Red Angel Blu-ray - Ayako Wakao

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Akai tenshi" or "The Red Angel" or "Red Angel")

Directed by Yasuzo Masumura
Japan 1966

Directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast), Red Angel takes an unflinching look at the horror and futility of war through the eyes of a dedicated and selfless young military nurse.

When Sakura Nishi is dispatched in 1939 to a ramshackle field hospital in Tientsin, the frontline of Japan’s war with China, she and her colleagues find themselves fighting a losing battle tending to the war-wounded and emotionally shell-shocked soldiers while assisting head surgeon Dr. Okabe conduct an unending series of amputations. As the Chinese troops close in, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Okabe who, impotent to stall the mounting piles of cadavers, has retreated into his own private hell of morphine addiction.

Adapted from the novel by Yorichika Arima, Masumura’s harrowing portrait of women and war is considered the finest of his collaborations with Ayako Wakao (A Wife Confesses, Irezumi) and features startling monochrome scope cinematography by Setsuo Kobayashi (Fires on the Plain, An Actor’s Revenge).

***

A shocking and controversial masterpiece, Yasuzo Masumura’s no-bullshit antiwar film tells of an army nurse (Mizoguchi discovery and Masumura regular Ayako Wakao) in the Sino-Japanese war who sexually services an amputee and falls in love with a drug-addicted surgeon. Shot in black-and-white 'Scope, this 1966 feature can’t be recommended to the squeamish or to viewers bound to the politically correct, but neither its nuanced eroticism nor its passionate, unpredictable moral focus can be easily shaken off. Roughly contemporary with M*A*S*H (as in Altman’s film, scenes of war-front surgery provide a corollary to Vietnam), it sometimes suggests a less comic treatment of the same theme--how to preserve one's humanity amid impossible circumstances--but its ethics are considerably more developed.

Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's review at the Chicago Reader located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 1st, 1966

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Comparison:

Yume - Region 0 - PAL vs. Fantoma - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover			Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Yume Region 0 - PAL	Fantoma Region 1 - NTSC	Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:34:45	1:34:39	1:34:48.015
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.34 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.7 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,708,056,420 bytes Feature: 29,405,491,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.82 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD Yume:
Bitrate DVD Fantoma:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio Japanese 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Yume Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Director Biography (text screen) • Director Filmography (text screen) • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: August, 2006 Transparent Keep case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Fantoma Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Biography (text screen) • Filmography (text screen) • Theatrical trailer • Photo Gallery DVD Release Date: October 17th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Arrow 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,708,056,420 bytes Feature: 29,405,491,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.82 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser • Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns (12:00) • Not All Angels Have Wings, a new visual essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum (13:51) • Original Trailers (1:19 / 2:19) • Image Gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella Blu-ray Release Date: January 17th, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 13

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (January 2022): Arrow have transferred Yasuzo Masumura's Red Angel to Blu-ray. The 1080P is much brighter than the DVDs showing more detail, grain and superior contrast. It does appear to have less information on the side edges with slightly more on top of the frame. The HD presentation doesn't show the same level of damage (see captures below) as both SD transfers. The grain can have a chunkiness at times and there is not much depth but this is still a massive improvement over the DVDs and a consistent, appealing presentation.

NOTE: We have added 46 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. Red Angel has a few aggressive war-related sequences that come through with modest depth. The beautiful score is by Sei Ikeno (Zatoichi's Flashing Sword, Black Test Car), sounding generally flat and very pleasing in the lossless transfer. Arrow offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser. He covers a lot of ground discussing the Yasuzô Masumura / Ayako Wakao collaborations of 20 films over 12 years and the importance of Red Angel to that group. It's an excellent commentary filled with relevant analysis and production details. There is also a revealing 12-minute filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns who shares important acts about the film, Masumura and more. I certainly enjoyed Not All Angels Have Wings, a new 13-minute visual essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum who has always championed the film. Lastly are two trailers and an image gallery. The package has a reversible sleeve (see below) featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella.

Yasuzo Masumura's Red Angel is highly impacting. The film is is based on a 1966 novel, of the same name, by Yorichika Arima and has some harrowing sequences of debilitated men, sexual assault, drug addiction and suicide. It really showcases the grim sides of war through the trials of a young Japanese nurse, played by Ayako Wakao, on the front lines in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It's an unforgettable masterpiece of the dark side of the human condition. The Arrow Blu-ray is a massive upgrade with the improved a/v, commentary, Rayns and Rosenbaum contributions and packaging. This is very strongly recommended!