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: Star Rating

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  
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