Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

[j_garcia]

I happened to catch part of this on an Asian channel and it looked pretty fun, so I picked this up with a gift card last week and watched it with friends for a movie night. I don't recall seeing this showing in mainstream theaters, so if it played at all, it was likely limited release. The story is interesting; a bit of an Asian flavored Romeo and Juliet, with the main characters on opposite sides of a conflict. The story isn't terribly complex, but it does have a few twists here and there. It mainly relies on the action to carry most of the mid-section of the movie and focuses very little on the supporting characters. Overall, the story was good IMO, but it didn't quite have enough development for one to form a good link to the main characters either. It starts off a little slow, but ramps up to the over the top ninja action pretty quick. The fight sequences don't quite stand out as memorable due to the fact that you don't get a good feel for most of the fighting styles or characters before hand as is often the case in movies like this (in fact I am sure they intended to conceal the abilities of each ninja), but they are all at least entertaining. The video quality is very good as is the audio throughout.

The movie is inspired by a particular series of anime called Ninja Scroll. I have seen the movie, but not the series. Some of the characters are the same, though their roles are slightly different and the story is completely different from the animated film, so that means no real carry over from the former. The story of the anime is actually much stronger and more focused than this film, though I was still pretty pleased with this movie.

My 2 cents - worth a rent if you like Asian cinema. 3.5 out of 5.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For some reasons, I thought the DVD version had better sound quality than the blu-ray version. I had to crank up that Center channel level on the BD version.

 

[j_garcia]

I did notice that the center was a bit low on some dialogue, but I didn't have to adjust. I've only seen the BD.

 

[jostenmeat]

... yet another succinctly intelligent mini-review of a film by j_garcia...

I saw the original Ninja Scroll, though I hardly remember anything. Shinobi now makes my b-list of movies to get.

 

[mike c]

thanks for the review

i ordered this solely because it was 10.95bucks and 4 stars at amazon

ill get it next week

 

[newaudiofile]

I have seen it. Twice actually. I liked it too. I would have liked the fighting sequence to be a little longer. Some fighters hardly ever fought.

But I did enjoy it.

 

[darien87]

The movie is inspired by a particular series of anime called Ninja Scroll.

It's actually the live action version of an anime series called Basilisk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS5bU5VuB8c

I had watched Basilisk first, then happened to borrow Shinobi from a friend, and I was like, "Hey, this is Basilisk!"

Basilisk Synopsis: The Iga clan and the Kouga clan have been sworn enemies for more than four hundred years. Only the Hanzo Hattori truce has kept the two families from all-out war. Now, under the order of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, the truce has finally been dissolved. Ten ninja from each clan must fight to the death in order to determine who will be the next Tokugawa Shogun. The surviving clan will rule for the next thousand years. But not all the clan members are in agreement. Oboro of the Iga clan and Gennosuke of the Kouga clan have fallen deeply in love. Now these star-crossed lovers have been pitted against each other. Can their romance conquer a centuries-old rivalry? Or is their love destined to end in death?

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/basilisk/dvd-1

The movie was ok, but I liked Basilisk better. The girl that plays Oboro is smoking hot though!!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I did notice that the center was a bit low on some dialogue, but I didn't have to adjust. I've only seen the BD.

Just for that (Center Channel issue), I would give the Sound Quality a 2/5 stars.

I mean the center channel is the most important one of all, right?

Well, I guess if you watch it in Japanese with English subtitles, it's doesn't matter, does it?

 

[j_garcia]

My guess is the dialog is low due to the dub. I haven't tried the Japanese track yet, was going to check it out though. Yes, this story is essentially taken from Basilisk, but is so stripped down from it that it feels a bit lacking - because it is clear there is more to the story than what you are being told in the movie.

 

[mike c]

i hate watching dubbed movies. feels like im watching a fake
i'd rather read the subtitles

 

[jostenmeat]

I typically agree with you there mike. Also, it appears that the lossless audio tracks are only with the native language (at least in my own modest foreign movie collection).

However, I think the most recent foreign movie I watched was Tekkon Kinkreet and while I started with the japanese track, I switched to dubbed version in the middle so I could pay more attn to the animation. For some other titles that are more dialogue based (Black Book, Lives of Others, for some recent titles I watched), it was always in the native language.

my 2 cents.

 

[mike c]

i also agree that you lose track of the animation/video when reading subtitles, which is why i watch these foreign movies many times - first time to read the subtitles, the second time onwards just to enjoy the movie

 

[jostenmeat]

Great idea indeed, mike.

My friends and I have talked about re-viewing Apocalypto in the native language, but without even the subtitles. Heh, the story line is pretty self evident anyways!

 

[jostenmeat]

j_garcia, thanks to your review, I bought this title and watched it last night. I may never have known anything about it, unless it was for you, so thanks! It was fun. Nothing to get toooo excited about, but better than I thought it would be due to tempered expecatations.

I need more recommendations! Feed me! Feed me!

I agreed the dialogue was running a bit low, and that the audio was quite good. The video OTOH was not always consistent, though better than average. It might have had the greatest inconsistency in PQ that I've yet seen, however Im just a budding videophile really. Dark scenes did not have excellent black detail (but I guess few movies do), but at least the close up shots of faces were extremely detailed, without any distracting noise or DNR, etc.

I didn't check out PQ reviews before purchase, and just went off your thread/post. I did research a little after viewing, and I guess its a BD-25 disc, with minimum bitrate at 11 mbps to max of over 40 mbps, action scenes and latter portion of film getting the benefits.

Thanks again j.g. Feed me, Feed me!

-jostenmeat

 

[j_garcia]

I never thought to check the video bitrate. My friends that were watching said the PQ was good, but I told them it wasn't as good as it could have been. I haven't bought anything too strange recently, mostly catalog titles, though I have been waiting for Persepolis (animated) to drop from full retail so I can pick it up. Looks like it won't, so I may have to just bite the bullet and get it.

Afro Samurai is coming to Blu-ray soon also. I enjoyed the first season quite a bit, and it has a smiliar feel to Ninja Scroll (the movie) - very violent, lots of action and a decent story.

I am waiting for my copy of Dark City to arrive also

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks! I have Persepolis, but I have to wait to watch with my friend who got it for me, she's still outta town for a couple of weeks. Rated very high for both PQ and content, though I have no idea what its about. I remember seeing Dark City on cable when I used to have it, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'll look into the possibility of obtaining that. A movie like that requires excellent transfer as its so dark throughout as the title might suggest.

Now, Afro Samurai I never heard of! I see Samuel Jackson is voicing it. I'm interested. On the plate for me is Men of Honor that I picked up through the recent Amazon BTGO sale. Cheers.... and thanks for the ideas.

-jostenmeat

 

[j_garcia]

I threw in Dark City last night just to check it out and the transfer is impressive. This is also the Director's Cut, which I believe has never been seen before. As I understand it, isn't dramatically different, but I like this movie. It has a unique style, great cinematography and an interesting story. I have had it on preorder for about a month so I could get it at a discounted price of $13.50

**I just took a look at the review on HDD and it got a 4.5 overall.