Pale Flower: Criterion Collection – Blu-ray Review
The Film:
The second best non-Godzilla export cinematically from Japan has been the samuari genre, but the yakuza genre, a proud, lively ode to gangsters and their tales has been equally as popular. Aided by a crafty sound design, and a dark, moody, often romantic cinematography, 1964′s Pale Flower, is a soft-spoken look at the underworld with the juxtaposition of innocent love and danger. But it’s director Masahiro Shinoda and composer Toru Takemitsu fusion of image and sound that makes Pale Flower far more memorable than the listlessness of the plot.
A gangster named Murak is finally released from jail after a small sentence, and is immediately brought back into the underworld, where he meets a beautiful young lady named Saeko, who decided to escape from the lulls of everyday life by participating in the underworld’s illegal gambling clubs.Here, one yearns to leave but the other is seduced into the crime world, all of which leads to a stunning, beautiful climax, but it’s the long dramatic elements that even in its 90-some minutes, it’s rather simple to the point of you becoming smarter than the film.
Maybe it’s a New Wave thing, as I never understood that genre, but that’s my fault. Pale Flower is a good movie, made better by cinematographer Masao Kosugi. The long takes, the close-ups, the seedy back streets of Cold War Japan aids the mood of the film, giving it a distinctive flavor unto itself. The archetypes of the film’s characters are sometimes more interesting (probably historically) than the lead character of Muraki, who’s detached, and as are we from his story. But Pale Flower is more about mood, themes, and style over characters, in my opinion, and again that’s where it succeeds.
The Blu-ray:
Audio/Video: Nobody does black-and-white like Criterion and that continues again here. Despite the film being at night most of the time, the transfer – given its age – is bold, with sharp contrast and lovely clarity. Japanese LPCM 1.0 is clear and nearly perfect, something that aids composer Toru Takemitsu’s score. It’s a black-and-white HD magnificence.
Selected-Scene Commentary: Criterion continues their selective tracks, which are quick and nice, for this release with Peter Grilli, president of the Japan Society of Boston, who in about 35 minutes on certain scenes dissects the wonderful score.
Masahiro Shinoda: In a rare interview just for this release, the famed New Wave director talks about the film’s production in HD.
An HD Trailer and Criterion’s wonderful Essay Booklet complete the disc’s special features.
The Film: Rating: 
The Blu-ray: Rating: 
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