Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966) (Radiance Films Blu-ray Review)

TOKIJIRO: LONE YAKUZA (1966) 

Label: Radiance Films 

Region Code: Region-Free

Duration: 90 Minutes 23 Seconds 

Rating: Unrated 

Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Tai Kato

Cast: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Junko Ikeuchi, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Shinjiro Nakamura

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966), directed by Tai Kato (Eighteen Years in Prison) is a period Yakuza story set in the 18th-centuy, where a weary wandering-gambler Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura, Goyokin) finds himself honor-bound to serve the Konoso clan after accepting lodging at one of their properties, and to returns the favor he is told he must slay a rival clan member who refuses to fall in line with the new Yakuza clan that has taken power in the territory. Tikijiro has strict code of honor and he takes no joy in violence, though the opening scene shows him slaughtering a trio of would-be thieves on a beach when they refuse to walk away. He's clearly a skilled swordsman, but he seeks a peaceful life free from Yakuza rivalries. Now finding himself in this predicament he does indeed slay the rival, Sanzo (Chiyonosuke Azuma, The Conspirator), who with his dying breath asks Tokijiro to protect his wife Okinu (Junko Ikeuchi, The Ghost of Yotsuya) and young son Tarokicho (Shinjiro Nakamura, nephew of star Kinnosuke Nakamura) from the Yakuza clan, and to make sure they get to the safety of a relatives house some distance away. He finds the wife and child nearby and is immediately wracked by guilt when he realizes he has met them earlier earlier in the day and quite enjoyed their company, now grieved by the guilt and honor bound by his own strict code they embark on a journey together to find safety for the mother and son. Along the way Tokijiro and Okinu finds themselves falling in love but unable to express it, both wracked by guilt, he for having slain her husband. she for falling in love with her husband's killer. As the story plays out the trio find moments of fleeting happiness, then drift apart when the guilt proves too much for the widow. Of course there are also more bloody encounters as the conflicted Tokijiro is forced to bloody his sword, with a terrifically tragic finale that packs an emotionally resonant punch. The overall tone is melancholic, punctuated by fleeting moments of happiness and tragedy, and of course some nicely stylized violence with bloody swordplay, but also some surprising moments of comedy during the first 15-minutes of the film before Tokijiro suffers a loss of a friend.

I have only seen one other Tai Kato film, the other being Eighteen Years in Prison (1967), which was also released by Radiance Films who are doing the cinema-lord's work for sure, and having only seen these two I am quite a fan of his work. I love his visual style, and the balance of melodrama, the way he shoots violence and action is electric, and his portrayal of men whose fates are dictated by their codes of honor is just fascinating stuff. I do hope Radiance keep unearthing these Tai Kato films because I am on the hook for more after watching these two. 

Audio/Video: Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966) makes it's North American debut Region A,B Blu-ray from radiance Films in 1080p HD widescreen (2.35:1) widescreen. sourced from an HD master supplied by Toei Co. Ltd.. Like many films of this era transferred by Toei there's a slight softness to the image with thick grain and pleasing amounts of detail and texture. Blacks are not ever truly inky black but they are solid enough, and colors fare quite well, especially the splashes of blood which are properly crimson and vivid. The source is also in terrific shape, a few speckles here and there but otherwise free of blemish. Audio comes by way of Japanese PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is crisply delivered, the sounds of clanging swords and physical combat sound great, and the oft moving score by Ichirô Saitô  (The Demon Crusader).  

Radiance offers a couple of excellent extras, we get a

17-min Koushi Ueno on Tai Kato and Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza in which he talks at length about the career of director Kato and the film’s place in genre cinema history; plus a 18-min Young Master, a visual essay on star Kinnosuke Nakamura by Japanese cinema expert Robin Gatto that explores the lengthy career of actor Nakamura. Disc extras are finished-up with a 1-min Trailer. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo packaging with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring both original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, I preferred the cool-looking original theatrical artwork on this one. We also get Radiance's signature Removable OBI Strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings if you so wish. With this initial Limited Edition pressing we also get a 24-Page Illustrated Booklet featuring new writing scholar Ivo Smits and a newly translated archival review, as well as notes about the cast, crew, transfer, and release credits. 

