, so if you prefer English dubs instead of reading English subtitles, you do have that option.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“The Treasure Hunter” comes with the following special feature:

Original Trailer – (2:08) Original theatrical trailer for “The Treasure Hunter”.

EXTRAS:

“The Treasure Hunter” comes with a slipcover case.

Another collaboration between Taiwan filmmaker Chu Yen-ping (“The King of Comics”, “Kung Fu Dunk”) and music artist/actor Jay Chou plus popular Hong Kong action choreographer Ching Siu-tung (“A Chinese Ghost Story” and “Swordsman” films), “The Treasure Hunter” was an interesting action film that tried to incorporate too much.

First, as mentioned earlier, this is a “growth” film for Jay Chou. As a singer, he wanted to improve his acting, so he did a few popcorn action films, one was “Kung Fu Dunk” and the other was this film “The Treasure Hunter”. Needless to say, these two films are not the best, and while they are both flashy in different ways, they are primarily popcorn action films with a popular singer as the main star.

And while these two Chu Yen-ping films are good starting blocks for Jay Chou’s acting and are literally stylish action films, while “Kung Fu Dunk” tried to capture the feel of “Shaolin Soccer” (which it failed to accomplish), “The Treasure Hunter” tries to be a martial arts Indiana Jones-style film with more plot holes than holes in Swiss cheese.

One thing that we know of the film is that Jay Chou plays a treasure hunter that returns the treasure back to their owners. We know there is sexual attraction between treasure hunter Qiao Fei and his mentor’s daughter Lan Ting.

The problem of the film is that it introduces a lot of things to the film that make no sense. From the hoard of attacking warriors on the dune and they happen to be stuck inside a diner, its reminiscent of the American film “Legion” but what is their purpose, we don’t know. It seems that the film tried to incorporate one large action chase scene for action-sake, with nothing impacting the storyline.

Before the attack by the dune warriors, we see a soldier attacking Qiao Fei, but what is his purpose in the film? Why even give this non-essential character a closeup.

And then all of a sudden, the film tries to become a zombie/vampire like film when Pork Chop’s employees start eating flowers that have grown from a dead corpse, thus making him to a zombie with super abilities.

And while it was one thing to introduce these supernatural beasts or whatever they are, we are introduced to a storyline that revolves around a woman named Dao-Dao and the Desert Eagle, which plays an impact to the story in the beginning and about Qiao Fei’s past. But the brief interaction with Desert Eagle is so short that you wonder why the writer chose to introduce it to the storyline.

Unfortunately, as much as the film does look cool in terms of its warm colorized look and the visual effects, especially the fight choreography, the film was disappointing.

And what makes it even worse is that the film that Yen-ping Chu and Jay Chou did before this, was also the same. Full of style, cool fight choreography but a storyline that tried to add to much but got nowhere.

The Blu-ray release is also “OK”. While the picture quality is very good, we are only given a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack (Mandarin and in English) and for special features, just a single trailer.

Needless to say, Jay Chou fans are going to watch this film because it features Jay Chou. But the film didn’t do well in Taiwan and was a box office failure. But since Jay Chou has become internationally well-known because of his work on “The Green Hornet”, the collaboration between him and Yen-ping Chu for their second film together is another mess.

It’s unfortunate because I respect Jay Chou as a fan of his music and I have been supportive of his growth as an actor, even when he first starred in “Initial D”, but his two films with Yen-ping Chu may give him that acting experience but unfortunately they are bad films. Again, these films were made before “The Green Hornet”, so hopefully, he gets better film roles to star in.

“The Treasure Hunter” is more eye-candy and a popcorn action-film with an anemic, kitschy storyline that is too confusing to be any good.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews

City of Life and Death (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

October 20, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“City of Life and Death” is the most visceral war film that I have seen to effectively capture the atrocities and the brutality of the Nanking massacre in cinema. This is an unforgettable film that resonates within you for a very long time with its realistic and stunning cinematography. Director Lu Chuan has created a masterpiece! This Blu-ray is fantastic! ”City of Life and Death” is highly recommended!

TITLE: City of Life and Death

FILM RELEASE: 2009

DURATION: 113 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1920x1080p (2:35:1), Mandarin with optional English Subtitles

COMPANY: Lorber Films/Kino Lorber

RATED: Not Rated

Release Date: October 25, 2011

Written and Directed by Lu Chuan

Produced by John Chong, Sanping Han, Hong Qin, Andy Zhang, Li Zhou

Music by Tong Liu

Cinematography by Yu Cao

Edited by Yun Teng

Production Design by Yi Hao

Starring:

Ye Liu as Lu Jianxiong

Yuanyuan Gao as Miss Jiang

Hideo Nakaizumi as Kadokawa

Wei Fan as Mr. Tang

Yiyan Jiang as Xiao Jiang

Ryu Kohata as Ida

Bin Liu as Xiadouzi

Yuki Miyamoto as Yuko

John Paisley as John Rabe

Beverly Peckous as Minnie Vautrin

Lan Qin as Mrs. Tang

Sam Voutas as Durdin

Di Yao as Tang Xiaomei

Yisui as Shunzi

On December 9, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, beginning a reign of terror that killed as many as 300,000 civilians — an infamous tragedy now referred to as the Rape of Nanking. The first big-budget fiction film by the Chinese to deal with this seminal event in their modern history, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH is a visceral, heartbreaking portrait of life during wartime, and an unforgettable masterpiece of contemporary world cinema.

For many years, I have been waiting for a powerful film that would show people of the atrocities that took place from December 1937-January 1938 in the capital city of Nanking.

While there have been several films on what occurred in Nanking over seventy years ago, young writer/director Lu Chuan accomplished what many felt he couldn’t do, to create a realistic portrayal of the genocide.

Known as the Nanking Massacre and also the “Rape of Nanking”, the atrocities were committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War when the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army slaughtered civilians of all ages, raped women until they died. It is estimated that 300,000 people were massacred.

Despite records kept by Nazi-supporter John Rabe (the person who tried to save the Chinese in Nanking by developing a safe zone) , the records kept by Westerners working for the Red Cross or were missionaries and journalists and residents who witnessed the atrocities, to this day, the genocide of the civilians of Nanking is still being disputed by Japanese nationalists who believe that the massacre was fabricated.

Needless to say, because of the war and atrocities that were committed during the war, it remains to be a tense and problematic situation between both countries today.

I have researched the Nanking (or Nanjing) Massacre since I was in college, as my eyes were opened to the atrocities committed, I know that many people around the world are not familiar of what happened to the Chinese people. And since the ’90s, I have been wanting to see novels receive film adaptations and while there have been several films featuring John Rabe and also bits and pieces of the battle of Nanking, there have not been many movies that would realistically capture the battle but also the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial troops towards the Chinese people of Nanking.

Especially since its a touchy subject and the fact that many Chinese still hold a lot of pain and anger towards the Japanese because of the war. And for director Lu Chuan, his goal was to create a realistic portrayal of the atrocities committed towards the innocent civilians of Nanking but also to show a sympathetic side to the Japanese and show that while what the Japanese Imperial soldiers did do to Chinese was barbaric, it does not make the whole country barbaric.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, Lu Chuan said, “Yes, Japanese people committed a crime but maybe it’s not a fault of a certain nation, maybe it’s a fault of the war, so I’m not going to make a movie against a certain nation, but against the war. If the government forces us to go to the battlefield, everybody can be a killer.”

But most importantly, it was a film that Chuan, who did countless research, lived and studied in Nanking wanted the film for people outside of China to know about what took place in Nanking.

