6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Near a remote Buddhist monastery, a young man falls in love with his sister and gets her pregnant. After a monk finds out, the young man becomes an assistant to a master sculptor, only to proceed to complicate matters with his affairs.
Starring: Michiko Tsukasa, Ryô Tamura, Eiji Okada, Isao Sasaki, Mitsuko Tanaka (III)Foreign | 100% |
Drama | 57% |
Erotic | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Akio Jissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy.
This provocative triptych by Akio Jissôji may have attained the sobriquet The Buddhist Trilogy, but that may in turn beg the question of
whether Jissôji might be subliminally proferring Heraclitus and/or the Marquis de Sade as proponents of the religion. Hercalitus famously
(supposedly) proclaimed that
it’s impossible to step in the same river twice, giving philosophers a nice visual trope for the evanescence of life, something Japanese New Wave
expert David Desser, who is on hand here as a commentator, mentions is a key element of Jissôji’s work. But as Desser also gets into in one of his
introductions to the films which are
included as bonus features, there’s also a fairly kinky sex aspect to these films that some may feel arguably places them pretty squarely in what
Desser refers to
as the “Roman porno” genre. That may not mesh especially well with the vaunted Buddhist concept of non-attachment, since several
pairs of
lovers in these films are very attached to each other (so to speak), in sometimes shocking ways. The Buddhist Trilogy was
released courtesy of
the Art Theater Guild, a production house noted for its contributions to the Japanese New Wave, and as Desser also gets into, some of Jissôji's
stylistic flourishes at least if not always all of his content "qualify" him for membership in that movement. One of the kind of funny things about
Jissôji, though, is that for many
Western fans, and for fans of another kind of Japanese entertainment, he'll be forever celebrated as the creator of Ultraman, which in and of itself probably
speaks as well as anything to Jissôji's versatility.
This Transient Life is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Arrow really hasn't provided my technical information on the transfer, other than some generic verbiage that masters were provided by Toho and that addtional grading work was done by R3Store. This is a ravishing looking film courtesy of the aforementioned stunning black and white cinematography, and it's offered here in a generally great looking transfer. The entire presentation looked just a tad dark to my eyes, something which perhaps tends to emphasize a somewhat gritty looking grain field at times, but Jissôji's frequent use of extreme close-ups really elevates fine detail levels throughout the film. On the flip side, a lot of dark material has passing crush and a lack of shadow definition at times. There is some minor frame instability, with noticeable wobble during the credits, as well as very minor but observable flicker that tends to be most noticeable in the few moments when the camera is a bit more static. There is some passing and minor damage, along with a couple of moments that are more significantly scratched.
This Transient Life features an LPCM Mono track in the original Japanese. There are a couple of pops and cracks along the way (including a rather loud set of pops at the film's opening), but for the most part everything here is rendered without any major problems. As in several of Jissôji's films, the score is actually western in flavor, and some of the harpsichord and string cues can sound just a trifle brittle in the upper registers. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout.
All three of the films in this set feature audio introductions (that play like commentaries to scenes from the film) and selected scene commentaries by David Desser. Kind of oddly, the selected scene commentaries have all been authored separately and there's no Play All option.
As with the other films in this set, and perhaps arguably even more so, style may actually help to soften some of the substance in this film. This is one of the most arresting visual experiences in Jissôji's career, and for the most part it looks and sounds fine in this presentation from Arrow Academy. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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1971
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1972
煉獄エロイカ
1970
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1969
戒厳令
1973
Narayama-bushi kô
1983
海よりもまだ深く / Umi yori mo mada fukaku
2016
薔薇の葬列
1969
幻の光 / Maboroshi no hikari
1995
1991
肉体の門 / Nikutai no mon
1964
Dzieje grzechu
1975
The Immortal One
1963
Es war nicht die Nachtigall | Standard Edition
1974
Limited Edition to 3000
1974
Yuk po tuen: Tau ching bo gam / Yù pú tuán zhī tōu qíng bǎo jiàn / 玉蒲團之偷情寶鑑
1991
歩いても 歩いても / Aruitemo aruitemo
2008
1974
Miracle / 奇跡 | Kiseki
2011
여자는 남자의 미래다 / Yeojaneun namjaui miraeda
2004