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 making their way through the jungle, the soldiers begin singing. Occasionally, corporal Mizushima (Shoji Yasui, Kokoro) also plays his handmade harp.

The Japanese soldiers arrive in a secluded village where they are immediately greeted by the locals. While relaxing, they are surrounded by British soldiers who have heard them singing from afar. Moments before they clash it becomes clear that Japan has surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.

The Japanese soldiers are escorted to a prison camp. While awaiting repatriation, Mizushima is sent on a mission to persuade another Japanese regiment barricaded at the top of a nearby mountain to surrender. He fails and the British Army attacks the stronghold. Mizushima’s comrades assume that he is killed during the attack.

A Buddhist priest, however, saves Mizushima – he heals his wounds and helps him get back on his feet. On the way back to the prison camp, Mizushima sees hundreds of corpses left rotting. Shocked, disturbed and profoundly moved, he 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 Golden Lion. 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 loss. Mizushima’s journey through Burma is an effective examination of man’s fascination with violence and death, which often fuels wars. He is so profoundly moved by the devastation and death he witnesses that eventually decides to stay and bury the dead.

The tone of the film is notably subdued - there are no powerful political statements made and certainly no finger-pointing. The type of spiritual transformation Mizushima undergoes is not idealized either. He is simply one of many men who realize that war is hell on earth.

The Burmese Harp has a loose episodic structure. A few key events in it are seen through the eyes of Mizushima and then as witnessed by his comrades; there are occasional flashbacks that link some of the episodes as well. Not all of the events in the film, however, appear in chronological order.

There is an excellent introduction to The Burmese Harp on this Blu-ray disc by scholar and filmmaker Tony Rayns in which he notes that Ichikawa initially intended to shoot the film in color. Due to a variety of technical limitations, however, a decision was made to shoot in black and white. In 1985, Ichikawa remade The Burmese Harp in color with an entirely different cast.

Note: 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 crisp. Contrast levels on this high-definition transfer differ from those observed on the Criterion SDVD release of The Burmese Harp - generally, the film has a lighter, silvery look on the Eureka Entertainment release and a darker, heavier look on the Criterion SDVD release. The fine film grain is mostly intact but it is never prominent. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are never an issue of concern. 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 PS3 or SA 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 SDVD 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.