One Cut of the Dead Blu-ray

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

(aka "Kamera o tomeru na")

Directed by Shin'ichirô Ueda
Japan 2017

The most successful independent film in Japanese cinema history! Opening on just 2 screens, ONE CUT OF THE DEAD grossed more than $30 million and spent more time in the Box Office Top 10 than any other film!

A cast of relative unknowns, a brilliantly disguised low budget and an epic, 37-minute opening single take makes Shinichiro Ueda's feature debut a bright, breezy and laugh-out-loud hilarious zombie comedy. A film crew is shooting a zombie horror flick in an abandoned water filtration plant, allegedly used for human experiments by the military. Just as the director browbeats his actors and demands more special effects blood, a real zombie apocalypse erupts, much to his auteur delight.

***

What's better than a zombie movie? A zombie movie within a zombie movie within a delightful tongue-in-cheek look into the filmmaking process. Ueda Shinichiro's low-budget indie sensation One Cut of the Dead has turned into a sleeper box office hit in Japan and a genre favorite for international film fests. The wildly unpredictable comedy begins with a 37-minute long take of a zombie outbreak at an abandoned water filtration plant that serves as the set of a low-budget zombie movie. The menacing director (Hamatsu Takayuki) keeps the camera rolling when the undead attack and the carnage turns real.

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 4th, 2017 (Tokyo)

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Review: Third Window - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Re-issued June 2019: Also Asian Blu-ray Editions: Released in a US Blu-ray Steelbook in June 2020:
Distribution	Third Window - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:35:47.408
Video	1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,616,819,593 bytes Feature: 24,233,988,096 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2007 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2007 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Third Window 1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,616,819,593 bytes Feature: 24,233,988,096 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with director Shinichiro Ueda (17:36) • Making Of (43:57) • Take 8 short film (19:53) • Outtakes (4:37) • Go-Pro version of one-cut (38:03) • POM TV Instruction Video (0:59) Blu-ray Release Date: December 4th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case inside cardboard slipcase Chapters 12

Comments:

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

Third Window out of the UK bring the Indie Zombie-comedy One Cut of the Dead to Blu-ray. The feature is on a single-layered Blu-ray in 1080P with a high bitrate. It has a second single-layered BD of extras (how about all on a dual-layered BD?) The 36-minute opening long take sequence was shot with a Sony HXR-NX100 although it tends to resemble 16-mm without the grain. This was to give the representation of 'being filmed' as this is essentially a film-within-a-film. The cleaner segments were shot with a Sony a7R II. It is presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio and the juxtaposition of the two formats is obvious. Nether look perfect and the jittery hand-held motion is nauseating. It serves its purposes for the film plot. Captures are below.

The film is presented in its original 2.0 via a linear PCM (24-bit) track in the original Japanese and belies the Indie roots although everything is audible but there are few co-ordinate effects with depth. The film features a score Kyle Nagai and it adds some flavor to the presentation. There are optional English subtitles on this Region FREE Blu-ray.

Supplements include a 17-minute interview with director Shinichiro Ueda who discusses the evolution of One Cut of the Dead, how he choose cast members etc. There is also a 3/4 hour
Making Of... with behind the scenes shots of rehearsal etc. The 20-minute Take 8 short film has some amusing moments regarding wedding nuptials. There are also 5-minutes of Outtakes and a 40-minute Go-Pro version of the one-cut opening sequence. Lastly, is a minute-long POM TV Instructional Video. The package has a slipcase.

This independent film can look like it is thrown-together haphazardly but the was some decent thought behind it. My complaint is that it is basically a very low-budget horror for 1/2 hour followed by its making of features in superior quality. I think it makes for a good one-off without much repeat value. The Blu-ray has some value for those keen on venturing through One Cut of the Dead.! Let's see what these guys can do as an encore...