Kill! [Criterion Collection]

"Kihachi Okamoto's Kiru (aka Kill!) stands among the major Japanese samurai films of the 1960s as a satire that delivers equal parts bloody swordplay and jet-black comedy, and The Criterion Collection have finally given it the North American video release it richly deserves with this DVD. Kill! has been transferred to disc in letterboxed format at the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and the image has also been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. Rokuro Nishigaki's camerawork, dominated by bold Cinemascope framings and stark images of blood and swirling dust, has been given the care it deserves, with the robust bit rate giving the broad range of gray hues and the richly detailed compositions their due -- this is a simply great-looking disc. It sounds good too; the original monophonic audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, and sounds sharp and clear throughout. The dialogue is in Japanese, with optional English subtitles that are clear and easy to read. By Criterion's standards, this release is a bit short on extras; the only bonus items are two trailers and a fine liner essay from Howard Hampton. But anyone who appreciates classic Japanese genre cinema will want to see this overlooked classic, and Criterion's release allows the film to look every bit as good as it deserves."