I found this a very complex film in many ways. The structure will probably become clearer on the second viewing. I was expecting a faster paced film, with more over-the-top violence, but the style of the killings is intentionally and realistically clumsy, which makes it seem more disturbing. Ken Ogata's performance is incredible and very disturbing. Not a film that one can easily 'like', but it is very impressive, especially in its lack of easy, pat answers. I look forward to hearing Rayn's commentary, as the film has many ambigous passages and themes - the detrimantal effect of Christianity on Japanese society and morality, being one of them, surely?

Which other Imamura films are worth seeing?

Finally got -- and watched the new DVD. Absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations to MOC. Finally a release worthy of this incredible (but upsetting) film.

And with a Tony Rayns in absolute top form on the commentary track. 140 mins non-stop valuable information. He must have been very well prepared for this marathon talk.

And I could listen much, much longer to all of Alex Cox' introductions.

Great film, great disc. I'm halfway through the commentary and it's superb. I think MoC need to lock Rayns in the recording studio and force-feed him Japanese New Wave classics.

Re the aspect ratio of 1.96.

When Vistavision was first around ratios (framing) could range from 1.66 to up to 2.00. Paramount who had the proprietary rights to the process developed by Technicolor, had a "preferred" ratio of 1.85, and this is how most Vistavision titles screened.

Technically no cinemas outside New York and LA ever screened the horizontally shot , anamorphically squeezed original prints. Virtually all Vistavision titles were printed down to 35mm "reduction" positives (with incredibly fine grain and stunning resolution) which were then masked to the appropriate ratio in cinemas.

So - 1.96 MAY have been the original screening ratio of Vengeance in the three or four cinemas in the Us equipped to screen the original horizontal positives, but it would have screened virtually eveyrwhere in the 35mm reduction prints, presumably with the 1.85 preferred ratio.

(BTW Powell's River Plate was also shot with Vistavision cameras but in 35mm release prints was masked to 1.66.)

Thanks for that, David.

Another review of the disc.

Is this disc going OOP? I just recieved an order cancellation from TheHut stating that they couldn't get the disc from their supplier.

Not going OOP, sounds like either TheHut or their supplier aren't too hot at getting things.

Bensonsworld, Amazon, Play, Moviemail, and many others all stock the title no problem.

I've always liked Alex Cox' introductions from the days of BBC's Moviderome series. And generally, whatever about the quality of his own films, I've found that generally he has great taste in movies.

And the presence of a Tony Rayns commentary track is almost, 'ipso facto', an essential purchase. I wonder what preparation he puts into them because, quite apart from the information and opinions he imparts, they're wonderfully paced.

Just thought I'd let people know that Ken Ogata has died (from longstanding liver cancer from what I can gather).

I'll leave this message here and on the Mishima thread in the Criterion section of the Forum.

Of course we all know what a terrific actor he was but my wife (who is Japanese) tells me that his versatility was one of his great strengths. Apparently, he was rather adept at nailing regional accents convincingly.

Anybody have any thoughts on the multiple freeze-frame ending? I didn't particularly see what Imamura was going for...

If you watch Alex Cox's introduction he offers some interesting thoughts.

Have a look here as well.

The Hut have the BD of Vengeance is Mine coming June 21st.

Hm. Didn't Nick say a while back that the only Japanese titles they'd consider for Blu would be Kwaidan and Onibaba? Vengeance must have sold decently on DVD if it indeed gets a 1080p upgrade.

But...

While I would love to see a Blu for this, why do we assume this is coming from MOC? Isn't it kind of suspect that this has appeared with only a couple of weeks' advanced notice? And there's no publishing info on that page?

I've got confirmation from a source who will remain nameless that this will be a Region B Masters of Cinema release.

VIM is Shochiku-linked -- and I believe peerpee indicated that they were more flexible than Toho when it came to Western Blu-Ray releases.

Great news! Wonder what aspect ratio they've settled for and if the "greenish haze" from the previous release will be ported over. Very much doubt we'll have it by the end of this month.

This news does not chime with what Nick has recently written on twitter - 6 BD only releases across July/August/September and 8 Blu-ray releases in all up to October (including Metropolis and Profound Desires of the Gods). We already know VIM is Dvd release.

Besides, re-releasing this on Blu-ray within a short period of re-releasing Fantastic Planet would seem to undermine Nick's claim that they will not be re-releasing many back catalogue titles.

At the very least, we can be pretty certain the release date for 21st June is erroneous - Eureka surely would have included for pre-order with le Grand Jeu and Profound Desires; also remember that we have not seen any artwork for this release.

Update: But to back up the news that it will be on Blu-ray, none of the major retailers are stocking VIM on dvd anymore; it's possible then that it could be one of the Blu only releases.

two =/= many

No, but bear in mind that it's not just those two releases - Une femme mariee was one; Metropolis can be considered another to a certain extent. And Nick has already stated that they will, if they can, re-release Onibaba and Kwaidan on blu. So even though "many" might not be the best word, it's more than originally thought.

And don't forget the context TM - MoC have not released any new blus for three months; it has been a desert. If we come to find out that 1/4 -1/3 of the new blus scheduled for release in the next three months are reissues, it'll be a pity because I would like to see newer releases to make up for the period we have been without MoC blu.

Nevertheless, at this stage it's pure conjecture; let's hope we'll get announcements soon.