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

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (December 2023): Masters of Cinema have transferred Kinji Fukasaku's The Fall of Ako Castle to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "from a restoration of the original film elements undertaken by Toei". The 1080P image is exceptionally strong. It has excellent contrast and color balance. The visuals are tight with still supporting, occasionally clunky, grain textures. I found the HD presentation, clean, reasonably bright and impressive in the 2.35:1 scope. No issues. 

NOTE: We have added 54 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. The Fall of Ako Castle has many conflicts - both one-on-one and plenty of group samurai battles. There is some yelling and heavy action that come through authentically flat with a modicum of subtle bass-responses. The score was by Toshiaki Tsushima (Big Time Gambling Boss, Street Mobster, Yakuza Graveyard, The Green Slime, The War in Space, Three Outlaw Samurai, Sword of the Beast, Battles Without Honor and Humanity) heightening tension in many scenes. The audio transfer is clean and effective. Masters of Cinema offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray offers a new feature-length audio commentary by critic Tom Mes (Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video - Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia.) He tells us how this came out after a decade of Fukasaku making Yakuza gangster films like the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. Mes discusses how the two genres intersect. He relates the story of the historical Forty-seven rōnin, The Shogun, warrior, art and merchants classes and other elements of Japanese culture relating to the film. He's always excellent and fills the 2.5 hour film running time keeping the tone interesting. We also get a new 41-minute interview with Asian film expert Tony Rayns on The Fall of Ako Castle. He covers a lot of the history - 18th century Japan,  how the Forty-seven rōnin wee obliged to commit suicide and much more. It's very educational. King of my Castle is a new 13-minute video essay by author and critic Jasper Sharp author of Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts.) He observes how the film has so many scenes with multiple 'bodies' in every frame and other details regarding the production, the many versions, and the director. The Blu-ray case comes in a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Chris Malbon and the package has a collector’s booklet featuring a new essay on the film by Jonathan Clements and a filmography of works by Kinji Fukasaku.     

Kinji Fukasaku's The Fall of Ako Castle is filled with action documented by a highly kinetic camera. The film dramatizes the 'Akō incident', or 'Akō vendetta', about the revenge of the forty-seven Rōnin (masterless samurai) based on historical events in the start of the 18th century. It is one of the most frequently filmed historical stories in Japanese cinema. These Ronin banded together, taking a year in preparation, to attempt revenge on their Lord Kira. The Fall of Ako Castle is a brilliant retelling of that extensively popularized event in Japanese culture. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray has the film looking and sounding gorgeous with a revealing Mes commentary, other valuable extras - Rayns, Sharp, a booklet etc. in a beautiful package. What a great keepsake. Gift yourself this - the film is long but maintains its riveting grip throughout. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze