Revenge Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Revenge Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 22, 2023

Tadashi Imai's "Revenge" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Jasper Sharp and new program with critic Tony Rayns. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It is not at all difficult to understand what Revenge does and why it does it if you accept that it is a close relative of McCabe & Mrs. Miller. How is this possible? How could a Japanese film about samurai warriors from the early 1960s have anything in common with an American film about cowboys from the early 1970s? Believe it or not, you already know the right answer, so I am just going to point you in the direction where you can recover it.

For years, post-war Japanese films promoted a very particular profile of the classic samurai warrior. Consider how arguably the most famous among them, Seven Samurai, does it. In it, the samurai warrior quickly emerges as an honorable and fair man that would not hesitate to risk his life to defend what is right. He is a proud man that demands respect and gets it. He is fully aware of the rules and laws of the period environment in which he exists, and there is a special, unbreakable bond between the two.

Now, do the same with Fred Zinnemman’s masterpiece High Noon, which produces a similarly specific profile of the classic cowboy. He is an honorable man that would not hesitate to risk his life to defend what is right, too. He is a proud man that demands respect and gets it, too. He is fully aware of the rules and laws of the period environment in which he exists, and yes, he has an unbreakable bond with it as well.

During the 1940s and 1950s, no one dared to challenge these profiles. A few directors did make films that embellished the profiles a bit, but they never attempted to question the veracity of the profiles because they were cultural icons, too. Then came the 1960s and various counterculture trends gradually made these profiles bigger and more attractive targets. (Marlboro, for instance, used the classic cowboy to claim that its brand of cigarettes “had won the West, and the rest of the country, too”. The promotional campaign worked very well, but it made the classic cowboy a classic target as well).

Their environment began to change, too. For example, the environment in McCabe and & Mrs. Miller has very little in common with the environment from High Noon but the two are supposed to be the same place -- the Great West. More importantly, in McCabe & Mrs. Miller characters like Sheriff Will Kaine are nowhere to be seen because they have been permanently retired. They are relics and no one even notices their absence. There are a lot of new, notably imperfect characters who have done a lot to convince others that their honorable predecessors had been risking too much for too little.

Revenge depicts an almost identical evolution while telling the story of a classic samurai warrior who has become a living relic. During an odd altercation, Shinpachi (Kinnosuke Nakamura) kills an abusive officer and instantly becomes a target for the influential clan he comes from. The event rocks the provincial town where Shinpachi resides and reveals the maddening hypocrisy that protects its power structure, so to preserve its existence, everyone in a position of authority agrees to side with the influential clan. But instead of accepting his supposedly inevitable death with honor, Shinpachi reveals a human side that causes a sea of confusion, including among members of his family.

To write that director Tadashi Imai intended for Revenge to deliver a scorching critique of the entire samurai universe that had been legitimized in post-war Japanese films would be a colossal understatement. Indeed, Revenge is not simply unhappy with the idealism that is at the center of it, it attacks it with so much venom that at the time of its theatrical release it was probably regarded by some viewers as a cinematic kamikaze.

The most illuminating material emerges after Shinpachi begins to realize that there is no place in Japan where he can evade the wrath of the men that want him dead. Multiple people proceed to explain to him that he is participating in a giant theater whose final act is predetermined. Following a meeting with his brother, Shinpachi then agrees to participate in a staged, heavily-promoted duel.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Revenge arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master with strong organic qualities. On my system, virtually the entire film looked very healthy and very beautiful. There were a few areas where I noticed small density fluctuations that are slightly exaggerated by aging, but the rest looks either almost or as good as I think it should in 1080p. I did not encounter any traces of problematic digital corrections. The grayscale is convincing. Blacks are stable and nicely balanced, never producing distracting crushing, and there are proper ranges of grays. The whites are solid and natural. This being said, I think that this is the main area where native 4K presentation will offer meaningful improvements -- the dynamic range of the visuals will be superior and as a result depth, clarity, and delineation will benefit as well. Image stability is good. I spotted a few blemishes and nicks, but there are no large cuts, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. I did not encounter any obvious age-related anomalies. However, there are several areas where minor unevenness becomes quite easy to detect. I assume that it is inherited because it is not accompanied by other anomalies with obvious digital roots. The English translation is excellent.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns on Revenge - in this exclusive new program, critic Tony Rayns discusses Revenge and highlights some of its unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• The Enemy Within: Power and Politics in the Films of Tadashi Imai - in this exclusive new program, critic Jasper Sharp provides an overview of Tadashi Imai's cinematic legacy and focuses on some of the key themes that defined it. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Booklet - collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film as well as technical credits.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It would have been a tremendous experience to be a fly on the wall when Revenge premiered in Japanese theaters in the early 1960s. It attacks the classic samurai universe with such venom it is rather remarkable to see that Tadashi Imai was not forced to alter some parts of it. Obviously, it is a very political film that needs to be evaluated in the correct context, but it is not at all difficult to see that plenty of its criticisms are entirely justified. Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release introduces a very nice recent 2K restoration of Revenge. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.