Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Sting of Death Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 5, 2024

There's a stylistic conceit in a lot of "talking head" supplements on Blu-rays (including this one) where some kind of expert is opining about a film, but the director of the featurette has decided to shoot the individual from a variety of angles, resulting in that aforementioned talking head speaking to the corner of the frame at times, and at others speaking directly to the camera. Something at least somewhat similar is on hand in the opening moments of The Sting of Death, where first one character, and then two, are seen and heard speaking, but where their positions and how the scene is staged almost suggests they're in separate universes, not in the same room in close proximity to each other. While some of the perceived "style" in supplements has actually been downright distracting to me personally at times, director Kôhei Oguri's approach in the opening vignette of The Sting of Death, and then again later at isolated (a salient adjective) moments, is absolutely spot on in helping to establish the fact that married couple Miho (Keiko Matsuzaka) and Toshio (Ittoku Kishibe) are in fact in their own little (separate) worlds, after what is revealed to be Toshio's serial cheating. The fact that this opening scene takes a moment to even show that Miho and Toshio are actually in the same room and (ostensibly) speaking to each other is devastating enough, but when one of the first wider shots shows that the spouses are discussing Toshio's dalliances and Miho's threats to commit suicide while their two young children sleep on mats right there may be just one indication of how viscerally emotional the story is going to be.

The very title of The Sting of Death as well as its focus on a faltering marriage may bring to mind another use of the word "death" in that same general context, namely the fantastic Stephen Sondheim song "Every Day a Little Death" from A Little Night Music, a song whose first verse actually has "sting" in it as well:

Every day a little death
In the parlor, in the bed
In the curtains, in the silver
In the buttons, in the bread
Every day a little sting
In the heart and in the head
Every move and every breath
And you hardly feel a thing
Brings a perfect little death

And indeed the almost Groundhog Day repetitiveness alluded to in the Sondheim lyric is very much in evidence in The Sting of Death, to the point that the story becomes increasingly gruelling as it continues, since it focuses on two people who seem consigned to echoing the same behaviors over and over again. Both of the focal characters are desperately unhappy in their own ways, and each at some point considers suicide as the only option, which means the viewer needs to be prepared for some torturous emotional content, delivered in the typically "quiet" Japanese manner. This might make for a fascinating double feature with Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, if only to compare and contrast how different nationalities approach the subject of a disintegrating marriage from both narrative and presentational perspectives.

The Sting of Death Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Sting of Death is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Radiance's insert booklet offers only the following minimal and fairly generic information on the transfer:

The Sting of Death was transferred in high definition by Shochiku Co. Ltd. and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file.

This is an appealing looking transfer, though director Kôhei Oguri and cinematographer Shôhei Andô favor a somewhat tamped down palette and mises en scène which emphasize claustrophobic interior spaces that suggest the characters are "trapped", which of course they are. There's a slightly gray to brown undertone suffusing the color timing, something that can make those interior sequences look a bit on the drab side, but more brightly lit outdoor material resonates quite appealingly, if again within the context of stylistic choices which intentionally don't "go for the gusto" in terms of eye popping colors. Detail levels are typically commendable throughout, especially since so many close-ups or midrange shots are offered. There is minimal but noticeable age related wear and tear, including several white flecks that last long enough to be visible.

The Sting of Death Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Sting of Death features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original Japanese. The sound design in the film is not particularly baroque, but Toshio Hosokawa's appealing score sounds full bodied, and some of the outdoor material can feature ambient environmental effects. Much of the film is comprised of intense dialogue scenes between two characters, and all of those sequences are presented clearly and cleanly. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Sting of Death Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Japanese Cinema: New Territories (HD; 56:40) is an archival documentary by Hubert Nigoret that focuses on Japanese cinema of the 1990s. In French and Japanese with English subtitles.


• Hideki Maeda (HD; 20:25) is an interesting interview that covers both the film and its source novel. Subtitled in English.

Additionally, Radiance provides a nicely appointed insert booklet with a 1990 interview of Koheil Oguri conducted by Hubert Niogret, along with cast and crew listing and transfer notes and credits. Packaging features a reversible cover and Radiance's customary Obi strip.

Note: I encountered an odd glitch twice when getting timings for the supplements, which I typically do by watching on my PC drive. While I had no problem navigating from menu to menu on my standalone players, for some reason the disc would not let me exit the Special Features to get back to the Main Menu in my PC drive. A third attempt after rebooting the disc allowed me to achieve that goal.

The Sting of Death Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Sting of Death is not an "easy watch", and it's rather fascinating how such visceral emotional content can be presented with few if any of the typical histrionics that might have been part and parcel of an American or Western production. Technical merits are generally solid, and both of the on disc supplements are very interesting. Recommended.