Written by: Michael Den Boer on August 30th, 2004
| Theatrical Release Date: Japan, August 10th, 1974 Director: Teruo Ishii Writer: Teruo Ishii Cast: Sonny Chiba, Eiji Go, Yutaka Nakajima, Makoto Satô, Ryo Ikebe, Hiroyuki Sanada |
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| DVD released: | 2002 | 2005 |
| Approximate running time: | 83 minutes | 86 minutes |
| Aspect Ratio: | 2.35:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen | 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen |
| Rating: | NR | NR |
| Sound: | Dolby Digital Mono English | Dolby Digital Stereo Japanese with English subtitles |
| DVD Release: | Crash Cinema | Adness |
| Region Coding: | Region 1 NTSC | Region 1 NTSC |
| Retail Price: | OOP | $19.99 |
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Crash Cinema’s Region 1 DVD
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Adness’s Region 1 DVD
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Crash Cinema’s Region 1 DVD
Adness’s Region 1 DVD
The Film :
A former police commissioner with the help of his daughter assembly a team of three uniquely talented criminals to stop the flow of drugs into Japan recruits professional killers to put a stop to the drug trade in Japan. The team consists of Ichiro Sakura (Eiji Go), Takeshi Hayabusa (Makoto Satô) and Ryuichi Koga (Sonny Chiba) a ninja enforcer who will do any job or kill anyone for a price. The trio’s first job is to steal a briefcase full of cocaine that is being smuggled into Japan from China. After several failed attempts they finally track down mafia boss to his home where the drugs are stashed. Will they be able to finally pull the job off or will they be left empty handed?
Video:
Crash Cinema’s release presents the film in a letterboxed widescreen that is missing information on all four sides to give it a ratio that looks closer to its intended 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The colors look faded and flesh tones look unhealthy. This interlaced transfer lacks detail as the overall image looks to soft and there is a fare amount print damage that is noticeable through out. Adness’s release presents The Executioner in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the films original 2.35:1 Toei scope aspect ratio. Colors look robust and are nicely saturated. There is an exceptional amount of detail present in every frame as details remain sharp through out. There is some noticeable grain and some minor instances of specs of dirt, still nothing that ever becomes too distracting. There are no problems with compression, artifacts and edge enhancement is kept to a minimum. Overall this progressive transfer looks amazing as the image remains stable through out.
Audio:
Crash Cinema’s release comes with only one audio option a English dubbed audio mix that is presented in a Dolby Digital mono. While not as bad as most English dubbed martial movies this sound track does provide a few unintentional moments of humor that are not present on the Japanese language track which is included on the Adness DVD release. The dialog is thin at times; still it is easy enough to understand. There are noticeable problems with pops hiss’s and other audio defects through out which can become distracting at times. The music and effects sound evenly mixed as they never overpower the other. This release comes with only one audio option the films original Japanese language track which is presented in a Dolby Digital stereo. Dialog sounds razor sharp and there is no problem with muffled or unintelligible dialog. The music and effects have been evenly balanced as they perfectly complement each other. Overall this sound mix more then gets the job done. This release comes with English subtitles that are easy to read and follow.
Extras:
Crash Cinema’s comes with no extras. Adness’s release includes the following extras trailers for The Executioner and The Executioner: Karate Inferno.
Overall:
Adness’s release restores three minutes of film and information that has been cropped in the Crash Cinema release. If you own the Crash Cinema’s release throw it away and upgrade to superior Adness’s release which soundly beats Crash Cinema’s release in every way and then some.