Branded to Kill – The Criterion Collection (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1967
Director: Seijun Suzuki
Writers: Hachiro Guryu, Takeo Kimura, Chusei Sone, Atsushi Yamatoya
Cast: Jo Shishido, Koji Nambara, Annu Mari, Mariko Ogawa, Isao Tamagawa

Release Date: May 9th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 54 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $49.95

"Branded to Kill (Koroshi no rakuin) tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin with a fetish for sniffing steamed rice (the chipmunk-cheeked superstar Joe Shishido) who botches a job and ends up a target himself." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "This new 4K restoration was undertaken by Nikkatsu Corporation and the Japan Foundation from the 35mm original camera negative at Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc."

Branded to Kill comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 55.9 GB

Feature: 54.9 GB

The source used for this transfer looks amazing. Though there is no HDR10 or Dolby Vision, image clarity, contrast, and shadow detail look exceptional. Also, compression is solid, and the image always looks organic.

Branded to Kill comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.9 GB

Feature: 24.8 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (LPCM Mono Japanese)

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. This is in great shape; there are no issues with distortion or background hiss. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, this audio track often exceeds expectations; ambient sounds are well  represented, and the score sounds robust.

Extras:

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki from 1997 (14 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Joe Shishido from 2011 (10 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an archival interview with Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu from 2011 (12 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles).

Other extras include a 12-page booklet with an essay titled Reductio Ad Absurdum: Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill written by Tony Rayns, cast & crew information, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

In 1967, prolific director Seijun Suzuki directed Branded to Kill, a modern-day samurai tale set in a world where everyone is crazy. Just like Jean-Pierre Meville’s masterful Le Samourai, released the same year as Branded to Kill, both films explore surreal landscapes within the crime thriller genre. Though Branded to Kill is the simple story of a Yakuza hitman, in the hands of an auteur like Seijun Suzuki, whose style is so fragmented and whose strange compositions, mixed with his odd editing of scenes, only confused the Nikkatsu studio bosses, After they saw Branded to Kill, they fired director Suzuki for making ‘incomprehensible’ films. In turn, Seijun Suzuki successfully sued Nikkatsu for financial compensation, though his actions resulted in him being blacklisted by the entire film industry.

For many viewers, the first thing about Branded to Kill that immediately grabs them is its nontraditional narrative, which often verges into the surreal. With this being said, it is not as hard to digest the story at hand, especially once you embrace its colorful cast of characters. Also, it is the journey of Branded to Kill’s lead character, Hanada, that resonates the most. Though he is a hitman, his ambitions to be at the top of his field have a universal feel to them that most viewers should identify with. After all, how many people are truly satisfied with their lives? It is human nature to strive for something better than what we have.

And while the outer shell of Branded to Kill’s narrative has many elements that one would associate with the Yakuza film genre, these are nothing more than window dressing that is used to further Seijun Suzuki’s agenda to create something that audiences would find entertaining. In fact, one could easily argue that Branded to Kill is a ‘tongue and cheek’ satire of the Yakuza film genre. There are also moments in which Branded to Kill pokes fun at spy films like the James Bond films, which were also at the height of their popularity at the time Branded to Kill was unleashed on unsuspecting audiences.

From a visual standpoint, Branded to Kill is Seijun Suzuki's tour de force. Some of the choice moments include the scene in which Hanada meets his mistress for the first time on a rainy night (this scene is intercut with a sexual encounter that Hanada has with his wife, which includes sex on a spiral staircase), the scene in which a now wounded Hanada shows up at his mistress place that is covered with wall-to-wall butterflies, and a shootout on a peer, in which Hanada immerges from the water to surprise his assassins.

Performance-wise, none of the cast members disappoint. Branded to Kill is anchored by Jo Shishido (Youth of the Beast) as a hit man who gets aroused when he sniffs rice. Other notable performances include Mariko Ogawa in her one and only film role as Hanada’s wife and Annu Mari (Mini Skirt Lynchers) in the role of Hanada’s mistress.

Ultimately, Branded to Kill is an extraordinary film that was made by a filmmaker who was light years ahead of his contemporaries. And while many have tried to imitate it, none have been able to match its boldness and inventiveness. If ever there was a desert island film, that film would be Branded to Kill.

Branded to Kill gets a definitive release from The Criterion Collection, 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 VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer