Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Paprika 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"One ticket, please."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 19, 2024

You can't Google Paprika without finding someone, somewhere accusing Christopher Nolan of stealing from director Satoshi Kon's dazzling trip into a world of dreams and nightmares. Bah. Two filmmakers can have similar ideas, and Inception is not Paprika any more than Black Swan is not Perfect Blue. (Another matter for another review.) No, Inception and Paprika are both brilliant sci-fi masterpieces in their own right, with poignant explorations of how the mind controls reality, set in strange, deconstructing and constructing realms that can be harnessed to noble or selfish ends. Paprika may even go a step farther, allowing the imagination -- true flights of dreamscape fantasy -- to enter the mind-flayed mind-frays, making Kon's film a disorienting, at-times disturbing but always fascinating descent into the surreal. The story itself is terrific too, with genuine groundwork laid in characterization, arcs, plot development, twists and turns, and palpable high stakes that lead to plenty of tension, suspense and what'll-happen-next excitement. Can the dialogue be a bit esoteric? Sure, but no matter. More reasons for a rewatch. Regardless of how many times you've seen it, you'll forget you're watching an anime and simply be blown away by the ideas at play.

"Science is nothing but a piece of trash before a profound dream."

Dreams are the door to the psyche, or so a groundbreaking invention called the DC Mini suggests, allowing its creators to access a person's most intimate thoughts, hopes, desires and memories. Pioneers in their field at Institute for Psychiatric Research, doctors Atsuko Chiba (Megumi Hayashibara) and Kosaku Tokita (Tôru Furuya) do so by using the technology to enter people's dreams; with Chiba on the front lines, appearing as her in-dream alter ego "Paprika". Their goal is to help patients suffering from debilitating mental health disorders. But there's an inherent danger: that someone with lesser intentions could conceivably use the DC Mini to wreak havoc in a person's mind. That danger becomes a reality when the DC Mini is stolen and begins to be used to nefarious ends. Racing to uncover the culprit behind the sudden rise in dream terrorism, Atsuko, Kosaku and police detective Toshimi Konakawa (Akio Ōtsuka) scour the real world and the world of dreams to stop the mysterious madman before more harm can be done. Directed by legendary filmmaker Satoshi Kon (his last film prior to his death in 2010), Paprika is a visually dazzling, thought-provoking thriller worthy of its place on any anime or animation fan's shelves.

Click here to read Lindsay Mayer's 2008 review of the film, which she calls "a brilliant animated film." Adding, "the wonderfully surreal imagery, the surprisingly substantial story, and the catchy, oddly appropriate techno soundtrack cohesively lead to a great film experience."

Paprika 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

An early Blu-ray release in 2007, Paprika earned raves from first-generation high definition disc reviewers, and rightfully so. It was, at the time, stunning. Expectations have increased since then, of course, and while the 2007 video presentation still delivers in most ways, Sony's newly restored 2160p 4K UltraHD Blu-ray transfer (presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1) is the clear winner and the must-own definitive version of the film. First a warning: Paprika isn't home to the hair-splitting, razor-sharp line-art and animation your memory, like mine, might recall when whispering sweet nothings in your ear. Detail and clarity are excellent, without a doubt, but there is a slight bit of relative softness to the picture (a la Perfect Blue) -- in reality a cinematic trait resulting from the source -- that you may catch some modern film-fans grumbling about. Pay such criticism no mind. This is Paprika as it was created, as it was intended, and as it has been faithfully restored. Every last line, texture and nuance is present and accounted for, without encoding flaw.

There is a bit of extremely faint noise present throughout, which deserves discussion. It's almost imperceptible, particularly on a properly calibrated display, and could easily be mistaken for grain when it is noticeable. However, Paprika, as far as I know, shouldn't necessarily exhibit any grain structure, as its original elements are digital. One forum member offered an excellent explanation, though: dithering, which is "digital noise added in areas of banding to reduce its effect", which as that same member states, is indeed a good thing. Banding is far more distracting. And I would go one step farther and assume banding very likely could have been present at the source animation level, meaning Sony could have very intentionally used dithering to improve picture quality; not diminish it. I will, of course, update this review if more information or a more accurate explanation becomes available and adjust the score accordingly. As it is, I'm making two assumptions: one, this is the rare noise that is a net positive for the presentation, and two, it is meant to alleviate a problem in the original elements. That also means I'm not considering the noise to solely be a negative trait when scoring the video (at least not at the time of this writing).

