38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

[matrixschmatrix]

I really wish they would have gotten Rayns in for a commentary, or at least a visual essay- he's consistently interesting, and it seems like he has a strong enough interest in these to sustain talking about them for a while. I mean, I'll probably get these anyway, because it's the only game in town. But still.

[Napier]

Wow! Beaver on Branded to kill. No doubt, these will be the upgrades of the year.

[The Narrator Returns]

I noticed that, while there is more information in the frame compared to the original Criterion, there is less information on the left and right sides compared to the Metronome, with this being most evident in the third set of captures.

But that's small potatoes compared to the enormous leap in quality between the three discs. The old Criterion looked overly-bright and too digital, the Metronome looked dark and murky, and the new Criterion looks film-like and sharp.

[matrixschmatrix]

Wow, that's an insane leap in quality. I really appreciate these rereleases, it feels like Criterion's going back and cleaning up after itself on every disc that isn't up to snuff.

[TMDaines]

Wow, that's an insane leap in quality. I really appreciate these rereleases, it feels like Criterion's going back and cleaning up after itself on every disc that isn't up to snuff.

I know that a lot of people don't believe that The Night Porter is even a good film, yet alone a great film, but I'd like to see them go back and re-do this gremlin in their collection, least of all because every release of it has been terrible.

[tenia]

I know that a lot of people don't believe that The Night Porter is even a good film, yet alone a great film, but I'd like to see them go back and re-do this gremlin in their collection, least of all because every release of it has been terrible.

Well, the French BD which has just been released is said to be quite beautiful.

[ccfixx]

DVDBeaver on Tokyo Drifter

[Gregory]

If I was ever aware the DVD was that "squished" horizontally, I'd forgotten it. The actors in the old release look obviously distorted. They might sometimes appear a tiny bit too wide on the new release, but I'm pretty sure that's the natural distortion of the lens. I measured the middle porthole shelf in the fourth screencap and it's pretty close to a perfect circle (he said, nerdily).
I sold my DVDs of this and Branded to Kill 5+ years ago deciding to wait for anamorphic upgrades before watching these films again, but this is much better of course.

[knives]

Night and day, though that second shot looks a little too washed out.

[Michael Kerpan]

Holy Cow, the old DVD looks worse than many a HK Panorama release.

[Feego]

Night and day, though that second shot looks a little too washed out.

Blu-ray.com has this to say about that black-and-white shot:

Contrary to what has been said, the contrasty and oversaturated black and white prologue looks exactly as it should, (and it is explained why by director Suzuki in one of the supplemental features on the disc).

[Napier]

I'd forgot how awesome these films are. Just got the blu's today, and I did them back to back. They look so sweet near the new Fuller's. Nice upgrades.

[manicsounds]

Finally got around to watching "Tokyo Drifter" on Blu-ray, and the colors are completely different from that old DVD I had years ago. I remember the snow scenes having that strange purple traingular tints that bothered me, but they seem to have been corrected to a correct 'shade', as also the final showdown being 'white' as opposed to a weird manila color. I was used to the old color scheme, as that's how I remember it, but the Blu-ray gets the colors to something much more accurate and no more chroma bug ....

By the way, did anyone know that there is a sequel to "Tokyo Drifter"?

"Zoku: Tokyo Nagaremono: Umi Wa Makka Na Koi No Iro" ("Tokyo Monogatari 2: The Sea Is Bright Red As The Color Of Love")



Yup, it is out on DVD in Japan, without subtitles or extras. Although it was NOT directed by Suzuki, but starring Tetsuya Watari and Chieko Matsubara reprising their roles.

The opening 10 minutes

[manicsounds]

Well, I guess no one seems to know since it's not even listed on imdb. I've submitted it as a 'new' title.

[colinr0380]

Wow, that's a great find! From that clip it looks a lot more conventional than the Seijun Suzuki film, but I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising! (My fingers are crossed for another Nikkatsu Noir box from Criterion at some point, so perhaps we should bring this title to their attention!)

[manicsounds]

Yeah, even with the studio trouble Suzuki got into with the 'weirdness' of the film, it was still a hit, mostly because of the theme song. And within the same year, came the sequel. Movie productions were really fast in those days... and obviously they chose a different director. But with the same 2 leads, plus the same producer, writer, and music composer.

[manicsounds]

Well, finally did it after many delays and 'proof of existence' etc, Tokyo Drifter 2 listing

Now I'm trying to think of what other 'missing' titles are out there, particularly other Suzuki-involved films or sequels to his films.

[knives]

Hundreds, just look at the Kluge thread (which just scratches the surface) versus the 66 on the site.

[nickoberg]

i don't speak japanese, but i'm pretty sure the subtitles on the Interview with Suzuki from 1997 on TOKYO DRIFT were way off. suzuki spoke a whole lot more than what was written. seemed like they weren't even lined up.

[skuhn8]

i don't speak japanese, but i'm pretty sure the subtitles on the Interview with Suzuki from 1997 on TOKYO DRIFT were way off. suzuki spoke a whole lot more than what was written. seemed like they weren't even lined up.

Probably same gal translated that was translating to Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. She gets around.

[kindaikun]

i don't speak japanese, but i'm pretty sure the subtitles on the Interview with Suzuki from 1997 on TOKYO DRIFTER were way off. suzuki spoke a whole lot more than what was written. seemed like they weren't even lined up.

I'll be happy to post a full translation, if there's much difference, when me disc arrives in the next week or so.

[manicsounds]

He definitely speaks a lot more, and the subtitles simplify way too much, but they get the main points across. Thought so when I saw the old DVDs as well. Criterion should've re-done the subtitles. And as you said, timing was terrible.

As for the newer ones, the interview with Shishido, it seems like he shoots himself in the leg, no?

[manicsounds]

I can't find any English news sites on this but Joe Shishido's home burned down completely in a fire. Luckily he was out at the time and no one was killed.

[jojo]

Jo Shishido and Mari Annu got together again recently to promote some Branded to Kill T-shirts.

[tenia]

A French BD release of Tokyo Drifter has been released earlier this month. I've compared it to the quite well-received Criterion 2011 release, and it turns out it's massively different, to the point the Criterion looks like the Female Prisoner Scorpion movies from the Arrow set.

The comparisons can be found here : #1, #2, #3 and #4.

Interestingly, Tokyo Drifter's Criterion technical notes state that the restoration was created from a 35mm low-contrast print, which is what the FPS movies were using too (low-contrast prints).

I have no idea which is best in case of the Suzuki, because the more "regular" look of the French release doesn't look vastly off, though it clearly looks dated with its coarser grain, but on the other hand, the Criterion looks absolutely over-contrasted in comparison, to the point many elements seems now lost in this overly contrasted look.