Japanese director Yasuzo Masumura is a filmmaker who deserves all of the recognition that comes his way and more. While not as widely known as figures such as Akira Kurosawa, Masumura made some incredible contributions to Japanese cinema over his sixty plus years in the business. In the early sixties, he had a bit of a hit with his espionage thriller Black Test Car which spawned a series of films that felt spiritually similar if not narratively so. Arrow Video has provided the first two entries in this series in high definition for the first time for American audiences. Take a look below to see what you have in store with this excellent package.
Black Test Car (1962)
Japanese maverick director Yasuzo Masumura (Blind Beast) helms a bitingly satirical espionage thriller set in the heart of the Japanese auto industry in his 1962 landmark Black Test Car, which launched a series of similarly themed “Black” films. In a bitter, take-no-prisoners corporate war between the Tiger Motorcar Company and their competitors, the Yamato Company, undercover spies have infiltrated both sides. As Tiger prepares to launch its newest “Pioneer” car and a prototype bursts into flames, Toru (Hideo Takamatsu, The Last Emperor) heads a secretive task force to root out Yamato’s spy, and find out what they can about the competitor’s familiar-looking new model.
Black Test Car is a film so cynical that you could mistake it for being an American tale. Regardless of the reality of the situation, the Japanese generally have an outward appearance of geniality and honor. After you have watched Black Test Car, you will swiftly realize that the United States does not have a monopoly on cutthroat business practices. For those who thought the corporate dealings in Ford v Ferrari were too nice, this film offers up a bleak and biting depiction of the ruthless nature of the automobile industry. When the Tiger Motor Company finds their plans to bring Japan’s first sports car to market compromised by rival espionage, the race to success becomes quite heated. The company tries to be somewhat civilized in the early stages of the investigation into the potential mole, but as they keep getting embarrassed by their competition things go off the rails. When an employee literally starts pimping out his fiancee in an effort to gain valuable information, you are struck by how corrosive capitalism can be to the human soul.
Masumura proves to be very skilled at skewering corporate culture with his straightforward and honest approach to the material. The characters in the film often act in an absurd manner, and there are many darkly funny moments throughout the story, but he never allows this story to veer into camp. Each scene is tightly constructed to propel the narrative forward with nary a wasted moment to be found. From moment to moment you either get a new layer revealed of the spy narrative or further characterization that deepens what you feel from these individuals. With each passing moment, the corporation that we have been rooting for since the beginning becomes less and less virtuous and more a symbol of the corporate rot that they are fighting against. This delicate balancing act is brought to life through some truly impressive performances including Ichiro Sugai as the villainous competitor Mr Mawatari and Hideo Takamatsu as Onoda, the young executive who finds himself morally unraveling as he becomes more obsessed with doing right by the company. Black Test Car offers up high stakes drama in the form of espionage as well as inner human turmoil. The movie is as thrilling as drama I have seen in recent times and proves to be very much worth your time.
The Black Report (1963)
After a businessman is murdered, an investigation identifies a suspect who is then put on trial for that crime.
When Masumura opens up on the lifeless body of a very important corporate businessman, you might believe you are in for a twisty who-done-it tale, but he is not as interested in really diving into that aspect of the story. Instead, you get a good sense of who committed the crime and why pretty early on into the film, but getting that person convicted proves to be easier said than done. Ken Utsui delivers a blistering performance as Akira Kido, the tenacious detective that is hopeful that he will be able to bring the case together in the end and secure a conviction. Masumura once again brings his cynicism to the proceedings in the form of the opportunism that surrounds the investigation. If Kido can nail this case, he has a prime promotion in store for him, and the truth of what drives him remains purposefully opaque. The procedural aspects of the film will prove to be familiar to those who indulge in network television fare, and the story starts to get a bit convoluted as it feels the need to keep offering up new developments in the investigation. The basic story does not have as many inherent thrills as Black Test Car, but these swings at additional drama were unnecessary.
The Black Report attempts to cover more ground with a larger cast of characters this time out, but with roughly the same brief runtime as the proceeding film, the supporting characters are less fleshed out this time out. Thankfully for the film, many of the performances are strong enough to elevate the less substantial material. Shigeru Koyoma is dynamite as Hitomi, the wily main suspect in the murder. Hitomi also has an unscrupulous lawyer that knows how to get what he wants who presents as a familiar sight in the age of antiheroes. Masumura effectively uses his camera to ratchet up the claustrophobic nature of interrogation rooms and jail cells. Yet, he never indulges in anything too flashy, instead presenting the mundanity of trying to secure a conviction during a criminal trial. The Black Report is an act of very steady, capable filmmaking that works best when it is not trying to be more than it is. The inherent drama of having a murder suspect who you are unsure you can convict is enough to keep you on edge, which makes other developments a bit superfluous. The film leaves you on a note that will be unsurprising if you have been taking in what the director has been trying to say throughout these two films. Ultimately, The Black Report may not be as strong as Black Test Car, but it is still quite engaging when it gets focused on the details.
Video Quality
Black Test Car + The Black Report come to Blu-Ray courtesy of Arrow Video sourced from high definition masters provided by Kadokawa in the original 2.35:1. While it would be easy to break each of these down individually, the quality is uniformly solid across the board and there would be a lot of repeating thoughts. The beautiful black-and-white photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field seems a bit heavier on The Black Report, but both transfers are resolved well. The contrast is well defined, but there is a fair amount of print damage found in these presentations, with The Black Report suffering a bit more than Black Test Car in this regard. There is an incredible amount of detail present with nice texture on the costumes and in the gritty production design. The sides of the film seem to be a bit squeezed at times, but this appears to be a quality of the source material and not a problem related to the disc. Black levels are appropriately deep with no distracting trace of black crush or compression artifacts. The quality of these transfers are as strong as the source material will allow.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with LPCM 1.0 mono tracks in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). Dialogue sounds perfectly clear without sound effects or the score trouncing on important information. Black Test Car employs some powerful sound effects in the form of roaring engines that are given the appropriate weight within the mix. The Black Report is more of a straightforward dialogue-driven drama without much in the way of action. The menacing score from Sei Ikeno comes through nicely in relation to the competing sounds. This is not a particularly dynamic presentation, but it presents everything accurately with pleasing fidelity and without damage or other unwanted issues.
Special Features
- What Masumura Does With Our Madness: A 17-minute video essay from Jonathan Rosenbaum in which he discusses how Masumura’s work mirrors notable auteurs from the West, delves into his history from assistant to director to company man to the studio, analyzes the tone and style of his films and more. This crams a lot of noteworthy information into a brief amount of time and is worth a listen if you want to learn more about Masumura.
- Theatrical Trailers: Trailers for both films are provided that run about three minutes each and are in pretty rough shape when compared to the feature presentation on the disc. Both of these give quite a bit away about the respective films.
- Image Galleries: A series of notable images from each film are presented here include promotional stills and posters.
Final Thoughts
Black Test Car + The Black Report are two films that give an engrossing look at a side of Japanese culture that is less explored for Western audiences. The focus usually seems to be on action films, period pieces or genre films, but these dramas are just as worthy of your time as those films. Each story offers up a well-paced narrative with strong performances from the cast members. Arrow Video has delivered a Blu-Ray with a solid A/V presentation and at least one substantial supplement. If you want a couple of effective stories and are not scared off by black and white or subtitles, you should give this disc a shot. Recommended
Black Test Car + The Black Report is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
