7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When man-about-town Saheiji (the beloved comedian Frankie Sakai) finds himself unable to pay for a bill at a brothel, he is forced to remain there to work off his debt. However he finds his wit and resourcefulness enable him to turn this situation to his advantage, as he interacts with a whole range of characters, from rivalling courtesans to political activists.
Starring: Yôko Minamida, Furankî Sakai, Sachiko Hidari, Yujiro Ishihara, Toshiyuki IchimuraForeign | 100% |
Drama | 59% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Japanese director Yuzo Kawashima's "Bakumatsu taiyoden" a.k.a. "A Sun-Tribe Myth From the Bakumatsu Era" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on this release, but a 36-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Frederick Veith and an excerpt from a book published by Shohei Imamura is included. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".
The Grifter
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yuzo Kawashima's A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The high-definition transfer was struck from a new restoration of the film done by Nikkatsu. Generally speaking, the basics here are indeed very strong - detail is very good, even where light is restricted, while clarity is consistently pleasing. Contrast levels are also stable throughout the entire film. Color saturation is also convincing. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. Some minor fluctuations are present, but overall grain is indeed well resolved. Sharpening corrections have not been performed. There are no serious frame transition issues, but there are a few light warps early into the film. I suspect that only viewers with very large screens will be able to spot them. Large debris, damage marks, cuts, and stains have been removed as best as possible, but some small vertical lines around the edges of the image frame are occasionally present (see screencapture #3). Regardless, this is a very pleasing organic presentation that makes it very easy to enjoy this virtually unseen by English speakers classic Japanese film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track has a very limited dynamic amplitude, but this should not be surprising considering the age of the film and its native sound design. Some light background hiss occasionally sneaks in, but it is never disturbing. There are no distortions, dropouts, or pops. The English translation is outstanding.
Kudos to Eureka Entertainment for bringing this virtually unseen by English speakers classic Japanese film to Blu-ray. It looks quite beautiful. My only complaint here is the lack of supplemental features. It would have been great to have some material on Yuzo Kawashima's life and legacy. Regardless, this release is extremely easy to recommend. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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1963
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1959
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1923
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1951
Gion no shimai
1936
Naniwa erejî
1936
秋日和 / Akibiyori | The Ozu Collection
1960
楢山節考 / Narayama bushikô / Masters of Cinema
1983
山椒大夫 / Sanshô dayû
1954
ビルマの竪琴 / Biruma no tategoto / Masters of Cinema
1956
神々の深き欲望 / Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo / Masters of Cinema
1968
晩春 / Banshun
1949
秋刀魚の味 / Sanma no aji | The Ozu Collection
1962
切腹 / Seppuku / Masters of Cinema
1962
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2008
哥 / Uta
1972
殯の森 / Mogari no mori | Masters of Cinema
2007
L'amour d'une femme / Arrow Academy
1953
風櫃來的人 / Fēng guì lái de rén / All the Youthful Days | Masters of Cinema
1983
Tagebuch einer Verlorenen / Masters of Cinema
1929