K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 20, 2011

Inspired by So Kitamura's famous novels, Shimako Sato's "K-20: Kaijin nijû mensô den" a.k.a "K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Manga Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include interviews with cast and crew members and behind the scenes featurette. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Fiend with Twenty Faces

A past where World War II has never happened, Dr. Nikola Tesla has won a Nobel Prize, and German, not English, is the universal language. In the Japanese Empire, there is no middle class, only rich and poor, and they live in their own little worlds. There are strict rules and regulations everyone must follow.

In the capital city of Teito, one man, K-20, the Fiend with Twenty Faces, routinely steals from the rich - but never gives to the poor. His latest acquisition is a model for a powerful energy machine designed by Dr. Tesla. Concerned that in the wrong hands the machine could be used as a weapon, the rich order the well respected detective Akechi (Toru Nakamura, 2009: Lost Memories) to recover the model.

Meanwhile, a man hires the poor but extremely gifted circus performer Heikichi (Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chungking Express) to secretly photograph the engagement ceremony between detective Akechi and the beautiful princess Hashiba (Takako Matsu, Confessions). While taking his pictures, Heikichi makes an amateurish mistake and gets caught. The police immediately assume that he is K-20.

With the help of his circus friends, Heikichi manages to escape from his prison cell. But now he is a wanted man, who can no longer do what he loves - perform his tricks. Determined to prove to the world that he isn’t the person everyone believes he is Heikichi decides to go after K-20 and reveal his identity.

Despite various plot holes - some arguably revealing K-20’s identity rather early - Shimako Sato’s K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask is an entertaining and engaging period film. Behind its flashy visuals there is an admirable message that should appeal to a wide variety of viewers.

The film does not add anything new to the genre it belongs to, but it is clear that its creators never intended for it to do so. Naturally, its unpretentious tone works in its favor.

The film is fractured into various episodes, and some of their loose ends are not convincingly tied, but it is relatively easy to follow the story. At the end there is also a nice summation of everything important that happens in the film.

The action sequences are big and very well done. Heikichi’s training sessions and his decisive clash with K-20 boast some of the most impressive special effects in the film. A lot of the stunt work, coordinated by Russian guru Oleg Krasnyanskiy, is also of exceptionally high quality.

Considering the script limitations, the chemistry amongst the cast is surprisingly good. Kaneshiro is clearly the star of the film, but his presence is never overwhelming. There are plenty of scenes where Matsu and Nakamura impress.

The film’s greatest weakness is related to its pacing. Tighter editing and smarter continuity would have produced an entirely different picture. A better soundtrack would have made a noticeable difference as well.

Note: In 2009, K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask won Best Actress Award (Takako Matsu) at the Hochi Film Awards.

K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask 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, Shimako Sato's K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Manga Home Entertainment.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. Even the nighttime scenes, some of which feature heavy CGI effects and are quite dark, look very good. The various close-ups are also impressive. Color reproduction does not disappoint either - there is a variety of rich blues, greens, reds, yellows, browns, grays, blacks, and whites. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern, though there are a couple of scenes during the second half of the film where I noticed its presence. Serious noise corrections have not been performed. There are no stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces looks quite impressive in 1080p. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Manga Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does not disappoint. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. There are quite a few action scenes that are likely to test the muscles of your audio system (check out the massive explosion at the end of the film). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Naoki Sato's music score either. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cast's Stage Greeting Part 1 - cast and crew members address the audience before a screening of K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask and discuss their contribution to the film. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (24 min).

• Cast's Stage Greeting Part 2 - cast and crew members gather again for a different screening of K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (14 min).

• Behind the Scenes - a standard featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of some of the most technically challenging scenes in the film. The featurette also contains various comments from screenwriter and director Shimako Sato, actors Takako Matsu, Reiko Takashima, Toru Masuoka, Jun Kunimura, Toru Nakamura, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (25 min).

K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was prepared for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised by K-20: The Legend of the Black Mask. There is nothing in the film that we have not already seen done better before, but it is nevertheless quite entertaining. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Manga Home Entertainment, looks and sounds terrific. RECOMMENDED.