Image hasn't released very many Toho DVDs to the market, although did produce one of the first back in 1998: Chushingura. Eight years later, the company has come a long way, which is on full display with this fairly solid disc for the 1999 movie Gemini. The DVD is a nice release from all angles, containing good video and audio quality complete with a decent selection of extras.

Image has done a rather commendable job with the video track for this release. The colors in particular look very vibrant, complete with a rich array and only minor signs of over saturation occurring through the movie. The print used in the transfer is also in pretty good shape, although there are a few scratches here and there. The video track probably could have stood to be a little sharper, as a few times when the bit rate drops the image appears a little soft, but certain frames contain a good amount of detail.

Gemini is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is Anamorphic for widescreen TVs.

Gemini has one audio track, which is a 2.0 stereo presentation. The audio is fairly flawless for the source, with no distortion heard and all of the dialogue being quite clear. The directionality from the channels isn't too impressive, even for stereo, but then the film isn't the type to really tax the extra channel outside of the musical score. Overall, it's a pretty good presentation, with the only real downside being the lack of a more robust surround track.

The audio can be accompanied with, removable, English subtitles. The subtitles are pretty good, although there are a few lines that could have done with some proof reading, such as "You must keeping treating a patient".

The disc has a pretty decent selection of extras. First up is a making of feature that was directed by Takashi Miike. The fact that Miike was at the helm of the feature tends to get a lot of play, mentioned on the back of the DVD box and other things. Truth be told, though, the feature is mostly disappointing. It contains a lot of footage, but there isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. No actual background information like one would expect, but rather just footage of things done behind the scenes. It seems Miike thought he had to make the video a little different from what one is used to from a making of feature, but the result is more of a music video without a song which is not a very compelling angle if someone actually wants to learn aspects of how the movie was made.

Next up is a 6 minute makeup feature, covering mostly the eyebrow covering techniques used in the film for the cast although also a bit more coverage on Sutekichi's more complex makeup is also thrown in. Finally there is also a 14 image photo gallery and a trailer for the film as well.

Bottom line, the disc excels with both its video and audio quality while it rounds out the release with a few extras to keep those more interested in the production sated. The movie is not particularly old, so one can't give too much praise to Image, but it's still nice to see the company not drop the ball in any one category.