Home / DVDs / Sabu /

Sabu

A Miike-film with a 12-rating? "Only in Japan", some of you might say. However, this drama received a 12-rating even in the UK and it is released fully uncut. The DVD itself comes from Artsmagic. Its US release is by ArtsmagicDVD and it is a port from the UK disc. Did they do the film justice with this DVD release? Below you will find a review for the UK Region 0 disc.

A review for the film can be found in the Reviews-section. Here is a direct link: Sabu

DVD Menus

The menu is an edited together picture of the three main characters. The water in the background is the only animation in the whole menus. On the right of the screen you can select from three different options. As you can see on the screenshot these options are 'Main Movie', 'Scene Selections' and 'Extras'. The film's main theme plays once on the main menu. The sub menus are non-animated. From the extras-section you can turn the English subtitles on and off.

Picture Quality

The film is presented anamorphically for widescreen TVs. While I expected a picture quality similar to Artsmagic previous release of Full Metal Yakuza, I was poitively surprised by the colour saturation. They have been handled quite well and this is also the most positive aspect about the picture quality alongside the fact that there are no scratches and no obvious print damage. Having said that, you should take notice that this film was shot for television. Grain is very rarely visible. Backgrounds get a bit blurry at times while the foreground isn't 100% sharp all the time either. However, it is not disturbing. Everything can be seen easily and night scenes have been handled quite good as well.

Audio Quality

The disc comes with a 2.0 Dolby Digital track in its original language Japanese. The quality of the sound is quite good for a stereo track. Ambient noise can be heard coming from the right and sometimes from the left speaker. The track itself is free from scratches. Dialogue is crisp and clear.

Subtitles

Subtitles are available in English. They are easy to read and selectable which means they aren't burnt into the print. Unfortunately, there are a few spelling and grammar errors present which could have been corrected. It won't take anything away from your enjoynment of the film however.

Special Features

Now the special features are a vast improvement to the last release of Artsmagic. First of all there are a few biographies and filmogrpahies the cast and the director of Sabu, Takashi Miike. They are well written and easy to read as well.

The included bio-/filmographies are for:

Takashi Miike

Kazue Fukiishi

Ren Osugi

Satoshi Tsumabuki

Tatsuya Fujiwara

Tomoko Tabata

Next comes the MAKING OF of the film. It is a very interesting documentary lasting for 21minutes and 24 seconds. A camera team followed the whole shooting process of Sabu and while being on the set they interviewed various cast members. The narrator speaks in Japanese, but Artsmagic took the effort to provide us with English subtitles. These are quite well. The whole behind-the-scenes stuff is very interesting and I am looking forward to more of such documentaries on further Artsmagic DVDs.

The next section is called 'Interviews / TV Trailers' and as it suggests already, there is the television trailer inside. It is subtitled and lasts for 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

The interview section features video interviews with Satoshi Tsumabuki & Tatsuya Fujiwara from on the set (3m 54s), two with Takashi 'will he ever take off his sunglasses' Miike (8m 55s & 1m 27s) and another video with on set interviews with Tomoko Tabata & Kazue Fukiishi (1m 13s).

Now comes probably one of the most impressive special feature which is the 'Promotional Material'. These are basically seven promotional posters/cards etc. Nothing impressive so far, but then I noticed the 'Translate'-option. Highlight it and press the 'Enter'-button on your remote control to highlight the Japanese writing on these posters/cards. Now highlight any of these and English text will appear with a translation of what is written in the highlighted area. That is a very thoughtful move of Artsmagic as people would probabyl just skip over these posters.

As another special feature on its own is the original movie poster at which you can have a look.

Next is another movie trailer of Sabu lasting for 2 minutes. Of course subtitled. It is the better trailer of the two in my opinion. Over it plays the wonderful theme of the film. It can spoil the film for you however, so I suggest you watch the main feature of the DVD first before having a look at the trailers.

Last but not least there are a few cover artworks for previous release of Artsmagic's and their sister labels' DVDs.

Conclusion

This is a must have for any die-hard Miike-film, not only because it will show you how different Miike can be from his other films he makes, but also to see ht ebehind-the-scenes clips which show him directing the actors and the action. As a film, Sabu is convincing enough for any fan of Asian cinema. It is a qute film and more about it can be read in the review section.

Sabu is due for release in the UK on the 26th of June (on the Artsmagic label) and will be released in the US on the ArtsmagicDVD label on the 29th of June. As it will be released on both sides of the Atlantic, you can order it from the location that suits you best.

Click on one of the banner to go to the UK website:

The US website is located at:

http://www.artsmagicdvd.com

Written on June 6th 2004

<< back

Copyright © 2004 FULLTIME REVIEWS -