“City of Life and Death” was created with a budget of $10 million, casting of hundreds of people which would include both Chinese and Japanese talent and the film would receive rave reviews from critics worldwide and would win numerous awards around the world for “Best Film” and “Best Cinematography”.

“City of Life and Death” is a film that begins shortly after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, the Imperial Japanese army has captured the capital of the Republic of China, Nanking and because of that, many of the Chinese commaders of the KMT began to flee Nanking. Meanwhile, soldier Lu Jianxiong (played by Liu Ye), his comrade Zhao try to fight the fleeing Chinese troops from abandoning the city. But as the Chinese soldiers attempt to leave, they are captured by the Japanese Imperial troops.

As the Japanese scour the city, we are introduced to Japanese soldier Sergeant Masao Kadokawa (played by Hideo Nakaizumi). Like everyone on the Japanese side, they are low on food and drinks, so they loot the Chinese restaurants for anything to drink.

The soldiers who are led by Ida (played by Ryu Kohata) are approached by Dr. John Rabe (played by John Paisley) and Mr. Tang (played by Wei Fan). [Note: John Rabe was a foreign national from Germany and a Nazi-supporter who along with 15 American and European missionaries and businessman created the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. The Safety Zone provided Chinese refugees with food and shelter and prevent them from being slaughtered by the Japanese Imperial troops).

As Rabe tries to talk to Ida and tell them that Japanese can not interfere with the Safety Zone and that he is German and is a Nazi, he hopes that because of Germany and Japan's alliance, he could deter them from hurting the Chinese. But unfortunately, Ida could care less about what Rabe and Mr. Tang have to say and continue on their way to scouring the city.

We see a small group of Japanese soldiers led by Commander Ida (played by Ryu Kohata) which includes Sgt. Kadokawa approach a church-like area and as they go inside, they see possibly thousands of men, women, children, elderly and wounded soldiers giving themselves up. For Kadokawa, he is sent to bring Japanese reinforcements to the church. And we see the first act of defiance as the soldiers shoot innocent people hiding inside closet.

But while scouring the city, Lu Jianxiong along with a group of young children who are Chinese soldiers begin to help him kill the Japanese troops. So, as a sneak attack takes down the Japanese troops, more Japanese troops come to the area and there outnumber Jianxiong and the Chinese troops and all are captured and will all be executed.

All the people are rounded up and then the massacre begins. We see the Japanese shooting and killing the innocent Chinese people of Nanking, people of all ages as they are gunned down.

We see thousands of people who are standing being shot and killed by soldiers. We see hundreds of people being buried alive. We see many people being lined up and slaughtered by the Japanese troops bayonets.

Thousands slaughtered...

And as his people are being killed, soldier Lu Jianxiong accepts his fate and joining him is his young soldier, a young boy named Xiaodouzi.

As the Japanese prepare the Chinese soldiers, young and old, for execution, the Chinese soldiers, with their last breath, yell scream about their pride for China, but for Lu, he looks at Xiadouzi and puts his hands over his eyes. The Japanese soldiers shoot at the Chinese and kills them all in the mass execution.

For those staying in the safety zone, Mrs. Tang and the women can not believe what has happened to everyone in the city. As some of the Chinese go out to see if they can check if there are any survivors, Zhao who survived the massacre also finds young Xiaodouzi alive.

Both escape to the safety zone in hopes that John Rabe and Mr. Tang can help them.

But there are thousands of people there and its way more than Rabe and others can watch over. So, each night, bands of Japanese soldiers try to infiltrate and rape the Chinese women and some of them do just that in front of a crowd of other scared refugees who do not want to die. As Rabe and the other Westerners try to stop the Japanese from raping the women, some of the women decide that they must take precautions and many go as far as cutting their hair and begin dressing like men in hopes that they do not get raped.

Meanwhile, on the Japanese side, Sgt. Kadokawa spends his time with a Japanese comfort woman named Yuriko. Because he is conflicted by the violence around him, unlike other soldiers, he manages to show his act of kindness towards her and vows to marry her once the war is over.

At the Safety Zone, the Japanese soldiers pull a ruse and trick all the westerners who were protecting the Safety Zone to all come out while many Japanese soldiers go inside to the Safety Zone to rape more women. Japanese Commander Ida tells Mr. Tang and John Rabe that he requires 100 female refugees to become comfort women or else more will be killed. When they go after Mr. Tang's wife and daughter, he tries to fight back and because Mr. Tang tried to fight against the Japanese, they grab his young child and throw her out the top window many levels down, killing her.

John Rabe and teacher Ms. Jiang Shuyun (played by Gao Yuanyuan) know that they have no choice and must tell the women in the Safety Zone that 100 female refugees must become "comfort women" for the Japanese Imperial Troops. And those who were previously victimized realize that in order to save the others, they will need to volunteer themselves and become comfort women.

So, thousands of soldiers prepare to have their 15 minutes with the 100 women, including Commander Ida who beats Mr. Tang's sister-in-law May for not smiling to him or kissing him as he rapes her. As Sgt. Kadokawa meets Xiao Jian (played by Jiang Yiyan) and brings her rice, he can not rape her but when one soldier wonders if he is done, he immediately pulls down his pants and starts raping Xiao Jian in front of Kadokawa and the woman looks at Kadokawa with a lifeless stare.

And eventually, many of the women are killed due to the non-stop rape and many go crazy. Such as May, who begins singing opera loudly and is shot and killed by Commander Ida. Kadokawa is repulsed by what Ida has done but Ida tells him that he liked her and that its better for her to die than being subjective to living this way. Meanwhile, Xiaio Jian is dragged to a wheel barrow with other women who have died from rape and this time, the lifeless stare is there, but this time, she is dead.

Unfortunately because Dr. Rabe's interference with German and Japan relations because of the Safety Zone, the Nazi's order him to return to Germany and now the Safety Zone will be taken down. With Rabe gone, what will happen to the many Chinese refugees still living in Nanking?

And for Kadokawa, what happens when the atrocities, the violence and alienation gets the best of him?

VIDEO:

"City of Life and Death" is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), black and white. Director Lu Chuan was influenced by Spielberg's "Schindler's List" and felt the film should be kept in black and white and the decision to do so, in my opinion, made the film quite effective. Because the film already focuses on the atrocities committed by the Japanese towards the Chinese citizens, the film would be too gory to watch if we were to see blood everywhere. But by no means does that mean picture quality would be inferior.

In fact, this film is enhanced by its high details. From the worn out skin of the soldiers, the grime on the skin and dark blood (which is seen as black) on the soldiers is shown effectively in HD as well as the clothing as you can see the stitching patterns and the threading with clarity. Skin pigments with clarity. Especially with the destruction of buildings during the battle, the scene of Nanking looks realistic in the film.

Black levels are deep while whites and grays have amazing contrast and the picture is sharp.

But I must credit cinematographer Yu Cao for capturing the brutality and the massacres with his camera shots. What is captured on camera is heartbreaking, stunning and realistic. The details are in the eyes, shots of fear, panic, despair...and people with tears knowing that they are not going to survive the ordeal... I was literally captivated and sickened at the same time. To know that what is shown on screen is non-fiction and these atrocities took place (and many situations even worse as seen in photos from Nanking), many times during the film, I had to pause and collect myself.

This is the second time this has ever happened to me, the other time was watching Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog", a documentary about the Nazi concentration camps. But the fact that a film such as "City of Life and Death" can have this much of an effect, it goes to show how viscerally powerful this film is.

