Eureka Video Blu-ray Synopsis: A cruel jidaigeki masterwork from director Tadashi Imai (Cruel Tale of Bushido) and screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, the writer of Masaki Kobayashi’s great masterpiece Harakiri, Revenge is 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. Available for the first time in the UK, the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Tadashi Imai’s Revenge in its worldwide debut on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration. (103 Mins)

 

Views: Making its worldwide Blu-ray debut in a glorious 2K restoration (on June 19th) from Eureka Video as number 278 in it's Masters Of Cinema collection, comes this Toei produced classic from director Tadashi Imai. In a nutshell, Revenge is a simple tale of pride, political fallout, honour, and breaking the code of the bushido. During a weapons inspection, a comment is made about a dirty weapon that hurts the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi which quickly leads to a heated argument with his superior. When a fight breaks out and the officer is killed, Shinpachi is declared insane and forced out with a challenge to a duel by the clan his opponent once belonged to. As things snowball out of control and Shinpachi gears himself up for the showdown, fellow samurai begin to question the way of their world and their leaders, threatening political fallout within the clan and fearing the outcome of their friend!

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I was very excited to get this wonderfully restored version of Revenge in my hands. It's an incredibly beautiful movie, although not in a happy sense I guess, and brilliantly directed by Tadashi Imai; a director who likes to focus his work on the realism of humanity, often depicting the many tragedies and struggles endured by the poor – and what better time period to harness that energy into, than the earlier centuries of feudal Japan where social and class divide was rampant. While he was never considered as great a director as Akira Kurosawa or Keisuke Kinoshita respectively, Tadashi has delivered many great titles including Nigorie, Bushido, and Revenge among many others. Written by Shinobu Hashimoto who was behind many Chanbara and Samurai film greats including Kurosawa's very own Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne Of Blood, and The Hidden Fortress, as well as classics such as Harakiri, Samurai Assassin, The Sword Of Doom and many others, Revenge is superbly crafted with a haunting realism that is told in two narrative pieces highlighting the hypocrisy and hollow code of the samurai. Of course, Hashimoto's writings are only highlighted even more by the beautiful cinematography and music on offer with the latter handled by Toshiro Mayuzumi, one of Japans most acclaimed composers at the time with over 160 movie titles to his name. The gorgeous images, enhanced even more-so by the restoration of the black & white print, were captured by cinematographer Shunichiro Nakao who only shot 34 titles between 1949 and 1982, including a few others for director Tadashi Imai.

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A young Toru Hirayama, who produced 70s & 80s Japanese television shows like Kamen Rider, Spider-Man, and Ninja Captor, supports Tadashi Imai as an assistant director, and popular fight choreographer Reijiro Adachi – who handled the action on classics such as the Miyamoto Musashi series, Sword In The Moonlight, Magic Boy, and Daibosatsu Toge films – keeps things real with a mix of swordplay and brutality making the final battle of Revenge, one of the most intense I have seen in some time. It's certainly not stylish or amazing in any sense, but realistic and violent which is what had me glued to the screen! The wonderful Kinnosuke Nakamura does a fantastic job as Shinpachi and had just starred in Bushido for Tadashi the year previous. Of course, before that, Nakamura already had proven himself in a host of incredible classic titles and went on to star as Itto Ogami in the popular Lone Wolf & Cub series in the mid-70s, as well as in films such as Three Yakuza, Machibuse, Shogun Assassins, Death Of A Tea Master, and so much more. Its fair to say that the star is brilliantly supported by a host of great actors such as Tetsuro Tanba, Yoshiko Mita, and prolific Japanese star Takahiro Tamura among many others. While it may not please those looking for a solid viewing of samurai action, I would still highly recommend Revenge as one to watch for everything else it has to offer. This type of movie comes from an era of film-making that we'll never see again (although many have tried to replicate the style and feel of it) and is a great example of the zankoku (cruel) jidaigeki genre. As mentioned before, the final duel is pretty exciting, but I must also point out just how amazing the final 30 minutes are overall and, as with many of my black & white Kurosawa classics, I think it's safe to say that Revenge is a film that I would happily return to in the very near future!

 

Overall: A stunning piece of classic Japanese cinema, Revenge is a samurai film worth checking out and one of director Tadashi Imai's finest moments!

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Watch my unboxing for the Eureka Video release HERE