6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
When a Babylonian vampire comes to old Japan, an army of Japanese demons and ghosts gather and battle him.
Starring: Yoshihiko AoyamaForeign | 100% |
Horror | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of
Yokai Monsters Collection.
Louis Malle's 1958 film The Lovers has nary a spirit or monster in it, and
yet it
provides a kind of interesting entrée into the world (or at least the term) of yōkai. In one of the more contentious and perhaps
even weirdly
amusing decisions ever handed down by the Supreme Court, in a 1964 case known as Jacobellis v. Ohio the Court famously (some
might
say infamously) reversed some lower court decisions in Ohio which had held a theater owner liable for exhibiting "pornography" when he
screened the sexually provocative Malle opus. While the vote was a relatively lopsided six to three in favor of reversing the theater owner's
conviction, there was absolutely no agreement among the justices as to why the film wasn't obscene, or tangentially why the state could
or
could not regulate what kinds of "pornography" could be shown. In a phrase which has since entered the public vernacular, Justice Potter Stewart,
in trying to explain
his rationale for deeming The Lovers as not being pornography, perhaps hemmed and hawed just a bit, before announcing
that while there may not be an all encompassing or agreed upon definition of what or what not constitutes so-called hard core pornography,
"I
know it when I see it" (which of course may beg the question as to what kind of material Potter was watching in his spare time, and, yes, that's a
joke). In somewhat the same way, there seem to be about as many definitions of yōkai as there are people offering those definitions,
and in fact both the insert booklet and a number of supplements included on the discs in this set offer various interpretations of what exactly
yōkai are. While there may indeed be no ultimate agreement on the term, the often whimsically entrancing films included in Arrow's set may
help viewers to "know it (and/or them) when they see it (and/or them)".
Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet aggregates all of the films in this set together on its page devoted to information on the transfers:
100 Monsters, Spook Warfare, and Along with Ghosts are presented in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratios with their original mono soundtracks.Probably due to the 4K restoration mentioned above, I found Spook Warfare to be the strongest presentation of the sixties era films in this set. The palette is nicely robust throughout virtually the entire presentation, and detail levels are consistently strong as well, helping to offer really precise looks at some the finery on costumes and even textures of the yōkai themselves. As with the two other sixties era films in this set, it seems like there was a deliberate stylistic choice to cloak a lot of the scenes featuring yōkai in shrouded, forested conditions, and there are some deficits in shadow detail in some of the darkest scenes. Grain resolves naturally throughout.
The Great Yokai War is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with its original 5.1 Japanese soundtrack as well as a 5.1 English dub track.
The High Definition masters for 100 Monsters, Along with Ghosts, and The Great Yokai War were supplied to Arrow Films by Kadokawa Pictures; Spook Warfare was restored in 4K resolution by Kadokawa Pictures and supplied to Arrow Films.
Additional optimization on all four films was completed at R3Store Studios, London.
Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese. There's some slight but noticeable crackle just as the opening credits music starts, and occasionally in the more bombastic moments (typically score related), just the hint of distortion can creep in again. Dialogue and effects make it through the gauntlet without any major problems. Optional English subtitles are available. My score is 3.25.
Arrow has packaged this set with Spook Warfare and Along With Ghosts together on one disc.
- Spook Warfare (HD; 2:12)
- Along With Ghosts (HD; 2:13)
- Spook Warfare (HD; 1:55)
- Along With Ghosts (HD; 1:19)
- Spook Warfare (HD)
- Along With Ghosts (HD)
Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare was my personal favorite of the three sixties era films in this set, perhaps because the yōkai were so prominently featured. This presentation has what to my eyes was the strongest presentation of the vintage films, though audio has some minor problems. The supplements on this disc aren't especially numerous, but overall Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
妖怪百物語 / Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari
1968
東海道お化け道中 / Tōkaidō Obake Dōchū
1969
妖怪大戦争 / Yōkai Daisensō
2005
地獄
1960
牡丹燈籠 / Botan-dôrô / Peony Lantern
1968
Glissements progressifs du plaisir
1974
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
犬神の悪霊 / Inugami no tatari | Standard Edition
1977
江戸川乱歩全集 恐怖奇形人間 / Edogawa Rampo zenshû: Kyôfu kikei ningen
1969
弟切草 / Otogiriso
2001
幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形 / Chi o suu ningyô
1970
呪いの館 血を吸う眼 / Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me
1971
Riaru Onigokko
2015
El vampiro de la autopista / Standard Edition
1972
仮面学園 / Kamen gakuen
2000
Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens | 2006 Restoration, Hans Erdmann/Heller compilation score
1922
I vampiri
1957
1973
Black Magic 2
1976
オーディション | Ôdishon | Special Edition
1999