The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 28, 2010

Winner of the San Giorgio Prize at the Venice Film Festival, Japanese director Kon Ichikawa's "The Burmese Harp" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a video interview with scholar and filmmaker Tony Rayns and the film's original Japanese theatrical trailer. The disc also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

On a mission

The final days of World War II. A Japanese regiment is sent on a mission in Burma. While moving through the jungle, the invaders begin singing. Occasionally, corporal Mizushima (Shoji Yasui, Kokoro) also plays his handmade harp.

In a secluded village, where they have tried to regain their strength, the invaders are surrounded by British soldiers who have heard them singing from afar. However, moments before the two sides clash, it becomes clear that Japan has surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.

At a prison camp, while the invaders await repatriation, Mizushima is summoned and ordered to persuade another Japanese regiment barricaded at the top of a nearby mountain to surrender. When he fails, the British soldiers launch a massive attack on the stronghold, and Mizushima's comrades assume that he has perished in the ensuing massacre.

But somehow, despite being badly injured, Mizushima survives, and a Buddhist priest helps him get back on his feet. On the way back to the prison camp, overwhelmed by the human carnage, Mizushima decides to stay in Burma and help the souls of the dead find peace.

Based on Michio Takeyama’s famous novel, The Burmese Harp was Japanese director Kon Ichikawa’s breakthrough film. In 1956, a couple of months after it premiered in Japanese cinemas and became an instant hit, The Burmese Harp was screened at the Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion award. Later the same year, The Burmese Harp also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

The message of The Burmese Harp is simple -- in war, there are no victors, only suffering and death. Mizushima’s journey through Burma is an effective examination of man’s fascination with violence and death, which often fuels wars.

Despite an abundance of material that could have produced plenty of powerful political statements, The Burmese Harp remains a notably subdued film. Mizushima's profound transformation is not idealized either. He is simply one of many men who inevitably realize that war is hell on earth.

The narrative has a very loose episodic structure. A few key events are seen through Mizushima's eyes, and then as witnessed by his comrades, and occasional flashbacks are inserted among them. However, these events are not introduced in chronological order.

In an exclusive introduction included on this release, Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns notes that Ichikawa initially intended to shoot The Burmese Harp in color. However, because of various technical limitations, a decision was made to shoot it in black and white. In 1985, Ichikawa remade The Burmese Harp in color with an entirely different cast.

*In 1956, The Burmese Harp won the San Giorgio Prize and OCIC Award, Honorable Mention at the Venice Film Festival. During the same year, the film also won Best Film Score award (Akira Ifukube) at the Mainichi Film Concours.

The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

Note: this is a new, restored high-definition transfer officially licensed from Nikkatsu.

Generally speaking, fine object detail is good, though there are numerous fluctuations, particularly during the nighttime scenes. Clarity is also good, but it is obvious that there are some inherited limitations that prevent The Burmese Harp from looking appropriately sharp and vibrant. Contrast levels on this high-definition transfer differ from those observed on the Criterion DVD release of The Burmese Harp. Generally, the film has a lighter, silvery appearance here, and a darker, contrastier appearance on the Criterion DVD release. The fine film grain is mostly intact, but it is never prominent. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. I also did not see any aliasing or banding to report in this review. There are no serious stability issues. However, there are occasional tiny flecks and scratches that pop up here and there. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is strong. The dialog is clean, stable, and mostly easy to follow. The dynamic amplitude of the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is rather limited, but I thought that the chorus singing (Japanese and English) was much more nuanced than it is on the Criterion DVD release (richer overtones). For the record, I did not detect any cracks or serious dropouts to report in this review.

The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Introduction - an exclusive interview with scholar and filmmaker Tony Rayns in which he discusses the production history and message of The Burmese Harp, the film's characters, director Ichikawa's legacy, etc. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080/50i).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet with an essay by Keiko I. McDonald and rare archival stills.

The Burmese Harp Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

British distributors Eureka Entertainment continue to delight with strong releases of important classic films. The latest addition to their already very impressive catalog is Kon Ichikawa's powerful anti-war film The Burmese Harp. If interested in classic Japanese cinema, make sure to get a copy of it for your library. Please keep in mind that this is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.