Cruel
Tale Of Bushido
(1963/Toei/Eureka!*)/History
Of Sound
(**)/Lurker
(**both 2025/MUBI Blu-rays)/Romancing
In Thin Air
(2012/Radiance/*both MVD Blu-rays)/Tea
and Sympathy
(1956/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/The
Ties That Bind Us
(2025/Icarus DVD)
Picture:
B-/B-/B-/B-/B-/C Sound: B-/B/B/B-/B-/C+ Extras:
B-/D/D/B-/C/C- Films: B-/C+/C+/C+/B-/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Tea
and Sympathy
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Now
for a set of sometimes controversial dramas....
Tadashi
Imal's Cruel
Tale Of Bushido
(1963) starts with a young lady attempting suicide and landing up in
a hospital over a broken romance in modern Japan, upsetting her
former boyfriend (Miyamoto Misashi) and leading to a long look back
at his rough family history. Turns out his family has a dark samurai
past with all kinds of ugly torture, murder, death, humiliation,
other ugly incidents, then we get to WWII when they are involved with
the Japanese Militarists, Kamikazes and more.
A
semi-epic work, that's a lot for a two hour film, but it is also
making a statement about life in Japan, including things unresolved
and even left behind as it becomes a modern post-WWII democracy with
modernist buildings and a memory for the truth that is more
convenient than brutally honest as this film
is. The cast, also including Kinnosuke Nakamura, Eijiro Tono and
Kyoko Kishida, play multiple roles in multiple eras. Recommended if
you can handle the content.
Extras
include a Limited Edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by
Tony Stella
Limited
edition collector's
booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Hayley
Scanlon
Telling
a Cruel Tale
- new interview with film critic Tony Rayns
Years
of Honour
- new video essay on Cruel
Tale of Bushido
and Japanese history by Jonathan Clements, author of A
Brief History of Japan
and
an Original Theatrical Trailer.
Oliver
Hermanus' The
History Of Sound
(2025) is a smart drama in 1917 about a music-sensitive man named
Lionel (Paul Mescal) who has made his life this and when he meets
music student David (Josh O'Connor) and they briefly get intimately
involved. Years later when they meet again, they embarks on both a
project to record and experience all kinds of music and sound, also
reuniting
intimately. Will things work out for them this time?
I
like the look, feel and period shown accurately, whiel the acting and
casting works and music is fine, but some parts are a little flat,
slightly predictable and we get an ending that has a problem the
makers might not have considered and I cannot go into with spoilers
or a separate essay. Still, it is not bad and some people might like
it. At least it takes its audience and subject matter seriously and
it not comic where it should not be, something rarer and rarer these
days.
There
are sadly no
extras.
Alex
Russell's Lurker
(2025) is a
tale of music performer Oliver (Archie Madekwe) who meets fan Matthew
(Theodore Pellerin) who is an interested in his work and the fun
around it as possibly the man himself in a personal way. Playing
clubs and partying get mixed with some potentially criminal
behaviors, et al, with more than a few people eventually finding
themselves out of control.
The
actors and casting works, the film takes its time to go where its
going and it has some good moments, but some of it is predictable,
some of it we've seen before and the fan's at least 'bi-curious'
sexual interest in the music performer and whether anything will
happen between the two, though the latter may not be interested at
all. By the end, the film has few points and never seems to go much
of anywhere. Hope the sexual part was not just gay-baiting to sell
it to the indie and 'woke' crowd. The music soundtrack and choice of
records works a little better, but too bad this did not add up
better. Now you can see for yourself.
There
are sadly no
extras.
Johnnie
To's Romancing
In Thin Air
(2012) is a mixed tale of a public marriage that becomes instantly
controversial because the bride left another man (Louis Koo as a big
movie star) behind, so when it is quickly followed by a public
apology (broadcast on TV no less,) he gets drunk, smashed out of his
mind and disappears. When he is found by another woman (Sammi
Cheng,) he is far away in some mountain area and cannot remember
anything.
She
happens to have lost her boyfriend there many years ago, so it is
with some irony she finds him. From there, the film tries to deal
with romance, human issues and a little bit of character study, but
also more comedy than you might expect. However, the director is a
little out of his element here, but he at least tries to do something
different, it just does not always work. Still, at least he tried
something different here and this is why he has a reputation as a
name director. Now you can see this one for yourself.
Extras
include a
reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
by Time Tomorrow
Making-of
featurette
Theatrical
trailer
Extended
behind-the-scenes footage
Visual
essay on Johnnie To's romantic melodramas by Sean Gilman (2025)
Interview
with screenwriter Ryker Chan (2025)
Audio
commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Dylan Cheung (2026)
and
a Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Jake Cole.
For
more of our past coverage of Johnnie To films on disc, try these
links....
Drug
War
Blu-ray
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12398/Drug+War+(2012/Johnnie+To/Well+Go+U
Election
DTS DVD
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6205/Election+(Tartan/DTS/2005/Hong+Kong
Triad
Election
DTS DVD
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5959/Triad+Election+(2006
Running
On Karma
Blu-ray
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16578/America+Is+Sinking+(2024/Asylum+DVD
Running
Out Of Time
Blu-ray
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16260/Project+Wolf+Hunting+(2022/Well+Go+Bl
Vincente
Minnelli's Tea
and Sympathy
(1956) is based on the Robert Anderson play (who also wrote the
screenplay) about a 'passive' pre-school guy (John Kerr) who is being
ridiculed for not being aggressive enough, though the real point is
he is probably homosexual. However, you could not talk about that
subject anywhere in 1956 media, so these issues have to be implied
and hinted at.
