Haze Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

Haze Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 8, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto.

There are two names which American film fans may need either outright introductions to or at least reminders about when coming to Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto. The first name is that of Shinya Tsukamoto himself, a fascinating cult figure with a rather long and impressive filmography as a producer, director, actor, writer, editor, cinematographer, production designer and art director (one assumes if the IMDb had a tab for craft services contributions, he'd be listed there, too), but who is still kind of curiously unknown by the general public at large on this side of the pond. The other name that may come into play with regard to this handsome new set released for the North American market by Arrow is Third Window Films, a label that releases Blu-rays in the United Kingdom and which has in fact put out previous editions of several of the Tsukamoto films Arrow has included in this set. For that reason, fans or at least those interested in “comparison studies” are encouraged to visit our listings for the Third Window Films’ releases of Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June, and Kotoko, not just for Svet Atanasov’s thoughts about each of the films, but also to be able to do side by side looks at screenshots as well as to size up supplemental features on each release. (A sixth film offered in this set from Arrow, The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, looks like it's included as a supplement on Third Windows' double feature offering the two Tetsuo films.) The Arrow set does at least offer ten films in one nicely aggregated and designed package which includes a rather beautiful hardback book, which may at least recommend the set to those trying to save a little shelf space, if nothing else.

Is it possible that screenwriter Chris Sparling and director Rodrigo Cortés saw Haze, one of the lesser known films in Shinya Tsukamoto’s oeuvre? If you don’t recognize the names of Sparling and Cortés, they were jointly responsible for Buried, a film which posited Ryan Reynolds as a guy who has been “buried alive”. That’s pretty much the entire setup of Haze, which finds a man (Shinya Tsukamoto) coming to in a cramped ostensibly underground or at least completely enclosed concrete space, with no idea of how he got there or why he is badly wounded.

Haze probably plies at least somewhat more of a horror ambience as the man ultimately becomes aware that there's a woman in the bunker, too. This was evidently first done in a shorter version than the one seen here as a specially commissioned piece for South Korea's Jeonju International Film Festival in 2005.

Haze Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Haze is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.81:1. This is the sole presentation in this set which comes with a preliminary text card warning that it was shot on standard definition video and that there are obvious deficiencies as a result. Compounding the typical signs of upscaling here is the fact that almost all of the film plays out in very dark, dimly lit environments. As such, detail levels are often minimal, and fine detail levels just as often virtually nonexistent. The video capture was evidently transferred to 35mm for exhibition (based on data points at the IMDb), and there's something like a completely pixellated grain field at play here, as can be seen in many of the screenshots accompanying this review. Aside from just a couple of passing moments, the film has a very tamped down palette that is almost monochromatic looking a lot of the time.

Haze Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Haze features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that doesn't feature the battery of effects that some other Tsukamoto films do, but which provides more than capable support for the film's sporadic dialogue and cramped, claustrophobic ambience. There are no signs of any age related issues like damage, distortion or dropouts to report.

Haze Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As can be seen in the last screenshot accompanying this review, this disc offers three films. I'm listing all of the supplements on the disc, since while some supplements are ostensibly specific to one feature, there's still a certain amount of spillover.

• Audio Commentary on A Snake of June by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on Vital by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on Haze by Tom Mes


• Archival Interviews with Shinya Tsukamoto can offer interstitial text questions followed by Tsukamoto's answers. In Japanese with English subtitles:

  A Snake of June (1080p; 25:43)

  
  

  Vital (1080i; 11:06)

  
  

  Haze (1080i; 19:38)

• Shooting A Snake of June (1080p; 19:50) is an archival featurette that offers lots of candid footage and interviews. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• The Making of Vital (1080i; 18:48) offers the same assortment of candid footage and interviews as the above featurette. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Vital World Premiere (1080i; 10:48) offers footage from the Venice Film Festival. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Vital Special Effects (1080i; 10:29) is another archival piece offering Tsukamoto collaborator Hisashi Oda.


• Vital Music Video (1080i; 6:23)


• The Making of Haze (1080i; 23:57) is another archival piece with candid footage and interviews.


• Kaori Fuji at Locarno (1080i; 17:03) is an archival piece with Haze's lead actress.


• Trailers

  A Snake of June UK Trailer (1080p; 2:26)

  
  

  Vital Original Japanese Trailer (1080i; 1:35)

  
  Haze Original Japanese Trailers (1080i; 3:43)

• Image Galleries

  A Snake of June (1080p; 4:00)

  
  

  Haze (1080p; 1:00)

Haze Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Haze is probably best appreciated as a "bonus" item in this set. It's an interesting concept, to be sure, but I'm not sure Tsukamoto had a clear idea of what he was trying to accomplish here. Technical limitations on the video side of things are obvious, but audio is fine, and as usual the supplemental package is very well done, for those who are considering a purchase.