xREL.v3

Kuroneko.1968.Criterion.NTSC.DVDR-DVDR

THEATRE DATE....: 2/24/1968 (Japan)
RELEASE DATE....: 10/24/2011
STORE DATE......: 10/18/2011
GENRE...........: Drama/Fantasy/Horror
RATiNG..........: 7.6/10 (881 votes)
NO. SCREENiNGS..: ???

RUNTiME.........: 100 Minutes
ViDEO BiTRATE...: 3994 kBit/sec 6-pass CCE
AUDiO BiTRATE...: 384 kBit/s AC3 DD 1.0 at 48KHZ, JA
ASPECT RATiO....: 16:9
ARCHiVES........: dvdr-kuroneko.rar  *95x50MB*
DVD SiZE........: *4.372 GB* *4,477 MB* *4,584,548 KB*
SUBTiTLES.......: EN

Set in feudal Japan, this atmospheric and violent ghost story (whose title literally translates as The
Black Cat in the Bush) begins with the brutal murder of two women by a band of mercenary samurai, whose
leader is subsequently tracked down, seduced, and murdered by a young woman possessed by the
shape-shifting specter of his victim. Called upon to avenge the warrior's death is none other than the
woman's former husband, who has been ordered by his superiors to assassinate the guilty party. Plot
twists abound as the older, vengeful spirit seeks to exact poetic justice despite the younger ghost's
reluctance to destroy the man who once loved her. Though not on the epic level of Kwaidan or Onibaba,
this adaptation of an ancient folk tale benefits from the same cultural richness, as well as a touch of
social allegory.

Director           ...   Kaneto Shindo

Kichiemon Nakamura ...         Gintoki
Nobuko Otowa           ...         Yone (Mother)
Kiwako Taichi           ...         Shige (Daughter-in-Law)
Kei Sato           ...         Raiko
Taiji Tonoyama           ...         A Farmer
Rokko Toura           ...         A Samurai

The trailer was removed. The other extras are:

* 2011 video interview with film critic Tadao Sato (16:56@2245)
* 1998 video interview with director Sato (60:24@1962)

And before you nukers get all excited about the extras being under the minimum bitrate, why not have
a look at them first and then you might come to understand why 2500 is an arbitrary and virtually
meaningless number. They may not be the quality of the film (purposely done), but look just fine.
The philosophy here is to try and include quality extras whenever possible and whenever it doesn't
detract much from the video quality of the film itself.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122136/
RETAIL DVD: http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1581030

FILM REVIEW: http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/2010/kuroneko/
FILM REVIEW: http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-kuroneko.html