In the aftermath of World War II, a writer’s love affair with another woman drives his wife mad with distrust. Realising his errors, he tries all he can to save her from literally losing her mind. Kohei Oguri’s haunting adaptation of the novel by Toshio Shimao is shot in a hyperreal style that is equal parts painterly and unflinching. Featuring striking set design, powerful lead performances, and a vivid evocation of small-town life in postwar Japan, The Sting of Death won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival while stars Ittoku Kishibe and Keiko Matsuzaka won numerous awards for their performances. Radiance Films is proud to present this remarkable film on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.

For thoughts on The Sting of Death, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/aPEnqs3FnYU?si=jUeY5MxT4uN0FEAQ&t=1684]

Video Quality

The Sting of Death comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Radiance Films sourced from a really strong HD transfer supplied by Shochiku in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The natural colors show up faithfully, as seen in elements of the natural environment, clothing, and production design. The color timing appears to be in line with the original exhibition. Black levels show small signs of weakness, but mostly they deliver fine depth to the image. This source appears to have been preserved well with no egregious damage to be found in this presentation. The film provides a nice, natural grain structure that retains the filmic look of the picture. The presentation always resolves consistently while unlocking the most detail in the background. Radiance Films has done a nice job with what they were given.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with an LPCM 2.0 mono track in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). The film leans heavily on exchanges of dialogue, but you get some formidable environmental elements when the characters are out in the world. Words come through clearly without any competing element overshadowing important information. The track adds a bit of texture to the world, but do not expect a strong showing in the low end. The score comes through pleasantly as it plays well with competing sounds. This track delivers everything with pleasing fidelity and only a minor amount of hiss and age observed. This is what you pretty much hope for from a film of this era.

Special Features

The first-pressing of the Radiance Films Blu-Ray of The Sting of Death includes a booklet featuring a newly translated interview with director Kohei Oguri by Hubert Niogret. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Japanese Cinema – New Territories: A 57-minute documentary from 2011 that takes a look at the renaissance of Japanese cinema that flourished in the ‘90s featuring interviews with Kohei Oguri, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki, Kaneto Shindo, and many others. There are numerous fascinating avenues explored that are well worth a look.

Hideki Maeda: A new 21-minute analysis of the film by film scholar Hideki Maeda in which he discusses the source material of The Sting of Death, the feat of adapting it for the screen, the work of director Kohei Oguri, how the filmmaker tackled framing this intimate tale, the performances, the thematic layers of the story, and much more that is very much worth a watch.

Final Thoughts

The Sting of Death is a staggering work of domestic instability that is carefully guided by the assured hand of director Kohei Oguri. The film transcends your standard betrayed partner narrative to explore the crumbling of self that occurs when your life is upended. The film is not solely focused on jealousy – betrayal would hurt a lot less if we could intellectually make sense of it. The performers at the core of this story play these volatile emotions perfectly, and every scene escalates in some way you may or may not expect. For all of the visceral violence we have witnessed from yakuza tales and other genre efforts from Japan, the emotional violence experienced in Sting of Death might leave the deepest mark. Radiance Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a formidable A/V presentation and a couple of great special features. If this sounds interesting in the slightest to you, do not miss it. Recommended

The Sting of Death 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: 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.