7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In the waning days of the Japanese Edo shogunate a former swordsman, Jubei Kamata, under orders slaughters countless rebels earning a fearsome reputation. Following the government's collapse he takes part in a succession of battles culminating in a decisive bloody battle and then vanishes without a trace. Vowing never to take up the sword again he quietly settles into a new life as a rancher and family man. Several years later after the loss of his loving wife, he is driven by poverty to once again join into the fray of battle as a bounty hunter. Together with a former comrade, he faces those convinced in their own justice and is drawn into another cycle of violence.
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Jun Kunimura, Shioli Kutsuna, Yûya Yagira, Kôichi Satô (I)Drama | 100% |
History | 16% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
48kHz, 16-bit
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lee Sang-il's "Unforgiven" a.k.a. "Yurusarezaru mono" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers UK. The supplemental features on the disc include making of featurette; behind the scenes documentary film; deleted scenes; and optional commentary for the deleted scenes by director Lee Sang-il and producer Yuji Ishida. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Jubei the Killer
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lee Sang-il's Unforgiven arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers UK.
Excluding some extremely light flicker that appears during a couple of the winter scenes, the technical presentation is excellent. Indeed, during close-ups and wider panoramic shots image depth and clarity are very impressive, while contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Colors are rich and wonderfully saturated but never appearing artificially boosted. There are no encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. Lastly, overall image stability is outstanding. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Warner Brothers has provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature. (They cannot be turned off via the disc's main menu or with the player's remote control). The subtitles appear inside the image frame.
The lossless track is outstanding. It has a tremendous range of nuanced dynamics and clarity and depth are fantastic. Occasionally, the surround channels are also effectively used. The dialog is clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.
Lee Sang-il's new film has an identity of its own, but it is absolutely impossible not to compare it to Clint Eastwood's classic Western. As strange as it may sound, this is probably its biggest weakness -- there is a lot that it does well, but the original film has set the bar so high that even minor flaws immediately stick out. Regardless, fans of Ken Watanabe should not miss this film. He looks terrific in it. RECOMMENDED.
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