Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2023

Hideo Gosha's "Samurai Wolf" (1966) and "Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut" (1967) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Tomoe Gosha; new audio commentary by author and critic Chris Poggiali; and promotional trailers. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Hideo Gosha’s admiration for the classic American western makes Jean-Pierre Melville’s obsession with it appear like a minor distraction. If you keep this in mind nothing in Gosha’s Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut will surprise you. On the contrary, it will instantly begin to make perfect sense to you.

The two films do not have to be seen in the proper order to be enjoyed. Their main protagonist, Kiba (Isao Natsuyagi), is a wandering ronin -- repeatedly referred to as Furious Wolf -- who gets stuck in completely different situations where he encounters unique characters. The second film uses several flashbacks to reveal important information about Kiba’s relationship with his late father, but it will not be a spoiler if you become familiar with it before you see the first film. Also, you easily can see these films on the same night as both are approximately seventy-five minutes long.

Gosha sets both films in remote rural locations where shady characters and outlaws are involved in scams that are supposed to make them very rich. In the first film, Kiba arrives at a waystation whose owner, a beautiful blind lady (Junko Miyazono), seduces and then convinces him to help with the transport of a large load of gold. Soon after, Kiba becomes a target for a gang of outlaws determined to steal the gold and an ambitious daimyo (Tatsuo Ondo) who is hell-bent on becoming the next owner of the waystation. While Kiba tries to deliver on his promise to help, several ronin, all handling a sword as well as he does, are summoned to take him out.

In the second film, Kiba reaches a massive mine that until recently has provided the Shogun with regular loads of gold, and once again becomes involved in a dangerous kabuki play. This time the players are the mine’s shady owner who has figured out a way to cheat the Shogun, a dim-witted woman driven by a thirst for revenge, a master swordsman with a huge ego, and a violent thief (Ko Nishimura) who has been betrayed by his former partners.

Even though it is clear that Gosha was inspired by the classic American western, Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut are actually a lot easier to compare to the exotic and frequently hyperviolent Italian spaghetti westerns. Of course, this makes perfect sense because the spaghetti westerns were heavily influenced by the classic American western as well. In other words, in both films, there is a lot of stylistic overlapping that is quite interesting to analyze because it can be traced back to foreign places where the western had different identities.

But just as Melville’s gangster films paid homage to the classic American western and classic film noir and in the process acquired unique identities, Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut are impossible to describe as anything else but uniquely Japanese period crime films because they comfortably develop unique identities as well. What makes the crucial difference in them? The special characters and their most unpredictable behavior. Here’s an example that is not a spoiler: In both films, the female characters are impossible to properly read until Gosha forces them to take off their masks. On top of this, all the leading male characters have flaws and weaknesses that make their decisions difficult to predict as well. The famous classic Japanese samurai films are not populated with such characters. They quickly divide their characters into good and bad, and then proceed to tell a story in which the former find a way to emerge victorious.

The visual style of Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut is very interesting, too. For example, both blend fast zooms and cuts with slow-motion footage that makes the sword action very attractive. Gosha’s fondness for minimalism syncs nicely with it as well.

Toshiaki Tsushima’s soundtrack easily could be mistaken as a creation of one of the legendary Italian maestros who scored such cult spaghetti westerns as The Great Silence, Day of Anger, and Sartana.

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG4 AVC and granted 1080p transfers, Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement.

The release introduces recent 2K restorations of both films, which are very good. However, both presentations reveal obvious gamma fluctuations. I was easily able to offset them with my player -- and you will too if you have a high-end player -- but am unsure if this is how the release was encoded or the fluctuations are on the master. In the past, in Japan, a lot of masters were created with elevated gamma levels, and it would not surprise me to learn that these fluctuations are inherited. On the other hand, Film Movement has produced releases of non-Japanese films with elevated gamma levels as well. The rest looks either very good or great. For example, delineation, clarity, and depth remain very pleasing throughout both films. I think that the second film looks a tad better, but the difference is minimal. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. I did notice a few blemishes, but there are no large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, while there is some room for meaningful improvements, I think that both films look very good in high-definition. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut are presented with Japanese LPCM 2.0 tracks. Optional English subtitles are provided for each film. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Both audio tracks are very healthy. In fact, I was quite surprised by their excellent dynamic range because the action footage and the terrific music produce some quite memorable contrasts. All exchanges are very clear and stable. I did not notice any distracting age-related imperfections to report. I did not even notice any thinning of the audio in the upper register, where older films typically reveal some weaknesses.

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Outlaw Director: Hideo Gosha - in this exclusive new program, Tomoe Gosha, daughter of director Hideo Gosha, discusses her father's TV and film work, his admiration for the classic American western, and the unique characters that populated his films and their relationship with violence. There are some particularly interesting comments about the choreography and filming of the sword fights in Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author and critic Chris Poggiali. It offers plenty of interesting information about the genre identities of Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut, the personality and image of its main protagonist, Hideo Gosha's work on both films (with interesting comments about the different camerawork), the careers of some of the principal actors, etc.

• Trailers - two trailers for the recent 2K restorations of Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut.

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Robin Gatto and technical credits.

Samurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Outlaws, thieves, whores, and shady characters representing the law. Barren landscapes where human life is worthless. A brave loner who cannot stop living on the edge. If this reads like a short but pretty accurate description of an unnamed western, well, it is not. While incomplete, it is a pretty accurate description of Hideo Gosha's Samurai Wolf and Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut. I thought that both were outstanding, featuring some of the most unpredictable characters I have seen in samurai films in a very long time. Film Movement's double-feature release introduces good recent 2K restorations of both films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.