Kon Ichikawa's - An Actor's Revenge

( aka "An Actor's Revenge' or 'Yukinojo henge" )

directed by Kon Ichikawa
Japan 1963

'An Actor's Revenge,' Kon Ichikawa's 1963 film is an obvious divergence from anything he had done previously. A deeply artistic film steeped in rich cultural tradition and imagery. It was one of those films that I felt was better than it actually appeared, if that makes any sense. The immense amount of work and detail put into it are obvious. The shots fully exercising the full scope of the lens and many memorable and beautiful moments caught with splashed color on dense backgrounds. 'An Actor's Revenge' did capture me for a spell and I am certain that as I watch it again that will only deepen. It was unlike most other films I have seen with subtle moments reminding me of the Korean film 'Chunhyang' with its theatrical roots and narrative.

Gary W. Tooze

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DVD Review: BFI Region 2 - PAL DVD

DVD Box Cover	CLICK to ENLARGE	Order From:
Distribution	BFI Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:48:32
Video	2.35:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic Average Bitrate: 6.2 mb/s PAL 1024x576 25.00 f/s
Bitrate: Criterion
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English (non-removable)
Features	Release Information: Studio: BFI Theatrical Release Date: January 13th, 1963 Aspect Ratios: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 DVD Encoding: Region 2 PAL Layers: Dual Film negative format (mm/video inches) 35 mm Cinematographic process TohoScope Extras 12 Chapters Static screen Ichkawa biography Weblink to BFI website DVD Release Date: 27 January, 2003 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Although not perfect image quality, it s quite strong at times. A little hazy although anamorphic. If I was to grade the image out of 10 I would give it 7.0 . Not bad, but room for improvement. There was strobbing evident in a few scenes (bright kimonos) and even in italicized sub-titles ( which are non removable English by the way ). The Extras aren't worth discussing... a few static screen on Ichikawa's life and a web link to the BFI site. The sound was good with no hiss or crackling but frankly I was expecting more considering the high interest in this release. Still, I guess beggars can't be choosers especially in the artistic DVD sense, so I thank BFI for putting this out, but again wish it was Criterion. out of .