So, overall...picture quality is magnificent, cinematography is fantastic!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

The lossless soundtrack of "City of Life and Death" is magnificent. Presented in Mandarin DTS-HD Matster Audio 5.1, let me first preface and say that there are not many Asian films (non-animated) that I have watched and felt were immersive but I have to say that the soundtrack for this film is hauntingly immersive as one can expect from a war film.

From the battle between the Chinese and Japanese, to hear the bullets zipping from all around you, to hear the gunfire, the tanks and mortar rounds going off close by or to a distance, to hear explosions from a distance and to hear the screams whenever a soldier shoots in the air, the realism of fear, sadness, pain and everything brutal that can be heard in a film about the massacre of innocent people is captured on the soundtrack of "City of Life and Death".

To have a film that can captivate you visually but also via audio, needless to say, I was quite impressed and as Yu Cao did a wonderful job with cinematography, Tong Liu did a magnificent job with the music of the film.

With powerful visuals and powerful audio, needless to say, "City of Life and Death" was certainly an experience. I heard no problems with the audio, Mandarin was crystal clear, each artillery fire was amazingly clear and once again, this lossless soundtrack is absolutely immersive and enhances your appreciation for the film!

As for subtitles, English subtitles are optional and are easy to read.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"City of Life and Death" comes with the following special features:

Disc 1:

Kino Lorber Trailers
Stills - Featuring stills from "City of Life and Death"

Disc 2:

Matters of Life and Death - (1:53:56) It's important to note that the second disc is not a Blu-ray but a DVD. The documentary or making-of features an interview with director Lu Chuan and the talent. But we learn how much of a challenge it was to create this film but also how the talent felt the power of this film and what they felt at the time of making the film.

EXTRAS:

"City of Life and Death" comes with a slipcase cover.

Heartbreaking, brutal but the most honest portrayal of the atrocities committed in Nanking for cinema.

For so long, I have waited for a film of this caliber to be made on the "Rape of Nanking". Because it would probably answer a lot of questions for many people of why there are continued tensions between China and Japan. But also to understand how war can make regular people do terrible things.

Back in college, I learned a lot about the Armenian Genocide and Nanking Massacres but while my college due to its large Armenian student population would have memorials for those who were killed, there is not much out there for people to know about what transpired in Nanking in 1937-1938 unless you go out and look for it.

Having studied Asian culture (especially with focus on Japanese culture), it was interesting to see things on brother's side who is more closer to Chinese culture and him experiencing first hand through his Chinese father-in-law of the long-lasting pain and anger that Chinese have towards Japanese. It was an intriguing juxtaposition because I recently wrote about how my grandfather fought against the Japanese in World War II but he told me that what happened then was due to war.

So, as I was researching this film, I ran a quote by director Lu Chuan with Filmmaker in which the director said, "Why is there war? I wanted to make a movie about the Nanjing massacre, but then I started to explore the history of massacres, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and learned they happened everywhere. It’s not something that belongs to Japanese people. So I decided to [articulate] this kind of feeling in my movie. I don’t want my son or daughter, younger brother or sister to look at the Japanese [in the] way [we did]. It’s not true. The massacre was in 1937. After 70 years, we have to reconsider it from a different angle. The Japanese troops were criminal — but the biggest criminal was the war itself. It twisted human nature. It pushed normal people to pull the trigger. I was in the army for several years, you know. I know if I was in uniform on the battlefield, I would pull the trigger on strangers if the [military] authorities asked me to.”

And in China, since childhood, people are taught about what happened during their war against Japan and what Japan did to them, it doesn’t help when Japanese nationals continue to say that the genocide was fabricated. And while the modern younger generation (in Japan) feels no attachment to what transpired in the past, they are not taught about the atrocities committed by their own people and pretty much, it’s part of the history that is hidden from them. But many young people know that Japan at the time, are responsible for a lot of terrible things due to war, a lot of other countries have also done the same throughout time.

So, war is always ugly and war brings out the worst in humanity.

And what happened to the people of Nanking back in December 1937-January 1938 is shocking, disturbing and you can’t believe how people can be so cruel and barbaric but it happened. And there is only so much one can do by reading a book, online and seeing the photos. But for many people, they need the visual and “City of Life and Death” amazingly captures the massacres, the pain, the suffering of people with so much efficacy. People have to remember, this was a low-budget film featuring hundreds of people, many who have never worked on a film before. But yet, each role was crucial, each scene must look realistic and for everyone who participated in this film, they did a magnificent job in making the film real for us viewers.

As mentioned earlier, this is the second film where I had to pause and collect my thoughts and just take time and wait a few minutes because the massacre of innocents was making me feel sickened and to the point where I felt like crying because I have never seen humanity become so cruel to innocent people. I know genocide has happened within my lifetime but what took place in Nanking is shocking. From the massacre of 300,000 people, from soldiers having contests on how many people they can behead (and this was featured in a major Japanese newspaper publication as two soldiers were having a contest), to the rape of thousands of women and girls who were raped repeatedly until they died. And there was no respect for these women. These soldiers did their thing and not shown in this film but you can find photos are what soldiers inserted in women after they killed them.

And what is so unforgettable are the details captured by the cinematography of the film, when thousands are shot to death, people being buried alive, trying to escape but they can’t. But just looking at the eyes of the characters, the tears, the lifelessness, the fear and in death.

Filmmaker Lu Chuan had encountered many challenges in making of this film. From those who didn’t want to support it because of its content or that it was a film that a young director could not handle, but he proved them wrong. He was able to write and direct a film that captured the atrocities and brutality against the Chinese people but also trying to show not exactly sympathy but to show that even the Japanese like the character Kadokawa did things that he did not want to do but because it was war, he was conflicted and starts to eat upon his soul.

The Blu-ray release is absolutely fantastic, from amazing picture quality and an immersive lossless soundtrack to a making-of that is not your average run-of-the mill non-exciting feature but there is a lot included in terms of sharing with the viewer of the challenges and the emotional state of the talent who took part in this film. Because it was a thought-provoking film that has not been explored in this magnitude and the result is literally epic.

In fact, this film had so much of a profound effect on me that I hope to visit the Memorial Hall of Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing.

Overall, “City of Life and Death” is the most visceral war film that I have seen to effectively capture the atrocities and the brutality of the Nanking massacre in cinema. This is an unforgettable film that resonates within you for a very long time with its realistic and stunning cinematography.

Director Lu Chuan has created a masterpiece! This Blu-ray release is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews, Featured Review Spotlight

GANTZ (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

October 17, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

If you are looking for an exciting Japanese popcorn action film or you are a fan who can separate themselves from the original storyline of the “GANTZ” anime and manga series, then definitely give the first “GANTZ” film a try!

DVD TITLE: GANTZ

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 128 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Two-Disc, Japanese and English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Anamorphic Widescreen

COMPANY: New People Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2011

Directed by Shinsuke Sato

Based on the Manga by Hiroya Oku

Screenplay by Yusuke Watanabe

Produced by Takahiro Sato

Music by Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by Taro Kawazu

Edited by Tsuyoshi Imai

Casting by Yumi Minamidani

Production Design by Yasuaki Harada

Starring:

Kazunari Ninomiya as Kei Kurono

Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Masaru Kato

Yuriko Yoshitaka as Tae Kojima

Kanata Hongo as Joichiro Nishi

Natsuna as Kei Kishimoto

Tomorowo Taguchi as Yoshikazu Suzuki

Kei Kurono and his childhood friend Masaru Kato attempt to save a man who has fallen onto the train tracks, but are run down by an oncoming train. However, rather than finding themselves dead, they are transported to a strange apartment in which they find a mysterious black orb known as “GANTZ.” Along with others there, they are provided weaponry and sent on missions to battle alien beings. Is this world, which tests your will to survive, a game or reality?

