Black Rabbit, White Rabbit: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Tajikistan/United Arab Emirates, 2025
Director: Shahram Mokri
Writers: Nasim Ahmadpour, Shahram Mokri
Cast: Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohammai, Kibriyo Dilyobova, Bezhan Davlyatov

Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 139 Minutes 9 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo Tajiki and Russian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"The latest film from Iranian master Shahram Mokri (Fish & Cat, Careless Crime) is another mysterious M.C. Escher-like meditation on reality and illusion, doubles and doppelgängers and uncanny synchronicities, involving stories-within-stories set during production of a film by a director named “Shahram” – already blurring the lines between film and reality.  Guns play a strange and mystical part in Black Rabbit:  on the film set, we meet armorer Babak, played by the great Iranian actor Babak Karimi (Fish & Cat, A Separation). This production marks his 40th, and he’s paranoid he won’t get through the day without a terrible accident (his mentor was killed in an explosion on his 40th film.)  "I've discovered something important:  there's a revolver here hell bent on revenge,” he murmurs.  The other major storyline involves Sara (Hasti Mohammaï), who is kept as a prisoner inside her house by her husband while she recovers from a near-fatal car accident.  She's wrapped in bandages like Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein and gives off a foul odor from her wounds.  Slowly, fantastical elements begin to bleed through, like waking dreams intruding on the conscious world:  an enormous prop Coffee Cup moves about the set by itself; inanimate objects talk amongst themselves about the Italian gun that's arrived to take revenge; and an aspiring actress gives an audition in which she does magic, causing a white rabbit and a black rabbit to appear." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.1 GB

Feature: 39.8 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, and image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Tajiki and Russian with removable English subtitles. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include trailer #1 (1 minute 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tajiki and Russian with non-removable English subtitles), trailer #2 (1 minute 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tajiki and Russian with non-removable English subtitles), a video essay by Stephen Broomer titled The Maze: Entrances and Exits in Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, an audio commentary with film programmer and critic Tori Potenza, and three short films directed by Shahram Mokri: The Dragonfly Storm (15 minutes 46 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles), Ando-C (16 minutes 10 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles), and Limits of the Circle (15 minutes 45 seconds, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles).

The Dragonfly Storm: A man arrives home and discovers the power is out and when he resets a fuse, he causes an accident that kills his wife.

Ando-C: A series of events on a wedding day makes a bride question her existence in the world.

Limits of the Circle: A man walks through a building, encountering people, and as time unfolds, it becomes clear that he is trapped in a time loop.

Summary:

The story revolves around three characters: a film armorer with safety concerns, an aspiring actress determined to audition for a director's latest film, and a woman who has been horribly disfigured by a car crash, all of whom have intertwined narratives.

“Everything cycles back to its place," a line spoken by a character perfectly sums up Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, and the cinema of Shahram Mokri. For his latest film, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, he returns to familiar themes like fate, identity, and the role that history plays in shaping the future.

While all of Shahram Mokri's films blur lines when it comes to reality, with Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, he achieves his most satisfying balance of subjectivity and objectivity. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is an exploration of truth and resolution. While the latter is ultimately elusive, its finale provides sufficient closure. That said, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is a multilayered film filled with symbolism and subtext that's never heavyhanded.

Having now worked my way through every short and feature film directed by Shahram Mokri, I have become familiar with his techniques and thematic obsessions. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit once again sees Shahram Mokri use lengthy shots with minimal editing and non-linear narratives with multiple protagonists whose stories intersect in the finale. Like his previous film, Careless Crime, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit employs the film-within-a-film technique. Where the first half of the narrative devotes uninterrupted, lengthy introductions to each character, the latter half takes on a Rashomon-like structure that reconstructs events from different perspectives. Ultimately, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is a puzzle box film whose mysteries make its moment of truth all the more resonant.

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, three short films, and a pair of insightful extras. Recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Black Rabbit, White Rabbit that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page booklet with an essay written by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central), an essay written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and an essay written by Michelle Kisner.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Sugar Cookies: Tromatic Special Edition – Troma Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1973
Director: Theodore Gershuny
Writers: Theodore Gershuny, Lloyd Kaufman
Cast: George Shannon, Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowry, Monique van Vooren

Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.95

"Welcome to the world of wealth and privilege...where everyone lives life in the fast lane! Meet the beautiful people...at their most thrilling and dangerous sex game. A producer and her lover join forces to find an innocent young acting student and, in a bizarre experiment, transform her into the exact replica of a dead movie star." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Sugar Cookies comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.2 GB

Feature: 20.1 GB

Troma uses the same source that Vinegar Syndrome used for its 2014 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English with removable English subtitles. Although dialogue comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced range-wise, this track is limited.

