Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 1 (Blu-ray/DVD Review)

Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 1 (Blu-ray/DVD Review)
Rated: UR/Region AB/2:35/1080p/Number of Discs 3
Available from Arrow Video

Voice Without a Shadow (1958)
Directed By: Seijun Suzuki
Starring: Hideaki Nitani, Yôko Minamida, Jô Shishido

Ishikawa, a newspaper journalist, unexpectedly meets Asako, a woman who used to work for his company some time ago as a phone operator. Three years ago, she accidentally heard the voice of a suspect who committed a still-unresolved homicide. Since then, the suspect’s voice has remained lodged in her mind as a terrifying memory. One night, her husband invites over his colleagues, Kawai, Hamazaki, and Muraoka. She realizes that Hamazaki’s voice sounds exactly the same as the unseen suspect’s! A few days later, Hamazaki is found dead in a rain-soaked coalfield; her husband is kept in police custody as the primary suspect. Ishikawa tries to help Asako and launches his own investigation. However, the investigation soon runs into difficulty as both Kawai and Muraoka had alibis. To make matters worse, her husband implausibly confesses.

What first looks like a wrong number for a operator turns into much more in this mystery “who done it” from 1958. We watch as this poor girl first tries to find the voice behind the call, then we watch her as she deals with her husband’s endless game playing with his friends. This leads to her hearing that voice again, and then we lead to what actually sets the wheels for this movie spinning. I gotta admit, this is pretty basic storytelling, but it is well done and as a results makes you genuinely curious as to what the final outcome will be. The back and white seems to only add to the mood, as the transfer is solid, but does have some issues that I’m sure couldn’t have been corrected. Not that it will bother you as you watch, but just don’t expect this one to eye-pop you too much. Still, it is a very interesting story and I have to admit that I at least never guessed where it all leads. If you are gong to sit-down and watch this set one after another (Like I did), this is a very solid flick to kick things off with.

Quality of Transfer: 88%

Red Pier (1958)
Directed By: Toshio Masuda
Starring: Yûjirô Ishihara, Mie Kitahara, Masumi Okada

50’s subculture icon Yujiro Ishihara (Crazed Fruit) stars in Masuda’s Red Pier as “Jiro the Lefty”, a killer with a natural talent. Shortly after arriving in Kobe, he witnesses a man die in a crane accident which turns out to be a cover-up for a murder. Jiro soon finds himself on the run, tailed by a determined cop.

We are going from the “Who did it” sub-genre to a good case of someone being framed for basically being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Our leading man here probably isn’t going to win too many people over, even if we do see the man do a few good deeds. The story here does enough anyway to make you want to keep your eyes on the screen and see if everything will eventually unfold in our dude’s favor, or if the bad guys might actually get a win, which isn’t really uncommon in foreign films of this nature. I won’t dare spoil it for you, but if the transfer is your main selling point, you won’t find really any difference in how this movie and it’s fellow 1958 entry in the set, Voice Without a Shadow looks. They seem to be about the same in transfer and movie quality overall. The worst thing this movie does is drag things out just a bit much, but outside of that you’ll notice shades of some other popular movies with similar plots to come from both sides of the world. You’ll see a lot of characters here you probably wouldn’t trust to run into in a dark back ally, but you’ll still be entertained.

Quality of Transfer: 88%

The Rambling Guitarist (1959)
Directed By: Takeichi Saitô
Starring: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara

Shinji (Akira Kobayashi), a wandering street musician, gets involved with a mob boss, Akitsu (Nobuo Kaneko), after saving one of his henchmen in a bar fight. Akitsu gives Shinji a job to evict an offshore fishery, but things take an unexpected twist when Shinji finds out the owner’s wife is Akitsu’s actual sister. As Shinji protects the Akitsu family, Akitsu’s daughter takes a romantic interest in him. Shinji’s mob life becomes more complicated when a member of the Taguchi family questions if Shinji is an undercover cop.

Yeah, I may catch some heat from you, the hopefully loyal reader, for giving these movies each a 3 out of 5, but they really all are on the same level quality wise. Then again, our one and only in color flick of the three might look just a bit better with the color in my opinion. Other wise, how old school a plot is this? A drifter of sorts, helps out the bad guys by mistake, ends up befriending the crime boss, but then gets in a bit of romantic spot with the boss’ daughter? Here it might not be done as darkly as you’ll see it done in other movies, but it at least stay true to its self and entertains you regardless. Other things come into play to make things all the more complicated and I think you will enjoy and be entertained by what all follows. Some of you may actually like this one best of all here, but I think the others do enough to stay on level ground with it.

Quality of Transfer: 90%

Extras

– High Definition digital transfers of all three films, from original film elements by Nikkatsu Corporation
– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
– Original uncompressed mono audio
– Newly translated English subtitles
– Specially recorded video discussions with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp on Diamond Guys Hideaki Nitani and Yujiro Ishihara
– Original trailers for all three films and trailer preview for Diamond Guys Vol. 2
– Extensive promotional image galleries for all three films
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
– Booklet featuring new essays on all three films and director profiles by Stuart Galbraith, Tom Mes and Mark Schilling