Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Jeans Blues: No Future Blu-ray Movie Review

Jeans Blues No Future is a crime thriller with a gritty and artistic atmosphere from beginning to end. The thriller stands out as a visual wonder. The feature-film was released in Japanese cinemas in 1974. Featuring lead performances by Meiko Kaji and Tsunehiko Watase, Jeans Blues No Future is an underrated and underseen Japanese classic which takes inspiration from Bonnie and Clyde. Co-starring Ryôhei Uchida, Jeans Blues No Future provides the grindhouse style that fans of the genre have come to know and love.

Hijiriko (Meiko Kaji) and Jiro Katagiri (Tsunehiko Watase) find themselves on the road and traversing dangers together after colliding with a car crash between stolen vehicles. The duo are both on the run – with Hijiriko seeking to leave behind the seediness and sleaze of her day-job and with Jiro attempting an important getaway after managing to steal countless millions from dangerous thugs. The car crash is only the beginning.

After the destined car crash, the duo steal another vehicle, and find themselves on the run together – going about things one step at a time. Despite the daydreams of a better tomorrow both share, the duo must deal with pursuing law enforcement agents and gangsters seeking revenge. Can Hijiriko and Jiro escape to tomorrow?

The performances are excellent in Jeans Blues No Future. The film is above and beyond a great showcase for the actors. Both Meiko Kaji and Tsunehiko Watase are excellent actors and their respective roles add great depth to the film. Meiko is irresistibly cool and suave while Tsunehiko proves to be a great cool-cat opposite for the film. The pair are undeniably magnetic and the performances elevate the film from just being a fun thriller to being something more memorable and compelling. Meiko oozes sex appeal and is gorgeous in the film. Every frame of the film with Meiko is as sweet as sugar.

The production design by Akira Yoshimura (Horrors of Malformed Men, The Killer Priest's Journey) is an impressive part of the film and there are some remarkable aesthetic pieces to the whole. The film is smaller in scale than some bigger budget thrillers but it never feels as though the film is lacking for anything. The production has a sparse but realistic style that compliments the atmosphere of the filmmaking.

The cinematography by Toshio Masuda (Twisted Sex, A Boss with the Samurai Spirit) is one of the most artistic elements of the film. Masuda is a gifted cinematographer with a keen visual style and this adds something special to the experience. Masuda creates a gritty grindhouse energy with the film and its aesthetic. The cinematography oozes a cool factor that is undeniably compelling and will grasp on to audiences.

The score composed by Katsuo Inoue (Koi no tsumujikaze) is a highlight of the feature-film and the music adds such a “cool factor” to the film that the filmmaking is all the more entertaining. The thrill of the film is undeniable. The score is hip and adds to the unusual charms of the filmmaking. For a film as visually rewarding as Jeans Blues No Future, the score certainly needed to be a fun one with the ingredients required for a splash of cool.

Written by Sadao Nakajima and co-screenwriter Takeo Kaneko (Captain Ultra, The Kyoto Connection), Jeans Blues No Future has plenty of wit and the dialogue is great. There is a cool factor that is quite remarkable. The scripting is ace and provides a lot of fun for the actors to explore through their performances. The screenplay is one of the clear highlights of the film.

Directed by Sadao Nakajima (A Savage Beast Goes Mad, The Seburi Story), Jeans Blues No Future is superior to many other crime-thrillers and it isn’t a simple cat-and-mouse game that audiences can turn their minds off during. Jeans Blues No Future is so stylish and visually compelling. Nakajima is a gifted director and the film is poetic in its visual framing – the camera moves with a grace that the director helps imbue in to the film. What a wonderful gem of a film. Jeans Blues No Future is an underseen Japanese classic. Sometimes a little-seen gem of international cinema comes along and simply sweeps you off your feet and Jeans Blues No Future is that type of film. It’s gritty, provocative, and builds to a compelling climax.

Jeans Blues: No Future Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Jeans Blues No Future is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. The film is a beautifully lensed film and the transfer on the release is naturally filmic with good detail and fine film grain left intact during the presentation. The transfer is wonderful here and there is so much to simply marvel in. The encoding by Discotek Media is top-notch and the quality of the video looks superb with the transfer capably showcasing the cinematography by Toshio Masuda.

One of the best things about the Blu-ray format is the manner in which the high-definition presentation is still superior to streaming video platforms in the digital streaming era. Blu-ray discs provides higher bit-rates and far better encoding compared to streaming platforms (which offer a more compressed video presentation by comparison). When one streams something, the services often provide only compressed video – even when it might look good, it tends to look that much better on disc and sometimes even subtle compression differences can make a viewing experience more enjoyable on Blu-ray. Streaming is nothing more than modern television with some "feature-oriented" value, it offers no replacement whatsoever for physical media.

Jeans Blues: No Future Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is enjoyable and adds to the viewing experience. The film sounds crisp and clear during the presentation. Dialogue is well reproduced on the release. The soundtrack has plenty of energy and the music is a highlight. A quality encode by Discotek Media.

Blu-ray discs provide an impressive experience with lossless audio offering a superior option compared to streaming video services (which only offer lossy compressed audio by comparison). Most streaming video services provide MP3 quality to CD quality audio (dependent on the content one is watching on said services). Blu-ray discs offers significantly higher bit-rates with lossless audio allowing for a more immersive soundstage. This allows for the audio to be more immersive and engaging, especially when one uses a nice quality sound system, speaks, and A/V receiver. For audiophiles seeking the best quality possible the Blu-ray disc format provides the best way to watch movies.

Jeans Blues: No Future Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray release comes with a well-designed o-card slipcover for the release. The slipcover features unique key artwork different from the artwork spotlighted on the cover-art insert underneath the slipcover. The release also includes an inner art print with more unique photos. A nicely designed package from Discotek Media.

The one area of the release that seems to be lacking is the supplemental department. This arena of the release could have been improved with some audio commentary tracks, behind the scenes featurettes, documentaries on the production of the film, and interviews with the cast and crew. Unfortunately, the release is close to barebones and doesn't include any extensive supplemental features – an aspect of the release that would have been significantly better with some more care given to the extras.

On disc supplements include:

Teaser Screens (HD, 00:24)

Trailer (HD, 2:57)

Jeans Blues: No Future Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeans Blues No Future is incredibly cool and hip filmmaking. Fans of grindhouse thrillers will find the film an undeniably compelling experience. Jeans Blues No Future is essentially a grindhouse thriller with arthouse roots. The visuals are extraordinary and the cinematography is simply stunning throughout. Meiko Kaji and Tsunehiko Watase are undeniably charming actors and the fun thrill of the film wouldn't be the same without them. The Blu-ray release features a strong video and audio presentation. Discotek Media also provides the release with a quality o-card slipcover featuring great artwork. For fans of Japanese cinema, Jeans Blues No Future is a release to own and cherish. Highly recommended.