6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In this Thai adaptation of the Japanese film Rashomon, a young monk considers the nature of truth and meaning after hearing four dramatically different accounts of a nobleman's murder.
Starring: Ananda Everingham, Laila Boonyasak, Dom Hetrakul, Mario Maurer, Petchtai WongkamlaoForeign | 100% |
Crime | 3% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Thai: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
At the Gate of the Ghost isn't the first time Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon has been remade, and it probably won't be the last. Kurosawa's 1950 mystery drama—based on the short story "In a Grove," by Ryunosuke Akutagawa—not only introduced Japanese cinema to the West, but also has come to define the trope where several unreliable narrators each recount an incident from their own skewed, self-motivated perspectives, casting the objective truth into question. Akutagawa and Kurosawa might not have invented this particular type of tale, but Rashomon is arguably the purest example of it, so much so that "Rashomon-style" is now the go-to adjective to describe any story with this narrative structure, from Courage Under Fire to—one of my personal favorite's—the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode, "Who Got Dee Pregnant?" After the 1964 western, The Outrage, At the Gate of the Ghost is the second direct remake of Rashomon, borrowing its plot and characters with few alterations. The changes here are only cosmetic, with director M.L. Pundhevanop Dhewakul tailoring the story for audiences in his native Thailand. The result is competent in a by-the-numbers way, but the film lacks the visionary artistry of the original.
The Bandit and the Lady
I doubt we'll hear many conflicting opinions of the film's 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray presentation, which—barring a few small nitpicks—is mostly satisfyingly. Quibbles out of the way first: I spotted some light banding in the sky during one scene, some strange patchy pixilation an another, a few noticeably soft shots, and then two or three early scenes where faces have been given a smoothed-over glow that's more distracting than flattering. And that's about it. At the Gate of the Ghost may not be a big budget film by Hollywood standards, but it looks every bit as good as blockbuster Thai films like Ong Bak 2 or Kingdom of War. Shot digitally, the film has a very clean look—noise only intensifies during darker scenes—with a commendable level of clarity. Fine detail is sharp throughout, and particularly visible in the actors' faces and clothing. Speaking of, the costumes also show off the image's intense but not oversaturated color, from the monk's saffron robes to the warlord's impressively multihued getup. Black levels sit where they should, and the overall contrast has a nice sense of punchiness. Besides some light compression artifacts, there are no real issues here.
Magnolia has given us two audio options here, a Thai track and an English dub—both in the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 codec—but you'll want to avoid the goofy-sounding dub if at all possible. Aside from the language differences, both mixes seem identical, making strong use of the surround channels to generate an immersive ambient environment in just about every scene. A storm causes thunder to rip through the rear speakers and rain to pour all around. The acoustics sound accurate in the stone tunnel. Insect noise and animal sounds and the rush of a waterfall fill the air. There are a few decent directional and cross-channel effects as well, like the undertaker's off-stage cackling or the zippy twhap of arrows fired through the soundfield. Shutter composer Chatchai Pongprapaphan contributes a score that emphasizes but doesn't overpower the tone of each scene, and —like the rest of the audio—the music is full and clear and free from crackles, hisses, drop-out, or any other issues. Dialogue is always clean and easy to pick out of the mix. The disc includes English, English Narrative, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles.
Did we need a Thai remake of Rashomon? No, not really. The film isn't bad, though. It retells the story of the original—or, the four stories, rather—in a straightforward, competent way, and while director M.L. Pundhevanop Dhewakul has nothing on Akira Kurosawa, he does stage a few memorable sequences, particularly the creepy scene with the medium channeling the dead warlord. Magnolia's Blu-ray release is all-around solid—a strong picture, immersive audio, and a few value-adding extras—so if you're into Thai cinema it might be worth checking out with tempered expectations.
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