Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

A Snake of June Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 8, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto.

There are two names which American film fans may need either outright introductions to or at least reminders about when coming to Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto. The first name is that of Shinya Tsukamoto himself, a fascinating cult figure with a rather long and impressive filmography as a producer, director, actor, writer, editor, cinematographer, production designer and art director (one assumes if the IMDb had a tab for craft services contributions, he'd be listed there, too), but who is still kind of curiously unknown by the general public at large on this side of the pond. The other name that may come into play with regard to this handsome new set released for the North American market by Arrow is Third Window Films, a label that releases Blu-rays in the United Kingdom and which has in fact put out previous editions of several of the Tsukamoto films Arrow has included in this set. For that reason, fans or at least those interested in “comparison studies” are encouraged to visit our listings for the Third Window Films’ releases of Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June, and Kotoko, not just for Svet Atanasov’s thoughts about each of the films, but also to be able to do side by side looks at screenshots as well as to size up supplemental features on each release. (A sixth film offered in this set from Arrow, The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, looks like it's included as a supplement on Third Windows' double feature offering the two Tetsuo films.) The Arrow set does at least offer ten films in one nicely aggregated and designed package which includes a rather beautiful hardback book, which may at least recommend the set to those trying to save a little shelf space, if nothing else.

There have been a number of somewhat comical email extortion attempts making the rounds of the internet, and one of them which has afflicted several people who have posted about it on social media is one that has an actual (typically old and expired) password the person getting the email used to use, with the person sending the email saying that because the password has supposedly been hacked, the sender now has access to supposing incriminating “intimate” photos and even videos, and a ransom must be paid. Something at least somewhat similar is in play in A Snake of June, a film that begins by documenting a passionless marriage between Rinko (Asuka Kurosawa) and Shigehiko (Yuji Kotari). Things get a little more exciting in a way, if also considerably more dangerous, when a stranger (Shinya Tsukamoto) lets Rinko know he has “compromising” photos of her.

As mentioned in some of the reviews of other films into this set, transformation is often at the core of several Tsukamoto films, and that's once again the case here, though it's more a psychological metamorphosis that takes place as Rinko has to come to terms with some of her repressed tendencies. The whole fetishistic aspect of films like Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer hover here in the background, and the film is once again a stylistic tour de force, including with its omnipresent blue tint.

A Snake of June Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Snake of June is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Arrow's insert book offers only very generic data on all of the transfers in this set, with aspect ratios (at times misstated) and audio data detailed, and with a simple statement that the "high definition masters were provided by Nikkatsu Corporation". Svet's review of this film came out in 2015, and without any other information to the contrary, I'm assuming that this presentation was culled from the same master that Third Window Films utilized. There's some frankly contradictory information included in this set about how exactly this "blue version" of the film was created, but the bottom line is this was shot on 16mm and at some point a blue tint was added. Detail levels are therefore somewhat compromised by both the original format and the blue tinting, but on the whole this is an organic presentation that preserves the intended look of the film. As Svet mentioned in his review, there are some occasional distractions at the top and bottom of the frame that look to me like actual remnants of splicing glue. I'm still perhaps a bit more pleased with the overall appearance of this transfer than Svet was.

A Snake of June Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Snake of June features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Japanese. This is perhaps surprisingly a somewhat toned down film from a sound design perspective, at least when compared to several other more over the top audio offerings in this set. Some nonstop ambient environmental sounds courtesy of things like torrential rainfall provide some intermittent surround activity, but there's less of the ubiquitous assault on the ears that some other Tsukamoto films offer. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout the film, and I noticed no issues whatsoever to any age related wear and tear.

A Snake of June Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As can be seen in the last screenshot accompanying this review, this disc offers three films. I'm listing all of the supplements on the disc, since while some supplements are ostensibly specific to one feature, there's still a certain amount of spillover.

• Audio Commentary on A Snake of June by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on Vital by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on Haze by Tom Mes


• Archival Interviews with Shinya Tsukamoto can offer interstitial text questions followed by Tsukamoto's answers. In Japanese with English subtitles:

  A Snake of June (1080p; 25:43)

  
  

  Vital (1080i; 11:06)

  
  

  Haze (1080i; 19:38)

• Shooting A Snake of June (1080p; 19:50) is an archival featurette that offers lots of candid footage and interviews. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• The Making of Vital (1080i; 18:48) offers the same assortment of candid footage and interviews as the above featurette. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Vital World Premiere (1080i; 10:48) offers footage from the Venice Film Festival. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Vital Special Effects (1080i; 10:29) is another archival piece offering Tsukamoto collaborator Hisashi Oda.


• Vital Music Video (1080i; 6:23)


• The Making of Haze (1080i; 23:57) is another archival piece with candid footage and interviews.


• Kaori Fuji at Locarno (1080i; 17:03) is an archival piece with Haze's lead actress.


• Trailers

  A Snake of June UK Trailer (1080p; 2:26)

  
  

  Vital Original Japanese Trailer (1080i; 1:35)

  
  Haze Original Japanese Trailers (1080i; 3:43)

• Image Galleries

  A Snake of June (1080p; 4:00)

  
  

  Haze (1080p; 1:00)

A Snake of June Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Snake of June is stylish even by Tsukamoto's often hyperbolic standards, and the film really repays repeated viewings as one becomes more and more aware of how Tsukamoto himself revisits various ideas and even images as he details the slow erotic unraveling of Rinko. This presentation has a few issues in the video department, none of which I personally found overly debilitating, but the surround track, while not consistently immersive, is fine. As is the case with all of the discs in this release, the supplemental package is great. Recommended.