The Hidden Blade Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Hidden Blade Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 3, 2012

Winner of Japanese Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Yoji Yamada's "Kakushi ken oni no tsume" a.k.a "The Hidden Blade" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan. The supplemental features on the disc include footage from the film's screening at the Berlin International Film Festival; behind the scenes featurette; press event with director Yoji Yamada; and original trailers for the film. In Japanese, with optional English and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Munezo and Kie

19th Century Japan. Samurai Munezo Katagiri (Masatoshi Nagase, Pistol Opera, The Sea is Watching) and Samon Shimada (Hidetaka Yoshioka, Railroad Man, Always - Sunset on Third Street) bid goodbye to their close friend Hazama (Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Fireflies: River of Light, The Investigation Game), who is going to Edo to serve the powerful Unasaka clan.

Three years later. Munezo and Samon have started studying the new Western art of combat. Both have a difficult time understanding the lessons of their instructor but feel that times are changing. Munezo, in particular, is already convinced that it is only a matter of time before the samurai disappear.

One day, Munezo meets Kie (Takako Matsu, Suite Dreams, Confessions), a beautiful girl who used to work as a servant for his family. Kie has become a housewife but is treated as an animal by her husband and his family. When Munezo buys her a small gift, she immediately begins crying. Before they part ways, Munezo invites her to visit his home.

A couple of months later, Munezo is informed that Kie has fallen seriously ill. Despite Samon’s warnings not to visit her while her husband is away, Munezo heads to Kie's home - and after he discovers that she has literally been abandoned by her husband’s family in a cold and dark room, he carries her out, demanding that a divorce statement is prepared as soon as possible.

Kie gets better. She begins cleaning Munezo’s house, washing his clothes and preparing some of his favorite dishes. She even recites beautiful poems to Munezo, which years ago his mother taught her.

Meanwhile, Hazama is brought back home in a cage. After years of service, he has been found guilty of conspiracy to kill the Shogun and denied the right to commit hara-kiri . When he manages to escape, the Senior Retainer (Ken Ogata, Vengeance Is Mine, The Pillow Book) asks Munezo to hunt down and kill his old friend Hazama.

A good companion piece to director Yoji Yamada’s The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade tells two different stories. The first is about an impossible relationship. Munezo and Kie fall madly in love but because of their different social status - he is a low caste samurai while she is an ordinary girl - are forced to part ways.

The second story is about the end of an era. As Japan slowly opens up to the West, centuries-old canons and beliefs are challenged and gradually replaced, causing massive confusion amongst the samurai and their masters. Some recognize the fact that times are changing and they have to adjust, while others maintain that the old order has to be upheld.

The film builds slowly, allowing the viewer to get a good feel of the unusual atmosphere. Naturally, the samurai’s struggles, even the ones that culminate with a few rather hilarious experiments and demonstrations, look authentic.

The finale is intense and effective but admittedly somewhat predictable. Nevertheless, the lack of showy machismo that typically plagues similarly themed period projects works to the film’s advantage. The emphasis on detail is also quite impressive.

Note: In 2005, The Hidden Blade won Best Art Direction Award (Mitsuo Degawa and Yoshinobu Nishioka) at the Japanese Academy Awards.

The Hidden Blade 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, Yoji Yamada's The Hidden Blade arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan.

The high-definition transfer appears to have been sourced from the same master Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama had access to when they prepared their Blu-ray release. Naturally, the two look practically identical.
The film has a very unique look - it favors soft and warm colors and boasts a light yellowish tint. Light is often restricted and many of the indoor sequences look quite dark (see screencaptures #2 and 10). As I mentioned in our review of the Hong Kong release, there are clearly traces of mild filtering, but it is very difficult to tell how much of it was not intended to enhance the film's unique period look. The restricted light and the warm and subdued colors clearly point to a specific dated look (coincidentally, Yoji Yamada's The Twilight Samurai also favors very soft and natural colors). Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. There are no serious banding or aliasing patterns either. Lastly, there are no damage marks, cuts, or debris. All in all, I feel that the film could look better, but it is also quite clear to me that very specific stylistic corrections have been performed to achieve its unique look. With that in mind, I think that the presentation is indeed quite good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Hidden Blade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Palisades Tartan have provided optional English and Spanish subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is effective, but it will not test your audio system. It opens up the film during selected sequences, but Isao Tomita's score does add to the atmosphere as much as I was expecting it would. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no high-frequency distortions or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

The Hidden Blade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film and short comments from director Yoji Yamada. Swordsmanship instructor Masaru Minowa also discusses some kendo's unique qualities. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (17 min, 480/60i).

• Berlin Film Festival Premiere - footage from the film's premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. During a press event, director Yoji Yamada also discusses The Hidden Blade and its message. In German, English, and Japanese, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (9 min, 480/60i).

• Yoji Yamada - Press Conference - director Yoji Yamada addresses the press after he was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (7 min, 480/60i).

• Japanese Theatrical Trailer - original Shochiku trailer for The Hidden Blade. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 480/60i).

• U.S. Theatrical Trailer - original U.S. trailer for The Hidden Blade. Music only. (2 min, 480/60i).

The Hidden Blade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am very happy to see that this beautiful period film is now available on Blu-ray in North America. I think that it is one of only a select few contemporary samurai films in which style and substance are very well balanced. If this month you are planning to add The Samurai Trilogy to your collections, consider purchasing The Hidden Blade as well. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.