Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 4, 2010

Japanese director Tetsuo Shinohara's "Battle Under Orion" a.k.a "Last Operations Under the Orion" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama. Unfortunately, there are no supplemental feature on this disc. In Japanese and English, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Captain Takayuki Koramoto

The final days of World War II. Somewhere off the coast of Okinawa. Captain Takayuki Koramoto (Hiroshi Tamaki, Heavenly Forest) is in charge with an I-77 submarine, one of the last the Japanese Navy has left. He has sunk many American ships and now has only a few torpedoes left to use. Nevertheless, Captain Koramoto and his men have decided to attack Percival, one of the finest destroyers the U.S. Navy has in the region.

Percival is under the command of Captain Mike Stewart (David Winning, Liar’s Pendulum), a man with a formidable record, who is on a mission to track down and destroy Koramoto’s I-77. The two men have never clashed before but are well aware of each other’s accomplishments.

Percival and the I-77 meet. A deadly hunt ensues and Percival seriously damages the I-77. Stuck on the bottom of the ocean, and running out of oxygen, a few of Koramoto’s men begin to question his orders. The rest, however, believe in him and are determined to complete their mission.

Koramoto’s senior mechanic manages to partially repair the I-77’s damaged turbines but not its ballast tanks. What this means is that once the I-77 surfaces it won’t be able to go underwater again. Nevertheless, Captain Koramoto orders his men to prepare for attack - they will use their last torpedo to sink Percival.

Captain Stewart senses that the I-77 might be running out of oxygen and begins guessing what Captain Koramoto's next move will be. Will he run away in order to save his men, or will he sacrifice them in a desperate final attack?

Despite the employment of a variety of overused cliches, Tetsuo Shinohara's Battle Under Orion manages to surprise with a few very effective twists. Most appear during the second half of the film, where the majority of the action takes place.

The tactical games between the two captains are also well done - the technical descriptions they offer are neither too simplistic nor too complex. Viewers with limited knowledge of naval warfare certainly won't have difficulty understanding them.

The film's biggest weakness is the presence of a few awkward flashbacks that enhance its dramatic value. Even though a few of them are likely to resonate positively with Japanese viewers, Western viewers will find them excessive and difficult to tolerate.

Hiroshi Tamaki looks good as Captain Koramoto, but I have a feeling that with a better script he would be a lot more impressive. Clearly, he is a gifted actor who looks very comfortable in front of the camera. On the other hand, David Winning, who plays Captain Stewart, looks surprisingly stiff and even nervous. The overwhelming majority of his lines are also poorly delivered.

The camerawork is less than impressive, and only a few of the action scenes stand out, but the sound is very good. When the I-77 gets hit and heads to the bottom of the ocean, the surround effects are outstanding.

Battle Under Orion was apparently filmed on locations in Albany, New York and Tokyo, Japan. Two retired Destroyers, the USS Slater and USS Hurt, were used in the film.

Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tetsuo Shinohara's Battle Under Orion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama.

Generally speaking, the high-definition transfer is good. Fine object detail is pleasing and clarity and contrast levels, especially during the nighttime battle scenes, excellent. The color-scheme also does not disappoint. The variety of different blues, yellows, greens and grays look rich and very well saturated. This said, I noticed that some minor noise corrections have been applied, some of which are rather easy to spot during close-ups. Edge-enhancement, macroblocking and digital artifacting, however, are not a serious issue of concern. Finally, while watching the film, I did not see any flecks, stains, marks, or debris to report in this review. All in all, this is a pleasing presentation of an enjoyable film. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (both with portions of English). For the record, Panorama have provided optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is pleasing. There are some decent ambient effects in this film, and the loseless audio track treats them quite well. For example, when the Japanese submarine releases the torpedoes the sound is indeed quite intense. I also liked how the underwater explosions were done. Additionally, the dialog is crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Taro Iwashiro's music score either. Finally, I did not detect any cracks, pops, or hissings to report in this review.

I tested only a couple of scenes with the Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 track. As expected, it can not replicate the same intense dynamics the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has. This is most noticeable during the underwater footage (test the scene where the I-77 hits the bottom of the ocean).

Aside from a couple of minor mistakes, the English translation is very well done.

Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc.

Battle Under Orion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

We rarely get to see these types of films anymore, which is probably why I enjoyed Tetsuo Shinohara's Battle Under Orion so much. Let's hope that Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot and John McTiernan's The Hunt for Red October will soon be made available on Blu-ray. In the meantime, if you are like me and enjoy naval warfare films, take a look at Battle Under Orion. I have a feeling you will like it. RECOMMENDED.