6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Starring: Miho Nikaido, Yayoi Kusama, Sayoko Amano, Tenmei Kano, Masahiko ShimadaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 28% |
Erotic | 15% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ryu Murakami's "Tokyo Decadence" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Jasper Sharp and Tom Mes; vintage featurette; and original trailer. In Japanese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tokyo Decadence arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.
Despite a few minor fluctuations during darker areas, the entire film has a very pleasing organic appearance. I would say that delineation, clarity, and depth are always very good, so even on a very large screen, the visuals hold up nicely. The fluctuations affect the dynamic range of the visuals, but what I saw has me convinced that virtually all of them are inherited. For dramatically better results, the entire film would need to be redone from superior elements. Color balance is very good. In the darker areas I mentioned, some darker nuances could be better exposed, but I did not see any troubling anomalies to report in our review. There are no traces of compromising digital corrections, like sharpening, contrast boosting, etc. Image stability is good. However, during a couple of transitions I spotted minor bumps. All in all, while there is some room for random cosmetic improvements, this release offers a very solid organic presentation of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 2.0 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I viewed the entire film with the original lossless Japanese audio track. Clarity and sharpness are good. However, dynamic contrasts throughout the film are quite unremarkable. This is not a flaw of the lossless track, it is how the original soundtrack was finalized. Also, silence is prominent during several key sequences. The English translation is very good.
Very few people successfully walk away from the business that is depicted in Tokyo Decadence. There is a lot of dark money there and reputations that have to be protected, but the real reason it is so destructive is its nature. It irreversibly corrupts and then destroys the human spirit. Ai's self-destruction is not shown, but it does not have to be because it is inevitable. This recent release from 88 Films offers a solid organic presentation of Tokyo Decadence, so if the film's subject appeals to you, consider picking it up for your library. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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