Extras:

Extras for this release include Troma’s trailer for Sugar Cookies (2 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), original theatrical trailer (1 minute 43 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Lloyd Kaufman’s classic introduction for Sugar Cookies (7 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Making Sugar Cookies with Lynn Lowery (13 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Lloyd Kaufman Remembers Sugar Cookies (35 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Lynn Lowery (4 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Mary Woronov (4 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and a featurette titled Looking for Oliver Stone (3 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include Troma’s JFK Assassination Theory (2 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Entombed Seeing Red music video (3 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Toxic Adventures (9 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Innards! music video (1 minute 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Radiation March (54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Spice Up Your Sleepover with Troma Now! (2 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), TA in 4K! (1 minute 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and trailers for Shakespeare’s Shitstorm, Eating Miss Campbell, Curse of the Werewolf, Sweet Meats, Kill Dolly Doll, The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nume ‘Em High, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., and Tromeo & Juliet. 

Summary:

Sugar Cookies was co-written and directed by Theodore Gershuny, who is most remembered for directing Silent Night, Bloody Night. Sugar Cookies, co-written and produced by Lloyd Kaufman and Oliver Stone (who was an associate producer), was made a year before Troma was founded.

An actress is hired by the lover of a recently deceased erotic film star who died under mysterious circumstances. She uses the actress's uncanny resemblance to her dead lover to exact revenge against the man who she blames for her death.

While Sugar Cookies has all of the elements that one expects from a revenge-themed thriller, the result is a film that tries to be too clever. After a strong opening setup, things start to lose focus and the narrative never manages to build momentum. That said, the narrative's shortcomings are easy to overlook because of its two leads, Mary Woronov (Eating Roul) and Lynn Lowry (The Crazies), who deliver captivating performances. When it comes to the rest of the performances, none of them leave a lasting impression.

The first thing that comes to mind while watching Sugar Cookies is how much it borrows from Alfred Hitchock’s thriller template. Another connection to the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock, Sugar Cookies, like Vertigo, revolves around doppelganger characters. Unfortunately, that's where any connection to Alfred Hitchcock ends, since Sugar Cookies is a film devoid of tension and offers few surprises.

When it comes to erotica, Sugar Cookies handles most of these moments in an artful way. There is never a shortage of moments where Mary Woronov and Lynn Lowry are in various stages of undress. That said, despite the abundance of nudity and a porno subplot, Sugar Cookies never comes off as cheap or exploitative. The most surprising aspect of sugar cookies is the visuals; it is a beautifully photographed film. Ultimately, Sugar Cookies is an unconventional thriller that works as well as it does because of the performances of its two leading ladies.

Sugar Cookies returns to Blu-ray via a strong release from Troma Films.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Bullet in the Head: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1990
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Patrick Leung, Janet Chun
Cast: Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, Fennie Yuen, Yolinda Yam, Shek Yin Lau, Chung Lin

Release Date: June 21st, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 130 Minutes 50 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono English, Dolby Atmos Cantonese
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"Set during the Vietnam War, the film follows B, Fai and Wing (iconic actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee), three best friends fleeing from Hong Kong to seek their fortune as smugglers. In Saigon, they join forces with fellow expat Lok (Simon Yam) and double-cross the ruthless gangster Luong to steal his gold and rescue nightclub singer Sau-ching (Yolinda Yan) from his clutches. The gang must fight their way out of the country in a nightmarish odyssey where each new battle pushes them beyond their limits and threatens to destroy their friendship." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The film has been restored in 4K resolution and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The original 35mm camera negative was sourced from the Hong Kong Film Archive and scanned in 4K by Interface Video Production Ltd in Hong Kong."

Bullet in the Head comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.2 GB

Feature: 87.1 GB

Bullet in the Head, the festival cut, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42 GB

Feature: 38 GB

There are multiple options to watch the festival cut and an extended festival cut. Both versions can be watched with or without the alternate boardroom ending, and the extended festival cut contains footage previously exclusive to the theatrical cut.

