Chushingura
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Movie Reviews of Chushingura
Movie Review: Like the cherry blossom, this film doth fall from my movie library...
Summary: 2 Stars
A 1963 Japanese film whose title translates into "Loyalty," this movie accounts the famous Japanese legend of 47 ronin who avenge their master who was tricked into committing seppukku for striking a spiteful superior. It is definitely a great tale to show on film, but unfortunately the delivery here is lacking.
I enjoy how every time I read reviews for this film it is called a "deliberately paced drama." This seems to me an apologetic response to the film's incredible and slow-moving running time. It runs at about 206 minutes (that's about three and a half hours) and you feel every minute of it. It's not that I don't like long movies - I loved "Seven Samurai" (which runs almost three hours) and the Civil War epic "Gettysburg." (which runs a whopping 261 minutes, or just about four and a half hours) It's just that this movie runs so incredibly slow it actually gets painful. You lose all track of time. There is so much build-up to moments where nothing happens, and so everything feels wasted. For example, there's a long part where the samurai argue over whether they should give up their castle willingly or fight it out. After deliberations and scenes that make you think they're hiding something, they just give up. Imagine the pain you felt in the last ten minutes of "The Return of the King" and stretch it out for three hours, and you'll know how I felt.
And before any one accuses me of anything, it wasn't because there was very little action until the end. I don't mind sitting for hours watching character development or a great storyline with no sword being drawn or gun being fired, but even here the film drags. There are ridiculous romantic subplots that serve no purpose and are too cliche to be enjoyed, while other times you're waiting thirty minutes just for a character to make a decision about themselves. Apparently they wanted to develop every single one of the 47 ronin, which gives this film the same pain I felt in most Robert Altman movies.
I hate to say it, but this became one of the few movies that became a simple chore to watch. I had to force myself until finally I could no longer stand it, and had to take breaks. A lot of times I've said films were worth watching at least once, but here I don't think I could even stand the single viewing. I couldn't understand why the film was so glorified, as its pacing was incredibly plodding and the overall delivery just average. For me, it's quickly been put into the category of films that will boggle the mind of the casual film viewer but be well defended by critics who accuse other people of not getting the "art."
Movie Review: A horrible transfer - Image needs to fix it (this movie deserves better)
Summary: 2 Stars
When it comes to Chushingura (this version), I've read a few things. First, this is from all accounts a very, very good movie (maybe even great). It may be long, and not exactly fast paced, but it is a very well made movie from every comment I've come across.
Second, and this is the most important part as related to the DVD, the transfer and mastering job that Image did on this release is terrible. It's non-anamorphic, and non-progressive (so the interlaced scan lines are prominently seen when there is motion on screen). There are other gripes about the transfer as well, but those two are the big ones.
Ten years after the release of this DVD it's time for a Special Edition - with a reworked anamorphic, progressive transfer. Whether Image does it themselves, or they sell the rights to someone else (or just let them lapse so Criterion can pick them up), this movie deserves MUCH better treatment than it got here.
I'll buy it as soon as a better DVD is released.
Movie Review: Technical quality unacceptable
Summary: 1 Stars
The technical quality of this DVD is dreadful. Images go out of focus, they lack detail, they show interlacing artefacts, and movement is often jerky. It looks like a bad copy from a VHS.