This is a dual-layered, anamorphic and progressive transfer. I believe there is a French DVD of the film (no English subs) but I don't own it to compare. From a few stills I've seen it may be superior. The transfer on this Animeigo looks soft but I didn't find it fatal and was able to enjoy the film - a kind of soapy, well shot, Japanese drama with the Geisha profession as a backdrop to a past, torn, love affair. In the image there are speckles and colors seem dim - which I'd actually prefer to boosting. There is a black border circumventing the frame limiting horizontal resolution. Audio is an unremarkable 2.0 track that is probably close to the way it was produced. I think its great that this multi-award winning Japanese film is being exposed to western audiences via DVD.

Animeigo are big on offering subtitle options (see our comparison of their DVD of Imamura's Ballad of Narayama, Ichikawa's An Actor's Revenge or review of Gosha's The Wolves.) and you get a choice of dialogue in either yellow or white (or just captions). I prefer white but both fonts are large.

As I said about Animeigo's The Wolves DVD - "As far as supplements go - it's a bit like a blowfish trying to puff up and represent more than truly exists." In actuality it is quite limited with some static text screen notes (cast + crew, a 'Geisha' description, program notes) - there is some good info here but, personally, I'd have preferred it all in some liner notes. A decent image gallery with both color and black and white shots from the film. Finally there are some trailers.

I liked the film experience and I can see why it was lauded. Like many Japanese narratives there is honor and death at the root. It can lay it on a bit thick but those keen on Japanese cinema should also enjoy the intrinsic merits of the film. The DVD, despite its weaknesses, supports The Geisha well enough to appreciate the story.  

Gary W. Tooze