Audio: 5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

This release comes with three audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, a LPCM mono mix in English and a Dolby Atmos mix in Cantonese. The two mono tracks are comparable to the Shout! Factory 4K UHD release, while the newly created Dolby Atmos track gives fans of this film a new way to experience it. That said, all of the tracks sound excellent, and the Dolby Atmos does a phenomenal job of expanding the sound spectrum without straying away from the original mono track’s intentions. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track, English SDH for the English language track, and English subtitles for Cantonese text when watching the English language track. Language tracks and subtitles can only be changed via the setup menu and not during playback. It should be noted that Arrow Video has done additional work on their subtitles and they are not the same ones used by Shout! Factory.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an image gallery (46 images—stills/Japanese press book/lobby cards/posters/home video art), theatrical trailer #1 (3 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), theatrical trailer #2 (4 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), deleted and extended scenes with text information about them (12 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), alternate boardroom ending (5 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), English export credits (5 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with film critic Frank Djeng.

Blu-ray disc one comes with the festival cut (136 minutes 8 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), the festival cut with boardroom scene (125 minutes 54 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), the extended festival cut (136 minutes 42 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), and the extended festival cut with boardroom scene (126 minutes 28 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles).

Extras on Blu-ray disc two include an archival interview with director John Woo titled Life Through a Lens (13 minutes 1 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Jacky Cheung titled Baptism of Fire (14 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Waise Lee titled Paradise Lost (14 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Simon Yam titled Biting the Bullet (15 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with stunt coordinator Lau Chi-Ho titled A Walk on the Wild Side (14 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with associate producer Patrick Leung titled Tempting Fate (19 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with editor David Wu titled Natural Selection (32 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Fennie Yuen titled The Long-Suffering Siu-Chun (19 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong Confidential: Bullet In The Head (13 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Dr. Lars Laamann titled Apocalypse How? - The Period of Provocations (27 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with production planner Catherine Lau titled Tumultuous Times (15 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with editor David Wu titled Apocalypse Woo (7 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Terence Chang titled Army of One (4 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with actor Waise Lee titled Head Case! (18 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), and an interview with director John Woo titled Brilliance with a Bullet (43 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips).

Other extras include a reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster, six postcard-sized art cards, a chipboard slipcase, a slipcover, and a 40-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled John Woo’s journey into the Heart of Darkness written by Priscilla Page, an essay titled The Death of Heroic Bloodshed written by Sean Gilman, an archival writing titled Watching as Men Fall written by Arnaud Bordas, an excerpt from an interview with John Woo conducted by Stéphane Moïssakis, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Three friends flee Hong Kong after one of them murders a street punk. They go to Vietnam to wait things out. Upon their arrival, they get caught in the crossfire between the war protestors and military, causing them to lose the merchandise they were transporting from Hong Kong. Struggling financially and feeling hopeless, they befriend Ah Lok, a professional hitman who offers to assist them in escaping Vietnam. While they are in the country, they become embroiled in a conflict that tests the limits of their friendships.

What began as a prequel to A Better Tomorrow evolved into what is widely acknowledged as John Woo’s most personal film. When John Woo and Tsui Hark ended their working relationship, the latter decided to direct the A Better Tomorrow prequel. After their breakup, John Woo decided to rework his original idea, and what evolved is a film that takes on the 1967 Hong Kong riots; it also takes aim at the 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square in Beijing using the Vietnam War as the backdrop.

Nostalgia is present in Bullet in the Head’s opening setup; reportedly, John Woo drew moments of inspiration from his experiences growing up in late 1960s Hong Kong. While most of this initial setup shows a carefree side of the three friends, once they arrive in Vietnam, things take a considerably darker turn. From there, the narrative is one bleak moment after the other, building to its poignant finale: the two living friends force each other to confront the choices they made.

Although Tony Leung would become famous years later working with Wong Kar-wai, at this point in his career he had yet to establish himself as a box office draw. His two co-stars, Jacky Cheung (High Risk) and Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow), were more supporting than leads at that time. The most prominent cast member is Simon Yam (Naked Killer) in the role of a Hong Kong hitman living in Vietnam. That said, all of the performances are excellent, especially Jacky Cheung's, whose character suffers a brain injury from a bullet in his head.

Something that immediately grabbed me while watching Bullet in the Head was how its production design puts you back into the 1960s. This extended to the score, notably the use of Neil Diamond’s song, I’m a Believer. In addition to the main credits featuring an instrumental rendition of "I’m a Believer," this song plays a significant role during one of the film's most memorable scenes, which involves an assassination that occurs in the bathroom.

While there is never a shortage of carnage in the cinema of John Woo, Bullet in the Head is by far and away his most brutal film. The sequences set in the prisoner of war camp and the aftermath of the three friends' escape are particularly striking. Another brutal moment takes place shortly after the three friends arrive in Vietnam, and a young man responsible for a car bomb is found by the military, who then shoot him in the head. Ultimately, Bullet in the Head is an emotionally charged, thought-provoking film that stays with you, making it John Woo's crowning achievement.

