(aka "Sonachine" )
Japan 1993
With “Sonatine”, Kitano hit the international scene. Already world
famous, at least five times over in Japan, the rest of the world knew next
to nothing about him. Here came a film, so fresh and inventive, that some
already began talking about a possible new master.
"Sonatine" opens with a shock, precisely 1 minute 27 seconds into the
film. A 38 second shot begins, as a static Close Up of a boy sorting
mah-jong pieces, suddenly, after 14 seconds, the camera pulls back in a
tracking shot for 11 seconds, allowing Kitano and Terajima to enter and
leave the frame, leaving us with a 13 second static Medium Long Shot of
the boy, still sorting pieces. Considering Kitano's persistent use of
static frame compositions in his previous three films, this 38 second
shot, especially the 11 seconds of backward tracking, hits one in the
face, as if a mute person suddenly utters a word.
It is also the first film where composer Jo Hisaishi’s minimalist score
really carries the images. It is the first of many things, all showing a
mature and confident Kitano; Thus, “Sonatine” is rightfully the first real
Kitano film. Kitano himself agrees upon this, when he says: “...it is with
Sonatine that I had the feeling to achieved the first stage as a
director."
Aniki (Kitano) is an underboss in the Yakuza. Becoming increasingly bored
with the daily routines and having run out of steam, he considers
retirement. When another yakuza underboss, who is envious of his success,
plots and causes Aniki to lose his territory and family, and forcing him
to hide, he sees it as an opportunity to start fresh. But can he?
The title derives from a musical term meaning little sonata, which amongst
other is used for simple educational pieces; Kitano elaborates: “When
learning to play the piano, one studies various types of pieces. When one
acquires the basic knowledge of these pieces, one has reached sonatine.
Its not really control, but it marks the end of first stage of training.”
Henrik Sylow (Kitanotakeshi.com)
Poster
 |
Theatrical Release: June 5, 1993
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: AV Channel (Takeshi Kitano Collection) - Region 4 - PAL
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
| DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from:
|
| Distribution |
AV Channel Region 4 - PAL |
|
| Runtime | 1:29:50 (4% PAL speedup) | |
| Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
|
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
||
| Bitrate |
|
|
| Audio | 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: AV Channel Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 13 |
|
| Comments |
Miramax
beat them to it, by releasing a 16x9 transfer with English subtitles
alongside "Zatoichi", but then this is the first stand alone DVD with
English subtitles. This is the worst looking of the three recent transfers, but take "worst" in the lightest sense, as it really looks great. The problem is, sadly again, the central issue is the light / darkness in relation to the contrast, and where its only slightly overdone on "Violent Cop" and "Boiling Point", it is too much here. Notice Image #3, how the background is very white, while shadows go towards black. Compared to the Miramax transfer, there simply is too much contrast in the AV transfer, making details disappear, either by too much light towards white or too much darkness towards black. Apart from that, the transfer is as perfect as Miramax's. Basically no artifacts, really fast saturated colors (the night sequences looks breathtaking). Thus it really is a shame with the contrast issue. |
DVD Menus
|
|
|
|
|
|
Screen Captures
subtitle sample
Captures resized to 800px from 1016px native resolution
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(AV Channel - Region 4 - PAL TOP vs. Miramax - Region 1- NTSC BOTTOM)
 |
 |
(AV Channel - Region 4 - PAL TOP vs. Miramax - Region 1- NTSC BOTTOM)
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze
|
|
Thank You!
Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Sonatine - DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Sonatine DVD Review
