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Drawn from the pen of one of Japan’s foremost writers of the 20th century, Junichiro Tanizaki (A Fool’s Love, The Makioka Sisters), Irezumi is a stylish tale of lust, betrayal and revenge directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast).

Masumura’s muse Ayako Wakao (The Blue Sky Maiden, Red Angel) stars as Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, who is tempted by her lover, Shinsuke, a lowly employee of her father’s, to elope. During their flight, Otsuya’s beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the perfect canvas for his art. The image of the large demonic spider that he emblazons across Otsuya’s back marks her as the property of another man, radically altering her relationships with all around her as her personality transforms under its influence.

Available for the first time outside of Japan in a new 4K restoration, Irezumi sports some of Japanese cinema’s most respected talent of its day both in front of and behind the camera. The bewitching cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu) captures the sensual atmosphere of the period setting, while the script by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) lends a modern twist to this feverish meditation on obsession and the act of creation.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a new 4K scan
• Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser
• Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
• Out of the Darkness, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Daisuke Miyao
• Original Trailer
• Image Gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Thomas Lamarre and Daisuke Miyao

Really excited about this! Hopefully Manji and Red Angel aren't too far behind. The description says this is
available for the first time outside of Japan, but Yume Pictures did put out a DVD release of this back in 2009
(unless they're just talking about the 4k restoration). No matter. Plus, Tony Rayns speaking about Japanese
cinema is always a pleasure to listen to.

For those who have seen the film, is this more akin to what would have been released on the Academy line? Seems like it, which would make it more interesting to me.

Drucker wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 7:08 pm For those who have seen the film, is this more akin to what would have been released on the Academy line? Seems like it, which would make it more interesting to me.

As with something like La Grande Bouffe or Borowczyk's Dr Jekyll (both of which discs even serve up Arrow Video branding in a Region A player and Arrow Academy in a Region B one), it has a pretty firm foot in both camps.

My Sight & Sound capsule review of the old Yume DVD:

Never previously released in Britain (it's hard to imagine the BBFC of the 1960s passing it uncut), this is a startlingly vicious quasi-feminist melodrama in which pawnbroker's daughter Otsuya (Ayako Wakao) is kidnapped, chloroformed, forced to work as a geisha and tattooed with a sinister spider covering much of her back. But she is far from a passive victim, as the tattooist's prediction that the spider will take over her soul turns out to be completely accurate, and her increasingly predatory attitude towards her clients (especially if they occupy positions of power) spills over into ice-blooded murder. The sexual politics are further complicated by her ongoing relationship with her naïve lover Shinsuke (Akio Hasegawa), simultaneously repelled and riveted by what she is becoming.

DarkImbecile wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:10 pm
[*]Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser
[*]Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
[*]Out of the Darkness, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Daisuke Miyao

You couldn't really ask for more in terms of (A/V) extras.

I enjoyed the fittingly ironic palette of beautiful colors coating this bitter tale, which was effective in reflexively emulating the superficial beauty of the principal geisha capitalized on by exploiters with no concern for her inner, tormented and sensitive personhood. The cryptic mythology in the tattoo usurping her innocence and infecting her with behavioral outbursts of vitriolic justice cultivates one of my favorite ideas of contextual empowerment -which I've found Japanese filmmakers hit on most effectively- whereby a woman who is abused and disempowered reframes her agency within these confines to best her opponents under her unfavorable and subjugated conditions. Such parables mark simultaneous resonances of affirming catharsis and oppressive tragedy, for Otsuya's fatalism is sown by both society and herself, with the alleviation of submission impermanent and elusively intangible at purifying the soul or granting harmonic release of what has already been branded into her skin, history, sense of self, and permanent life path.

It was interesting how the cast of male characters populating the margins of the core narrative unexpectedly had far more prominent roles in Masumura's interest, taking ample screen time that sidelined Otsuya for composed pockets of time. I haven't dug through the supplements, so I'm unsure if any of them touch on this, but I'm curious about the significance of these 'detours'- Sure, these scenes somewhat impact the overall narrative, but there seemed to be a deeper curiosity and exploration of humanity occurring thematically as the primary focus. The best I can gather is that there's a juxtaposition between how pathetically unstable and turbulent the men go about their violent escapades, secret-keeping, and fragile impulsivity toward isolating compared to Otsuya's patience, measured tactics, and confidence born by having little to lose by accepting her limited position in the systemic structure of dominance amongst gender. The fragile masculinity appears to be just as crucial to expose as the empowering femininity is, with attention to the men informing the many shades of Otsuya's worth and negating theirs in the process of showing more of them- a cruel trick to arrive at after inviting them in!