Studio: Sony Pictures
Video: 1080p -16:9 - MPEG-2 (28Mbps)
Audio: Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (± 2.5 Mbps), English
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (± 2.5 Mbps), French Dolby Digital 5.1
(448kbps), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kbps),
Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kbps), Mandarin Dolby
Digital 5.1 (448kbps), Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1
(448kbps), Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kbps), Japanese
Audio
Commentary Dolby 2.0 (192kbps)
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese,
Spanish, Korean, Thai, Chinese, none
Special Features Subtitles: English, Portuguese,
Spanish, Korean
[NOTE: Package comes with
incorrect information!]
Disc: Dual-Layered Blu-Ray (50GBs)
Runtime: 90 min.
Extras:
Filmmakers Audio Commentary with Subtitles (English,
Spanish, Korean, Portuguese)
Tsuitsui and Kon's Paprika - Making-Of Documentary (SD)
A Conversation About The "Dream" (SD)
The Dream CG World (SD)
The Art Of Fantasy (SD)
Storyboard Comparisons (HD)
Release Date: November 27th, 2007
Package: Standard Blu-Ray case
Synopsis:
29 year old Dr. Atsuko Chiba is an attractive but modest
Japanese research psychotherapist whose work is on the
cutting edge of her field. Her alter-ego is a stunning
and fearless 18 year old “dream detective,” code named
PAPRIKA, who can enter into people’s dreams and
synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the
source of their anxiety or neurosis.
****
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The Film:
It initially looks like an ordinary
murder mystery, albeit one with a sci-fi
twist, as Detective Toshimi Konakawa's
dreams lead him to a confrontation with
the unknown target of his investigation.
The twist is that he's being shadowed by
"Paprika", a young woman who is able to
enter his dreams with the "DC Mini"
headset. But it turns out there's
another mystery: The developers of the
DC Mini have discovered that some of
their prototypes - unapproved as yet -
have been stolen. Attractive-but-severe
Atsuko Chiba, overweight, immature
genius Kosaku Tokia, handsome Morio
Osanai, and diminutive lab chief
Torataro Shima follow a trail that leads
them to Tokia's assistant Himuro, but
the technology has become increasingly
dangerous, as now the dreams and even
waking moments of anyone who has used it
(which includes the entire research
team) can be invaded, and one dream in
particular is driving them mad. The
wheelchair-bound chairman of the lab,
Seijiro Inui, is calling the DC Mini and
science in general an affront to nature
and is shutting the program down.
A lot happens in this movie. Claiming
that a film feels longer than its
running time is often an indication that
it drags, but here it's a testament to
adapter/director Satoshi Kon's
efficiency and good pacing: Despite
bringing the film in at a tight ninety
minutes, he has plenty of time for the
mystery to take several twists and turns
and for a side plot like the origins of
Konakawa's cinema-influenced nightmares
to play out. He's also a master of this
animated medium, and as such frequently
allows his visuals to carry the movie.
Time is never wasted describing with
words what the audience can clearly see.
Excerpt from Jay Seaver's review at ECritic.com located HERE
The Video:
I was expecting the same image quality
and characteristics found in
Tekkon Kinkreet since they were
released so close together and have a
similar style in animation and idea; the
use of quasi-real CG environments and
dreams/delusion that are brought to
life. As expected the quality is almost
the same, perhaps Paprika is a
slightly superior.
The image looks very consistent
throughout the movie with a smooth
transition between the more vivid and
saturated scenes to the lightly
contrasted and detailed darker scenes.
This animation gives a special
importance to colors and light since it
tries to bring a dream-like effect to
the screen and this Blu-Ray allows you
to enjoy all the very eye-catching
scenery. This is true of the ones shown
against window reflections, that can be
easily hidden by a bad contrast/
brightness adjustment. Note that every
standard Blu-Ray release come with an
image adjustment tool that can be
accessed by typing 7669 with your remote
control, it can be helpful if you think
your system's settings are unbalanced.
