Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Kamikaze Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 18, 2023

Didier Grousset's "Kamikaze" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with the director; archival documentary about the production of the film; new audio commentary by critic Eddy Von Muller; and remastered trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Not ready for seppukku

Before Didier Grousset made his directorial debut with Kamikaze he was an assistant director on Luc Besson’s Subway, which became one of the biggest hits of the new French New Wave. It is very important to highlight that Grousset and Besson had worked together because in many ways Kamikaze behaves and looks like a Besson film. Grousset and Besson wrote the screenplay for Kamikaze with Michele Petin, who over the years produced numerous projects Besson was associated with, including the French mega-blockbuster Taxi.

The great character actor Michel Galabru is Albert, an aging scientist who is unceremoniously kicked out of the research department of a giant tech company. Feeling humiliated and convinced that his reputation has been permanently damaged, Albert retreats to the top floor of a secluded house somewhere on the outskirts of Paris where his pretentious niece and overworked husband can barely handle his presence. In his room, Albert finalizes an incredibly dangerous, never-before-seen or thought-of weapon -- a long-range gun that uses the same frequencies TV broadcaster do to blow up its targets. Shortly after, Albert begins tunning into life broadcast and executing some of the country’s most prominent news reporters for spreading lies and brainwashing the masses. Unaware that there is a deranged but incredibly intelligent killer on the loose, Inspector Romain Pascot (Richard Bohringer) goes to work to find out what causes news reporters to pop like balloons while the cameras are rolling.

Kamikaze may very well be the most realistic of the futuristic films Besson has been associated with to date. (His The Last Battle, for instance, which came out before Subway and Kamikaze, remains a fairy tale for grownups). In the 1980s, pretty much everyone that saw Kamikaze thought that Albert’s long-range gun and its functionality were pure fiction, so back then and for a few decades after that the film was routinely described as a sci-fi thriller. However, in 2024 there is plenty of factual information that far more sophisticated versions of Albert’s long-range gun already exist. For example, numerous EMP weapons operate very similarly. The U.S. Air Force possesses state-of-the-art satellites that can do even crazier things with space systems like Rods From God.

There is something else that Kamikaze correctly envisioned as well. It is the emergence of a new relationship between the criminal and the crime, which can no longer be properly assessed by an old-fashioned investigator like Pascot who is used to asking questions whose rationality is outdated. Pascot’s kind is a dying breed and this is partially why at the end of Kamikaze the case he has been working on is taken away from him, too.

Besson’s influence is very easy to recognize in two key areas. First, the futuristic material and action have plenty of the unique light humor that defines Besson’s early films, which remain his best work. Second, there is a very thick cinematic atmosphere that quickly prepares the viewer to expect unusual thrills. This is not to imply that Grousset shot Kamikaze but it was Besson that shaped it into the film that it is now. Rather, it reveals that a lot of the great chemistry the two had during the shooting of Subway was present during the shooting of Kamikaze as well.

Kamikaze utilizes an original soundtrack by Eric Serra, Besson’s favorite composer. The soundtrack mixes predictably groovy synth-pop, funk, jazz, and progressive rock tunes that easily could have been used in any of the other cool genre films that are associated with the new French New Wave.

Kamikaze Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kamikaze arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The film has been fully restored on behalf of Gaumont. Sadly, I have to report that it looks horrendous now. I have previous experience with this film and can confirm that it has never had the light cyan/green cast that you see on our screencaptures. The native color scheme of this film is quite diverse and boasts plenty of natural primaries and supporting nuances. The new cast also introduces several obvious anomalies. For example, in a lot of darker areas, shadow nuances are either flattened or lost, which means that native details are missing. Predictably, depth is affected as well. You can see examples in screencaptures #2, 5, 9, 12, and 13. As a result, there are quite a few areas where select shots have a digital appearance, not an organic film appearance. Image stability is excellent. The surface of the visuals is very healthy, too. All in all, given some of the anomalies that emerge in darker areas, I think that Kamikaze looks even worse than A Pain in the Ass, which boasts an equally problematic color scheme after it was restored in France. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Kamikaze Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

THere are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and only quickly tested a couple of areas with the 5.1 track. I think that the former is excellent. All exchanges sound very clear and sharp, plus the balance is great. Eric Serra's soundtrack sounds great and creates some very interesting dynamic contrasts, too. The English translation is very good.

Kamikaze Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Au coeur du cinema - in this recent program, director Didier Grousset recalls how he entered the film business and discusses his professional relationship with Luc Besson and the production of Kamikaze. There are some interesting comments about the nature of the drama that is depicted in the film as well. In French, with optional English subtitles. (26 min).

• Objectif Kamikaze - this archival documentary focuses on the production of Kamikaze. It features clips from interviews with Luc Besson -- who confirms that the original idea for the film emerged in 1979 -- and Didier Grousset as well as raw footage from shooting sessions. In French, with optional English subtitles. (35 min).

• Trailer - a remastered trailer for Kamikaze. Unfortunately, the trailer is incorrectly graded as well. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Eddy Von Muller.

Kamikaze Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kamikaze is a prophetic cult film that deserves to be grouped with the likes of The Last Battle, Subway, Moon in the Gutter, and Betty Blue, all of which legitimized the new French New Wave. Didier Grousset made his directorial debut with Kamikaze but plenty in it comes from Luc Besson. This release introduces a recent restoration of Kamikaze that was completed on behalf of Gaumont in France. Unfortunately, the restoration is very disappointing.