Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Two clans, the white and the red, battle for a legendary treasure hidden in a desolate mountain town. One day a lone gunman with incredible shooting skills drifts into town. The two clans try to woo the lone gunman to their sides, but he has ulterior motives. Dirty tricks, betrayal, desire and love collide as the situation erupts into a final, explosive showdown.

If you’re familiar with Takashi Miike’s films you are probably aware of his bizarre visual style and compulsion for the ultra-violent. This is a different direction story wise for Miike, but his signature style is there in abundance. The film works visually and the story isn’t a bad one, but the film missteps from time to time and borders on silliness. Tarantino is a big fan of Miike and cameos in the film but his sequences are probably the worst of the film and should have been trimmed in my opinion. Still, if you like a ultra-stylized battle with blood to spare, this is one for you.

While the styles of this film’s visuals are all over the place, there is no denying the sensational HD transfer from First Look. From the boosted color palette to the incredible contrast, this film delivers a rich visual experience that translates really well to Blu-ray. Film grain is apparent throughout and adds to the rich detail and stylized look of the film. Depth and dimension are outstanding throughout and the varying visual styles keep things interesting until the end.

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and is an explosive mix with a great soundstage and intense dynamics. The sound design is probably one of the biggest highlights of the film and I really liked the sound design. The gunplay really opens up the range of the track with deep, deep bass and nice higher frequency transients. The film is in English but at times it can be hard to understand what is being said. Still, there is a lot to like here and action film mixes don’t get much better.

First Look delivers a 2-disc set for this release with a digital copy of the film occupying the second disc. This can be downloaded to a portable device or home PC. You also get some deleted scenes, trailers, and a making of feature that includes some behind the scenes footage and interviews. This title is also BD-Live enabled giving you access to First Look’s BD site.

I’d put this in the middle of the road for a Miike film. It doesn’t have the spit and polish of Audition but it doesn’t go completely overboard like some of his other films. First Look has done a tremendous job with the presentation though so fans should definitely add it to their HD library.