Shinsengumi — dvd movie review — early!
If you enjoy samurai films, you already know of the two main types of films: those that seek purely to entertain, and those that seek to educate through serious drama and depiction of historical events. Shinsengumi is of the latter, a thought provoking historical epic that easily ranks with such notable films as Chushingura: 47 Samurai.
Shinsengumi is the true story of the fledgling samurai brigade (comprised of samurai and farmers alike) which rose to became the powerful protectors of the Shogunate during its final days, leading up to the Meiji restoration. For those of you not in the know, the conflict arose from the Shogunate’s trade agreement with the foreigners following the arrival of Commodore Perry and his “black ships.” The agreement angered the Emperor, who saw the foreigners’ presence as a blight on face of the glorious nation of Japan, and in turn split the nation into warring factions of Pro-Shogunate and Imperialst forces. The film follows Isami Kondo (Toshiro Mifune) from his agrarian roots to his bushido mastery and finally his role as leader of the Shinsengumi. It is a rise-to-power tale of honor and betrayal, set against a backdrop of political upheaval, technical and cultural modernization, and rampant xenophobia.
The first thing you will notice about Shinsengumi is the incredible clip at which the story moves along. Character evolutions, points of intrigue, plot developments, and even battles all fly by. If you look down or speak to your neighbor to clarify a plot point you run the risk of missing something. It’s not fast to the point of risking losing its audience, but it does feel like a three-hour epic compressed to two.
Where Shinsengumi differs from most other samurai films – and most historical dramas for that matter – is its objective take on its material. The Shinsengumi are depicted flaws and all, their heroic deeds and battles given just as much weight as their reactionary slaughtering and looting of “enemy” forces. The film takes a similar stance with the samurai themselves, respecting them for their code of honor and integrity, while questioning their rigidity and unwavering adherence to their code, which in turn could be seen as a means for a ruling entity to manipulate their actions. Furthermore, while the film depicts a tumultuous period of war, upheaval, and eventual modernization, it points out the tragic nature of the situation, with honorable men being driven to battle by opportunists and other assorted power seekers. Admittedly, there’s quite a bit of historical context involved here, which those who are unfamiliar with Japanese history may be likely to miss, but chances are if you are watching this film you probably have an established interest and are willing to do a bit of extra research. This all may make the film appear challenging material, especially for those who like their tales of heroism to be straightforward and preachy, but it is rewarding.
Cinematography, editing, and pacing are all what you would come to expect from a quality samurai epic. Directed by Tadahashi Sawashima (Hell’s Windmill), and released in early 1970, the film maintains the 1960’s samurai feel, with beautiful Technicolor pastels, a sweeping score (It’s really quite infectious), and arterial spray in moderation (the majority of the excess would come a few years later). Battles are given a weight proportional to their importance to the story. Periphery or routine warfare is shown in blips, while defining encounters are shown in their entirety. The acting is all of the direly serious nature, typical to non-comedic samurai fare, and suits the picture wonderfully. Mifune’s performance is a little more serious than normal (well, depending on which films you’re used to seeing him in), but nonetheless engaging. Standouts come in the form of Kinya Kitaoji, as the young samurai Okita, plagued with consumption, and Rentaro Mikuni as Serizawa, the temperamental samurai and slave to the drink.
In closing, Shinsengumi is a quality, serious samurai epic. Its narrative may be too dense and too grounded in history to attract the larger “spray-seeking” audience, but for those seeking a bit of intellectual and philosophical stimulus to accompany their samurai action it will prove enjoyable.
The DVD
AnimEigo painstakingly restored every frame of Shinsengumi, and the result looks wonderful. Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio the colors are soft, yet brilliant, with no discernable fade or scratching to be seen. Keeping in line with other AnimEigo subtitling works, the English subtitles for the film are color-coded to help the viewer keep track of the speaker, and also feature the occasional brief historical and cultural explanations in the upper frame for various narrative and dialog elements (think a truly awesome fan-sub). In this film the color coded approach is wonderful, as sometimes scenes feature rapid fire, lengthy dialog from multiple persons. Even though I am a fast reader, sometimes I was not able to look up in-between subtitles to verify who exactly was speaking.
Extras featured on the disc include theatrical trailers for Red Lion, Shinsengumi, and Samurai Assassin. Also features are an extensive image gallery, featuring stills and posters from the film, as well as the usual AnimEigo production notes. Now, I’ve expressed my love for their production notes before, but this set is near integral to the film. There are over 40 slides of historical and background info for Shinsengumi. If you can, I would recommend reading these before watching the film. There may be some minor spoilers to be found, but it will vastly improve your enjoyment of the film. I really wish more companies provided notes such as these.
All in all, another respectable disc for a quality film from AnimEigo.
Shinsengumi DVD Release Date: May 8, 2007
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