A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima’s Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife. Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio’s signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colours, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.

For thoughts on The Shape of Night, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/wBAjM2neS4g?si=BG0eqBz2gnW9F5bc&t=3630]

Video Quality

The Shape of Night comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Radiance Films sourced from a very pleasant HD transfer supplied by Shochiku in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with additional restoration performed by Radiance. The film provides a rich, natural grain structure that retains the filmic appearance of the picture. This source appears to have been kept in good shape with no serious damage to be found in this presentation. The presentation always resolves evenly while revealing rich detail in the background. The natural hues show up without manipulation, as seen in elements of the natural environment, clothing, and production design. The color timing seems to be in line with the original exhibition. Highlights never get too hot, and black levels hold up pretty well in terms of depth to the image. Radiance Films has delivered their typically excellent work here.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with an LPCM 2.0 mono track in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles) that sounds very good. This track flows through with fetching fidelity and only the slightest amount of humming and age observed. The score comes through decently as it complements competing sounds. The film provides consistent exchanges of dialogue along with some exceptional environmental elements when the characters are roaming through the city such as the sidewalk markets. Voices come through clearly without any element drowning out important information. The track supplies ample texture to the world, but the low end is not much of a factor. This holds up as well as you could hope from this era.

Special Features

The first-pressing of the Radiance Films Blu-Ray of The Shape of Night includes a booklet featuring new writing by Chuck Stephens and a newly translated interview with director of photography Tôichirô Narushima by Tom Mes. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Yoshio Nakamura: A new 16-minute interview with the son of filmmaker Noburo Nakamura in which he reflects on the career of his father, his work in the kabuki world, his working relationship with Shochiku, his home life, and more.

Major Changes – Shochiku In The 1960s: A new 13-minute analysis of the studio by film scholar Tom Mes in which he discusses the early history of Shochiku, how it evolved throughout the 1960s, the shifting in audience tastes, the vacuum left by the passing of Ozu, where The Shape of Night fits into the cinematic output, and much more that is very much worth a watch.

Final Thoughts

The Shape of Night does not shake up the “forced prostitution” narrative formula too significantly, but it executes the story quite well thanks to the confident hand of Noburo Nakamura. The story is understandably dour, and it will not be for all audiences given some of the brutal moments at play – no matter how tastefully they are handled. Yet, those who do respond to it will likely be drawn in by some of the brilliant aesthetic choices and the captivating lead performance from Miyuki Kuwano. Radiance Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a standout A/V presentation and a couple of great special features. It is not our favorite discovery from the label, but it is still well worth a watch for fans of Japanese cinema. Recommended

The Shape of Night will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on April 30, 2024.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Radiance Films 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.