Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Golgo 13 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 28, 2023

Junya Sato's "Golgo 13" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; recent program with film writer Tatsuya Masuto and critic Masaaki Nomura; and vintage trailer. In Japanese, with optional Engish subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Hired to kill

Sadly, it is true. The biggest strength of Junya Sato’s Golgo 13 is its right to claim that it was the first cinematic adaptation of the popular manga by Takao Saito. Everything else that is supposed to make Golgo 13 an attractive film is of questionable quality.

In a posh hotel room, several characters meet with the notorious freelancing assassin Duke Togo (Ken Takakura) and begin negotiating an urgent job -- eliminating a high-profile Middle Eastern target named Max Boa (Ahmad Ghadakchian). If Duke Togo agrees to do the job, he would have to travel to Iran, where Max Boa’s secret lair is. Why does Max Boa have to die? There are multiple reasons, but the biggest seems to be Max Boa’s long record of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering beautiful young women from some of the biggest cities across the world.

Duke Togo agrees to do the job and reluctantly accepts to be escorted by the beautiful Catherine Morton (Pouri Baneai), an associate of his employers. Because they would need to act as lovers while visiting Iran, the two quickly jump in bed for some practice work, but soon after begin to fall in love. Shortly after landing in Iran, to avoid complications Duke Togo then walks away from Catherine.

As predicted by Duke Togo’s employers, the hunt for Max Boa quickly proves to be a seriously challenging task. When Duke Togo’s identity and intentions are confirmed to Max Boa, the visiting hunter instantly becomes the hunted, too.

Apparently, before and during the production of Golgo 13 Sato worked closely with Saito, who is credited as one of the film’s two screenwriters. Naturally, it is fair to assume that the narrative and characterizations must have met Saito’s expectations. If true -- and assuming again that the newly restored version of Golgo 13 is the film that Sato delivered -- there is only one explanation for the underwhelming quality of the material that was shot on location in Iran.

At the center of this explanation is the undisputable fact that despite being promoted as a co-production Golgo 13 is essentially a giant Iranian project. Indeed, Takakura is the only Japanese star/actor before Sato’s camera, and while he looks effortlessly cool, he often appears lost in an exotic maze that effectively erodes the credibility of his character. As Golgo 13 progresses, this odd disconnect between the freelancing assassin and the exotic maze becomes so obvious that the ongoing drama begins to look seriously ridiculous as well.

Unfortunately, the action, which could have made a crucial difference, is disappointing too. Takakura’s opponents are played by inexperienced Iranian actors that are frequently struggling to do a lot of things right, including stunt work. For example, there are several shootouts where Takakura’s opponents get hurt or die and their reactions are hilariously late. On top of this, Golgo 13 features an oddly enthusiastic Japanese dubbing as well.

It is worth pointing out that just a few years after Golgo 13 was completed the Islamic Revolution profoundly transformed Iran. Needless to say, Golgo 13 has a lot of very interesting and valuable footage. For example, the panoramic footage from Tehran reveals a city with a rather striking contemporary European personality. Also, there is some very beautiful footage from the ancient city of Isfahan, which is known for its historical buildings and monuments.

Golgo 13 was lensed by Masahiko Limura, who a few years later reunited with Sato and Takakura on the influential cult hit The Bullet Train.

Golgo 13 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Golgo 13 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master that was prepared after the film was fully restored in 2K. Unfortunately, the quality of the presentation is quite underwhelming.

The good news is that the 2K master produces very healthy visuals without any noticeable surface imperfections. Yes, there are certain areas with noticeable density fluctuations but they are introduced by the original cinematography, not problematic digital corrections. Image stability is very good, too. The bad news is that the 2K master is graded in a very particular way that gives the film a contemporary appearance and introduces several anomalies. Now, it is easy to tell that there is some stylization work that is part of the original cinematography, but the current grade clearly changes primaries and supporting nuances that introduce some pretty drastic alterations. For example, there is footage that is supposed to be from the middle of the day that looks like it is coming from a very late afternoon. The bright sunlight not only begins to look dimmed but some visuals appear flat, too. (See screencapture #27). Why? Because the native dynamic range of the visuals is altered by the improper grade. The effect is even more pronounced in darker footage where there should be plenty of fine shadow nuances. (See screencaptures #14 and 20). The two primaries that are affected the most are red and blue. Unsurprisingly, while the film can look quite healthy, it most definitely does not have a convincing organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Golgo 13 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is solid. All exchanges are clear and very easy to follow. I thought that the action footage produced plenty of strong dynamic contrasts as well. However, This track features original Japanese overdubbing, so you should expect to hear plenty of minor unevenness of the type that is very common on English and Italian tracks that are included on Italian genre films from the 1970s, 1980, and even the early 1990s. There are no transfer-specific anomalies to report in our review.

Golgo 13 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Lucky 13 - in this recent program, film writer Tatsuya Masuto and critic Masaaki Nomura discuss Junya Sato's life and cinematic legacy. There are particularly interesting comments about Sato's relationship with Toei during the time when the iconic Japanese studio specialized in yakuza films (which the director apparently did not care for) as well as his fondness of the classic manga that inspired the cinematic adaptation of Golgo 13. Apparently, in Japan Golgo 13 was released on a double bill with part four of Female Prisoner Scorpion. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (17 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully remastered original Japanese theatrical trailer for Golgo 13. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The two gentlemen engage in a broad discussion that covers everything from the exact period and socio-cultural environment in Iran to the stylistic appearance, tone and personality of Golgo 13 as well as the classic manga that inspired it. There are some interesting comments about the careers and popularity of Ken Takakura and Junya Sato.

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tom Mes as well as technical credits.

Golgo 13 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

On paper, Golgo 13 sounds like a tremendous project. However, even though Ken Takakura emerges as a predictably cool assassin that frequently looks incredible in the Iranian desert, Golgo 13 is impossible to describe as a good film, which is rather odd because it is a pretty faithful cinematic adaptation of the classic manga. What is the problem? The supporting cast is average at best, so Takakura must do a lot of different things to make the drama appear legit, which is a seriously challenging task that ends up hurting the credibility of his character. Nevertheless, I still think that Golgo 13 is worth a look because it is a fascinating time capsule with some quite remarkable visuals from pre-revolutionary Iran. Eureka Entertainment's release is sourced from a new 2K master that could have been graded a lot better. If you are a die-hard fan of Takakura's work, consider picking it up when it is heavily discounted.