Demon Pond
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Synopsis
Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda transforms a classic Kabuki tale with his own extravagant visual style in this dimension-shattering folk-horror fantasia. When a lone traveler (Tsutomu Yamazaki) stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town’s inhabitants—including lovers Akira (Go Kato) and Yuri (Kabuki legend Tamasaburo Bando, who also plays the ethereal princess reigning over the water)—in their hands. Set to the swirling strains of electronic-music pioneer Isao Tomita’s synth score, Demon Pond blends theatrical artifice with cinematic surrealism for an aquatic-apocalyptic fable of human love and folly caught in the current of nature’s wrath.
Picture 7/10
The Criterion Collection presents Masahiro Shinoda’s Demon Pond on 4K UHD in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, spread across a triple-layer disc. The SDR 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition presentation is sourced from a new 4K restoration by Shochiku, taken from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative. A standard Blu-ray featuring a 1080p presentation and all special features is also included.
While I appreciate Criterion’s commitment to the 4K format—especially for a title that, a year ago, would likely have been Blu-ray only—the results are somewhat mixed, largely due to the film elements and the base restoration. The latter proves a bit underwhelming, with print damage surprisingly heavy at times. Speckles and stains appear consistently throughout, which I found to be a bit of a surprise for a recent 4K restoration.
Stylistic choices also come into play, including filters and soft focus, along with several optical effects, limiting the results, particularly regarding detail levels. This is all to be expected and perfectly fine, yet even with those artistic choices in mind, the overall image is softer and muddier than I would have expected, with black levels being particularly weak. They appear washed out and milky, with a slight green tint, never achieving the depth of a true black, flattening out many of the darker sequences. That green tint is also apparent in the colors, heavier in flashback scenes (which may be intentional), muting colors down. There are some nice blues and reds, but even they struggle. This could all be intentional, but again, it leads to a generally murky image with only a few pops here and there.
That said, the digital presentation is strong. Fog and mist—key visual elements in the film—are beautifully rendered, and the optical effects hold up quite well, even if they’re grainier than the rest of the film, or the seams of the bluescreen show through (I will say the effects do hold up very well). Grain is generally well-managed throughout, however, and the encode looks perfectly fine.
Ultimately, while the 4K release does provide a cleaner presentation when compared to the high-definition Blu-ray, I can't say it offers a significant improvement over it. Still, Criterion’s commitment to the 4K UHD format is commendable, and it’s great to see the film receive this treatment, even if the results fall a bit short of expectations.
Audio 7/10
The lossless monaural PCM audio track is stronger than I expected. The electronic score, while unmistakably a product of its time, exhibits a decent amount of range, and the dialogue is clear and well-balanced, though it does feel like a bit of filtering may have been applied. Thankfully, there are no noticeable signs of heavy damage or wear, making for a clean and effective audio presentation.
Extras 4/10
Criterion includes only a couple of features, both found on the standard Blu-ray. First is a newly filmed 18-minute interview with Dudley Andrew, who discusses this period of Shinoda’s career before diving into the origins of the play and Shinoda’s adaptation. He also touches on actor Gō Katō and his dual performance as Yuri and Yuki in the film, roles he had previously played in the stage adaptation.
The second feature, A Deluge of Special Effects, is a 13-minute featurette that appears to have been produced for a French Blu-ray release of the film. Narrated in French by Fabien Mauro with English subtitles, the program starts with a brief biography of effects wizard Nobuo Yajima, highlighting some of his notable work for Shochiku and Toei studios (including his design of Shochiku’s iconic studio logo). It then shifts to Demon Pond's special effects, providing breakdowns of the various optical techniques—such as blue screens, mattes, and optical printers—that were employed. While none of this will be particularly surprising to those familiar with the craft, it’s impressive how well the effects hold up, even with some visible blue-screen artifacts.
The release wraps up with an essay on the film by Michael Arkinson.
Considering the price of this 4K edition, the overall package feels somewhat lackluster. This is the kind of edition that Criterion would have priced in their cheaper tier back in the DVD days. Still, I enjoyed going through what’s here.
Closing
The film's photography, elements, and stylistic choices ultimately hold the 4K presentation back. While solid, it doesn’t offer a significant improvement over the high-def Blu-ray.