Manhunt 4K 1976 Ultra HD 2160p

Storyline
A tough police detective is falsely accused of corruption, and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.

User Review
Prosecutor Morioka has a bad day from the start. He is arrested by the police on suspicion of bribery and rape. He is arrested by the police on suspicion of bribery and rape. Having escaped from custody, the hero decides to deal with the situation himself and punish the guilty....

In mentions of the not-so-famous “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford, it was pointed out that, despite the basis in the form of the eponymous series of the 60s, the source of inspiration for Andrew Davis, partly became this iconic Japanese picture, which went, incidentally, in the Soviet box office. Having a common storyline, the films are really similar in many ways. A framed fugitive from justice is looking for the truth, and a principled and stubborn cop follows his trail. The only difference is in the plot details. By the way, the tandem director of this tape Junya Sato and actor Ken Takakura a year earlier released the film “Bomb on the Train” (in the Soviet box office “109th goes non-stop”), which also partially served as a source of inspiration for “Speed” Jan De Bonta. And, in fact, the 'bomb' itself took “Airport” and the original “Passengers on the Pelham 123 Train” as its inspiration. Such plot twists and turns!

But back to the 'chase'. The Japanese original, alas, did not stand the test of time. The most important shortcoming of the tape - the direction. Now the movie looks outdated, and in some places archaic. Technically, the picture is far inferior to the same “Man from Rio” with Belmondo (and he reminds me in general was filmed in 1963m!), as well as filmed around the same time, “Detective Bullitt” with McQueen. The duration of 2.5 hours is clearly not a plus for the movie. Some editing decisions cause bewilderment, and a very peculiar soundtrack in the spirit of “Benny Hill” or “Eralash” melodies, and in scenes that are quite tense, nullifies the serious mood of the picture. Actually, the shortcomings of the technical drawbacks immediately expose the shortcomings of the script. Very “movie-like” strains, bloopers and excessive conventions even for such a genre come out at once. Not to mention frankly “controversial” moves like the scene with a herd of horses in the middle of the city. However, despite the many disadvantages, there are two significant advantages in the film. The actors and the mood.

The icon of Japanese cinema Ken Takakura (series of paintings 'Abashiri Prison', 'Firefly', 'The Way of a Thousand Miles' by Zhang Yimou, 'Yakuza' by Sydney Pollack, 'Black Rain' by Ridley Scott) created a truly monumental and integral image of incorruptible and honest man, aiming to get to the truth at any cost. Charismatic Yoshio Harada ('Gypsy Motives', 'The Vigilante') played the part of the protagonist's pursuer with brilliance, looking in dark glasses and resembling the hero of Indian films.

In general, the picture is made according to the classical canons of Soviet romantic detectives: brave, honest heroes and vile villains who must be punished! That's what makes it appealing. It is hard to predict how the tape will be perceived by modern viewers. But if you like to nostalgize on retro-films with a classic approach, where “good triumphs over evil”, then perhaps it is worth a try. After all, perception, as we know, is an individual thing.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (72.2 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Info Audio

#Japanese: FLAC 2.0

Info Subtitles

Japanese, English.