Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 22, 2024

Frank Lloyd's "Blood on the Sun" (1945) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Julie Kirgo and filmmaker Peter Hankoff and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Even by 1945 standards, the propaganda channeled through Blood on the Sun can be quite overwhelming. Throughout the film, various characters repeatedly imply that China is a prosperous free country and Japan should strive to be like it. Chinese and Japanese women are repeatedly singled out and it is stated that they could not be any more different because the former enjoy freedoms that the latter do not have. China is framed as an ideological friend of America, while Japan is an imperialist monster plotting to dominate the world.

This does not make any sense whatsoever. Or does it?

Blood on the Sun was scripted by Lester Cole, a member of the American Communist Party, who became one of the “Hollywood Ten” that the House Committee on Un-American Activities targeted. In Blood of the Sun, Cole fantasizes about the events leading to the discovery of the notorious Tanaka Plan that Emperor Hirohito reportedly intended to use to take over the world. The Tanaka Plan was revealed by members of the Chinese Communist Party and then reprinted by communist sympathizers in America, but its existence has never been confirmed in Japan. So, the obvious Japanophobia that runs through Blood of the Sun suddenly begins to make a lot of sense.

Right in the middle of it is Nick Condon (James Cagney), an American who makes ends meet as a reporter for one of the biggest newspapers in Japan, The Tokyo Chronicle. After publishing a speculative article that puts him on the radar of the Imperial Police, Condon unexpectedly becomes a suspect in a murder case that is linked to the disappearance of the Tanaka Plan. Condon is then directly confronted by the Imperial Police and a double agent (Sylvia Sydney) looking to recover the Tanaka Plan and assuming he has it hidden somewhere. Intrigued by the possibilities for a series of blockbuster stories, outraged by the dirty politics behind the murder case, and concerned about the world's future, Condon begins playing the dangerous game he has been pulled into without his consent.

Whenever possible, Cagney is predictably good. However, he is surrounded by a remarkably weak supporting cast that quickly destroys the integrity of the drama. On the other hand, given the tremendous amount of ideologically tainted material that Cole’s screenplay uses, it is very difficult to see how a better cast could have made a positive difference. Indeed, every single Japanese character of some importance is intentionally made to appear brainwashed beyond repair and intolerably cartoonish so that the clash of ideas that materializes as Cagney begins playing the dangerous game is as lopsided as desired. On top of this, even when guessing, Cagney is always a few steps ahead of everyone else and balances anger and intellect like he is dealing with a motley crew of small kids.

In the final act, Blood on the Sun finally begins behaving like a decent espionage film. But there is very little time left to even partially undo the damage that has been done earlier. Cagney has managed to connect the dots and is simply moving toward the inevitable resolution, and this very short material produces only a couple of decent sequences.

Ultimately, Blood on the Sun is awfully difficult to recommend even to diehard Cagney fans. It is so manipulative that most of it feels insulting, especially when one considers that several other very good actors are willingly participating in the scripted smearing of Japanese identity and culture.

Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Blood on the Sun arrives on Blu-ray couryesu of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. The film's opening credits are shaky and somewhat rough, but the rest of the film looks quite good. All visuals, regardless of whether they are darker or brighter, reveal very good delineation, clarity, and depth. The grayscale is convincing as well. The blacks are lush and stable, while the different ranges of grays and whites are very attractive. However, in some areas, it is easy to observe small density fluctuations that affect delineation and depth. Image stability is very good. I did notice several nicks and blemishes, even a few scratches. However, there are no large cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (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).

Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very solid. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and stable. I did notice a bit of light background hiss sneaking in a couple of times, but there are no distortions or other similar age-related imperfections. If you turn up the volume of your system, I think that you will be quite pleased with the nicely rounded sound and even some of the dynamic contrasts.

Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Julie Kirgo and filmmaker Peter Hankoff.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Blood on the Sun. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Blood on the Sun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Every single Japanese character of some importance is intentionally made to appear brainwashed beyond repair and/or intolerably cartoonish so that the clash of ideas that materializes as James Cagney begins playing the dangerous spy game is as lopsided as desired. In 1945, this unabashed smear of the Japanese probably made perfect sense to some, like screenwriter Lester Cole, but it was just an awful propaganda. I do not automatically dismiss films that are so ideologically tainted because some can be illuminating time capsules, but Blood on the Sun is not effective as such. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a somewhat rough but strong recent 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures.