Radiance Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: To protect his clan, an honourable samurai (Raizo Ichikawa, Shinobi) takes the blame for a murder committed by one of his fellows. He is promised a safe return after one year in exile, but this vow is broken and he becomes a fugitive chased by his own clansmen. Disillusioned by the bushido code of honour, he realises there are only two ways out: vengeance or death. From director Tokuzo Tanaka (The Snow Woman), a former assistant to Akira Kurosawa, this cruel jidaigeki stands alongside such notable works of the genre as Harakiri and Sword of Doom with its classic mix of honour codes and samurai action. Beautifully filmed in black and white ‘scope with thrilling set pieces, The Betrayal features one of the most breathtaking finales in all of samurai cinema. (87 Mins)

 

Views: From Radiance Films, comes this gorgeous restored classic of Japanese chanbara cinema – The Betrayal – the story of a naïve and honourable young samurai who soon learns that his moral principles set him aside from those around him, while his peers mock and abuse him dishonourably, which eventually sees him forced into taking the blame for a murder he did not commit in the name of love. Soon, samurai Takuma learns how ugly the real world is and must fight for his life and honour as everyone around him closes-in...

 

Produced by the now defunct and popular Daiei Film Studio and a remake of a Japanese silent film from the 1920s, The Betrayal was made in 1966 and sees the late-great Raizo Ichikawa deliver yet another show-stopping role as the young samurai known as Kamuse Takuma. The star of the fantastic Shinobi-No-Mono film series – which has also been released on Blu-ray by Radiance Films - Raizo Ichikawa was one of the biggest stars of his time. Throughout his short-lived career, this Kyoto born actor impressed in many films including The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958), Ambush At Iga Pass (1958), Kazuo Mori's Samurai Vendetta (1959), Satan's Sword (1960) and it's sequels, and hugely popular film series such as Sleepy Eyes Of Death (1963). Of course, I can't forget about his fantastic roles in Kon Ichikawa's 1963 classic An Actor's Revenge and The Sword soon after. Unfortunately, in his mid-thirties, Raizo was diagnosed with rectal cancer which caused his physical strength to fade. Towards the end of his career and life, he would star in two more films for Kazuo Mori with the brilliant spy thrillers, A Certain Killer and A Killer's Key, in 1967 although would go onto appear in at least 7 more features until his passing in 1969. A fighter and professional until the end, this illustrious performer starred in over 150 titles throughout his career as well as countless theatre productions where he first made his name.

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Here, as Kamuse Takuma, Ichikawa shines and is engrossing to watch right through to his incredibly poignant final moment. The Betrayal sees him joined by many of his past (and future) co-stars such as the prolific Saburo Date, Takuya Fujioka, Ryutaro Gomi, Sei Hiraizumi, popular actress Kaoru Yachigusa, and the lovely Shiho Fujimura who stars as his wife. Throughout her career, Shiho starred with Raizo many times, including the Shinobi-No-Mono series, and had unfortunately passed just one month before I wrote this. Prolific director Tokuzo Tanaka, who worked as an assistant director under Akira Kurosawa on Rashomon (1950), and Kenji Mizoguchi on Ugetsu (1953) and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), delivers what is possibly his most underrated piece and shows that he can deliver as strong a film as his peers if called for. Of course, Tanaka had worked with Raizo on other titles over the years, including Sleepy Eyes Of Death: The Chinese Jade (1983), Shinobi No Mono 4: Seige (1964) and more. It's also worth noting just how beautifully shot this film really is – with it's bold black and white imagery leaping off the screen thanks to this gorgeous new restoration. This is all thanks to Makiura Chikashi, the same man behind the lens for most of the Zatoichi movies; from The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) right through to Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (1974-79) TV series. He also captured classics such as Raizo's very own Sleep Eyes of Death: The Chinese Jade (1964) and it's sequels, as well as his Shinobi No Mono 5 (1964), The Snow Woman (1968), Ghost of Kasane Swamp (1970), Lone Wolf & Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) and it's many sequels, Hanzo The Razor (1972) and many more.

 

While simple in it's story, The Betrayal is so wonderfully acted and directed, you can't help but feel that you are getting so much more out of it overall. While it does offer ample samurai action throughout, the film is heavy of drama and runs at a steady pace. Raizo delivers one of his finest ever performances and plays Takuma with class – a broken man whose life has been stolen because of the lies and betrayal's made by false friends. Although he stays on the move, he is soon cornered in a small town where he is attacked by both his own clan and that of the man he is said to have killed. In what is undoubtably one of the greatest, longest and most exhilarting action finales of all time, Takuma stands strong against this small army blades and weapons – one man against many – in a wonderfully executed and incredible 20 minute climatic battle. Kudos must go to the late Raizo for his physical prowess as his fights, ducks and weaves around the town square; at one time physically pulling his cramped fingers open to release the broken sword in his hand. It really was quite gripping to watch and should be remembered as much as any lengthy end fight from countless kung fu classics!

 

Extra features with the Radiance Films Blu-ray release include about 41 minutes of select-scene audio commentary with Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes, who delivers plenty of insightful pieces on the studio, the history of film from this period and it's stars of course. The Path to Betrayal is a 10 minute video essay by Philip Kemp, a critic who compares The Betrayal with the original 1925 film, Orochi the Serpent, which makes for an interesting watch, while Tom Mes offers his own video essay on director Tokuzo Tanaka – The Four Elements of Tokuzo Tanaka – that runs for a similar time frame and is only narrated by text over film clips. While I would love to have had an audio commentary to complete things, the Radiance Films Blu-ray release of The Betrayal is still very much well worth picking up...

 

Overall: This release of The Betrayal made for an amazing first time watch and is a film I look forward to going back to in the near future.

 

Radiance Films Blu-ray Extras: Select-scene Audio Commentary by Tom Mes, The Path to Betrayal Video Essay by Philip Kemp, The Four Elements of Tokuzo Tanaka Video Essay by Tom Mes

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