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AnimEigo's release of Lady Snowblood, best known
for being the prime inspiration behind Quentin Tarantino's
Kill Bill films. AnimEigo continues their trend
of releasing some of the best Toho DVDs on the market
with their Lady Snowblood disc. Now this isn't
AnimEigo's best release, the video presentation has
one minor flaw, but overall its still one of the better
Toho DVDs with a excellent video presentation, a faithful
audio presentation, and some worthwhile extras.
Video:
AnimEigo continues to display exactly why a DVD
video presentation can be superior when compared to
VHS release with this release. Like other AnimEigo releases,
the best aspect of the video quality here is the vibrant
array of colors, something which wouldn't have been
possible on the VHS format. Unfortunately, the brightness
level is a little low on this release, with some scenes
appearing overly dark making details hard to see; this
is most noticeable on the unusually dark Toho logo near
the start of the film. Thankfully, digital inconsistencies
introduced in the transfer to DVD are nonexistent on
this release, with the picture quality appearing sharp
with no visible signs of artifacting or shimmering.
The print used in the transfer is in excellent condition,
as well, with literally no noticeable scratches during
the course of the film and very little grain is present.
Lady Snowblood's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1,
or widescreen, is also maintained on this release and
is Anamorphic for widescreen TVs.
Audio:
The audio presentation found on the disc is faithful
to the film, despite the fact that it's supposed to
be in stereo. In other words, it sounds like a mono
track was simply doubled to the front and back speakers,
as there is no noticeable separation between the left-right
speakers, but Lady Snowblood's original audio
track was mono anyway. There are moments, like the Lone
Wolf and Cub DVDs, where the soundtrack becomes
a little scratchy, but this is just a byproduct of the
1970's style of score done for the film. Most importantly,
though, is that the dialogue comes through clear, and
there are no pops or hisses apparent in the film's audio
track. AnimEigo has complemented the Japanese audio
track here with, removable, English subtitles that,
like their other DVD releases, are color coded to signify
when more than one character is talking during a scene.
Extras:
The extras being packed with AnimEigo's Toho releases
appear to becoming standard, as apparent with this release.
The DVD contains the trailers for two Lone Wolf and
Cub movies (Sword of Vengeance and White Heaven
in Hell) along with the trailer to Zatoichi the
Outlaw and Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire,
trailers which appear on numerous other AnimEigo DVDs.
Unfortunately, like AnimEigo's Lone
Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx release,
the disc is missing the film's own trailer. Also included
on the disc are "Program Notes," which provide
background information on the time period in which the
Lady Snowblood series takes place. The "Program
Notes" appear both in print format, on a small
sheet of paper roughly the size of the DVD case, and
as an extra on the DVD itself. An interesting side note
is that the "Program Notes" also document
the story behind how "The Flower of Carnage"
("Shura No Hana") ended up in Tarantino's
Kill Bill: Vol. 1, as AnimEigo helped Tarantino
secure the rights to use the song in his film.
Overview:
Bottom line, another excellent release from AnimEigo
in almost every regard. Fans of the Lone Wolf and
Cub movies and the Zatiochi series, or the
Kill Bill films, should highly consider picking
this DVD up.
This disc is also featured in the box set: Lady
Snowblood: DVD Collector's Edition Box.
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