Takashi Miike's 100th directorial film made its way to the UK thanks to Arrow Films, and they put out a really cool steelbook to go along with it. I went for it of course since I've been curious about this adaptation of the classic manga series.
Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no jūnin) is a 2017 live-action Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike and produced/distributed by Warner Bros Japan, and the story is based off the manga of the same name written by Hiroaki Samura. As mentioned this is the 100th directed work by Takashi Miike and he is no stranger to adapting manga into live-action form. Live-action adaptations of manga or anime are generally not well-received, but Blade of the Immortal is apparently one of the better adaptations out in recent years (going alongside Gintama and the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy) which makes this release pretty exciting to watch.
The movie did receive a theatrical release in both the United Kingdom and United States (the US release was distributed by Magnet Releasing) and it is uncut/uncensored in case folks were wondering.
Arrow Films released the film under their label Arrow Video which offered a limited edition steelbook as well as a standard edition Blu-ray and special slipcover version also available to own on the same day. I went for the steelbook as I saw the cover art prior and really liked how it was presented. This release also comes with the booklet that Arrow provides for their titles as well as the film on Blu-ray only.
The subtitles are unlockable and the audio options (original Japanese audio, English Audio Description and Video Commentary) can be switched between each other during playback. The disc is also region locked to B only.
You can order the film over on Amazon UK in either limited edition steelbook or standard edition Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Specs:
Languages: Japanese, English Audio Description
Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1 (Japanese), LPCM 2.0 (Audio Description), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Audio Commentary)
Video: 1080p HD Native 16:9
Region: B
Subtitles: English, English HOH
Subtitles Locked: No
Discs: 1
Plot Synopsis (via Arrow Video):
Blade of the Immortal is the thrilling, action-packed 100th feature from the Japanese master of genre films, Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins).
Based on the manga series of the same name by Hiroaki Samura, Blade stars Takuya Kimura (Love and Honour) as Manji, a highly skilled samurai who becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain him his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin (Hana Sugisaki) avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu (Sôta Fukushi). The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine...
On-Disc Extra Content:
Audio Commentary by Asian cinema expert Tom Mes
Takashi Miike on Blade of the Immortal
Manji vs. 100
Manji vs. 300
Cast Interviews
Stills Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Extras:
Steelbook (limited to 4000 units)
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel
Blade of the Immortal is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Arrow Films. The original manga source material is also available to own via publisher Dark Horse.
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