Fittingly released simultaneously with Lions Gate's Infection, as both films were double billed for their theatrical release in Japan, Premonition, surprisingly, ends up being one of the best Toho discs on the region 1 market. All in all, Lions Gate has done a fantastic job across the board, with a great video presentation, excellent audio tracks, and a wealth of extras to mill over.

Another excellent video presentation from Lions Gate, as there really are no problems to be had with the quality. The colors are distinct, with their only fault being that they lack the true lush array that has been seen in some of Tristar and AnimEigo's work, while the brightness level is set just right to not drown out the lighter scenes while making the darker ones visible. In regards to digital inconsistencies there aren't really any complaints to be had, while the film looks naturally sharp without obvious signs of edge enhancement. As for the shape of the print used for the transfer: outstanding with no scratches. As for noise, there is a faint hint of grain, but comes off as more natural than distracting.

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

Like its video presentation, Premonition also boasts great audio quality with the two tracks present. Both of the tracks are of the film's original Japanese audio, and come in a 2.0 stereo mix and a 5.1 surround mix. Both are generally flawless, although Premonition isn't exactly the type of movie to give one's speaker setup a work out, but the distinction is still noticeable none the same.

The audio tracks can be accompanied by English or Spanish subtitles, which can be toggled on or off.

On a side note, the disc would have gotten a perfect score in this regard if it had an additional language track, something which might not even matter to some so it seemed worth mentioning.

A huge surprise, as Lions Gate has packed this disc full of extras to better explore elements of the film. It's obvious that the company cared a lot more about this release compared to Infection, but the difference is really night and day.

To start off with on supplemental content on this disc, there is a large collection of interviews, each separated on the disc by their participants, that include: Norio Tsuruta (Director), Hiroshi Mikami (Actor), Noriko Sakai (Actress), Maki Horikita (Actress), Mayumi Ono (Actress) and Kazuo Yoshiyuki (Actress). The director's interview is 8 minutes in length, while the other five are each 3 minutes in length. All six are in Japanese and include, removable, English subtitles.

Next up is a "making of featurette" which explores 6 sequences, which are also broken up that way on the disc, for a total run time of 38 minutes. Like the other features, this is done in Japanese with, removable, English subtitles. Following that is a short, 4 minute, press conference which opens up with the producer gushing about how Ring (1998) and Ju-On have been turned into US remakes before the director and cast get to be interviewed.

Rounding out the list is a 6 minute Visual FX feature which, speaking for myself, I found fascinating as they dissect a lot of the work in the movie. What makes this extra so interesting is that a lot of the FX work that is dissected here is virtually unnoticeable as special effects during the movie itself. Such as this shot here before it turned into the final product as show during the movie. It's not a simple "before and after" either, as the original elements are shown while each of the changes is quickly displayed before the final product is run. During this time, there is also running commentary, in Japanese, by Mitsuaki Hashimoto who explains in greater detail what is going on, while he is complimented by removable subtitles on the disc. It's an incredible supplement that is interesting from beginning to end.

Now if only Lions Gate would have stuck the film's Japanese trailer on here...

Bottom line, this disc is a very pleasant surprise after Lions Gate's Infection, and it's not exactly clear why such little care was placed in that release in contrast. Regardless, in terms of video, audio and extras, Premonition is simply one of the best region 1 Toho discs on the market. One can only hope that the company decides to release more Toho films in the future with the same amount of care placed into them as this disc.