Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 20, 2016

Nagisa Oshima's "Death by Hanging" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video piece featuring critic and film historian Tony Rayns; and Nagisa Oshima's short film "Diary of Yunbogi". The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Howard Hampton. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".

The man who refused to die

The men assume that it will be a quick procedure. They have seen it done many times before. After the prisoner finishes his last meal -- which will be either sweets or fruit -- and has his last cup of tea and last cigarette, he will be hanged and they will resume their duties.

Moments later, the noose is placed around the prisoner’s neck. After the security chief’s signal, the trapdoor is opened and he is hanged. A medical officer is then quietly asked to check the prisoner’s body. Once he confirms that he has died, the procedure will officially end.

But this time there are complications. The puzzled medical officer announces that more than twenty minutes have passed and the prisoner’s heart is still beating. Another officer also announces that his pulse isn’t weakening. A third visibly nervous officer then suggests that they should execute him again. The confused men begin discussing the situation and soon after agree that there is a rule that forbids them to execute an unconscious prisoner.

So what should they do?

Someone suggests what seems to be the only logical solution: Restore the prisoner’s consciousness, make him realize what has happened to him and what should have happened to him, and then repeat the execution.

Perhaps the easiest way to profile Nagisa Oshima’s Death by Hanging is to say that it is a ‘reaction piece’. It channels the director’s frustration with the socio-political system in Japan during the 1960s and unapologetically satirizes the supposedly impeccable image of the people that represented it. Oshima completed it a few years after an eye-opening trip to South Korea which also inspired him to shoot the documentary short Diary of Yunbogi.

The film is loosely divided into two uneven acts that focus on two different character transformations. In the first act, the prisoner -- a Korean man named R who has killed and raped two women -- loses his identity after the failed execution and struggles to understand why the men in the room want him dead. Determined to finish their job, the officials then try to reenact the tragic events that have led to the man’s conviction so that he can regain his memory. But the harder they try, the more confused he becomes. In the second act, the ‘actors’ seriously compromise themselves and it becomes clear that many of them are not any better than the Korean man.

One could successfully argue that the big points about cultural identity, racism and discrimination, capital punishment, and the hypocrisy that existed in the Japanese political system are still relevant, but the film’s preachy tone feels awfully dated. Many of Jean-Luc Godard’s early radical films have a similar vibe -- they satirize their targets with such intensity that now many look like farcical experiments.

Still, the film’s inexorable desire to create extreme contrasts which highlight the various issues that bothered its creator is rather impressive. It literally turns the narrative upside down and forces the viewer in a guessing mode. The end result isn’t something all viewers will like, but almost certainly very few will forget.

Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nagisa Oshima's Death by Hanging arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. Although a variety of sources assert that Death by Hanging was filmed in Paramount Pictures' proprietary 8-perforation VistaVision widescreen format, Criterion has determined, after much research, that an alternate 4-perforation Japanese "Vista" format was employed instead; thus it was the 4-perf Japanese Vista negative that was used as the source for our transfer. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, jitter, and flicker.

Colorist: Russell Smith/Criterion, New York.
Scanning: Imagica, Tokyo."

The film has been recently restored in 4K and looks incredibly healthy. Clarity is terrific and depth is probably as good as one could expect from a Japanese film of this caliber. Contrast levels remain stable. The blacks and whites are wonderfully balanced and there is an excellent range of nuanced grays. Grain is evenly distributed and very well resolved. This is very easy to see during close-ups as well as during the few wider panoramic shots. There are no stability issues. Finally, there are no large cuts, damage marks, debris, or stains to report in our review. (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).

Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided on this Blu-ray release.

The film's sound design is modest. However, the dialog is exceptionally crisp and well balanced. Hikaru Hayashi's soundtrack has a secondary role. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns - in this brand new video interview, critic and historian Tony Rayns discusses Nagisa Oshima's rather unusual career and body of work (with some great comments about his work outside of the studio system), his political orientation and rebellious image, his visit to Korea which inspired him to shoot Death by Hanging, the socio-political climate in Japan at the time when the film was made (the student rebellion during the late 1960s, the emergence of The United Red Army during the 1970s, etc), the absurdist overtones, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (31 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original Japanese trailer for Death by Hanging. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, 1080p).

• Diary of Yunbogi (1965) - Nagisa Oshima wrote, produced, and directed this documentary short about a poor boy who has been abandoned by his mother after he visited Korea. Later on, many of the key themes from the documentary were further explored in Death by Hanging. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (25 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Howard Hampton.

Death by Hanging Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nagisa Oshima's Death by Hanging can easily be compared to many of Jean-Luc Godard's most radical films. It is full of wild contrasts that were clearly meant to highlight the many issues that bothered its rebellious creator. I think that the best way to experience the film is to avoid reading reviews that discuss in great detail its style and structure. I can't guarantee that you will like it, but if you decide to see it I can assure you that you will be amused. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a wonderful new 4K restoration and it includes yet another terrific piece with film historian Tony Rayns. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.