Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Branded to Kill 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2023

Seijun Suzuki's "Branded to Kill" (1967) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival video interview with Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu; archival video interview with actor Joe Shishido; vintage trailer; and more. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

Yakuza hitman Hanada (Joe Shishido, Gate of Flesh, Retaliation) is Number Three on a prestigious list in the Japanese underworld. He wants to become Number One but faces an unsolvable problem -- no one knows who the best of the best is, which means that he cannot challenge him. Puzzled and frustrated, he kills hitmen Two and Four.

While trying to figure out a way to bring Number One out of the shadows, Hanada meets Misako (Annu Mari, Mini Skirt Lynchers), a disillusioned and suicidal beauty who asks if he might be interested in a job. This one, the girl explains to Hanada, is not like the other jobs he has done in the past because the target is a foreigner (Franz Gruber) who will be in the country only for a very short period of time. Intrigued by the warning, Hanada agrees to do the job.

But soon after everything that could go wrong goes terribly wrong -- Hanada misses his target and kills an innocent person. The mistake is unforgivable and the damage to Hanada’s reputation irreparable, because according to an old yakuza code he will no longer be able to legitimately challenge Number One, and because every other hitman on the prestigious list will now hunt him down until the day he is killed and removed from it.

Hanada’s life slowly begins to spin out of control. First, seriously depressed he decides to drink himself to death, but instead realizes that he has fallen in love with the mysterious Misako. Then his jealous wife, Mami (Mariko Ogawa), discovers that he no longer desires her and attempts to kill him. Number One steps out of the shadows too, but instead of killing Hanada proceeds to torture and humiliate him.

Branded to Kill is Japanese director Seijun Suzuki’s boldest, darkest, and most perverted film. It has the important ingredients great film noirs share but it is too surreal to be considered one. At times it is also too violent and explicit, entering territories most exploitation films like to explore.

The main protagonist, Hanada, is a lot like Jef Costello from Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï. He is a terrific killer and a loner who attracts dangerous women. Unlike Costello, however, Hanada has a darker side. Actually, it is more of a freaky side. For example, he likes sniffing cooked rice because it helps him get an erection, and when he makes love to his wife, it looks like he is trying to kill her.

Even by contemporary standards Branded to Kill remains a pretty eccentric film, but it is never arrogant, nihilistic, or even remotely offensive. Everything Suzuki does in it unapologetically tests various once-current Japanese moral boundaries. Also, even the most outrageous sequences in it are done with a flawless sense of style that is not copied. This genuine desire to be original, no matter the consequences, is what makes Branded to Kill so fascinating to behold.

Among the films Suzuki shot during the 1960s, Branded to Kill has the most thought-provoking and ultimately prophetic finale. Unlike the rest of the film, the finale is very much grounded in reality and perhaps reflective of the one Suzuki was forced to endure.

* Shortly after top brass at Nikkatsu saw the completed Branded to Kill, Suzuki was unceremniously fired. After that, for nearly ten years, Suzuki could not find work and was forced to shoot TV commercials to make ends meet.

Branded to Kill 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Branded to Kill is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:

"This new 4K restoration was undertaken by Nikkatsu Corporation and the Japan Foundation from the 35mm original camera negative at Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc."

All screencaptures that are included with this review were taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray. The native presentation does not have an HDR/Dolby Vision grade.

Branded to Kill made its high-definition debut more than a decade ago with this release which was sourced from a master struck from a fine-grain positive. This release is sourced from a brand new 4K master that was prepared after the film was restored in 4K from the original camera negative.

On my system, Branded to Kill looked absolutely incredible, at times rivaling the quality of Double Indemnity, which is presented with an HDR/Dolby Vision grade. I was enormously impressed by the quality of the visuals. I think that there are two key improvements that are responsible for the jump in quality. First, in native 4K, density levels are clearly superior, so on a big screen the more obvious grain fluctuations from the previous release now appear very nicely balanced. (A good sequence to test is the one with the shootout at the big bunker). Second, the new 4K makeover has a superior grayscale that further enhances the perception of depth. The darker footage looks very attractive now and routinely produces superior ranges of darker nuances/shadows. Also, while viewing the film in native 4K, I never felt that darker areas produced distracting crushing. Fluidity is improved as well. The entire film looks spotless. All in all, I think that the new 4K makeover is fantastic and viewing it in native 4K is quite the treat.

Branded to Kill 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I did a few quick comparisons with the lossless track from the first Blu-ray release of Branded to Kill, which was very good. Some of the action footage seems to be a bit sharper or clearer, so I am going to speculate that some additional work has been done on this LPCM 1.0 track. Elsewhere, however, I think that it is impossible to tell if there is a legit difference between the two tracks.

Branded to Kill 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Fetaures - there are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Seijun Suzuki and Masami Kuzuu - in this interview, director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Massami Kuzuu discuss the production history of Branded to Kill, Nikkatsu's reaction to the film, and the events that followed the sacking of the Japanese director. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in July, 2011. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (13 min).

• Joe Shishido - an outstanding, enormously funny interview with Joe Shishido (Hanada), who recalls his collaboration with Seijun Suzuki on Branded to Kill and Gates of Flesh. The actor also does a terrific improvisation. Don't miss it. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).

• Seijun Suzuki - an archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki, which was recorded during a retrospective of his work by the Japan Foundation and Los Angeles Filmforum at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles in March 1997. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (15 min).

• Trailer - an original theatrical trailer for Branded to Kill. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns, author of Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun, and a statement by the film's art director, Sukezo Kawahara.

Branded to Kill 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wildly entertaining and seriously atmospheric, Branded to Kill is director Seijun Suzuki's boldest, darkest, and most perverted film. It is rather easy to argue that it is one of the most stylish Japanese films from the 1960s as well. The new 4K restoration of Branded to Kill is absolutely gorgeous and I had a blast viewing it in native 4K very late last night. Hopefully, the folks at Criterion will consider more such 4K Blu-ray releases of classic Japanese yakuza films. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.