In 2000, mangaka Hiroya Oku created the “Gantz” manga series. A series which is still ongoing to this day.

The 26-episode, two season anime series was released in 2004 and for many Americans, it was among the popular series to be released on DVD due to its sci-fi action, adult humor and violence.

The film was shown in America first as it was simulcast in theaters in 46 states, in Japan, the first film was released in theaters on January 29th. With the second film being screened in July at San Diego Comic-Con, the film makes its debut on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of New People Entertainment.

It’s important to note that the films are loosely-based on the manga and anime series.

While Kei Kishimoto puts on her Gantz outfit, the others are not so sure if they should wear it.

As the alien tries to kill Kato, Kishimoto kicks him and sends the alien behemoth flying. They then know that the suits given to them by Gantz is quite powerful and gives them some special abilities.

VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

It’s important to note that if one wants the best picture and audio quality of “Gantz”, a Blu-ray version of the film is available. As for the DVD, the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese and English.

As for picture quality, as expected for a DVD, you do see some artifacts but for the most part, the good news is that New People Entertainment decided to put the special features on a second disc in order to give the film better PQ. Again, the Blu-ray version is the one to go with for better picture quality but the DVD is good. It’s important to note that while the film is bloody, to not make it so violent, the blood is darkened to black.

As for the audio, the film has quite a bit of action, so I did notice a good use of the surround channels. From explosions to metal upon metal clanging (especially Kato vs. the 100-arm Bhudda), the action sequences do sound great on DVD. But of course, nothing beats lossless and if you have a Blu-ray player, Blu-ray and HD is the way to go!

As for the dialogue, I prefer to watch films in their original language and don’t listen to the English dub. But for those who refuse to watch a film with English subtitles, you do have the choice to watch it with an English dub.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Gantz” comes with the following special features on Disc-2:

Gantz Japanese Original Trailers – Featuring several GANTZ TV commercial and movie trailers.
Director’s Profile & Interview – (28:51) Interviews with filmmaker Shinsuke Sato talking about the first film and how it leads to the second film. As well as the challenges of shooting the film and casting decisions.
New People Presents – A trailer for previously released New People entertainment films.

What one can expect from a popcorn action film starring a few of Japanese top young talents! “GANTZ” features constant action that will thrill you! Possibly one of the better film adaptations from a manga series in terms of visual effects and costume design.

But with that being said, this is a popcorn action film with a lot of action and visual effects but at the same time, it’s a film that is quite different from the manga/anime series. Granted, there was quite a bit of perversion with the original series…let’s just say it involves a dog and Kishimoto. But of course, the heart of this series was the mysterious game and the amount of violence shown for an animated series.

When these humans, many who refuse to wear the suits that Gantz gives them, suffice to say, in the series they are slaughtered to death, blood and carnage everywhere. In the film, there is carnage but the director makes things so dark, especially darken the blood that no one gags while watching. You know that these poor people who lost their life are dead, but how badly…that is where the film doesn’t go far into.

And for fans of the series, the lack of the sex and bloody violence in the film may be a bad thing. For me, with any comic book adaptation, you know there are going to be changes. “Death Note” was very different from the original series and since this film is from the producers of the “Death Note” films, who pretty much had to take the long story of the series and very loosely, create an adaptation to make two films out of it, the same can be said with Gantz.

It’s loosely based on the series and if anything, the characters from the series are there and very few situations remain the same, but for the most part, its an entirely different story when compared to the manga and anime series and similar to “Death Note”, the live-action films, you have to separate the live films from the manga/anime series.

As for the DVD, I did like the fact that they kept the special features separate on another disc but if you have a Blu-ray player and really want very good picture and audio quality, the Blu-ray release of “Gantz” is the way to go. Otherwise, if you don’t plan to upgrade to Blu-ray, “Gantz” still looks good on DVD and not everything is crammed to one disc.

As mentioned, they try to squeeze a lot into one film, especially the action sequences. So, the character developing part of Kurono, Kato and Kojima, while we do understand Kato’s connection to his brother, there is more to the Kato storyline than what was shown in the film and it’s rather unfortunate that the film does lose the storyline connecting the viewer to these characters. It’s something that a manga series can focus on, especially a 26-episode anime series, but for a two-hour film, there is only so much you can incorporate and thus, the screenplay tries to fit in as much character development plots but focus primarily on the action.

And criticism of film adaptations of manga series is not just for “Gantz”, it extends farther to other live action films including “20th Century Boys”, “Maison Ikkoku”, “Video Girl Ai”, “Honey and Clover”, “Death Note”, etc. There is only so much you can incorporate into a two-hour film and something has to suffer. Fortunately, for Gantz, the film relies on its action than the dramatic elements of the series.

So, that is one positive for this film. Focus on the action and if fans are able to separate themselves from the anime or manga series, then everything seems to work out OK.

Overall, “GANTZ” may not be the best film adaptation on a manga series but I have to admit that I had a lot of fun watching the film adaptation. The fight against the alien in the car garage or the 100-arm Buddha, that was quite exciting.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Tajomaru Avenging Blade: Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

September 27, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

From the director of “Samurai Fiction” comes this stylized, feudal Japan era, action film featuring popular young star Shun Oguri. While not the best film of its genre, “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is a decent and entertaining popcorn swordfighting action film that is entertaining.

TITLE: Tajomaru Avenging Blade: Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 132 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16×9 HD Native), DolbyTrue HD Japanese 5.1 and DolbyTrueHD English 5.1, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV MA

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2011

Directed by Hiroyuki Nakano

Based on the Short Story “Yabu no Naka” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Screenplay by Shinichi Ichikawa, Mataichiro Yamamoto

Produced by Mataichiro Yamamoto

Co-Producer: Hidemi Satani

Associate Producer: Eugene Nomura, Toshiie Tomida

Line Producer: Toshihiro Osato

Music by Naoki Otsubo

Cinematography by Takumi Furuya

Edited by Shuichi Kakesu

Production Design by Yuji Hayashida

Costume Design by Kazuhiro Sawataishi

Starring:

Shun Oguri as Naomitsu Hatakeyama

Yuki Shibamoto as Ako

Kei Tanaka as Sakuramaru

Kyosuke Yabe as Michikane

Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Nobutsuna Hatakeyama

Hirotaro Honda as Hidetaka Kuriyama

Hiroki Matsukata as Tajomaru

Masaomi Kondo as Kagetoki

Ken’ichi Hagiwara as Ashikaga Yoshimasa

In the days of feudal Japan bandits ruled the forests. Tajomaru was the king of criminals: his ruthless character terrorized villagers and royalty across the country. As the legend went, whoever killed the infamous thief inherited his name, his sword and his reputation…

Naomitsu is a nobleman forced to flee the capital by conspirators embroiled in jealousy. In a desperate struggle with the nefarious Tajomaru, Naomitsu loses the love of his life, Ako, but gains a new title and the coveted blade, The Cutting Wave. As he wages war on his betrayers in furious battles – and even braves the depths of the Pit of Hell – bodies will fall and vengeance will be served by the great bandit king.

In 2010, Japanese movie goers had the opportunity to experience “Tajomaru Avenging Blade”, the latest film for “Samurai Fiction” director Hiroyuki Nakano.