Back to the transfer's higher qualities. Colors erupt off the screen with a richness and vibrancy that practically screams "HDR10" and "Dolby Vision" at the top of their lungs. The depth of the image is quite incredible, as is the power of the film's primaries, the inkiness of blacks, and the beauty of the contrast leveling. Paprika can be a rather dark film (visually, not just thematically), but at no point does the image seem murky, even when on those few occasions in which it's meant to convey murkiness. You won't ever find yourself peering into the shadows to discern what's happening; it all comes to dazzling life in 4K. For my money and from all I understand at this point, Paprika's 4K transfer is borderline perfect. I can't imagine it looking much better than it does here.

Note: the Blu-ray disc included in this 2-disc set features the new restored version of the film presented in 1080p.

Paprika 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Oh Sony, God bless. Paprika arrives on 4K UltraHD Blu-ray with a terrific Japanese-language Dolby Atmos track (along with an English-language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track for those who prefer an English dub). Dialogue is crystal clear and nicely situated within the soundfield, lending the film a more cinematic feel than the usual front-heavy non-feature anime mixes tend to deliver. Effects are perfectly prioritized as well, as is music, which seems to have a presence in every channel without ever overwhelming the soundscape; other than when a crescendo is meant to simultaneously disorient the dream world inhabitants and the viewer. Rear speaker activity and directionality are dizzying, and did my absolute favorite thing: tricked me into believing there was something in my home theater responsible for key noises. (Ah, right... I'm watching a movie. Dangit.) Parading creatures, grasping hands, bulbous monstrosities and other chaotic scenes are somehow made even more memorable, more surreal and more nightmarish, simply by how aggressively they surround and assault the listener; further joining the audience's experience with the on-screen characters' encounters. Dynamics deliver as well, with deep, booming low-end support and plenty of weight being thrown around. Taken together, the cacophony of sonic delights serve as appropriate dream realm enhancers, staying lockstep with the film as it bounds between Paprika's real and fictional worlds.

Paprika 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 2-disc 4K Blu-ray release of Paprika (arriving in a SteelBook case with striking cover art) includes all of the 2007 edition's extras, as well as new content. The biggest downside is that all of the previously released video content is presented in standard definition. That said, there's plenty here to dig through and enjoy.

• Restoring Paprika (Disc 1, HD, 8 minutes) - This newly produced featurette delves into the restoration of Paprika for the 4K Blu-ray release. It's a bit too short and less than comprehensive, but it provides a nice overview that hits on all the basics.

• Filmmaker Commentary (Disc 2) - Director Satoshi Kon, composer/music supervisor Susumu Hirasawa and associate producer Morishima sit down for a lively audio commentary track. Subtitled in English.

• Tsutsui and Kon's Paprika (Disc 2, SD, 30 minutes) - Author Yasutaka Tsutsui and film director Satoshi Kon discuss the origins of Paprika, on the page and on screen, offering a journey from book to pre-production to storyboards to animation.

• A Conversation About the Dream (Disc 2, SD, 29 minutes) - A live audience roundtable discussion between Tsutsui, Kon and voice actors Megumi Hayashibara (Atsuko) and Tôru Furuya (Tokita).

• The Dream CG World (Disc 2, SD, 15 minutes) - Director of photography Michiya Kato talks at length about the use of CG elements in the otherwise hand-drawn world of Paprika's animation.

• The Art of Fantasy (Disc 2, SD, 12 minutes) - Art director Nobutaka Ike chats all things dream world, detailing the use of imagery, symbolism and surrealism to create dreamlike environments and visual projections.

• Storyboards and Original Drawings (Disc 2, HD) - Storyboard comparisons, original drawings and character paintings are available for two scenes: "The Ruins" and "Skin Splitting".

• Domestic Trailer (Disc 2, HD, 2 minutes)

• International Trailer (Disc 2, HD, 2 minutes)

Paprika 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paprika is those two words we reviewers love to throw around: a masterpiece. We overuse "masterpiece". You know it, I know it. And it becomes Peter crying wolf, making it that much more difficult for us to convince those new to a film that, yes, this one actually is a masterpiece. Sony's 4K Blu-ray release treats it as such too, with a deserving restoration and definitive 4K video presentation, a fantastic Dolby Atmos track, and a great supplemental package (complete with a filmmaker commentary and two hours of video content). Highly recommended.