{"id":32037,"date":"2025-09-17T01:51:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=32037"},"modified":"2025-09-17T01:51:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:51:03","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-the-betrayal-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=32037","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THE BETRAYAL (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray\nfrom Radiance Films is now available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the benefits of time is\nthat a late filmmaker, whose works were once dismissed, can actually be\nreevaluated and find a new life and audience. Such is the case with Tokuz\u00f4\nTanaka, a Japanese artisan who got his stars as assistant director on classics\nlike Akira Kurosawa\u2019s Rashomon<\/em> (1950) and Kenji Mizoguchi\u2019s Ugets<\/em>u\n(1953). After paying his dues on other people\u2019s projects, Tanaka branched out\non his own as director, making several notable B-pictures including Zatoichi\u2019s\nRevenge, The Snow Woman, Shinobi 4: Siege<\/em>, and The Haunted Castle<\/em>\n(to name but a few). They were mostly successful, but didn\u2019t gain much critical\nattention and disappeared after their original releases. However, in recent\nyears that has all changed. Now, several of his pictures are being rereleased\non Blu-ray and given new attention from film authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Betrayal<\/em> is certainly\none of Tanaka\u2019s efforts that continues to grow in esteem as the years pass.\nIt\u2019s a unique samurai film that doesn\u2019t follow tradition, presenting the\nwarrior\u2019s world as less-than-honorable and delivering a stunning finale quite\nunlike other pictures of its ilk.  Radiance Films has now acquired the\nrelease rights to the feature in the western world. The high-definition digital\ntransfer of the movie from the Kadokawa Corporation is remarkably strong,\ndelivering a sharp, clean image for the black and white feature that manages to\nhighlight the underrated cinematography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story sees a good,\nwell-intentioned samurai Takuma Kobuse (Raizo Ichikawa) about to be married.\nAll he wants is to serve his duties in an honorable manner. But when the son of\nan elder in his faction murders an important member of another samurai group,\nKobuse is asked to take the blame. He is told this will only be for a short\ntime, requiring one year of exile before the details of the situation are\nrevealed, his honor is restored, and he can move forward with his nuptials.\nSadly, this is not what occurs. As a lower-class member of his warrior group,\nthose above him are more than happy for the problem to completely go away. That\nmeans that Kobuse will officially take the blame and be eliminated. His own\nmaster and family members, including the murderer all seek to eliminate him, as\ndo the relatives of the slain figure, bounty hunters, and others enforcing the\nlaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, while\nliving on his own as a ronin, Kobuse learns that those he assists on his\ntravels are more than willing to take advantage of him. A man who joins him on\nhis journey (who in these types of pictures would normally serve as an\nassistant and provide comic banter) ultimately sells the hero out for a few\ncoins. And Kobuse\u2019s fianc\u00e9 ends up having to support herself during his absence\nproviding services for nasty figures. Completely disillusioned with the\nhypocrisy of the samurai world, the protagonist eventually finds himself\nsquaring off against all those who want him dead in a final and lengthy\nshowdown. By this point, many men, including the family of the man originally\nkilled, know that Kobuse is innocent. Yet they feel compelled to follow through\nand murder him for tradition and the sale of appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This unique spin on the samurai\nfilm really helps the picture stand out. Ichikawa is a charismatic lead and one\nreally feels for him as seemingly everyone, both metaphorically and\noccasionally literally, tries to stab him in the back. And the final act, which\ninvolves over two-hundred fighters from various factions arriving on his\ndoorstep, leads to a memorably wild 15-minute confrontation. While certainly\nstylized and not exactly realistic, this finale is remarkable and entertaining\nto watch as body after body falls to the ground. It is also notable for\npresenting its massive battle as hard fought for the protagonist, as the\nincreasingly exhausted Kobuse mows down everyone in his path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s certainly a familiar type of\nwarrior story, but the actions of those around the lead character and the\ncriticism it delivers at the feet of this famous warrior class makes a strong\nimpression. This film definitely sticks with the viewer long after the credits\nroll, and it\u2019s great to see it getting the attention it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, the image quality is very good with dark blacks and remarkable detail visible (the stills used in this review don’t do the film justice). Again, for what must have been a B-movie, it looks impressive and that epic climax, while over-the-top, is as crisp, dynamic and exciting to watch as any A-list samurai effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extras are also illuminating.\nThere is a scene-specific commentary with Asian cinema expert Tom Mes, who goes\nover many of the unique elements of the film. He discusses the themes presented\nin more detail, explaining some of the traditions and how those of higher\nsocial standing could and would manipulate others to prevent themselves from\nfalling under the knife. He reveals that the world presented is unusually harsh\nand it\u2019s a great track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This film is also not an original\nproject, but a reimagining of a 1925 silent Japanese picture called The\nSerpent<\/em>. A visual essay shows clips of the original feature and goes into\nthe differences between each version. There is a lot of trivia given about both\nprojects. It seems that telling a story about an outlaw ronin was something\nthat would have been frowned upon in the 1920s, which resulted in the early\nversion\u2019s unusual title. The essay also shows all the negative aspects of the\nsamurai and gets into more detail about the elaborate finale in the 1966\nversion. The speaker notes that despite the fact that Kobuse does end up\nsurviving the fracas, the close feels awfully bleak. I think that is certainly\ntrue given all the bloodshed, but the nature of the tale makes it hard to\nimagine the leads laying down and dying as being any less grim. In any telling\nregardless of the end result, it would be a dark and heavy story. This essay\npresents some great insight and thoughts on the picture and its effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Tom Mes presents\nanother visual essay going into key themes or motifs in the director\u2019s work.\nNatural elements like fog, mist, dirt and fire are frequently being thrust into\nthe frame and you\u2019ll see specific examples. And the critic notes some of the\nframing and editing techniques used in the films, noting that during the fight\nscenes, traditional wide angles and long takes are used (but, in The\nBetrayal<\/em>, the fights are broken up with very quick close-up inserts of\nblades and implements crashing together that liven up the proceedings). Sadly,\nno one interviewed Tanaka during his lifetime to get more insight into his\npreferred storytelling techniques and why he used them, but it\u2019s exciting to\nhear an expert on the subject give his opinion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the disc contains a booklet\nwith a written essay that contains more arguments about ideas in the film that\nmay not immediately spring to mind upon first viewing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of samurai\npictures out there, but The Betrayal<\/em> is a notable effort that does make\na lasting impression. It\u2019s a powerful movie and one that was certainly\nunderrated during its original release. This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray will\ncertainly help to build its fanbase, delivering a great picture and some\nenlightening bonuses. If you enjoy classic Japanese cinema, it\u2019s deserving of\nyour attention and definitely worth picking up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now available for purchase. One of the benefits of time is that a late filmmaker, whose works were once dismissed, can actually be reevaluated and find a new life and audience. Such is the case with Tokuz\u00f4 Tanaka, a Japanese artisan who got his stars as assistant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[96,697,2964,3073,6251,10385,10386,15922,16584,16616,17601,20035,20036,20037,20038,20039,22986],"class_list":["post-32037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-96","tag-action","tag-blasts-from-the-past-the-betrayal","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-drama","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-period","tag-radiance-films","tag-raizo-ichikawa-2","tag-samurai","tag-the-betrayal","tag-the-betrayal-blu-ray-review","tag-the-betrayal-disc-review","tag-the-betrayal-movie-review","tag-the-betrayal-review","tag-tokuzo-tanaka"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32037\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}