“Tajomaru” is a film adaptation of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s novel “Yabu no Naka” and would star actor Shun Oguri (“Tokyo Dogs, “Azumi”, “Stand Up!!”, “Hana Yori no Dango”), Yuki Shibamoto (“Furin Kazan”, A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), Kei Tanaka (“Soredemo, Ikite Yuku”, “Hot Man”, “Waterboys”), Hirouki Ikeuchi (“GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka”, “Beautiful Life”) and Ken’ichi Hagiwara (“Fighting Girl”, “Love Letter”, “The Wanderers”).

In Japan, actor Kenichi Hagiwara won an award for “Special Jury Award Best Actor” for the Japanese Film Critics Award and the theme song “Pray” by the rock band B’z was on top of the music charts.

The film revolves around two brothers of nobility, Naomitsu Hatekeyama (played by Shun Oguri) and Nobotsuna Hatekyama (played by Hiroyuki Ikeuchi). As children, the two would spar with each other and have fun, while hanging out with Princess Ako (played by Yuki Shibamoto).

Long ago, when they were children, they encountered a young boy named Sakuramaru who was a thief. But being a kind-hearted person, Naomitsu allowed Sakuramaru to become part of their family.

And eventually growing up, Sakuramaru (played by Kei Tanaka) grew up wanting to become a retainer for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who eventually takes in Sakuramaru.

But growing up, as the death of Ako’s father, one of the boys is supposed to marry Princess Ako and also inherit the family gold. Naomitsu and Ako have always been in love since they were young, so it is thought that the two would get married. When older Nobotsuna feels that he needs to step in and become the family leader, this concerns Naomitsu because he loves Ako. He doesn’t care if his brother takes the gold, all Naomitsu wants is to be with his one and only love.

While Ako is grieving, Naomitsu goes to meet with Ako in hopes that she can tell him where the gold is and hopes to give it to his brother while finding a way for him to keep Ako, but Sakuramaru tells a different story to Nobotsuna. Sakuramaru tells the elder brother that Naomitsu is scheming to get Ako and the money, this angers Nobotsuna.

Nobotsuna suddenly goes to Ako with anger and rapes her. With Nobotsuna angered at his younger brother, he sends his men after him and in the process, Naomitsu and Ako flee their home.

Meanwhile, Sakuramaru uses the opportunity to kill the guardian of Naomitsu and Nobotsuna’s and his men and then afterward killing Nobotsuna.

Sakuramaru has now taken Naomitsu’s name and leads the Hakeyama family and now he has the power but now what he needs is the money and his goal is to find Ako and find out where the gold from her family is located.

As Naomitsu and Ako continue fleeing far from their home, both are approached by the legendary and feared warrior Tajomaru (played by Hiroki Matsukata). Despite Tajomaru being an older man, Naomitsu is nowhere the same level in swordfighting skills and is knocked out and lays unconscious after their fight.

We then see Tajomaru going after Ako but she is unable to fight against him and he throws her to the ground and looks as if he will be raping her. When Naomitsu awakens, he is tied up and sees a crying Ako begging to Tajomaru not to kill her and that she will go with him anywhere if he doesn’t do anything to her. She then tells tells Tajomaru to kill Naomitsu. Naomitsu thinks that she has been raped and that is the reason she would say such a thing and that she is just upset because he was unable to defend her.

When Tajomaru goes to kill Naomitsu, she runs away and flees. He then frees Naomitsu, who is shocked of what has taken place and upset for raping Ako, Naomitsu finds a knife and stabs Tajomaru several times and kills him.

Before he dies, Tajomaru tells Naomitsu that the legend of Tajomaru must continue and gives him his sword and tells him that from now on, he will be known as Tajomaru.

And as for Tajomaru, he joins a group of thieves and becomes a good moral leader for them. But once word gets to Naomitsu that his brother has been killed and someone using his name has assumed leadership, Naomitsu returns to his village and to his surprise he finds out that Sakuramaru is now using his name and that living with him is Princess Ako.

VIDEO:

“Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is presented in 1080p High Definition (16:9) and the film is full of colors and fine detail. Especially with the costume and set design which really sets the look and feel of the series. The picture quality features a warmer look and there is a hint of softness at times but for the most part, this film looks beautiful in HD.

Also, one can easily compare the accompanying DVD to the Blu-ray and see how the colors are much more sharper and costume design is much more detailed on Blu-ray compared to the DVD release.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is presented in Japanese with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Mix and and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix and subtitles are in English.

I am one who will never watch an Asian film with an English dub. The Japanese lossless soundtrack is well-acted but I did watch the English dub and as FUNimation Entertainment is known for casting the best English voice talent, it’s quite subjective to the viewer but I feel that fans who prefer English dubbing will enjoy it.

Both have similar mixes and the film is primarily center and front-channel driven. I did notice the use of crowd ambiance during the film and the action sequences are well-utilized for the surround channels.

If anything, the only thing that didn’t work for me is watching a movie that is based in feudal Japan and then hearing JET’s “Sgt. Major” playing in the background. But it was cool to see B’z's “Pray” used as the ending credits theme song.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Tajomaru Avenging Blade” comes with the following special features:

Making of Tajomaru - (17:07) Featuring the making of “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” and how various scenes were shot.

EXTRAS:

“Tajomaru Avenging Blade” comes with a DVD presented in 16:9, Japanese and English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.

A fun, modernized feudal Japan swordfighting film, “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” may not be the best film of its genre but for a new generation of moviegoers who wants to see a younger cast (courtesy of popular actor Shun Oguri and Kei Tanaka and actress Yuki Shibamoto) and a stylized modern feel (courtesy of the music by Japanese rock band B’z and Australian rock band JET), then this movie is for you!

I know plenty of Japanese drama fans who simply love Shun Oguri and while he typically is featured in roles of playing the lover not the fighter, in the case of “Tajomaru Avenging Blade”, he plays both as the character Naomitsu Hatakeyama.

While the Hatakeyama family and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa do have a place in Japanese history, the story of “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is not a fictional story. The best part of “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is its look and feel. The costume design and set design are well-done and capture traditional Japan quite well, but when you move past that, I felt the film had some shortcomings in terms of plot.

The “thief and always a thief” storyline doesn’t quite cut it for me. The character Sakuramaru as the antagonist is one thing but it makes you wonder why he became this vile character. We don’t really know what made Sakuramaru become so evil, especially when he was taken care of by the Hatakeyama family. We are alluded that he was used by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa but to what extent and why, we don’t know. Also, with the Hatakeyama brothers being excellent, well-trained swordfighters, how Sakuramaru would become better than possibly even the skilled Naomitsu, also didn’t cut it for me.

But to add the big “question mark” is seeing Naomitsu turned Tajomaru hanging out with the thieves and then hearing JET’s “Sgt. Major” playing in the background followed by a rap song by the thieves. I know that possibly filmmaker Hiroyuki Nakano was trying to make this film accessible for the younger generation, especially those who came out to watch Shun Oguri but it’s one thing to hear JET but to hear a rap song celebration, that was to kitschy for me.

But I do like the twists and turns that takes place in “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” but I feel that there were some plot elements that needed to be ironed out and aside from modernizing a movie for a younger generation, I suppose it’s all subjective to the viewer but modern music in a film set in the far distant past of feudal Japan, it didn’t work for me.

As for the Blu-ray release, “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” does feature a solid lossless soundtrack. Not very immersive but for this type of film, the soundtrack works well especially how it incorporates the ambiance of the film. Picture quality is also very good as the colorful costumes really look beautiful and the detail on Blu-ray is fantastic. There is only one special feature included and it’s only the “making of”.

