Blade of the Immortal

Summary

“There is a man in Edo who will never die.”

Takashi Miike is a truly prolific one of a kind filmmaker. The Japanese filmmaker is very popular, but currently only about twenty percent of his output is available on Blu-ray in America. To put things in perspective, that is still a good amount of films because Blade of the Immortal was his hundredth film to direct. As a fan of the director, I bought Blade of the Immortal as soon as it was released. Adapting from the iconic Manga series by Hiroaki Samura, Miike is able to show off his action directing capabilities that he fine tuned in films such as 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django. Whenever Miike approaches a film with swordplay, it is a pretty safe bet that it will be entertaining. I was personally excited about this film because at the tender age of fourteen I had bought a few issues of the Manga when it was republished in the states by Dark Horse Comics. This film was a big undertaking for Miike, and I can’t think of a better way for the director to show off his skills on his hundredth film.

As the film begins, Samurai Manji (Takuya Kimura) has a bounty on his head for killing six men. He was carrying out orders of his lord, and he did not realize that his Lord was corrupt. Unfortunately, one of the six men he murdered was his sister Machi’s husband. This murder has caused her to lose her mind and has left her under his care. Machi sees a gang of more than a hundred ronin that have come for his head. They grab Machi. He asks that his sister Machi be released. Machi is killed. Manji kills every man who stands against him, but his right eye is wounded, his face is scarred, and his hand is cut off. An eight hundred year old nun named Yaobikuni puts holy bloodworms into his body that have magical healing powers. His hand reattaches to his body and his chest wounds heal. Fifty years later, the Itto-ryu Clan arrive at a dojo. They are led by the evil Anotsu Kagehisa (Sota Fukushi.) They have traveled throughout the land challenging different schools with the hope of becoming the Shogun’s bodyguards. They kill the young Rin’s father, the head of the dojo, and steal her mother. Rin (Hana Sugisaki) has trained under her father, but her skills are not fully developed. She hears of the man in Edo that is immortal, and she seeks him out with hopes to enlist him on her quest for revenge.

Takashi Miike’s hundredth film is very impressive. I have seen many of the films by the director that are available in the states and this ranks as one of his best. The storyline adheres closely to the manga thanks to a well-written screenplay by Tetsuya Oishi. This was no easy task because it condensed down nearly thirty volumes of the series into one film. It is no easy task to keep tension high when a character is basically immortal, but through some clever writing the film makes the character of Manji feel vulnerable to attack. The fight scenes in the film are tremendous, beginning with an amazing fight scene of one versus hundreds and ending with another incredible fight scene at the end of the film. Along the way Manji fights characters with capabilities and weaknesses that are all interesting and unique. For a film that is over two hours long, the runtime goes buy swiftly. The film displays Miike’s visual mastery with an excellent black and white beginning that morphs into color for the duration of the film. Visually the film delivers consistently with excellent cinematography by Nobuyasu Kita who had also worked with Miike on 13 Assassins and Hara-kiri.

The performances in the film are well drawn. I was very impressed by the acting of star Takuya Kimura. He reminded me of Toshiro Mifune’s acting in Akira Kurosawa’s great Yojimbo films. He gives the film his all and really connects through his visceral performance. This was exactly how I would have envisioned the character of Manji as I read the comic. The character of Rin is also solidly portrayed by actress Hana Sugisaki. She does well in the role. The villainous Anotsu is played by Sota Fukushi and he gives a good performance that is restrained and ominous. There was not a poor performance in the film.

Overall – Blade of the Immortal should please fans of Miike’s 13 Assassins or Hara-kiri, but it should also draw in fans of Ichi the Killer and Sukiyaki Western Django. It’s one the prolific director’s better films and a joy to watch on Blu-ray.

Video

Blade of the Immortal is presented on Blu-ray with an MPEG-4 AVC encoded 1080p transfer in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The film is shot in widescreen and benefits from a strong Blu-ray presentation. Fine detail is excellent and the film has a lot to enjoy visually. From the awesome black and white opening to the violent finale, the film visually delivers. I did not notice any noticeable compression issues. Overall, it looks fantastic. Until they release an UHD copy of the film, this is about as nice as a Blu-ray presentation can achieve.

Audio

The audio treatment of Blade of the Immortal is fantastic. The film has a ton of action that benefits from the surround channels. With fight scenes that range from character to character and character versus hundreds, the sound design for the film is consistently excellent. This film uses the speakers in immersive ways. I was impressed.

Supplements:

• Manji vs. 300 – a look at the creation of the two large fight scenes in the film.
• Cast Interviews – roughly an hour of brief interviews with Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukuski, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, and Ichikawa Ebizo.
• Interview with Takuya Kimura
• Poster Gallery
• American Green Band and Red Band Theatrical Trailers

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5 

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Blade of the Immortal is a really strong film from Takashi Miike. Its a visceral and violent samurai epic with interesting superhuman elements that set it apart. The film is entertaining for the duration and makes the fairly long running time fly by. I was particularly impressed by the acting of star Takuya Kimura who reminded me of Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo. Magnolia Pictures have provided a great looking video transfer that sounds fantastic and a couple hours worth of supplements. Fans of Japanese cinema and Takashi Miike will find a lot to enjoy here.