7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While performing in a touring kabuki troupe, leading female impersonator Yukinojo comes across the three men who drove his parents to suicide twenty years earlier, and plans his revenge.
Starring: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako Wakao, Eiji Funakoshi, Eijirô YanagiForeign | 100% |
Drama | 37% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Kon Ichikawa's "An Actor's Revenge" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new interview with critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns and lengthy archival interview with the director. The release also arrives with a 30-lage illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow, reprinted archival article by the director, and technical credits. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The seducer
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kon Ichikawa's An Actor's Revenge arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital restoration was undertaken from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative by Kadokawa Corporation at Imagica in Tokyo. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original camera negative at Nikkatsu in Tokyo. Additional restoration was performed by the Criterion Collection using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
Image supervisor: Massahiro Miyajima.
Sound supervisor: Masatsugu Hayashi."
I have never owned a copy of this film in my library and do not have anything to compare the current presentation to, but it is easy to tell that the restoration has produced marvelous results because the entire film looks spotless and density is as good as one can expect it to be. On a large screen the visuals really are quite striking. Generally speaking, clarity and depth are exceptional, though because there are some unique lighting choices some extremely small fluctuations can be observed. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color scheme boasts a solid range of very healthy primaries and equally pleasing nuances, though I have to say that there are a few segments where I felt that the primaries are perhaps a bit too cool. The overall balance, however, remains very good. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The audio is stable, crisp, and with a nicely rounded. There is proper depth for a film of the era as well. As expected, overall dynamic intensity is limited, but there is still a good range of nuanced dynamics. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.
I wanted to like this film a lot because Ayako Wakao, in my humble opinion the most beautiful Japanese actress of her generation, has a major role in it, but I just could not get used to the unusual blending of its poetic reality and 'cool' contemporary ambience. There are some absolutely stunning visuals, but they frequently feel like prolonged distractions rather than essential parts of the narrative. I am sure that there will be plenty of people that will fall in love with the film precisely because of its carefully crafted stylized appearance, but I found it difficult to like. Criterion's recent release is sourced from a strong new 4K restoration that was completed by the Kadokawa Corporation at Imagica in Tokyo. If possible, RENT FIRST, then consider a purchase.
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