Overall, “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” works great as a popcorn action film. As long as no one is expecting anything deep along the lines of an Akira Kurosawa-type plot or the best in swordfighting choreography, then you should be fine. If anything, “Tajomaru Avenging Blade” is a nice diversion from the heavier and deeper feudal Japan storyline, it’s not a great film but I was entertained by it.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews

The Sword with No Name (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

September 18, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Fantastic! “The Sword with No Name” is a fictional storyline based on the real-life assassination of Korea’s Empress/Queen Myeongseong and features a wonderful performance by actress Su Ae and actor Cho Seung-woo. Beautiful cinematography, music and an effective storyline that makes this romantic tragedy worth watching. Definitely recommended!

TITLE: The Sword with No Name (Bool-kkott-cheo-reom na-bi-cheo-reom)

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2009

DURATION: 124 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16×9 HD Native), DolbyTrue HD Korean 2.0 and DolbyTrueHD English 5.1, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV MA

COMPANY: Showbox/FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2011

Directed by Yong-guyn Kim

Written by Seol-Rok Ya

Produced by Kim Mi Hee

Cinematography by Kim Myung Joon

Music by Kim Myung Joon

Edited by Kim Seok Won Kim Chang Sub

Costume Design by Hyun Seob Shim

Starring:

Soo Ae as Empress Myeong-Seong

Seung-woo Cho as Moo-Myeong

Jae-jim Baek as King’s father’s commander

Jae-woong Choi as Noe-jeon

Su-hee Go as So-hee

In-gu Heo as Ko-jong’s follower

Ho-jin Jeon as Dae Won-gun

Young-min Kim as Go-jong

Yong-nyeo Lee as Court Lady Choi

Park Min-hee as Mi Woo-ra

The Joseon Dynasty’s legendary Empress Myseongseong is a cherished ruler who fought courageously to modernize Korea. Forced to marry a king she does not love and embroiled in a brutal struggle between rival world powers, the Empress draws her strength from a dashing rogue; a nameless headhunter who would do anything to be near her.

This dark and brooding master of the blade protects the Empress as she stands strong against the sinister forces seeking to colonize her beloved country. When a traitor within the royal family orchestrates a plot to assassinate the Empress, only this anonymous swordsman proves willing to spill his own blood in defense of the noble beauty who would sacrifice her life for the people of Korea.

Korea’s Empress/Queen Myeongseong, her story of the Queen during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea is best known in history for standing up against Japan’s military and government influence in the East by aligning Korea with Russia but also her tragic story of how she would be assassinated by those she stood up against.

Her story is quite fascinating and you can’t help but respect what she was able to accomplish but seeing how things unfolded when she became a Queen and her willingness to open Korea to work with representatives of foreign countries.

But because of the dramatic and tragic elements of her story and the fact that all photos of the Empress were burned and destroyed, needless to say that the Empress has become a sort of mystery. No known photo exists and needless to say there have been dramatizations of the Queen and because she is such a historic figure, as well as heroic, there have been interest in her.

And in the case of “The Sword with No Name”, the 2009 film receives a romanticized fictional story about the Empress or Queen written by Seol-Rok ya and directed by Yong-gyun Kim (“The Red Shoes”). The film would star actress Soo Ae (or spelled Su Ae, “Athena: Goddess of War”, “Love Letter”) playing the character of the Empress/Queen Myeong-seong and actor Seung-woo Cho (“Go Go 70′s”, “Love Phobia”, “Marathon”).

And now the Blu-ray and DVD will be released courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment on Sept. 20th.

“The Sword with No Name” begins with the murders of Catholic women in Korea and for young Johannes, he watches as his mother is beheaded and can’t do anything about it. Fast forward to the present and Min Ja Yeong has been selected to become the next queen to marry King Gojong (played by Kim Young-Min).

Although she doesn’t know or love the man, it’s her destiny to become the next queen of Korea and before she is to marry, she decides to take a quick trip to the beach where her father took her to as a child. She hitches a ride on a boat owned by Mu-Myeong (played by Seung-woo Cho) and he agrees to take the beautiful woman to the beach.

While getting to know the future Queen, Mu-Myeong becomes smitten with Min Ja Yeong and both start to find comfort within one another. When he goes to take her back, someone tries to assassinate her but is protected by Mu-Myeong. They are then approached by Noe Jeon (played by Choi Jae-Woong), the greatest swordsman who works under King Gojong and he learns from the Queen that Mu-Myeong had just saved her life.

As Min Ja Yeong has gotten married and becomes the Queen Myeongseong of Korea, a smitten Mu-Myeong has decided that he wants to protect the Queen and despite being warned not to show up anywhere near the Queen, Mu-Myeong tells the King’s father Dae Won Kun (played by Cheon Ho-Jin) that he will do anything to get a job as a palace guard and so Dae Won Kun holds him to that and tells him he must wear a bullet proof vest that was just developed and must be shot at (on the vest) by his soldiers to prove himself and if he survives, he will get a job as a palace guard. And sure enough, Mu-Myeong is able to become a palace guard and will do all he can to protect the Queen.

Meanwhile, the Queen would use her intellect to become a political power as she was the complete opposite of the King. But because Japan was starting to assert their power over the East, the Queen would work with foreign powers, specifically the Russians in order to create a strong relation instead of being ran by a power hungry Japan. Of course, this was in opposition with King Gojong’s father, who has built his career working with the Japanese. And because of that, there was a struggle of power as King Gojong believed in Korea, that is better to work with Japan than open itself to other cultures, while the Queen was the opposite.

But also, there was a resentment that his son, the King of Korea would go to his wife to handle international and domestic affairs. And thus, with Japan, a plan is hatched to kill the Queen.

Dedicated to protect her forever, Moo-Myeong will do all he can to protect the women he cares about from being killed. Will he succeed?

VIDEO:

“The Sword with No Name” is presented in 1080p High Definition and the picture quality of this film is fantastic. From the vibrant colors outdoors, to the colorful outfits that the Queen and the guards would wear, the colors of the film is what makes this film so beautiful.

The HD release of this film also showcases the textures and details of the clothing but also skin of the characters. Needless to say, visually “The Sword with No Name” is fantastic, black levels are nice and deep and color, its strong point looks absolutely great on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Sword with No Name” is presented in Korean with a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mix and and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix (note: The case says 1.5 but it’s mixed around and should be 5.1). As mentioned before for many Asian films, I am one who will never watch an Asian film with an English dub. The Korean lossless soundtrack features wonderful acting by both Su Ae and Cho Seung-Woo and their emotions are very important as a viewer, by listening to the English dub track, I know FUNimation Entertainment is great when it comes to English dubs but the English dub soundtrack…I listened to it for a short while and it wasn’t for me.

Dialogue is crystal clear and the sword fights and the clanging of steel upon steel sounds good, despite not being a 5.1 mix. But still, the acting in this film by its two lead talents are just wonderful and listening to someone else trying to bring that emotion to a Western audience, it just doesn’t work for me. So, I’m biased towards the original Korean dialogue.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Sword with No Name” comes with the following special features:

Making the Sword with No Name - (10:10) Featuring the making of “The Sword with No Name” and how various scenes were shot.
Cast Interviews - (10:43) A short interview with Cho Seung-woo and Su Ae talking about their character role.
Teaser Trailer – (1:23) Featuring the teaser trailer for “The Sword with No Name”.
Theatrical Trailer – (1:55)The theatrical trailer for “The Sword with No Name”.

EXTRAS:

“The Sword with No Name” comes with a slipcover case.