A
relic in some ways by today's standards and the world we now live in,
could he still be just passive and not gay? Is he the only gay
person in the whole movie? Yes apparently, but then that has other
issues and in one way, even plays like some kind of surreal science
fiction film now. Could the lack of dealing with the issues and
subject matter make this oppressive and inspire other homophobia or
someone's self hate?
Deborah
Kerr is the older woman trying to help him out to the extent that she
does and the interesting supporting cast includes Leif Erickson,
Norma Crane, Darryl Hickman, Edward Andrews, Dean Jones, Tom
Laughlin, Kip King and Jacqueline deWit. Yup, this is one for The
Celluloid Closet
(book and documentary) that needs a separate essay to comb thoroughly
through, but it is an A-level production with serious melodrama, so
you know what you are taking on if you take on its 2-hours. At thee
time, this was considered bold and cheers to all involved for trying.
Extras
include an Original Theatrical Trailer and classic MGM Technicolor
cartoon Down
Beat Bear.
Carine
Tardieu's The
Ties That Bind Us
(2025) starts out as a story about a father (Pio Marmai) who has lost
his female partner, but still has his six-year-old son, then meets a
librarian (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) who is trying not to be involved
in any kind of a relationship at all. Of course, something has to
give as they meet and screenplay handles this in a slow, deliberate
and careful way.
So
the film has its moments, but also has some parts that are not as
good or offer a few things we have seen before. Still, more parts do
work and the actors are a plus here, hardly any of whom I have sene
before. The narrative is book like, but has some writerly moments,
visually and otherwise, so it is worth a look or those who are
interested.
Extras
include three Theatrical Trailers for other Icarus releases.
Now
for playback performance. All the Blu-rays are in 1080p definition
and have their own different softness and flaws, but most might fare
better in 4K, but its hard to tell. Cruel
Tale Of Bushido has
a 2.35 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer
as shot in ToeiScope and has a mix of great shots, with some that are
aged and some with either softness or distortion from the anamorphic
lenses used to make the film. That is similar to other monochrome
scope Japanese presentations we've been covering lately and have
usually run into, so its about as good as it could look.
As
for the sound, we get the expected PCM
2.0 Mono, but the big, pleasant surprise is a Japanese
DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 3.0 lossless mix that may bot always be totally stereo
(no traveling dialogue or sound effects) yet it is more effective and
maybe one of the best Japanese sound films of that decade. It just
resolves the sound better.
The
History Of Sound
has a 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is a 4.6K shoot with
pretty consistent visuals, but the format seems to be making it
slightly color poor, slightly darker and slightly softer than it
might otherwise be. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix ha some fine, consistent
sound, with interesting application so sound and music that might
remind one at times of a Terence Malick film in good ways.
Lurker
has a 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer as shot on
Kodak 16mm color negative film in the Super 16mm format. That looks
decent, if not always color rich or sharp, but part of that is this
format, as I believe a 4K disc would benefit it as much as 4K
benefited the also-16mm Groove
4K.
That is expect for the overuse of digital video which should have
been more limited for POV shots between characters. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is more consistent than the
image, despite the switching to lesser video over 16mm film.
Romancing
In Thin Air
has a 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer as shot with
Arriflex Technovision anamorphic lenses totally shot 35mm color Fuji
motion picture negative film giving it a nice and rare look as so few
films were totally shot on that film negative. The
Mandarin DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes
are not bad, but shows the film's sonic age just the same. I liked
the 5.1 a little more.
Tea
and Sympathy
has a 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer as shot with
the old CinemaScope anamorphic lenses system and developed in
MetroColor, an interesting combination that is not as vibrant as
Technicolor or naturalistic as AnscoColor, but still effective and
consistent here. Minnelli worked with all three formats in his
career and here, his Director of Photography is no less than the
legendary John Alton, A.S.C., who handles the scope format and
compositions better than just about anyone around at the time.
Please
note that some sources say this is a 2.55 X 1 film in the older
CinemaScope frame before it was permanently reduced to 2.35 X 1 to
make room for an optical soundtrack.
Speaking
of the sound, you would think this was originally issued in 4-track
magnetic stereo, we have no evidence at this time it was, with this
disc offering a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix that
is good for what it is. However, the opening credits add that the
film was also issued in the Perspecta Sound format, an
artificial/simulated stereo sound format that usually appeared on
most VistaVision large-frame format films. That soundtrack is sadly
not on this disc either, but maybe they'll find it or any 4-track
masters down the line. We'll add to
this when we uncover more of this down the line.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.66 X 1 image on Ties
That Bind
is a little softer than I would have liked, especially being shot
with a Red Raptor camera and finished in 2K for some reason. It is a
decent-looking film and could look better in a higher def format,
while the
lossy French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo plays well in Pro Logic
surround. Wish it were a 5.1 mix, which the film apparently also
has.
To
order the Tea
and Sympathy
Warner
Archive Blu-ray,
go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive
releases at:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20
-
Nicholas Sheffo
