6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
An old hand at tough guy action roles, Hideaki Nitani (Tokyo Drifter, Massacre Gun) stars in Suzuki’s Voice Without a Shadow. Asako, a former telephone operator once heard the voice of a murder suspect which has continued to haunt her. Years later her husband invites his boss, Hamazaki, over for dinner and she realises his voice is suspiciously like that of the killer.
Starring: Hideaki Nitani, Jô Shishido, Nobuo Kaneko, Shinsuke Ashida, Yôko MinamidaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 40% |
Crime | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Seijun Suzuki's "Voice Without a Shadow" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; new video introductions by critic and author Jasper Sharp; and promotional materials. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring Stuart Galbraith IV's essay "Voices Behind the Shadow", Mark Schilling's essay "Tough Guy, Nice Girl, Hard Choice: Red Pier", Tom Mes' "North by Northwest: The Timeless Adventures of a Rambling Guitarist", and technical credits. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Asako
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Seijun Suzuki's Voice Without a Shadow arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.
Clarity and detail are consistently pleasing. There are segments in which depth tends to fluctuate, but overall it is also very pleasing. During the indoor footage shadow definition can be slightly inconsistent, but the image is rather well balanced. There are no traces of recent degraining corrections, but grain should be better exposed and resolved. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern. The blacks and whites are mostly well balanced; there is a decent range of grays as well, though there should be more nuances. Image stability should be better. Indeed, throughout the entire film there are constant jumps/splice marks in the lower and upper ends of the frame. Typically they appear during camera cuts, which is why I assume that they are actually on the current master. A few white specks and small scratches are visible, but there are no large debris or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provifded for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
Dynamic intensity is limited, but the film's original monaural soundtrack is very modest. Even in sequences where Hikaru Hayashi's score is given a chance to impress there are no notable nuances. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. Some very light buzz can be spotted in the high-frequencies, but it never becomes distracting.
Voice Without a Shadow is an early 'safe' film from Japanese auteur Seijun Suzuki. I quite liked its star, Hideaki Nitani, but there just isn't enough good material in this film for him to shine. Voice Without a Shadow is one of three films that are included in Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group's Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 1 release. (The other two films are Toshio Masuda's Red Pier and Takeichi Saito's The Rambling Guitarist).
(Still not reliable for this title)
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