6 C
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024
Advertisement

Death by Hanging [Criterion Collection] (TheaterByte Blu-ray Review)

Director Oshima Nagisa, a leader of the 1960s Japanese New Wave and arguably most famously known to Western audiences for his explicitly erotic film In the Realm of the Senses, made one of his most powerfully political statements with the wry Death by Hanging. Blurring the lines between drama, farce, and political manifesto, Death by Hanging tells the story of a Korean man living in Japan who is sentenced to death by death-by-hanging-criterion-coverhanging, but manages to survive his execution. The powers that be, in a panic, rule that the convict (Yu Do-yun), having physically passed through death, is no longer the same man and should be set free. Of course, the convict agrees, swearing he doesn’t even remember his past life and crimes where he was a rapist and murderer. What ensues is a black farce that turns a mirror on Japan’s issues with discrimination against its ethnic Korean population, the hypocrisy of its ruling class, and a not so veiled argument against the death penalty (which the nation was soon to outlaw).

Absent the overt eroticism of such a film as In the Realm of the Senses, Oshima’s filmmaking is far more focused and refined allowing for keen observations and character sketches. One such moment comes when the government officials take the convicted man out trying to jar his memories and all get drunk, their illicit behavior coming to the fore, such as the priest revealing himself to be a closet homosexual and making passes at one of the men. As engrossing a film Death by Hanging is, Oshima doesn’t offer any rays of sunshine in this darkest of political satires, no resolutions or fixes. Just as it begins with a grey shadow cast over it, the film ends on the darkest of moods.

The Video

Death By Hanging arrives on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection in a beautiful new 4K restoration of its stark black and white imagery digitally transferred in AVC. The image is crisp and rich in detail with a strong sense of depth, sharp grain, and excellent contrast.

The Audio

Death-By-Hanging-still-2

The original Japanese monaural soundtrack arrives accompanied by a new English subtitle translation. The sound is about as good as it gets given the age. The dialogue sometimes sounds just a tinge grating in louder passages, but it is clean enough and free from excessive noise.

The Supplements

  • Diary of Yunbogi (1.33:1; 1080p/24; 00:24:33) – Director Oshima Nagisa investigates Japanese-Korean relations in Death by Hanging, a subject he earlier explored in this experimental 1965 documentary, the heartrending portrait of an impoverished South Korean boy.
  • Tony Rayns (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:30:17) – in this piece, produced by the Criterion Collection in 2015, Asian-film critic Tony Rayns discusses Death by Hanging and its continued social relevance.
  • Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:04:09)
  • Essay by critic Howard Hampton

The Final Assessment

Death-By-Hanging-still-1

One of the strongest, darkest, most unrelenting political criticisms from the ‘new wave’ era of filmmaking out of any country, Death by Hanging is visually and dramatically intoxicating and gorgeously rendered on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection.

Death by Hanging [Criterion Collection] (TheaterByte Blu-ray Review)
3.9 / 5 TheaterByte Rating
{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 (0 votes) User Rating
The Criterion CollectionStudios & Distributors
Ôshima NagisaDirector
Fukao Michinori, Sasaki Mamoru, Tamura Tsutomu, Ôshima NagisaWriter
118 Mins.Run Time
$39.95MSRP
16 Feb. 2016Release Date
1.85:1Aspect Ratio
AVC 1080pVideo
Japanese MonoAudio
The Creative Content
The Video
The Audio
The Supplements
Summary
'Death by Hanging' is an intoxicating dark political satire made all the more enjoyable by this beautiful new 4K restoration on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.
What people say... Login to rate
Order by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

This review has no replies yet.

Avatar
Show more
Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}

Advertisement

Related Articles

Join the Discussion on TheaterByte!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

301FansLike
0FollowersFollow
184FollowersFollow
1,710FollowersFollow
- Advertisement -

Notice of Compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR part 255 guidelines, this website hereby states that it receives free discs and other theatrical or home entertainment "screeners" and access to screening links from studios and/or PR firms, and is provided with consumer electronics devices on loan from hardware manufacturers and/or PR firms respectively for the purposes of evaluating the products and its content for editorial reviews. We receive no compensation from these companies for our opinions or for the writing of reviews or editorials.
Permission is sometimes granted to companies to quote our work and editorial reviews free of charge. Our website may contain affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or the services we write about. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Latest Articles