There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color scheme also retains the general qualities observed in the original films. The transfer has a strong organic appearance. Finally, it is very easy to tell that manual work has been done to carefully remove various age-related imperfections. The primaries are stable and there is a very good range of natural nuances. More importantly, color balance is very convincing. Color saturation and stability are excellent. Well-lit close-ups, in particular, can look very strong (see screencaptures #14 and 23). So minor drops in density can be spotted, but there are not a byproduct of questionable digital adjustments. For example, there are quick zooms that introduce some light out of focus jumps elsewhere where light is restricted and captured by the camera in unique ways some sporadic 'soft' spots emerge as well (see an example in screencapture #18). It must also be said, however, that there are many limitations of the original cinematography that are now a lot more pronounced. Indeed, unlike the transfers that were used for the Animego set, the new transfers have not been degrained and as a result all six films now have very strong organic qualities. The most obvious improvements are in terms of depth and fluidity. The original six films have been recently restored in 2K and look rather impressive in high-definition. Screencaptures #23-27 Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell Screencaptures #19-22 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of DemonsĦ. Screencaptures #14-18 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Perilĥ. Screencaptures #10-13 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to HadesĤ. Screencaptures #6-9 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styxģ. Screencaptures #1-5 Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of VengeanceĢ. Please note that the screencaptures included in our review appear in the following order:ġ. The seven films in Criterion's Lone Wolf and Cub (six original films plus Shogun Assassin) collection are presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted 1080p transfers. Shogun Assassin is presented as a bonus feature.įor complete analyses of these films, please see Jeff Kauffman's review of the Animego release here, and Casey Broadwater's review here. The original six films are sourced from brand new 2K digital restorations and spread over two discs. Region-A "locked".Ĭriterion's upcoming Lone Wolf and Cub box set contains the original six films, as well as Shogun Assassin, the English-dubbed reconstruction of the first two films. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the original films. Also included with the box set is an illustrated booklet featuring an an essay and film synopses by Japanese pop culture writer Patrick Macias. The supplemental features on the three discs in the collection include original trailers "Shogun Assassin' (1980) the French documentary film "L'ame d'un Pere, L'ame d'un Sabre" (2005) new video interview with manga novelist and screenwriter Kazuo Koike new video interview with biographer Kazuma Nozawa and more. The Lone Wolf and Cub (1972-1974) collection arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
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