DVD Title
 The Hypnotist
International Title
 Hypnosis
Movie Length: 110 minutes Original Length: 110 minutes
Company: ADV Films Release: 2001
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic: Yes
Region: 1Discs: 1
  
Language/Sound: Order
Japanese (2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles:
English
Extras
· Menus (English)
· Chapters (8)
· Trailers: Parasite Eve (ADV Films), Hypnosis (ADV Films, without text and voice over), Hypnosis (ADV Films)
Captures
Review
Anthony Romero

One of the few live action Toho films that ADV acquired once they started producing DVDs, which is probably a good thing as ADV lacked the option to just use their VHS source as they did with later releases such as Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, this release of Hypnosis, titled The Hypnotist here, is one of the better ones the company put their name on. It's still on the sub par side, but does feature a decent video and audio presentation that is sadly toped off with a disappointing lack of supplements.


 Video:

For an ADV Films release, the video track here is pretty good. On the good side, the print used for the transfer is in excellent shape. No scratches to be seen. The downside, though, is that the video has been badly compressed. There is obvious artifacting, in the form of pixilation which clashes with the film grain present on the print, while the compression also removes a notable amount of detail from the frame. Thankfully, the colors here are pretty good, but could have still stood to be a little more vivid.

Hypnosis is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is Anamorphic for widescreen TVs.


 Audio:

The disc features a pretty strong audio presentation. It has one track, which is the original Japanese in two channel stereo. No inconsistencies to speak of, while speaker distinction is good for a 2.0 presentation.

The audio can be accompanied with English subtitles. Sadly, there is no option to turn the subtitles off, although oddly enough they aren't burned onto the video track either meaning ADV Films actively choose not to have them be something that could be removed for whatever reason.


 Extras:

Extras are lacking as the disc only feature ADV's own trailers for their two Japanese horror films.


 Overview: Star Rating

Bottom line, this is a decent release. It's bare bones, but features a serviceable way to watch the feature. Despite its faults, the disc is one of the better ones that ADV Films put their name to.