Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Der Samurai Blu-ray Movie Review

Artsploitation's Blu-ray debut.

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 10, 2017

Note: this is the uncensored version of DER SAMURAI that contains frontal male nudity and some excess gore.

In the advertising campaign and opening shot of Der Samurai, there is the image of a seemingly androgynous figure clad in a white dress with long blond hair. Other photos from the marketing materials and trailer show this individual equipped with a samurai sword. I think that director Till Kleinert and producer Linus de Paoli wanted to tease their target audience with the impression that the title character would be a variation of Uma Thurman's The Bride from the Kill Bill films. In the German trailer for Der Samurai, the footage selected seems to promise a splatter fest. Actually, Der Samurai restrains from featuring a high number of violent scenes compared to a Tarantino picture. When the movie goes for a body count, it really delivers but the camera angles, subjective perspective of shots, and editing methods are heterodox with the standard practices of contemporary Hollywood filmmaking.

Der Samurai is set in a small German village around Brandenburg where everyone seems to know everyone else and nothing earth- shaking happens to the community. Jakob Wolski (Michel Diercks) is a taciturn police officer who lives with his sweet grandmother, who appears to be suffering from dementia. Jakob receives a mysterious package in the mail at police headquarters that he brings home. He also receives a creepy phone call from someone with a gravely voice requesting that he deliver the item to a derelict house in the woods. When Jakob knocks on the door and no one answers, he bravely goes upstairs and discovers a tall skinny figure (Pit Bukowski) who he learns has trespassed. Jakob is surprised to see that the person is a male cross-dresser who unsheathes a sword from the long box Jakob has brought. Jakob realizes that he is dealing with a professional swordsman and flees the abandoned house. A playful and dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues between the young policeman and The Samurai.

Who is that sitting in front of the dresser?

Der Samurai reminds me of a vintage horror title that I reviewed last year—William Friedkin's The Guardian (1990)—in atmosphere and the antagonist's shape-shifting powers. Jakob feels responsible for The Samurai because because he laid the bait of meat for him in the forest. (Jakob had been studying how to deal with werewolves as evidenced by his wolf management manual in the police office.) The film portrays a perverse kinship that develops between The Samurai and Jakob. The Samurai certainly has a crush on the German officer and takes sadomasochistic pleasure in watching Jakob turn violent. Jakob may be a sensible cop but he is not adept at strict law enforcement. At the same time, he knows self-consciously that this creature can wreak havoc on the entire village and must ponder unconventional ways of minimizing the damage. The eroticism between the two main characters is even reminiscent of Kenneth Anger's work. Indeed, Der Samurai's plot contains a gang of biker boys à la Anger's Scorpio Rising (1965) but unlike that avant-garde short, the posse in Kleinert's film act like homophobic bigots led by Schölli (Christopher Kane).

In their audio commentary, Kleinert and de Paoli state that they wanted their picture to recapture the grittiness of classic horror along the lines of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). They seem aware of their niche audience's expectations and either want to meet them or subvert them. They include a scene, for example, on a side road adjacent to the woods where the young woman Karo (Kaja Blachnik) stops her vehicle to fix a tire. The "car trouble" scenario recalls such predicaments that teen camp counselors experienced in the Friday the 13th series, for instance. Kleinert and de Paoli play on this trope when a seemingly oncoming predator approaches Karo from behind. One of the most unmistakable horror references occurs later when Schölli and his friends encircle The Samurai in the middle of a street. Schölli asks, "What's going on here? Halloween?" Composer Conrad Oleak performs a techno riff of John Carpenter's "Main Theme" from Halloween, though the pop version more closely resembles the synth-heavy renditions in the franchise's sequels. Composition-wise, Oleak's motif is very similar to the 5/4 time rhythm of Carpenter's famous theme.

Though the acting by the biker gang members can be banal, the performances by Diercks and Bukowski are very good. The picture is also well-shot by cinematographer Martin Hanslmayr. While the finale is satisfying, I could have done without the slow-motion photography and inclusion of a Swedish ballad.

Der Samurai Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Artsploitation presents Der Samurai (the label's inaugural Blu-ray) in an aspect ratio preserving the movie's original theatrical exhibition of around 1.85:1 on this AVC-encoded BD-25. In his commentary, Kleinert says that he chose to shoot his second feature on the Arri Alexa to give the image enhanced clarity and crispness. In post-production, the director worked with colorists to digitally re-grade the picture thrice because it wasn't dark enough for him. The nighttime scenes in the forest are pitch black and low-lit around The Samurai and Jakob. Kleinert sought a dark look and there is a coarse faux grain structure permeating the blacks. If you're watching Der Samurai on a large projector or widescreen TV from afar, you won't notice the grain that much but if you examine the images very closely on a monitor (like I also did), then the grain will stand out more. Some viewers may interpret this as heavy video noise but I believe this to be an accurate visual representation of this ultra low-budget indie. Kleinert also includes a surreal scene set in a bar that is drawn from Jakob's imagination. It incorporates light lavender (see Screenshot #10) and pink tints bathed in smoke to give it a dreamlike quality. Other scenes are characterized by rich green foliage, saturated reds, and neon.

Artsploitation has allotted eight chapter breaks for the main feature.

Der Samurai Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Artsploitation provides the original German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (24-bit and encoded at 3812 kbps) and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 option. Music and sound effects make the surrounds come alive with a fully enveloping soundscape. The rears are also active when a person or animal moves through a thicket in the woods, making effective use of off-screen sounds. German dialogue is consistently crisp along the center and front channels.

Artsploitation has supplied optional white English subtitles in a relatively small font but very readable type.

Der Samurai Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - a terrific track featuring producer Linus de Paoli and writer/director Till Kleinert. The pair are recorded together. If you listen to the tracking using stereo, you'll hear de Paoli's voice on the left front and Kleinert's on the right front. De Paoli speaks at a little higher pitch so his voice carries more in the center. Both filmmakers contribute a wealth of production information. They mention that Kleinert's short film, Cowboy (2008), is supposed to be on the disc but Artsploitation did not include it or any other short. In English, not subtitled.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (10:35, 1080p) - an English text commentary written by Till Kleinert examining how three or four SFX scenes were created; accompanied by production stills and conceptual art/storyboards.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1:44, 1080p) - an original German trailer for Der Bunker. In German, subtitled in English.

• Artsploitation Trailers - bonus trailers for House of 100 Eyes, Memory of the Dead, and The Treatment.

Der Samurai Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Der Samurai is an entertaining and disturbing horror thriller about a psychopathic transvestite battling wits with a vulnerable policeman. In its transfer Artsploitation has given the picture the appropriate color densities that director Till Kleinert sought. The label's DTS-HD MA track is extremely effective in conveying the film's atmosphere. The commentary and featurette are both informative and useful. Tarantino fans should check out this quality Blu-ray of Der Samurai.