Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Crying Freeman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 8, 2014

Christophe Gans' "Crying Freeman" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Metropolitan Filmexport. The supplemental features on the release include an exclusive new video interview with the French director; exclusive new video interview with Mark Dacascos; original trailers for the film; making of featurette; deleted scenes; cast and crew interviews; and a lot more. In English, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The elusive assassin

Somewhere on the hills of San Francisco, beautiful painter Emu O'Hara (Julie Condra, Gas Food Lodging) witnesses the killing of a prominent Yakuza member. Before he disappears, the assassin (Mark Dacascos, Brotherhood of the Wolf) quickly introduces himself to the stunned painter.

Back in Vancouver B.C., Emu’s hometown, Shido Shimazaki (Mako, The Killer Elite), the leader of the Hakushin Society, warns the local authorities that Freeman, a legendary assassin who has been living in the shadows, will soon appear to kill the painter because she saw his face when his son died in San Francisco. Shimazaki then urges the police to work with his men and capture the assassin, who was sent by the dangerous Sons of the Dragons, a powerful Chinese faction whose members are descendants of the 108 Buddhist monks who centuries ago fought the merciless Manchus. However, shortly after, Shimazaki and his men are executed by Freeman and his assistant, Koh (Byron Mann).

Meanwhile, detective Netah (Tcheky Karyo, Bad Boys), who is on the payroll of another overly ambitious Japanese Yakuza leader whose men have dealt with the assassin, interrogates Emu, but she refuses to cooperate. Later that night, Freeman quietly enters Emu’s home ready to kill her but is so moved by her beauty and innocence that ends up making love to her.

The film takes a very unusual turn Freeman and Emu’s second encounter. The action quickly moves from Canada to Japan and various long flashbacks reveal plenty about Freeman’s unusual past.

French director Christophe Gans’ directorial debut, Crying Freeman, is extremely faithful to the popular manga of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami that inspired it. In fact, a very large portion of the film essentially recreates the carefully drawn images from the manga.

The film’s tone and atmosphere, however, are very unique. For example, the expertly choreographed shootouts have the elegance and fluidity John Woo popularized in his early films – there are numerous slow-motion zooms, unusual close-ups, and fantastic tracking shots. On the other hand, the intimate sequences ooze the lush eroticism that is frequently present in Patrice Leconte’s early ‘90s films (see Le mari de la coiffeuse, Le Parfum D'Yvonne). The end result is an incredibly sensual film that manages to retell the story that inspired it with an admirable degree of seriousness.

Crying Freeman is also complimented by arguably one of the best soundtracks ever created for a film of this caliber. Composed by acclaimed American New Age artist Patrick O'Hearn, the music blends elements of dark tribal ambient and progressive eletronica. The beautiful main theme, for instance, very much reminds of Tangerine Dream’s classic work.

The acting is very good. There is remarkable chemistry between Dacascos and Condra who very much like the characters they play fell in love during the shooting of the film and consequently married. Karyo is very convincing as the corrupt detective. There are also memorable cameos by Rae Dawn Chong, Kevan Ohtsji, the beautiful Yoko Shimada, and the legendary Mako.

Crying Freeman was lensed by Canadian cinematographer Thomas Burstyn (John Irvin’s City of Industry, Marek Kanievska’s Where the Money Is). The film’s editing supervisor was David Wu (John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled).

Crying Freeman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Christophe Gans' Crying Freeman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Metropolitan Filmexport.

Please note that the screencaptures included with this review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-22: Crying Freeman
2. Screencaptures #23-30: Japanese animated film, Episode I
3. Screencaptures #31-36: SteelBook/packaging

The release uses a new high-definition transfer created in 2K from the original camera negative, which was supervised by director Gans. Rather predictably, the overwhelming majority of the film looks quite good. A lot of the daylight sequences -- and in particular the big battle at the end -- boast very pleasing depth and fluidity. Close-ups with an abundance of natural light also impress (see screencaptures #8 and 15). Some minor contrast fluctuations exist during the indoor and nighttime footage, but they appear to have been inherited (see screencaptures #3 and 12). Colors are stable and natural, but color saturation occasionally seems slightly inconsistent. There are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening adjustments. However, the encoding could have been better for select parts of the film where light is intentionally restricted (see screencaptures #12 and 18). Overall image stability is excellent. Also, there are no large cuts, damage marks, debris, or stains, but I noticed a few blemishes popping up here and there (see screencapture #20). To sum it all up, this new Blu-ray release of Crying Freeman represents a major upgrade in quality over the old R2 DVD release which Metropolitan Filmexport produced in 2001. The encoding could have been a little bit better, but the final result is indeed very pleasing. (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).