Reversible Sleeve 

Artwork without Obi Strip

Special Features: 

- Koushi Ueno on Tai Kato and Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (16:34)
- Young Master, a visual essay on star Kinnosuke Nakamura by Japanese cinema expert Robin Gatto (17:35) 

- Trailer (1:18) 

- Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited Edition Booklet featuring new writing by scholar Ivo Smits and a newly translated archival review

Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray: 

Extras: 

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WATCHMEN CHAPTER I (2024) (WBDHE 4K UHD Review)

WATCHMEN CHAPTER I (2024) 

Label: WBDHE

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: R

Duration: 83 Minutes 51 Seconds 
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: HDR10 2160p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)

Director: Brandon Vietti

Cast: Matthew Rhys Katee Sackhoff, and Titus Welliver, with Troy Baker, Adrienne Barbeau, Corey Burton, Michael Cerveris, Jeffrey Combs, Grey DeLisle, Kelly Hu, John Marshall Jones, Max Koch, Phil LaMarr, Yuri Lowenthal, Geoff Pierson, Dwight Schultz, Jason Spisak, Kari Wahlgren, Rick D. Wasserman

Watchmen Chapter I (2024) is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the groundbreaking graphic novel series by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons, a 12-issue run that literally redefined the superhero comics when it debuted in the mid-80s, offering an alternate Cold War era America, set in 1985, where the murder of a government sponsored superhero leads to a world-shattering discovery of a mind0bending conspiracy. In this reality superheroes have been outlawed except those sanctioned by the government, one such vigilante superhero, Walter Joseph Kovacs/Rorschach (Titus Welliver, Titans), a sort of ultra-violent sleuth investigating the death of government sponsored supe The Comedian/Edward Blake (Rick D. Wasserman, Green Lantern: Beware My Power), which leads him to believe there's a serial killer offing supes on the loose. Other main characters include the god-like master of molecules Dr. Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan (Michael Cerveris, Stake Land), the genius billionaire Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Troy Baker, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One & Two) who has super-strength and speed, the very Batman-esque Daniel Dreiberg/Nite Owl II (Matthew Rhys, TV's Perry Mason) who has a cool flying vehicle and gadgets galore, plus Laurie Juspeczyk, Silk Spectre (Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica), who is both a love interest of Doctor Manhattan and Nite Owl II. We also get the voice talents of horror icons Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog) as Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre, and Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) Edgar Jacobi, Moloch) for you horror fans out there. 

It's great to see WB Animation looking like it's firing all all-cylinders here after a fairly fizzle-worthy 3-part adaptation of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths event that wrapped up the 12-film Tomorrowverse arc. This first chapter covering books 1-6 of the original series, I am happy to report that it's pretty spot on faithful to the comic with some with certain minor elements dropped but overall quite faithful, with some restructuring for the animation format, which I think worked. Thankfully WB are not taking many liberties with the source material like they did with their animated The Long Halloween and Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptations, they seem to really be sticking to the story as originally written, though what happens in Chapter II is yet to be seen, my fingers are crossed. The animation work is quite striking, straying from the original Dave Gibbons original artwork but also striving to maintain the vibe with lots of secondary colors and character designs that are faithful. The animated digital line work looks terrific, efforts are made to replicate the look and feel of comic book textures with grain and paper textures, you can tell there's a reverence to the source material, not so much mimicking the comic art as trying to bring that vibe to the animation form, they even replicate the Tales from the Black Freighter comic withing the film panels, which actually look like direct lifts of the artwork rather than newly animated. 

Watchmen is a comic that has had a couple of stellar adaptations through the years, and I am in the camp that thinks Zack Snyder's live-adaptation is pretty fucking cool, and while we didn't get the space-squid it's still an epic adaptation and is easily in my top 10 superhero flicks of all-time. Also cool was the Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic that is pretty much the comic book brought to life through the magic of motion-comic animation, which if you're into motion comics enthusiast (I know it's a niche thing) is also pretty fucking cool. But here we are, and I am also pleased to see it get the full WB animation adaption here with a full voice cast as opposed to the motion comic which was entirely voiced by audio book narrator Tom Stechschulte (Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Me audiobook). This is only Chapter 1 with a second Chapter set to be released sometime in 2025, and I for one and pretty excited to check it out!  

Audio/Video: The Watchmen Chapter One arrives on region-free 4K UHD from WBDHE, presented in 2160p UHD framed in 2.39:1 widescreen with WGC HDR10 color-grading. It look terrific, the digital colors and linework look terrific, I didn;t notice any banding so we have a great looking encode, and the HDR gives primary and secondary colors a nice blush with excellent contrast and deep blacks. 

No Atmos audio for this one, but we dot get a terrifically immersive English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The sound design pulls you right into this world, the seedy cityscapes are nicely realized, dialogue from the voicecast sounds quite pleasing and the supportive score by Tim Kelly has a nice showing in the mix.

Disc extras include the 10-min The Art of Adaptation: Introducing the Story, and the 9-min Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Chapters I-VI, that explore the groundbreaking comic run and this new animated adaptation, featuring clips with comic co-creator Dave Gibbon, DC's Jim, comic editor Barbara Kesel, producers Jim Krieg and Cindy Rago and art director Jonathan Hoekstra, storyboard artist Danica Dickison, and character designer Dusty Abell.The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, and a Slipcover with the same artwork. Inside there's a redemption code for a Digital Copy of the film. 

