Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 30, 2024

An oft quoted adage insists that there's "no honor among thieves", but that may not automatically suggest that thieves can't have honor. Moral shades of gray suffuse Eighteen Years in Prison almost from the get go, as two former Japanese soldiers named Kawada (Noboru Andô) and Tsukada (Asao Koike) are attempting to navigate a perilous post-World War II economy by doing a little "scavenging", leading to a calamitous showdown with police. Tsukada manages to get away, but Kawada is captured and (unsurprisingly, given the film's title) imprisoned. Kind of like those hoary old Warner Brothers efforts from the thirties that would follow two friends, one of whom gives in to his "dark side", and the other who stays "true blue", Eighteen Years in Prison eventually develops the stories of both Kawada and Tsukada, the latter of whom starts his own Yakuza gang which will play into events. Kind of interestingly given that allusion to Warner Brothers gangster movies and that whole "no honor among thieves" assertion above, it's the imprisoned Kawada who might be likened to the "true blue" characters from American outings, which in and of itself may highlight those equally aforementioned moral shades of gray.

As Tony Rayns gets into in one of two really interesting supplements Radiance has included on this disc, this is the third Tai Katô film Radiance has released on Blu-ray, after I, the Executioner* and By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him* (Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza is due in about a month as this review is being written). As with By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him in particular, it's Andô's real life history (some of which is detailed in the supplemental features) which gives his performance added weight, even if some of the perceived "grittiness" of the tale may be slightly offset by the almost inherently "polite" behaviors by at least some of the inmates (if not typically dastardly guards and wardens). A star-crossed quasi-ménage à trois develops involving a woman named Hisako (Hiroko Sakuramachi), who has connections to both of the main male characters. There's also another subplot detailing Kawada's efforts to keep a young man from giving in completely to his "dark side". While perhaps not overtly emphasized, the whole unstable socioeconomic climate of Japan after the horrors of World War II tends to act as a substratum to the emotional trials and tribulations several of the focal characters experience.

*Note: These are Region B releases from Radiance's UK branch.

Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eighteen Years in Prison is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains only the following fairly generic information on the transfer:

Eighteen Years in Prison was transferred in high definition by Toei Co. Ltd. and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file.

I'm not always a big fan of these "pre-done" masters provided by Toei, and this is another presentation that has both pluses and minuses. While the palette is nicely saturated a lot of the time, it has the same kind of peculiar slate gray to blue underpinning that I've seen in other Toei produced masters that can give things a slightly alien look some of the time. There are also noticeable variances in clarity throughout the presentation, though at its best moments, this transfer offers commendable sharpness and some really nice fine detail levels on practical items like props and costumes. As with a lot of Asian productions in particular, there are some noticeable anamorphic anomalies that can show up, especially toward the edges of the frame. Katô's tendency to sometimes frame his shots "from below", or at least lower than one might expect, somethings that's addressed overtly in some of the supplements on I, the Executioner, is intermittently on display here. Grain resolves naturally.

Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eighteen Years in Prison features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original Japanese. While there are ambient environmental effects and a score by Hajime Kaburagi, this is a pretty talk heavy affair, and one that often tends to feature just two characters in the frame simultaneously, and so the mono track is perfectly supportive of a not overly ambitious sound design. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns (HD; 24:17) offers another fantastically informative history lesson, detailing information about the cast, crew and film.


• Tall Escapes (HD; 16:57) is another commendable history lesson, this one by Tom Mes, who looks at the evolution of the prison movie in Japan.


• Trailer (HD; 3:04)

Additionally, the keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses another nicely appointed insert booklet, this one with an especially interesting essay by Tom Mes. Radiance's obi strip is also included.

Eighteen Years in Prison Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In his insert booklet, Tom Mes makes the case that Eighteen Years in Prison provided a perceived "template" for later, perhaps better remembered, efforts like Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but there may not be the same level of brutality in this film that the Battles franchise often engaged in. Instead, this may be at least a bit more of a character (and/or characters) study, and it offers Andô another showcase for might be called his laconic instensity. Technical merits are generally solid and the two on disc supplements are outstanding. Recommended.