For over a decade, since the day I discovered the news about the real-life Empress Myeongseong, I have always admired the stories that detail her life as an intellectual but also what she did to protect her country.

From the late 1800′s to early 1900′s, Japan was a dominating country known for its ruthless military and its goal of dominating Asia as a whole without Western or international influence. So, when I researched the Queen back then, it was always an interesting and intriguing story based on real-life events of what this woman did her for her country but also her love/hate relationship to her husband the King.

And as there have been many dramatizations on the life of the real queen, “The Sword with No Name” would take things a bit in a different direction by making by romanticizing her story but featuring her as a strong, intellectual woman.

I absolutely enjoyed this film! And sure, as it would have been great to have a film adaptation on the real life Empress, but the fact that she is such an intriguing woman, she also has been somewhat of a mystery. There are records and writings about her, her accomplishments and life as a Queen (which she is often shown in a juxtaposition with Marie Antoinette) but surprisingly, many documents of the Queen’s assassination are just making itself known to the public most recently in 2005 (a written account of the Queen’s assassination known as the “Eulmi Incident” by a Russian civilian working with the Korean government at the time) but to this day, no photo of her exists (it is said that the Japanese destroyed all photos of her after her assassination).

But one can understand how the Queen’s tragedy would add fire to the wheels towards anti-Japanese sentiments in Korea and things would get worse between Korea and Japan for many decades more and tensions between the two countries still exist today.

But if anything, while not a non-fiction-based story, “The Sword with No Name” still reignites interest of not just Koreans but people all over the world who have just watched the film and are wanting to learn about the real life Empress Myeongseong. And for me, there is so much going for this story in terms of its storyline, its strong performances by Su Ae and Cho Seung-woo but also its beautiful visuals and even clever swordfighting choreography. The film looks absolutely wonderful on Blu-ray and I’m quite happy that FUNimation Entertainment decided to bring this film to the U.S.

“The Sword with No Name” is a film that Asian cinema fans should watch. I often hear from my Asian cinema friends about how Asia is stuck within this banality of rehashed films and are stuck with creating satisfying film releases but when I watch a film like “The Sword with No Name”, I can’t help but be rather appreciative for this film because it is one heck of an awesome love story but it also is one of those films that will make viewers possibly wanting to know more about the actual person the film is about.

There is so many positive things going for this film and aside from what I just mentioned, the music and cinematography are absolutely enjoyable to watch as well! The swordfighting choreography is not too over the top and I felt it was quite stylized but in a cool and effective way.

Overall, if you are looking for a wonderful film from Korea or Asia that is now available on Blu-ray or DVD in the U.S., I highly recommend giving “The Sword with No Name” a try!

Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews

DROP (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

June 16, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Violent, bloody and hilarious, “DROP” may not be a film for everyone, but for those who want a Japanese youth gang film with a lot of fighting and humor, will definitely enjoy this film and DVD!

DVD TITLE: DROP

DURATION: 125 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, Dolby Digital (English Stereo), Closed Caption

COMPANY: Kadokawa Pictures/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV MA

RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2011

Directed by Hiroshi Shinagawa

Biography and Screenplay by Hiroshi Shinagawa

Produced by Shigeo Minakami

Music by Kan Sawada

Cinematography by Masayuki Fujii

Edited by Hiroshi Sunaga

Art Direction by Shohei Ishikawa, Norihiro Isoda

Starring:

Hiroki Narimiya as Hiroshi Shinanogawa

Hiro Mizushima as Tatsuya Iguchi

Yuika Motokariya as Miyuki

Yusuke Kamiji as Hideo Kimura

Noriko Nakagoshi as Yuka Shinanogawa

Yuji Ayabe as Yutaka Anjo

Drawn to the hardcore life of a delinquent, Hiroshi drops out of his upscale private school and enrolls in a gritty public school. On his first day he gets his ass kicked by Tatsuya, the son of an ex-yakuza and the leader of a pack of unruly thugs. Hiroshi sucks at fighting, but he hits it off with the crew and enjoys the reckless partying, smoking, and boozing. Can he still hang when a rivalry with a nasty biker gang turns into countless face-breaking brawls? When the allure of a wasted youth is pitted against the reality of growing up, some people would rather take a beating than stop the fun.

When it comes to films on Japanese youth gangs, these have been depicted on Japanese manga and anime series to video games.

Typically gangs beating the crap out of each other, from “Durarara!!”, “Yu Yu Hakusho” to “Cromartie High School” and video games such as “River City Ransom” (Kunio Series), “Rival Schools”, “King of Fighters” and “Kenka Bancho”, it’s part of Japanese life and pop culture.

Unlike America which tries to stay away from constant storylines of youth violence, for westerners, being exposed to Japanese pop culture, you learn quickly that its part of Japanese mainstream. But while the violence tends to stay in the pages of manga, the tv screen for anime and video games, whenever you come across a live action film showcasing these youth gangs, you often wonder how “manga-like” and how “violent” these films will go.

And here we are with Hiroshi Shinagawa’s (“Beck”, “Manzai Gang”, “Suspect X”) 2009 film “DROP”.

The film revolves around an emerging troublemaker named Hiroshi Shinanogawa (played by Hiroki Narimiya, “Azumi”, “Nana”, “Bakamono”). An anime/manga fan (as shown by his knowledge of anime and action figures in his bedroom) who has changed his life by shaving his hair and dying it red.

One day, Hiroshi is taken to the field area by a group of guys which include the strategist Mohiki, the thief Lufin and biter named Wanko to see their leader named Tatsuya Iguchi (played by Hiro Mizushima, “Mr. Brain, “Beck”) kicking another gang member’s butt.

Not knowing why they brought him out to the field, he quickly realizes that it’s to fight the street brawler Tatsuya.

As Hiroshi and Tatsuya fight, Tatsuya always has the upper hand and beating Hiroshi to a pulp. Bloody and hurt, Tatsuya respects Hiroshi and asks him to join him and his gang to get something to eat. And sure enough, Hiroshi obliges.

Now with new friends, Hiroshi gets into the wrong crowd and is constantly fighting with other gangs.

But when they start fighting with a rival gang day-by-day, it starts to grow old and Hiroshi decides to play with fire by reuniting the gangs together and similar to how Goku teamed up with Piccolo in “Dragon Ball Z”, they can do the same!

Fortunately, by joining forces with the rival gang, it starts to catch other gang’s attention and Hiroshi starts to realize that his life is starting to change and he becomes more interested in the brotherhood of his gang rather than working, being responsible and being there for family and friends.

When Hiroshi is given the opportunity to change his life by getting a job, will he do so? Or will he continue to get deeper and deeper in brawls and fights along with the gang?

VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“DROP” is presented in 16:9 widescreen and English and Japanese stereo. Picture quality is very good on DVD, considering it’s a 2009 film but I wouldn’t be surprised if FUNimation considers this title for Blu-ray release in the near future.

But I did watch the film both in Japanese and English. While my preference is watching films in their original language and the acting is well-done, I will say that “DROP” was the first film I watched with its English dub and felt that it didn’t suck! So, for those who can’t read subtitled films, these people will be happy to know that the dubwork for the film is good.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features.

EXTRAS:

“DROP” comes with a cardboard slipcover case.

Violent, bloody and hilarious, “DROP” may not be a film for everyone, but for those who want a Japanese youth gang film with a lot of fighting and humor, will definitely enjoy this film!