Special Features: 
- The Art of Adaptation: Introducing the Story (9:50) 
- Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Chapters I-VI (9:02) 

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THE WATCHERS (2024) (WBDHE 4K UHD Review)

THE WATCHERS (2024)

Label: WBDHE

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: PG-13

Duration: 101 Minutes 43 Seconds 

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD) 7.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: Dolby Vision (HDR10) 2160p Ultra HD (1.85:1) 

Director: Ishana Night Shyamalan

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, Oliver Finnegan 

Mina (Dakota Fanning, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood) is a 28-year-old American living in Ireland, where she works at a pet store. One day she is assigned to travel to Belfast to deliver a rare yellow parrot to a Zoo, but enroute she becomes stranded on a road in an ancient forest. Seeking help she wanders into the forest and becomes hopelessly lost, but encountering an old woman Madeline (Olwen Fouéré, Tarot) who leads her to a concrete bunker nicknamed The Coop. There she meets it's other inhabitants of the bunker, twenty-somethings Ciara (Georgina Campbell, Bird Box Barcelona), and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan, Outlander). We learn that the three of them much like Mina became lost in the woods and ended up at this place, that there are mysterious nocturnal creatures lurking in the forest that emerge from a labyrinth of burrows below the ground, and that they can never be outside the bunker at night, or they will be killed by the creatures they call "The Watchers", who observe them through mirrored window of the Coop each night. There are other rules to follow as dictated by Madeline who has been there the longest and the consequences of breaking the rules, we actually see a prologue where Ciara's husband John (Alistair Brammer) is caught in the woods after dark trying to make a break to get outside of the forest, it doesn't end well for him. 

This wooded folk horror is the directorial feature-length debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, who also produced it. The fruit did not fall far from the tree, she has that same preoccupation with fairytales and twists as her father, and her film debut is quite a fascinating watch I like the building of the mythology around the creatures, the modern day fairytale aesthetic, and it looks absolutely lovely, the deep and expansive Irish forests is a wonderful setting, and the creatures which are slowly revealed are quite creepy. That concrete bunker is such a mysterious locations, I kept wondering who bult it, for what purpose, and if it would ever be explained. Well, it is explained, when a secret sub-bunker is located and we are introduced through video journals of it's creator, a Professor Kilmartin (John Lynch, Hardware) who lays out quite a bit of expository info dumps. I thought lynch did well in the role, there's a lot of interesting information spilt, but also a lot of it totally head-scratching backstory about the building of the bunker, and this is where the facade the fairytale sort of starts to peel back and started to fall apart for me.

I won't spoil it anymore other than to say I liked it, I did not love it. I think it's a confident debut film for the young Ishana Night Shyamalan, who here channels a bit of The Village by way of Lady in the Water, while still offering something fairly original and of it's own merit. It's not a perfect film, I think there are too many elements broadcast in advance or that just fall apart under scrutiny when you think about for a moment or two, but I liked it well enough, it just doesn't quite stick the landing, but for a feature film debit quite wonderful. The cast is also quite good, Dakota Fanning is likable but scarred by a childhood trauma that we see in flashbacks, I also thought Olwen Fouéré was quite a mysterious presence, having seen her in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Mandy, and Tarot, this is perhaps the meatiest role I have seen her in and she's pretty terrific. The look of fairy-folk creatures is also terrific, and the wooded setting it fertile for such a tale, so if you like folk horror and supernatural chillers there's quite a bit to like about The Watchers, I say give it a watch, just know your milage may vary, and keep in  mind it's PG-13, there's no gore or blood really, just loads of atmosphere and some decent tension, and of course the patented Shyamalan twists. 

Audio/Video: The Watchers (2024) arrives in region-free 4K Ultra HD from WBDHE, presenting the digital shot film in 2160p UHD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Vision (HDR10) WCG color-grading. It's a largely a pleasing looking image, plenty of crisp detail and refinement on display, the greens of the overhead shots f the Irish forest look stunning, and black levels are strong, that yellow parrot looks quite striking as well. I did find that the interior forest shots at night are less adept, there's a dimness to these scenes that I found displeasing. I did not catch this one at the cinema so this could very well be a stylistic choice. Audio comes by way of Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) with optional English subtitles. This flick has some nice creepy sound design, plenty of creature chittering in the surrounds, dialogue sounds fine, and the creepy score by Abel Korzeniowski (The Nun) is well-served. 

Extras include the 9-min Welcome to the Show: The Making of The Watchers; the 5-min Creating The Watchers; 6-min Constructing the Coop; 4-min Ainriochtán and the Irish Fairy Folklore; and the 9-min Deleted Scene: Lair of Love. The single-disc UHD release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, a Slipcover, and a redemption code for a Digital Copy of the film. 

Special Features:

- Welcome to the Show: The Making of The Watchers (8:50)

- Creating The Watchers (5:02

- Constructing the Coop (6:16)

- Ainriochtán and the Irish Fairy Folklore (4:22) 

- Deleted Scene – Lair of Love (9:29) 

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