Bottom line: With glorious visuals and stand-out performances, Revenge is as bloody as it is brilliant.
Rating: 5/5.
Format: Masters of Cinema special edition blu-ray.
Cast: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Yoshiko Mita, Eitaro Shindo.
Director: Tadashi Imai
Language: Japanese with optional English subtitles.
Run time: 103 minutes.
RRP: £22.99.
Available for the first time in the UK, Eureka presents Tadashi Imai’s Revenge in its worldwide debut on blu-ray this week.
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto, who also penned Kobayashi’s masterpiece Harakiri, Revenge has long been regarded as a classic of Japanese samurai jidaigeki films.
However, what places Revenge head and shoulders above the competition is Hashimoto’s blistering script, which plays out as a lacerating attack on the absurdity and hypocrisy of feudal Japan.
An innocuous comment during a weapon inspection wounds the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi (Kinnosuke Nakamura), leading to an argument with his superior. The situation snowballs out of control, leading to a deadly duel and political fallout which threatens the entire clan.
With glorious visuals and stand-out performances, Revenge is as bloody as it is brilliant.
Presented as part of The Masters of Cinema Series, from a new 2K restoration, the first print run of 2000 copies will feature a Limited-Edition O-card Slipcase, with artwork by Tony Stella.
Extras include:
- 1080p presentation from a 2K restoration of the original film elements. Uncompressed original Japanese mono audio.
- Newly translated English subtitles (optional).
- Brand new interview with Tony Rayns.
- Brand new video piece by Jasper Sharp.
- A collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film.