Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 1, 2011

Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Japanese director Shohei Imamura's "Narayama-bushi ko" a.k.a "The Ballad of Narayama" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original Japanese trailers and teasers for the film and an exclusive new video introduction to the film by Asian cinema scholar, critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns. The disc also arrives with a lavish illustrated booklet featuring a statement by Shohei Imamura; interview with the Japanese director; production diary by long-time collaborator Jiro Tomoda; and an anonymous offering from the tenth-century poem-tale Yamato monogatari. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Mother and Son

Shohei Imamura’s The Ballad of Narayama is a brutal yet indescribably beautiful film. Like most of the Japanese director’s films, it is next to impossible to describe with simple words. It has to be experienced in order to be understood.

The story of the film takes place in an isolated 19th century Japanese village somewhere up North, nearby the mythic Mount Narayama. This is a place with unique rules, customs and traditions where individuality is outright condemned and the strong have always ruled the weak.

All of the villagers lead miserable lives, but no one complains because this is how the Gods of the mountain want them to live their lives. Those who attempt to question their existence – by hiding or stealing food from their neighbors to make sure that they have enough to feed their families during the long winters - are quickly condemned and killed. Misery is part of life here and if one can’t deal with it, one does not deserve to be alive.

Because food is scarce, the villagers also have a strict rule which dictates that anyone who reaches the age of 70 must climb Mount Narayama to meet the Gods and die in peace. The families of those who make the journey are congratulated by everyone in the village and honored with a special ritual.

69-year-old Orin is in perfect health, but this winter she must meet the Gods. Understanding well that she has little time left to live, Orin has invited Tamayan (Takejo Aki), a middle-aged woman from a nearby village, to meet her recently widowed 45-year-old son Tatsuhei (Ken Ogata), hoping that the two can start a family. She has also spoken to an older woman from her village to spend one night with her 35-year-old virgin son Risuke (Tonpei Hidari), who smells bad and currently has a dog for a girlfriend. Orin also wants her grandson Kesakichi (Seiji Kurasaki) to stop fooling around and get rid of his shameful lover Matsu (Junko Takada), who has started living with him.

The Ballad of Narayama brings life and death together in a manner which suggests that pain and suffering have key roles in their union -- to live is to suffer, and to survive is to understand the nature of the pain that has been endured. Orin and the villagers have a unique interpretation of their suffering, which is what Imamura's film explores.

In addition to examining closely the villagers and their rituals, Imamura also follows the actions and rituals of the animals, birds and insects around the village -- two snakes mate in the dark but are interrupted by strange sound vibrations; insects play together unaware that they could be crushed; an owl observes and kills a mouse. Like the villagers, the animals, birds and insects also struggle to survive by following their instincts.

The first half of the film is filled with long and lyrical sequences that capture the rhythm of life in and around the village. The second half is brutal and uncompromising. It is also seriously disturbing because a lot of the brutality is justified with the same logic that has nurtured religious fanaticism in various civilized societies.

Based on the novella by Shichiro Fukuzawa, Imamura’s The Ballad of Narayama is a remake of fellow Japanese director Keisuke Kinoshita’s 1958 film, which won Best Film and Best Director Awards at the prestigious Kinema Junpo Awards and Mainichi Film Concours.

The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The Blu-ray release represents a massive upgrade in terms of visual quality over the R1 DVD release Animego produced quite some time ago. The nighttime sequences is where the gap between the two releases is most obvious - the noise and blockiness from the DVD release have been completely eliminated, contrast levels stabilized, and clarity dramatically improved. During the daylight sequences some softness remains, but detail is very good and color reproduction is now far more satisfying. The variety of greens, blues, browns, and grays always look warm, fresh and natural, and none of the edge flicker from the DVD release is present here. Furthermore, there isn't even a whiff of post-production sharpening. There are no traces of overzealous denoising either. Finally, there are a few tiny flecks popping up here and there, but large cuts, damage marks, splices, and warps are nowhere to be seen. (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).

The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track handles Shinichiro Ikebe's soundtrack quite well. The string solos from the second half of the film, for instance, enhance the dramatic atmosphere very well. The fue (Japanese flute) solos are also far more effective than they are on the R1 DVD release. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and free of distortions, pops, and cracks. The English translation is excellent.

The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - an exclusive new video introduction to The Ballad of Narayama by Asian cinema scholar, critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• Japanese Teaser 1 - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Japanese Teaser 2 - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Japanese Trailer 1 - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Japanese Trailer 2 - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - a lavish illustrated booklet featuring a statement by Shohei Imamura (presented at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, where Imamura's film was awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or - ahead of films by Robert Bresson, Victor Erice, Nagisa Oshima, Martin Scorsese, and Andrei Tarkovsky, amongst others); interview with the Japanese director (the text is translated from an interview conducted by Max Tessier for La Revue du cinéma - Image et son, no. 386, September 1983); production diary by long-time collaborator Jiro Tomoda (the Narayama bushiko production diary originally appeared in Kinema junpô, no. 859, May 1983); and an anonymous offering from the tenth-century poem-tale Yamato monogatari which forms part of the enduring legend of Obasuteyama, or Mount Obasute).

The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Japanese master Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama is a deeply moving film, one of his very best, that offers a fascinating look into a unique culture. The film's transition to Blu-ray, courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment, is, as expected, impressive. If you could play Region-B "locked" discs, I strongly recommend adding it to your collections. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.