Japan:
Memoirs of a Secret Empire
Picture: B Sound:
B- Extras: D
Program: B+
Asian culture, and more
exclusively Japanese culture, has always puzzled and intrigued the other
cultures around the world even dating back to the Europeans first encounter by
in the 1500’s. Japanese culture still to
this day fascinates and mystifies the rest of the world by their unique customs
and fascinating traditions. Living here
in the United States one quickly sees the influence of this culture to the
point that Japanese lettering has become a common tattooing practice and movies
like the recent Kill Bill series
brings us into that world, but even more especially is Edward Zwick’s brilliant
The Last Samurai.
It would be impossible to
pinpoint one exact thing that draws people to the Japanese culture and for most
it could be different aspects. Some
admire the politics and traditions that have been kept for so many
generations. This is the exact companion
piece that anyone would want to add to their collection, especially those that
are familiar with the work of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, or even Kwaidan (1965), Double Suicide (1969), or even the more recent Mishima (1985) and Ghost
Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999).
What these films lack in
back-story will quickly be aided in a documentary feature such as this, which
covers many of the historical highlights of Japan’s renaissance (between 16th and 19th
centuries), and also covers the transformation of the culture over time. The influence of Western civilization also
became a huge part of the change that occurred in Japan and it is no wonder
that by the time Akira Kurosawa began making films that he was using more
influences from outside Japan because he understood that the people of Japan
were tired of just knowing about their own culture and wanted outside influence
because it was more interesting and added to the diversity of their own
culture. Still, Japan remains a country that is deeply forged in its
roots and customs, which will only gradually change over time, but only on a
larger contextual scale.
For the DVD release
Paramount is responsible for the PBS Home Video department and the feature is
presented in its original ratio of 1.78 X 1, which looks more refined than in
its original broadcast since it has been designed for widescreen, but was
broadcast in a pan & scan version.
Here we get all picture information, which is a definite plus. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Stereo is
acceptable as well and this is a well-recorded program and demonstrates that
with clarity and accuracy with the audio quality.
The DVD is broken down
into three segments to cover its entire three hour length, but once you start
watching it seems to cover so much in what appears to be a short amount of time
because the content is that fascinating.
Look for other great programs to come from PBS as they still continue to
deliver high quality programs that you rarely find anymore.
- Nate Goss