For their release, Arrow Video has added a substantial number of new extras and four alternate versions of the film. In comparing the two releases, it is evident that Arrow Video’s version stands out as the superior choice over Shout! Factory’s offering. Bullet in the Head gets a definitive release from Arrow Video. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

Audition: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1999
Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Daisuke Tengan
Cast: Ryô Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda, Toshie Negishi, Ren Ôsugi 

Release Date: June 15th, 2026 (UK), June 16th, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 115 Minutes 40 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK), R (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo Japanese, DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo Japanese, DTS-HD 5.1 Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"When recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi, American Yakuza) is advised by his son to find a new wife, he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. The two men decide to take advantage of their position working at a film company to stage an audition to find the perfect partner. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu soon becomes enchanted by Asami (Eihi Shiina), a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. However, events quickly take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn't what she seems to be..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The original Super 16mm camera negative was scanned at 4K/16 bit at Imagica, Japan. The film was restored in 4K and color graded by Dragon Post Production, Wales.” 

Audition comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.1 GB

Feature: 74 GB

The source looks excellent; it is easily the best Audion has ever looked on home media. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Stereo Japanese), 0/5 (DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo Japanese, DTS-HD 5.1 Japanese)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Japanese, a DTS-HD 4.0 stereo mix in Japanese, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Japanese. The stereo mix is in excellent shape; dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. The other two tracks have issues; the 4.0 stereo track goes out of sync and the 5.1 track is wrongly pitched. Included are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a stills gallery (30 images), a Japanese theatrical trailer (1 minute 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an international theatrical trailer (1 minute 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an audio essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas titled Deeper Deeper Into Audition (11 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an appreciation by Japanese cinema historian Tony Rayns titled Damaged Romance (35 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Ryo Ishibashi titled Tokyo Hollywood (16 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Eihi Shiina titled From Audition to Vampire Girl (20 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Renji Ishibashi titled Miike’s Troy (20 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Ren Osugi titled The Man in the Body Bag Speaks (16 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Takashi Miike titled Ties That Bind (30 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an introduction by Takashi Miike (1 minute 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Ryo Ishibashi titled Callback (8 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan in Japanese with removable English subtitles, an audio commentary with Takashi Miike biographer Tom Mes, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and a 44-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Everyone in Japan is Lonely: Audition as a Breakdown of Communication written by Jennie Kermode, an essay titled Deeper, Deeper, Deeper: How Audition’s Wounds Have Grown More Severe written by Jamie Graham, an essay titled Guilty of Romance: Love, Loneliness and Loss in Takashi Miike’s Audition written by Anton Bitel, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Takashi Miike directed Audition. His filmography stretches over 45 years and encompasses over 120 entries, including notable films like The Bird People of China, Agitator, Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Gozu, and Lesson of the Evil.

Seven years after the death of his wife, a widower’s son convinces his father that it is time to find a new wife. With the help of a colleague, the father holds auditions under the pretense that they are producers casting for a film. From there, he connects with one woman in particular, whose grief mirrors his pain. Has he found the person who will bring joy back into his life, or will the trauma from her past return to haunt him?

When one thinks of horror cinema, what often springs to mind are themes about psychopaths who go on a killing spree and the body count that they amass. Another common plot device exploited in horror cinema is supernatural entities. Despite these tried and true examples of the genre, it is always exhilarating when a filmmaker brings something new to the table. Case in point: Takashi Miike’s tour de force exercise in psychological horror, Audition.

While it is not immediately clear where things are building to, once the shift occurs, the result is unlike anything you have seen before. Where the first half of the film could be called a romantic comedy where a widower looks for a woman for the first time since his wife's death, the latter half nosedives into darker territory when more is revealed about the woman he’s chosen's past. That said, despite the two halves being distinctly different, they perfectly intersect, creating an unforgettable climax.

The most surprising aspect of Audition is its visuals, which do a phenomenal job creating an unsettling mood. Where the first half of the film lets the performances take center stage, things become more stylized in the latter half when the focus shifts to Asami’s past. Without giving away too much about these moments, they push the envelope when it comes to violence, especially the finale, which is arguably the most disturbing scene in Takashi Miike’s filmography.

When it comes to the performances, the entire cast gives their all and then some, especially the two leads, Ryô Ishibashi (Suicide Club) and Eihi Shiina (Tokyo Gore Police). While most films have a central protagonist, Audition is just as much Asami’s story as it is Shigeharu's story. Another performance of note is Renji Ishibashi (Deadly Outlaw: Rekka), who portrays Asami’s tormentor and source of her childhood trauma.