Many have wondered what if those manga, anime and video game titles with gangs beating the crap out of each other was featured in a film, then “DROP” would be the answer! While anime may show the bruises and distorted faces of the gangs getting in fights, “DROP” shows you the violence with bloodied faces, bruises and all!

Granted, the film is farfetched and in this film and because of that, it definitely helps to capture that anime/manga-like feel, these gang members despite how injured they may be, continue to fight and it almost becomes a daily routine.

For those looking for any major plot, you have main protagonist Hiroshi falling for Tatsuya’s ex-girlfriend Miyuki but things don’t really get deep until the final half hour of the film. In a way, the sudden turn of events comes out of left field and the pacing of the film seems a bit ajar because of it. But the overall film is about how Hiroshi gets deeper with his fellow gang members and the brotherhood gets him too preoccupied with life and responsibilities. It’s a learning process and the only way Hiroshi will learn is through tragedy.

While the film does have a lot of hilarious moments, those moments were necessary in trying to prevent “DROP” from becoming too dark and bloody as there are many bloody moments in the film. Anime and manga fans will definitely enjoy the references that Hiroshi drops during the film and for longtime anime/manga/video game fans who are used to the gang fights, will probably enjoy this film a lot!

As for the DVD, I wish there were special features but I was surprised to find out that there are none. No making-of, no featurette, nothing.

So, you get a straight up barebones DVD release but for the film, if you are into Japanese youth gang-driven storylines and are familiar with anime/manga/video games that do showcase them, more than likely this film will be for you. But just remember that where the manga and anime give you a visual look of the characters after the brawl, “DROP” goes even further and showing the violence and bloody mess that these characters are in. So, if you gag at the sight of blood, this film is not for you.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Blood (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Review)

March 12, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

A vampire film that is more about its romance and bloody violence than focusing on being a vampire film. It may not be for everyone but if you are wanting a Japanese horror film with a lot of gratuitous nudity and its fair share of bloody moments, “Blood” is definitely for you!

TITLE: Blood

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2009

DURATION: 86 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16×9 Full Frame), Stereo/5.1 Dolby Surround Sound

COMPANY: Well Go USA

RATED: Not Rated (Note: This film does have nudity and bloody violence)

RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2011

Directed by Ten Shimoyama

Original Story and Screenplay by Shigenori Takechi

Producer: Shigeji Maeda, Tsuneo Seto, Kazuyuki Yokoyama

Music by Kiyoshi Yoshikawa

Cinematography by Gen Kobayashi

Edited by Seigo Hirasawa, Ten Shimoyama

Starring:

Aya Sugimoto as Miyako Romberk

Kanji Tsuda as Detective Hoshino

Guts Ishmatsu

Jun Kaname as Ukyo Kuronuma

Satoshi Matsuda

Hidejiro Mizumoto

Yuri Morishita

Atsushi Narasaka

Rin Sakuragi

Harumi Sone

Masahiro Sudo

Sayo Yamaguchi

Police Detective Hoshino (Kanji Tsuda) investigates the murder of a maid at a mansion belonging to Miyako Rozmberk (Aya Sugimoto), a seductive vampire mistress and “cougar” all in one. Ukyo Kuronuma (Jun Kaname), an Edo-era swordsman who was turned into a vampire by Miyako, is blamed for the crime, but before anything can be done about it, Hoshino ends up under Miyako’s spell as well. This leads Hoshino and Ukyo to battle one another for the privilege of staying with Miyako for eternity.

If you enjoyed “Shinobi”, you will probably more than likely enjoy the latest film from director Ten Shimoyama titled “Blood”, a vampiric horor/suspense action film. The story is from Shigenori Taechi, known for writing films such as “Izo”, “Araburu Tamashii-tachi”, the “Gokudo Seisen: Jihaado” films and “Yakuza Demon”.

The 2009 film begins in traditional Japan with a sword fight and a lone swordsman beats a group of men but is suffering from some type of illness as he coughs up blood. We see the man sitting alone and a beautiful woman come by. She tastes the blood coming out of his mouth and suddenly we see her holding him and her fangs coming out.

Fast forward to the present time and we see a housemaid being murdered. The murder happens to be a 14-years-old and is close to reaching the statute of limitations expiration date and for police investigator Hoshino (played by Kanji Tsuda), this case has meant so much to him. But he has been relocated to another office and frustrated about it. Fortunately, his boss gives him a go ahead despite the police department not wanting to support him.

When he opens the case files of the woman who owned the home where the housemaid was killed, it shows the picture of a Japanese woman named Miyako Romberk (played by Aya Sugimoto), who looks like the female vampire from shown hours earlier.

But as he meets with Miyako, she gives the name of the murderer, a millionaire named Ukyo (played by Jun Kaname). When Detective Hoshino goes after him, he witnesses him biting into a young girl who is begging for her life. We learn that both Ukyo and Miyako are vampires and both share bloody and body together. But when detective Hoshino is then turned into a vampire, he also wants Miyako and thus both he and Ukyo become part of a bloody battle over Miyako.

VIDEO:

“Blood” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). The picture quality is pretty cool especially during the beginning of the film in which blue lighting is used and the red blood looks as if it’s crimson red with that just sticks out vibrantly. If anything, those wanting a bloody horror film will get a bloody horror film as you will see a lot of it throughout “Blood”. Skintones are natural, blacks are nice and deep but it’s the use of colors that makes “Blood” quite interesting to watch for a vampire film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Blood” is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (despite the rear case mentioning it’s Stereo/5.1 Dolby Surround Sound). The film is primarily fornt and center channel driven and while the fight sequences do showcase ambient affects, it’s not the most immersive lossless soundtrack but the dialogue and effects are quite clear through the front channels.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Blood” comes with no special features.

“Blood” may not be as enjoyable as “Shinobi” but for those who want an anime-esque style of Japanese film that incorporates vampires and swordfighting, you can’t go wrong with “Blood”. In fact, it reminded me a lot of the 1990′s vampire anime films mixed with indie Japanese camp and nudity and simply, when I first found out that ’80s J-Pop singer and actress Aya Sugimoto (“Ai no Shinsekai”, “Flower and Snake”, “Hana to hebi”), it kind of was a no-brainer that we will see a lot of Aya Sugimoto unclothed especially since she’s known for her sexuality and has become one of the most outspoken talents in Japan on sexuality. And in Japan, because she was nude quite a bit in this film, many of her fans and horny otaku turned out to watch her in this film.

While the film is a vampire film, at the same time it would be wrong for me to say it was and people coming in to think it was a “Lost Boys”, “Twilight” type of film because it’s not. It’s pretty much a bloody romantic triangle between two men (who happen to be vampires) who vie for Miyako’s attention. And in many ways, it’s a sensual, kinky and carnal (yes bloody) way of showing it.

If I had one problem about the film is that you are expecting more as you find out that Ukyo went from being a samurai to leader of a crime network. It doesn’t really go much into it at all, if anything, the film tries to stay within the confines of the three individuals.

Yes, there is action in this film and in fact, there is quite a bit of wire-work implemented in “Blood” but while the carnage, romance and even action scenes are very good compared to a lot of similar-themed Japanese vampire films, “Blood” is predictable, contrived and in the end it ends up being a popcorn romantic triangle, bloody action film but it’s not dramatic like “Twilight”. But it does get quite campy but not in the indie Japanese film type of way, the production values and its presentation enhances one’s appreciation for the film.

If there was one major bummer about this Blu-ray release is the lack of special features but other than that, it all comes down to if you are wanting a horror film with a lot of blood and violence but also a touch of romance (and yes, gratuitous nudity). If so, “Blood” is definitely for you!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews