- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit)
- Subtitles: English
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: B (Region-Locked)
- Certification: 15
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
- Run time: 119 Mins.
- Studio: Eureka Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 21, 2012
- RRP: £17.36
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Cult director Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Ichi the Killer) toned down his more violent tendencies for this campy live-action comedy big screen remake of the 1970s anime series Yatterman (ヤッターマン, Yattāman). Robots, over-the-top villains, and epic showdowns over stone skulls play out in this re-imagines candy colored playground. The story is of Gan (Shô Sakurai), son of a toy store owner, and his girlfriend Ai (Saki Fukuda) who are two regular teenagers by day, great tinkerers when it comes to gadgets, and by night, they become the masked duo Yatterman, protecting the world from evil. In particular, they battle their nemesis the Doronbo gang, lead by the evil, but sexy villainess Doronjo (Kyôko Fukada). In this wild plot, the Doronbo gang is being manipulated by a god of thieves to locate the four pieces of a stone skull that, when brought together, will result in something powerful – and very bad. Yatterman, along with the orphaned teenager daughter of an archeologist who was also on the trail of the skull, must keep them from gathering the pieces of the stone together.
Within all the good fun Miike can’t help but sneak in a few risqué gags, like the Doronbo gang’s Bride’s Maid robot with Titty Torpedoes and the Yatterwoof vehicle exploding during an orgasm. But in all this insane, wacky fun, this film doesn’t really seem to completely work as a live-action version of an anime series, something that most adaptations of anime series suffer from. What often works in an animated setting just doesn’t play when you see real people doing it.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Super 35mm source for Yatterman could have used a bit more breathing room for its candy colored palette and high action pace in this AVC/MPEG-4 1080p transfer squeezed onto a BD-25 disc. Texture seems to be lacking in the image and overall contrast is somewhat weak, On the plus side, colors pop nicely, a strength of the film overall.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/16-bit) soundtrack is a decent one that has weighty lows with just the right amount of bump with every explosion, fills up the surrounds with a lot of discrete effects, and puts forth clean dialogue.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
The supplements are all in standard definition and provide some making-of featurettes with behind-the-scenes footage and a few interviews with the cast and crew.
The supplements:
- Japanese Teaser Trailer (2.35:1; SD)
- Behind the Scenes Featurettes:
- Rehearsals and Filming (1.78:1; SD; 00:09)
- Set and Costume Design (1.78:1; SD; 00:09:05)
- Cast and Crew Interviews:
- Takashi Miike (1.78:1; SD; 00:01:26)
- Sho Sakurai (1.78:1; SD; 00:04:00)
- Hiroshi Sasagawa (1.78:1; SD; 00:01:44)
- Cannes Film Festival Promo (1.33:1; SD; 00:01:33)
- Stills Gallery (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
- DVD
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Takashi Miike’s live-action adaptation of this classic anime series is fun, even if somewhat flawed and a bit too long. Yatterman doesn’t always work, but for those who enjoy the oddball Japanese action cult films, there may be a little something here to like. Rent it.
Additional Screen Captures
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
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