Animation is truly benefiting from the
HD formats so far. The usual large
amount of detail and exuberant colors
together with the wider use of 3D
scenery have increased the popularity
level of these works among Hi-Def
adopters. But while they they have
becoming a reference for the enhanced
visuals that can be provided by the new
format, there are still some common and
persistent problems amongst the new
Hi-Def anime releases. This release is
not different from the others. The color
noise in dark spots and an occasional
rough transition between the shades are
disturbingly present in a few scenes.
It doesn't detract much from the overall
image quality, but it is annoying to see
a Hi-Def transfer still coming with a
medieval image problem.
It may be important to note that the
abrupt transition of tones/shades (color
banding) could have been caused by my
TV's HDMI 1.1 connection. I read
extensive technical articles blaming the
HDMI 1.1 standard for color banding and
stating that the HDMI 1.3 is the
solution. A good fast reading about this
can be found
HERE.
So, I can't precisely state who is to
blame in this circumstance; perhaps the
range of colors used here is indeed
wider and my TV (HDMI 1.1) is not ready
for it. Hopefully this is the answer
instead of a problematic master used for
the transfer.
Save for these two small and common
problems, I find the video quality here
outstanding and a good example of what
can be achieved with the new formats.
Luiz R.
Screen Captures
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Audio:
There are no Uncompressed PCM option available! The main audio options
are the Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Both have the same
quality - only the dubbing makes the English an inferior option in my
opinion, but I suppose many who don't like reading subtitles will
utilize it.
The Dolby TrueHD is good but gives too much emphasis to the music and
sound effects, making the volume boost, in some cases, quite annoying.
The voices are also suffocated by the backgrounds, and even in quieter
moments they sound low; probably because your ears were blasted with the
sound effects a moment ago... But at least all the sounds and music,
even when boosted, come out clean. There are no mentionable defects, and
overall the audio is very immersive.
The other sound options are all Dolby Surround 5.1 and sound equal in my
opinion. The voices are more audible than they are in the Dolby TrueHD,
but the rich effects are timid in comparison.
THE DUBS:
The Portuguese dubbing is even worse than the English one. It not only
sound like an antipathetic reading but the occasional lack of
synchronization is also bothersome. The translation/adaptation is close
to the Portuguese subtitles (derived from the English subtitles), and
although it suffers in precision and acting (like almost all dubbing),
it is still a valuable addition.
Extras:
Almost all the extras are presented in standard definition, only the
storyboards and trailers are Hi-Def. All are subtitled in multiple
languages. The more universal a release is the more I appreciate the
effort.
Tsuitsui and Kon's Paprika - Making-Of Documentary: This is short
and most of the time is spent talking about the story and its
adaptation, how Satoshi Kon came up with a 90 minute anime adaptation of
a large book trying not to damage the main idea and concepts. Yasutaka
Tsuitsui also comments the process and tells why an anime was the only
option to bring his book to the big screen.
"A Conversation About The "Dream": A conversation/interview with
Satoshi Kon, Yasutaka Tsuitsui, and the two main actors where they tell
about their experiences and feelings about Paprika.
The Dream CG World and The Art Of Fantasy: Both are short
documentaries more concerned about the creation process and the
technology used. Interesting.
Filmmakers Audio Commentary: I found it a fun laid-back conversation
about the movie's ideas, concepts, music... but avoiding the more
technical aspects or interpretations of specific situations.
Hi-Def storyboards: this supplement's package is solid and possibly the
best one available for a Blu-Ray anime release.
Menus
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BOTTOM LINE: This is certainly not a "one-night-stand" movie and repeated views are strongly encouraged to enjoy all the stunning visual details representing the rich descriptions found in the original book by Asutaka Tsuitsui. This is indeed a successful word-to-image adaptation accomplished by Satoshi Kon and this important role played by the visual makes the higher image quality found in this Blu-Ray a valuable feature, not just an eye-fetish. Adding this to the pack of widely subtitled supplements, some in HD, and the very interesting movie experience this is a recommended blu-ray and a must to all anime fans.
Luiz R.
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