8.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao KimuraDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Crime | 8% |
Mystery | 5% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Akira Kurosawa's "Tengoku to jigoku" a.k.a "High and Low" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features in the disc include Japanese and U.S. trailers for the film; episode of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create; rare video interview with actor Toshiro Mifune; video interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki; and audio commentary by Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince. The disc also arrives with a 36-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and on-set account by Japanese-film scholar Donald Richie. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
He has our son...
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Akira Kurosawa's High and Low arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35mm fine-grain master positive and, for the color sequence, a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used from small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Telecine supervisor: Lee Kline.
Telecine colorist: Josh Olive/Technicolor, New York."
I have mixed feelings about the presentation. Many of the outdoor sequences look notably stronger here than they do on Criterion's SDVD re-release of High and Low - they lack some but not all of the shimmering and plenty of the light noise (see screencapture #5). Though not overly consistent, there is also a layer of light grain that is present throughout the entire film. Unfortunately, traces of mild to moderate sharpening could be seen in a number of different scenes. Some of the most obvious ones are during the first half of the film, where Gondo is seen debating whether or not to pay the kidnapper. While at least some of the soft halo-like effects could be attributed to Kurosawa's experimentation with extremely bright lights, which is discussed in detail in one of the supplemental features included on the disc, it is fairly obvious that the overwhelming majority of the sharpening has a different origin (see screencapture #11). There are a couple of minor frame skips as well, though overall there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. Finally, the blacks have been boosted a bit, but color reproduction is satisfactory. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The 4.0 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original 4-track stems. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation."
The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 track is solid. I ran a couple of quick tests with the SDVD release of High and Low and was immediately able to recognize the improved dynamic amplitude and depth of the loseless track (if you already have the SDVD, compare the bar scene in the final third of the film). Also, the dialog appears slightly crisper. For the record, I did not detect any problematic pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Akira Kurosawa's High and Low is an intense and beautifully lensed film that offers a fascinating commentary on modern Japanese society. Compared to previous releases of the film, Criterion's Blu-ray release is definitely a step up in quality, but it is not as impressive as their Blu-ray release of Masahiro Shinoda's Pale Flower. Nevertheless, this is an essential film to see and own. RECOMMENDED.
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