7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The story of Iwao Enokizu and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt.
Starring: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô, Mayumi OgawaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 80% |
Psychological thriller | 10% |
Crime | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Japanese director Shohei Imamura's "Vengeance Is Mine" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include original trailers for the film; excerpt from an archival interview with the Japanese director and his frequent collaborators Kenichi Benitani and Kunio Takeshige; and audio commentary by critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns. The release also arrives with a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring: "On Vengeance Is Mine" by Shohei Imamura; "Civilization and Its Discontents" by Michael Atkinson; "To and From Fiction: An Interview with Shohei Imamura" by Toichi Nakata; "My Approach to Filmmaking" by Shohei Imamura; and technical credits. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Ken Ogata
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Shohei Imamura's Vengeance Is Mine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a new 35mm low-contrast print made from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean. The original monaural soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35mm magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. AudioCube's integrated workstation and iZotope RX 3.
Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorist: Joe Gawler, Technicolor, New York."
The high-definition transfer is not identical to the one Eureka Entertainment used for their Region-B release of Vengeance Is Mine in 2010. In addition to the different framing the entire film has a different color scheme -- there is a wider and more prominent range of nuanced browns and reds on the Criterion release which largely replace the nuanced blues and greens from the Region-B release. Brightness levels are also toned down and the blacks appear more accurate on the Criterion release. However, as our screencaptures reveal, the actual discrepancy between the two releases is quite small (the soft blacks remain prominent on the Criterion release as well). Detail and clarity are very good. Additionally, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. However, the encoding is clearly superior to that of the Region-B release and as a result grain is better exposed. Finally, there are no large damage marks, cuts, debris, or stains, but I noticed a few tiny flecks popping up here and there. All in all, this is a very good presentation of Vengeance Is Mine which should please folks in North America who have been patiently waiting for it to transition to Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese: LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Shinichiro Ikebe's music score enhances very well a number of different sequences. The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. It appears that some additional remastering work has been done because depth is slightly better when one compares this lossless Mono track with the one from Eureka Entertainment's release of Vengeance Is Mine. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
North American fans of Shohei Imamura's at times quite disturbing Vengeance Is Mine had to wait a bit for a local release, but they should be pleased to know that Criterion's technical presentation of the film is superior to that of Eureka Entertainment. The film itself is quite difficult to deconstruct -- and has a very strange sense of humor -- but as it is the case with virtually all of Shohei Imamura's films it offers a fascinating glimpse at post-war Japan. Hopefully, Criterion will soon upgrade the Pigs, Pimps, and Prostitutes three-disc DVD box set that was released back in 2009. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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