Samurai Vendetta - Hakuôki

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

(aka 'Samurai Vendetta' or 'Hakuôki' or 'Chronicle of Pale Cherry Blossoms')

Directed by Kazuo Mori
Japan 1959

Samurai Vendetta is a tragic tale of two honorable swordsmen whose clans are embroiled in a blood feud, and who vie for the same woman. Betrayal, dishonor, and death ensue in this classic samurai story of love and revenge.

Tange Tenzen and Nakayama Yasubeiare honorable samurai living in an era of corrupt officials and treacherous clans. But after finding themselves in opposing clans and ensnared in a love triangle, only bloodshed can ensue! An epic tale of slashing swords, cutting betrayal, and bloody revenge, Samurai Vendetta is justly hailed as one of the best samurai films ever made!

Poster

Theatrical Release: November 22nd, 1959

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DVD Review: Animeigo - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Animeigo - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:49:36
Video	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.4 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English (yellow, white or captions only), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Animeigo Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • 47 Ronin Notes • Program Notes • Cast and Crew Bios • Image Gallery • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: October 12th, 2010 Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Samurai Vendetta was released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company in 1959 and is a depiction of Samurai Horibe Yasubei prior to his emergence as one of the famous "Forty-seven Ronin". Hence the DVD starts with this suggestion: "For a deeper understanding of the historical background of this story, we recommend reading the 47 Ronin Notes, located in the extras menu, before viewing the film."

As well as being an excellent 'Chambara' genre classic - Animeigo's DVD sports a clean, anamorphic and progressive dual-layered transfer. Considering the age it looks surprisingly good. It's a shade dull and green (common for Japanese films of this era) but consistent and it gave me a decent presentation - occasionally soft but with no distracting artifacts.

Audio sounds decent without hiss, pops or major flaw and Animeigo have once again included color-yellow or black+white options for English subtitles (see sample below). There is also a 'captions only' choice and the yellow-or-white have the option of 'dialogue only' or 'all' with inclusion of captions translating signs etc. on the top of the screen.

Extras include the aforementioned 47 Ronin Notes as digital text screens, similarly 'Program Notes', 'Cast and Crew Bios' and an image gallery (that seems to repeat a few images). There is also a 3:24 theatrical trailer with optional subtitles.

Great film with its link to the 47 Ronin. Animeigo have put some extra effort in here and it shows. Another film that you would have had trouble tracking down - and an excellent contribution to the genre.