7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
The Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island to drill a well to provide water for the sugar mill. He is assisted on the island by Kametaro, from the inbred Futori family. Nekichi Futori is chained in a pit that he has to dig, in order to appease the gods for breaking island customs. Nekichi is in love with his sister Uma, who is a shaman priestess at the sacred shrine, that contains the only good water close to the mill. She is also the mistress of Ryu, the manager of the mill. The patriarch of the Futori family tries to get the engineer to marry his retarded daughter Toriko.
Starring: Rentarô Mikuni, Yasuko Matsui, Kazuo Kitamura, Hideko Okiyama, Yoshi KatôForeign | 100% |
Drama | 89% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Director and Best Film Kinema Junpo awards, Shohei Imamura's "Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo" a.k.a "The Profound Desires of the Gods" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a new video introduction by film scholar Tony Rayns and the film's original Japanese theatrical trailer. The disc also with an extensive illustrated booklet with a new essay by Rayns, rare stills, reprinted statement by Imamura, a lengthy 1994 career interview and a transcript of Imamura's introduction and Q&A session at the 1994 Edinburgh International Film Festival's screening of the film. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".
Kurage Island
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Shohei Imamura's The Profound Desires of the Gods arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.
This is a lovely high-definition transfer (according to the press materials I received, with exclusive digital image restoration). Fine object detail is strong, clarity consistently pleasing and contrast levels pleasing. The panoramic shots from the island, for example, look stunning in 1080p. The close-ups are also convincing. Colors looks warm but fresh. The variety of different blues, greens and browns are most impressive. During the nighttime scenes, however, the blacks look somewhat soft. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. While viewing the film, I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. The high-definition transfer is also free of banding, heavy digital artifacts and halo effects. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. Blown through a digital projector, the image remains tight around the edges. Finally, I did not see any large cuts, marks, dirt, or stains. To sum it all up, this is a very pleasing presentation of a little seen in the West wonderful film by by Japanese director Shohei Imamura. (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).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Mono). For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track is solid. The dialog is crisp, clean and very easy to follow. Toshiro Mayuzumi's music score also sounds lovely. Additionally, the DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track allows for as much fluidity potent dynamics as possible. Finally, while viewing the film, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hiss to report in this review. There are no problematic audio dropouts either.
Booklet - an extensive illustrated booklet with a new essay by film scholar Tony Rayns, rare stills, reprinted statement by Shoei Imamura, a lengthy 1994 career interview and a transcript of Imamura's introduction and Q&A session at the 1994 Edinburgh International Film Festival's screening of the film.
Introduction - a wonderful video introduction by Tony Rayns. In English, not subtitled. (PAL, 12 min).
Trailer - the original Japanese theatrical trailer for the film. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080p).
Arguably Japanese director Shohei Imamura's most ambitious film, Profound Desires of the Gods has received a wonderful treatment by the enthusiasts at Eureka Entertainment. Obviously, this film belongs in the library of anyone who is even remotely interested in classic Japanese cinema. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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