The Challenge Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Challenge Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 5, 2016

John Frankenheimer's "The Challenge" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. There are no supplemental features on this release. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"You were set up to bring in a phony sword. Where is the real one?"

American boxer Rick Murphy (Scott Glenn, The Hunt For Red October, Urban Cowboy) is hired by a handicapped Japanese man to smuggle an ancient sword into his country. Immediately after he lands in Japan, however, Rick is abducted and roughed up by a group of gangsters working for a wealthy industrialist who also wants the sword. Rick learns that years ago the sword belonged to the powerful Yoshida family and divided two brothers. The good brother, Toru (Toshiro Mifune, Rashômon) became a samurai, while the bad brother, Hideo (Atsuo Nakamura, Kill!), made millions with shady partners. For a while the sword disappeared, but the brothers kept searching for it, and after it was discovered in America vowed to bring it home.

Rick escapes from Hideo’s gangsters and meets Toru. After one of his students treats him like a punch bag, he begs Toru to teach him how to fight. Meanwhile, Hideo tries to get rid of his brother once and for all, but the killers he sends to his home never return. Eventually, Toru and Rick are forced to confront Hideo and his gangsters on their turf.

The Challenge does not have the depth of John Frankenheimer’s early films, but it has plenty of style to make up for it. And most viewers will likely want to see it precisely because it features some unusually well choreographed and filmed fights. (Apparently, Frankenheimer consulted Steven Segal and the big fights were choreographed with his technical assistance).

A big chunk of the film is dedicated to Rick’s character transformation after he joins Toru’s students. Initially, Rick is a brash and cocky fighter who incorrectly assumes that his instincts and boxing skills will be good enough to either outsmart or defeat his opponents. For a long period of time, there is a lack of trust between him and Toru as well. Later on, however, he emerges as an intelligent fighter and earns Toru’s respect. This segment where Rick is tested and the transformation occurs is arguably the weakest one because the film begins to drag while trying to highlight the very obvious cultural differences between the two men.

There are two subplots that also work against the film’s credibility. The first one brings closer Rick and Toru’s beautiful daughter, Akiko (Donna Kei Benz, Pray for Death), but there is hardly any chemistry between them. The long lovemaking scene comes as an odd surprise. Then, Rick also warms up to a young boy, but their relationship also isn’t given a chance to evolve.

Despite the various narrative inconsistencies, however, The Challenge remains quite comfortable in its own skin. While watching it, one gets the feeling that its creators never aimed to break any new boundaries with it but wanted to raise the level of intensity which other similarly themed films favor. This is something that The Challenge easily accomplishes, and it is what ultimately makes it quite attractive.

Frankenheimer shot The Challenge with Japanese cinematographer Kozo Okazaki, whose credits also include the samurai classic Goyokin (1969) as well as the crime thrillers The Wolves (1971) and The Yakuza (1974).

The Challenge 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, John Frankenheimer's The Challenge arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.

The release has been sourced from the same master which Swiss label Explosive Media accessed when it prepared its local Blu-ray release of The Challenge. There are two notable differences between the two. First, on this release the brightness levels appear very slightly elevated. Second, there are a couple of segments where the grain appears slightly looser. However, the visible drop in density that you will notice is present on both releases as they contain the longer, more graphic version of the film (you can see an example in screencapture #8). There are no traces of recent compromising degraining or sharpening adjustments. Depth is pleasing, but it isn't difficult to tell that during darker sequences it should be better. Colors are natural, but if remastered the film will boasts a much bigger range of nuances. A few tiny flecks can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts or serious damage marks. So this is a mostly pleasing organic presentation of The Challenge, but there is plenty of room for important improvements. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Challenge Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. During the Japanese exchanges, there are printed white English subtitles. Optional English subtitles for the rest of the film are not provided.

Depth, clarity, and sharpness are consistently pleasing, but it is obvious that the audio has not been recently remastered. This becomes obvious when Jerry Goldsmith's score becomes prominent, though overall balance remains very good. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.

The Challenge Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplemental features on this release.

The Challenge Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Frankenheimer's The Challenge visits a familiar territory but it delivers a solid dose of unusually intense action. I think that it can be an excellent companion piece to Ridley Scott's Black Rain, which was released a few years after it. The Challenge looks quite good on Blu-ray, though it is easy to tell that there is plenty of room for important improvements. RECOMMENDED.