Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
On the night of the summer Obon festival, Hagiwara Shinzaburo meets a beautiful courtesan named Otsuyu. Not knowing she’s a ghost, he becomes infatuated by her.
Starring: Kôjirô Hongô, Miyoko Akaza, Mayumi Ogawa, Kô Nishimura, Takashi ShimuraForeign | 100% |
Horror | 29% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Fans of what might be termed some of the "designer labels" of the home video market may know that there are some interesting tethers between Arrow Video and Radiance Films, and either due to commingling or just shared interests, both labels are offering fans spooky collections of Japanese fare as the Halloween season is getting underway. Arrow is out with J-Horror Rising, a compendium of efforts that appeared in the wake of Ringu, and Radiance is offering this trio of somewhat earlier films that the label is touting as "three of Japan's most famous ghost stories that have haunted people for centuries".
The Bride from Hades is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Radiance's insert booklet lumps all three films in this set together in one relatively brief blurb about the transfers, as follows:
The Ghost of Yotsuya, The Snow Woman and The Bride from Hades were restored in 4K by Kadokawa Corporation. Each film is presented in its original aspect ratio with original mono audio.I'd rate this transfer as the "middle ground" between some of the less felicitous aspects of The Ghost of Yotsuya and the at times rather resplendent look of The Snow Woman. While there are none of the gradual shifts in color timing that can be spotted in The Ghost of Yotsuya, and the palette is generally very nicely suffused and accurate looking, there are a few moments where blue tinges can be spotted, especially in some of the darkest scenes, where blacks can have a just ever so slightly purplish hue. Due perhaps partly to production design, things can also look a bit brown on occasion. All of this said, densities are healthy and suffusion is generally excellent. Detail levels are typically great throughout this presentation, and fine detail also tends to be commendably precise on everything from some of the gorgeously designed sets and costumes to more mundane items like flyaway hairs on some of untrimmed eyebrows of the men. Grain resolves naturally throughout.
The Bride from Hades features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original Japanese. This is another pretty talk heavy film, though there are any number of either actual outdoor scenes or supposed outdoor scenes (obviously set bound) where there are smatterings of ambient environmental sounds dotting the track. Shigeru Ikeno's score also is presented with a nice full bodied sound. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
A kind of odd shift in tone and even focus on characters happens rather late in the film and perhaps slightly hobbles the mood of The Bride from Hades. Still, this is a mostly extremely moody piece, one that's elevated by some really lustrous cinematography by Chishi Makiura, which receives good support from this high definition presentation. Technical merits are solid, and both of the main supplements very worthwhile. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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