Extras |
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Menus (English) |
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Chapters (12) |
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Trailers: Rica, Rica: Lonely Wanderer, Rica:
Juvenile's Lullaby, Lady Ninja Kasumi, Emanuelle's
Daughter, Yellow Emanuelle, Porno Holocaust |
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Photo Gallery |
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Captures |
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Review |
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Anthony Romero |
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Released under Media Blasters' Exploitation
Digital line, this disc marks the first time the
movie has been made available on DVD; in fact,
this looks to be the first official release of
the production on home video at all, rescuing
it from several decades of obscurity. Unfortunately,
this particular DVD falls short of the quality
Media Blasters has been known for in the past,
featuring mediocre video, audio and supplement
presentations. |
Video: |
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Without a region 2 release available, I was
fairly interested in how the video presentation
would end up for this Showa era feature. The end
result is, unfortunately, a mixed bag. On the
plus side, the colors on this release look fantastic,
showing an excellent spectrum that really comes
alive during sequences like the dancing stint
at the night club. The print used for the
transfer looks
to be in impeccable shape, almost devoid of scratches
outside of a few scene transitions. However, the video track suffers from noise levels, with a very thick layer of grain present. The overall
quality is also hindered by signs of compression.
Generally, due to the amount of grain present,
this isn't always noticeable, seeming to "fit"
in with the level of noise. At times, though,
it does become overt, such as parts of the scene
at the dock where the solid blue sky becomes marred
with blocky pixilation. The end result is
actually something that looks quite impressive
for screen captures, but much less so in motion.
At least the film does look fairly sharp at times,
despite some of the other issues with the transfer.
The sole exception to this is the scene where
superimposition is used for Japanese
subtitles for the MP soldiers, which looks
incredibly blurry. I have never seen Rica
before, though, so it's quite possible that this
was just a mishap with the film in general due
to the way the subtitles were added in, and not
a problem with this release in particular.
Rica is presented in its original aspect
ratio of 2.35:1, and is Anamorphic for widescreen
TVs. |
Audio: |
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The disc contains one audio track, which is
the original Japanese audio present in a one channel
mono format. It's certainly a no frills presentation,
but seeing as how this maintains the movie's original
format it does get some slack. The audio track
included is devoid of noticeable inconsistencies
as well, such as pops or crackles, while dialogue
is mostly clear as well. Overall, it's certainly
an acceptable presentation, whose only real fault
is its lack of more robust options.
The audio can be accompanied with, removable,
English subtitles.
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Extras: |
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Sadly, there isn't a great deal of extra content
here, especially for a Media Blasters release.
The title does have its share of trailers, though.
This includes three for the Rica trilogy,
each shown in pristine quality that is actually
superior to the movie found on this same DVD,
alongside four more for other releases done under
the "Exploitation Digital" line. The
other extra on this disc is an image gallery that
deals with promotional material printed for its
Japanese release and a closer look at the one
sheet advert distributed by Toho International.
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Overview: |
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Bottom
line, Media Blasters, through their Tokyo Shock
label, has released some truly fantastic Toho
DVDs over the past four years, and its unfortunate
that this particular title just isn't up to snuff
with the rest of their catalogue. One can appreciate,
though, that they have begun to distribute movies
that lack a precedent on home video. However,
I do hope that the releases for Rica: Lonely
Wanderer and Rica: Juvenile's Lullaby
do improve over some of the aspects of this
disc, particularly to reduce the level of noise
present during the movie itself, if the prints
are in similar condition. |
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