7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In a small village in a remote valley where the harshness of life dictates that survival overrules compassion, elderly widow Orin is approaching her 70th birthday – the age when village law says she must go up to the mythic Mount Narayama to die. But there are several loose ends within her own family to tie up first.
Starring: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Shôichi Ozawa, Fujio TokitaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 65% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Survivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura.
Despite being the only Japanese director to win the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival twice, Shōhei Imamura hasn’t seemed to
penetrate
into general public consciousness in quite the same way that, say, Akira Kurosawa, the Japanese director who won the Palme d’Or a couple of years
before Imamura’s first win, has. As much as France tends to be associated with the phrase “New Wave” (and/or nouvelle vague, as the
case
may be), Japan itself probably unsurprisingly had its own New Wave, and Imamura is often cited as one of its leading proponents. The fact that
one
of Imamura’s first independent features made without studio meddling was entitled The Pornographers may give some indication of how provocative Imamura’s content can be, but in some ways
Imamura is not the stylistic enfant terrible that some of his counterparts in France like Jean-Luc Godard and/or François Truffaut often
were.
Arrow Video’s Arrow Academy imprint has released three of Imamura’s fascinating films, and while some might have preferred that his “other”
Palme
d’Or winner, The Eel, might have been included along with his first film to take
home that prize, The Ballad of Narayama, this trifecta is certainly a fantastic introduction to Imamura for those previously unacquainted
with
him, and it’s also a worthy collection in its own right for those who are already fans of Imamura.
The Ballad of Narayama is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy, an imprint of Arrow Video, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While Arrow's insert booklet offers a full page devoted to the restorations, because all three films in this are lumped in together, there's really not a ton of information offered other than the following:
The Battle of Nayarama / Narayama bushiko appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono sound.Judging purely by screenshots, this does not appear to be the same master as was used Eureka Entertainment for their Blu-ray release of The Ballad of Narayama many years ago. The palette looks considerably better suffused, and doesn't have the brownish tint that is visible in some of the screenshots Svet included with his review of that release. Detail levels are very good to excellent throughout the presentation, with everything from the fibers on apparel to natural elements like leaves looking precise. There are a couple of kind of curious drops in image quality where things become noticeably more desaturated and fuzzier (see screenshot 19 for one example), but this is by and large a very pleasing looking transfer with no signs of digital tweaking, and a nicely organic appearance throughout.
The Battle of Nayarama and Black Rain were both restored from the original 35mm negatives by Toie.
The original mono soundtracks were remastered from the original sound elements by Toie.
The Ballad of Narayama features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese. A lot of this film plays in outdoor settings, and there often rather subtle but still effective ambient environmental sounds utilized that help to establish a realistic ambience. The film has some evocative scoring choices, including use of some ethnic and/or native instruments, and those sound clear and warm. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Theatrical Trailer 1 (1080p; 2:52)
- Theatrical Trailer 2 (1080p; 2:32)
- Teaser Trailer 1 (1080p; 2:19)
- Teaser Trailer 2 (1080p; 1:08)
The Ballad of Narayama helped really establish Imamura on the international stage, something that Tony Rayns in particular states worked both to the benefit and detriment of Imamura's subsequent career. The film is undeniably vignette driven, with some sequences working better than others (some of the buffoonish stuff featuring Risuke left me personally kind of cold), but the overall effect is surprisingly devastating. Technical merits are solid, and the supplemental package very well done. Highly recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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