From the moment that Audition was unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences, it is a film that divides those who watch it. There seems to be no middle ground with Audition; either you embrace this film or you loathe it. That said, Audition is a film that is rich with subtext, and those who dig deeper than what is on the surface are sure to get more out of it. Going so drastically against what the audience expects could backfire and yet the result is an extraordinary film with one of the most potent payoffs in the history of horror cinema.

While the issues with the two audio tracks are disappointing, Audition’s original stereo track is fortunately unscathed. Audition makes its way to 4K UHD via a first-rate release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

A Colt Is My Passport – New Wave Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1967
Director: Takashi Nomura
Writers: Hideichi Nagahara, Nobuo Yamada
Cast: Jô Shishido, Jerry Fujio, Chitose Kobayashi, Ryôtarô Sugi, Kanjūrō Arashi, Shōki Fukae, Eimei Esumi, Jun Hongô, Akio Miyabe, Toyoko Takechi, Takamaru Sasaki, Asao Uchida, Kōjirō Kusanagi

Release Date: June 10th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 84 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR (Australia)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $39.95 AUD (Australia)

"A Colt Is My Passport follows solitary hitman Kamimura (Joe Shishido) after a routine contract collapses into betrayal. Branded expendable by his employers, he flees with only his gun, his personal code, and a woman inadvertently drawn into his escape—moving through desolate industrial zones toward an end that feels both inevitable and self-chosen." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "1080p High Definition Presentation."

A Colt Is My Passport comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.3 GB

Feature: 23.3 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio is in excellent shape. Dialogue comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a stills gallery with music from the film playing in the background, a video essay by Phillip Jeffries titled The Neo-Noir Yakuza Cool of Shishido Jo (21 minutes 41 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by film critic Derek Smith titled A Colt Is My Passport and the Borderless Action Film (15 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with author and filmmaker Jasper Sharp, reversible cover art, a UV/Spot Gloss slipcover, and a 16-page booklet with an essay titled Jo Shishido: A Colt Is My Passport written by James Balmont and information about the transfer. 

Summary:

Takashi Nomura directed A Colt Is My Passport. Though he began his career at Nikkatsu and worked with them until their shift to romantic pornography films, he’s not as well known as his contemporaries, Shōhei Imamura and Seijun Suzuki. Notable films he directed are Quick Draw Joe and Blood Vendetta.

A hitman who kills a crime boss is betrayed by those who hired him when they join forces with a rival gang who retaliate for the killing.

A Colt Is My Passport, made in the same year as Branded to Kill, shares many similarities with it. Their narratives revolve around a hitman who is marked for death after their latest job is successfully completed, and the protagonist is portrayed by Jô Shishido in both films. Similarities aside, stylistically and tonally, A Colt Is My Passport could not be more different from Branded to Kill.

The opening setup does an excellent job drawing you in. The well-crafted narrative effectively builds momentum to an exemplary finale. Through a series of moments where the protagonist and his driver try to evade assassins, the narrative is able to create tense moments that build upon each other. Another strength of the narrative is how it fleshes out the protagonist, giving him depth, making him more than a faceless killer.

Jô Shishido (Cruel Gun Story) is cast in the role of a hitman named Shûji Kamimura. Most known for his five collaborations with Seijun Suzuki, he was often cast in the role of a cold-blooded killer, a part he always excelled at. Another performance of note is Jerry Fujio (Yojimbo) in the role of Shun Shiozaki, Shûji Kamimura’s driver and the person he most trusts. The most surprising performance is Chitose Kobayashi (Outlaw: Goro the Assassin) in the role of Mina, a woman who works at an inn with Shun Shiozaki and Shûji Kamimura, and she falls in love with the latter.

The premise and the look of A Colt Is My Passport are firmly entrenched in Film noir. Although the visuals are not as striking as other Nikkatsu films from this era, that is not to say that there are not a few moments that make you go wow. The most notable is the finale where a greatly outnumbered Shûji Kamimura sets traps for his assassins. The main theme has a spaghetti western vibe, while the rest of the score is infused with jazz. Ultimately, A Colt Is My Passport is a solid example of Nikkatsu’s no borders, no limits action cinema.

If you are a fan of 1960s Nikkatsu action films, you should definitely consider owning this release. It is region-free, and the packaging does not include any ratings logos. That said, Nun in Rope Hell gets an exceptional release from New Wave Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer