 |
DVD Title |
Dragonhead |
International Title |
Dragonhead |
DVD Length |
Original Length |
123 Minutes |
122 Minutes |
Company |
Year of Manufacture |
Tokyo Shock |
2005 |
Language |
Subtitles |
Japanese, English |
English |
Region |
Number of Discs |
1 |
2 |
Aspect Ratio |
Sound |
2.35:1 (Anamorphic) |
2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround |
Extras |
. |
Menus (English) |
. |
Chapters (16) |
. |
Trailers: Dragonhead (#1, #2), One
Missed Call, Izo, Tales of Terror from
Tokyo, Skyhigh |
. |
Making of Documentary (9 minutes) |
. |
Cast Interviews (5 minutes) |
. |
B-Roll: Alternate takes and angles (12 minutes) |
. |
Gallery (87 Shots) |
. |
Uzbekistan Shooting Diary (4 minutes) |
 |
|
Captures |
|
Review |
Another two disc DVD set from Tokyo Shock,
as they add yet another winner to their increasing
catalogue of Toho films. Dragonhead really
exceeds in every department, with a good video
transfer that is accompanied by an excellent audio
presentation and a healthy supply of added content.
|
Video: |
 |
In contrast to their One
Missed Call set, Tokyo Shock does them
self one better here in nearly every regard. The
brightness level being the most notable improvement
as it's set, more or less, dead on so that no
segments are rendered unseeable by darker setups
while also not drowning out the lighter scenes.
The colors here are also generally good; they
aren't vibrant enough to deserve explicit praise,
but are good enough to get the job done without
complaint. As for digital inconsistencies, there
is a small hint of artifacting, but that's the
only complaint to be had. In regards to the print
used for the transfer, it's in very good shape
with no scratches. The noise level also is done well here, with only a minor layer of film grain
throughout.
Dragonhead is presented in its original
aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is Anamorphic for widescreen
TVs.
|
Audio: |
 |
Another flawless audio presentation here,
which adds yet another mark to Tokyo Shock's increasingly
impressive resume in this area. In total, Dragonhead
has been jam packed with four audio tracks that
include: a 5.1 Japanese surround track, a 5.1
English surround track, a 2.0 Japanese stereo
track, and a 2.0 English stereo track. All four
audio tracks are superb, with no noticeable shift
in sound quality for the dubbed vs. Japanese tracks
(ignoring the voice acting). In regards to speaker
distinction, the disc really shines as the musical
score and accompanying sound effects are given
a nice range of depth.
Dragonhead is accompanied by, removable,
English subtitles that have two settings: one
to translate text only (companion for the dubbed
track) and the other is a full translation of
everything.
|
Extras: |
 |
Tokyo Shock has packed the DVD with a good
array of extras; however, I'm not sure why they
opted to place the content on a separate disc,
considering there is only a little more than half
an hour of supplemental material. Anyway, to start
off with the DVD has a good variety of trailers,
which includes two for the movie (one called a
"promo"), and one of each for One
Missed Call, Izo, Tales of Terror from Tokyo
and Skyhigh. Next up is a nine minute making
of documentary that shows behind the scenes footage,
although lacks narration or any type of flow.
Following that is a short interview with three
cast members (Satoshi Tsumabuki, Sayaka, and Naohito
Fujiki), which is one of the more interesting
extras on the disc due to their interaction with
one another. After that is a B-Roll feature that
has alternate angles and takes. Unfortunately
this sequence isn't different enough from what
landed in the movie to make it very interesting.
Rounding out the added content is an expansive
gallery, the set's best feature as it has numerous
production stills along with shots from the original
manga, and a short "Uzbekistan Shooting Diary".
The last extra, sadly, is very disappointing as
it has behind the scenes footage from the Uzbekistan
shoot, most of which already appears in the making
of documentary. Like always with Tokyo Shock discs,
all of the features are complemented with, removable,
English subtitles.
|
Overview: |
 |
Bottom line, Tokyo Shock has done it again
with another extraordinary release. In direct
comparison with their One
Missed Call set, this one lacks in the
extra department, but trumps without contest in
terms of video quality.
|
- Anthony Romero |
Buy
this DVD |
|