Crying Freeman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Metropolitan Filmexport have provided optional French subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it. (Please be aware that throughout the film there are a couple of short exchanges in Japanese. There are no optional English subtitles for them).

The lossless English track is outstanding. During the action sequences dynamic intensity is excellent and there is good surround movement. More importantly, the lossless track allows Patrick O'Hearn's very atmospheric soundtrack to shine in all the right places. The dialog is clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Finally, there are no pops, cracks, background hiss, or distortions to report in this review.

Crying Freeman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Blu-ray

• Recontre avec Christophe Gans - presented here is an exclusive new video interview with director Christophe Gans in which he discusses the production history and success of Crying Freeman, the film's visual style, etc. The interview was conducted by journalist Leonard Haddad. In French, not subtitled. (52 min).

• Interview de Mark Dacascos - in this new and exclusive video interview, actor Mark Dacascos recalls how he was approached to play Yo Hinomura/Freeman, and discusses the shooting of the film, its unique visual style, the manga that inspired it, his relationship with Julie Condra during the production process and after the film was completed, the film's success around the world, etc. In English, with imposed French subtitles. (15 min).

• Crying Freeman, L'anime, Episode 1 - presented here is the first episode from the Japanese animated film. In Japanese or French, with optional French subtitles. Also included is an optional commentary with director Christophe Gans and screenwriter David Martinez. In French. (53 min, HD).

• Bandes-annonces - a collection of trailers for other Christophe Gans films and releases from Metropolitan Filmexport's catalog.

• Commentaire Audio - audio commentary by Christophe Gans.

DVD

• Pre-production - additional archival supplemental features. In French, not subtitled.
  
  1. La Genese - (2 min).
  2. Le Scenario - in text-format.
  3. La Direction Artistique/Interview with Christophe Gans - (3 min).
  4. La Direction Artistique/Banque d'images - concept designs.
  5. Les Storyboards/Interview with Christophe Gans - (3 min).
  6. Les Storyboards/Comparison Film - (3 min).
  7. Les Storyboards/Banque d'images - a large collections of storyboards.

• Tournage/Shooting -
  
  1. Sujet Journal du Cinema - raw footage from the shooting of the film. (6 min).
  2. Montage Promo - a making of featurette with additional footage from the shooting of the film, plus interviews with Christophe Gans, producer Samuel Hadida, Mark Dacascos, Julie Condra (here credited as Julie Douglas), Tchecky Karyo, Rae Dawn Chong, Byron Mann, and Yoko Shimada, amongst others. (8 min).
  3. Les Coulisses de Crying Freeman - making of featurette with cast and crew interviews. (20 min).
  4. B-Roll - more raw footage from the shooting of key sequences. (39 min).

• Post Production -
  
  1. Le Montage - Christophe Gans and John Woo's longtime collaborator David Wu discuss the editing and visual style of Crying Freeman. In French and English. (9 min).
  2. Scene coupee/Booby Trap - deleted scene with Julie Condra and Mark Dacascos. (2 min).
  3. Scene coupee/Tokyo Hotel - deleted scene with Yoko Shimada and Tcheky Karyo. (2 min).
  4. Le Generique - concept art for the exotic symbols/titles/tattoos seen in the film.
  5. Bande-annonce I - original trailer for Crying Freeman. In English, with optional French subtitles. (2 min).
  6. Bande-annonce II - this original trailer for Crying Freeman was edited by David Wu. Music only. (2 min).

Crying Freeman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In one of the exclusive new supplemental features included on this Blu-ray release, an unusually emotional Mark Dacascos mentions how unfortunate it is that most people in America never got a chance to see Christophe Gans' directorial debut Crying Freeman. I wholeheartedly agree. This is a very, very stylish film with an absolutely incredible soundtrack which deserves to have a proper home video release on this side of the Atlantic. If you are one of the lucky few fans of the film who imported the deluxe French DVD release of Crying Freeman in 2001 and are now wondering whether you should upgrade, I can assure you that the new 2K restoration of the film is indeed very good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.