The Hidden Blade is a film that moves at a methodical pace. Everything is calculated, every move carefully considered. This helps to give the film a beauty, a tapestry through which the stories weave, with well developed surrounding characters and some gorgeous cinematography. The pacing also leads to some negatives, as I struggled to pick up the story early on. It takes its time to set up the period and everything around our lead character before the story threads take complete hold.
Video. The disk looks good, if a bit muted. Occasionally panning leads to a little blurring, but for the most part, this disk looks quit good. The image is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
Audio. The soundtrack is presented in its original Japanese in Dolby Digital 5.1. The disk sound svery good, and the score comes across beautifully. Nothing to complain about here.
Extras.
- Behind the Scenes with Direcotr Yoji Yamada. This runs for nearly 20 minutes and shows Yamada directing on the set, and some sword-fighting preparation, and prop selection. It is interesting, if a little choppy.
- Berlin Film Festival Premiere. This goes through the premiere in Germany, with discussion of what it was like to be back after the Twilight Samurai premiere.
- Yoji Yamada Press Conference. This is an interview with Yamada about the film.
- Trailers. Both the US and Japanese trailers are included.
Bottomline. A beautiful, if slightly sluggish, film concerning the end of an era and the effects it has on people who have no control over it. This is definitely one to see.
Recommended.
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