Blades of Blood (Blu-ray) (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Martial Arts	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	108:24 (Case: 111)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Lee Joon-Ik
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Seok-Hwan Choi Cheol-Hyeon Jo Oh Seung-Hyeon Seong-hyeon Baek Seung-won Cha Kim Chang-Wan Ji-hye Han Jeong-min Hwang Hae-Yeong Lee Kim Dong-Han
Case	?
RPI	$46.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Korean DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    I recently reviewed the DVD release of Blades of Blood on this site here. The summary of the plot below is taken from that review. Those familiar with the plot may wish to skip to the specifications sections.

     16th Century Korea is in turmoil. The country is facing an imminent Japanese invasion but the King is weak, the Korean council split into factions that are more intent on preserving their position than in opposing the Japanese. Nobleman and skilled swordsman Lee Mong-hak (Cha Seung-won), appalled by the weakness of his country and the government, sets out to create a Grand Alliance to defend the country. As a result he is branded a traitor by the government and a price put on his head. Convinced that he is the only one who can save Korea, Mong-hak raises a rebellion against the King, brushing aside opposition and killing his enemies.

     However, the government forces are not the only ones searching for Mong-hak. Once Mong-hak’s ally, but now his enemy, blind swordsman Hwang Jeong-hak (Hwang Jeong-min) is on his trail. He is joined by Han Kyan-ju (Baek Seong-hyeon), the illegitimate son of a nobleman Mong-hak has killed, and Baek-ji (Han Ji-hye), a young woman who loves Mong-hak. As Mong-hak’s rebellion grows, and the Japanese invade, the King and the factions on the council cannot agree on any strategy and abandon the capital. As the Japanese troops, Mong-hak’s levies and Jeong-hak, Kyan-ju and Baek-ji all converge upon the deserted capital, loyalties and convictions will be tested in a confrontation that will decide the fate of each individual, and of Korea.

     Blades of Blood is based upon the comic Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds by Park Heung Yong. The film looks fantastic with stunning costumes, vibrant set designs and beautiful sweeping landscapes. Yet, despite the title, Blades of Blood is not particularly action packed or bloody. There are a couple of set piece battles, but the main action is played out in one-on-one duels that are nicely choreographed and ignore wire work; they are realistic looking fights, only slightly spoiled by the excessive use of slow motion. Yet this is a film more concerned with political intrigue than full on action. There is a lot of exposition, and especially in the beginning it is very difficult to comprehend just who is killing who, and why. And even after the main protagonists are introduced, the film still spends time on palace issues and subsidiary characters that are not fully realised. However, when the film does concentrate on the main characters, especially the relationship between the blind Jeong-hak and the young Kyan-ju, it is very entertaining and quite funny. Indeed, both Hwang Jeong-min and Baek Seong-kyeon are excellent, with Hwang Jeong-min especially entertaining. Cha Seung-won is also good; he is a fully rounded character, with the safety of his country in his heart, and although his methods are brutal, he never looses his humanity. All three actors make us care for the characters and their fates; in contrast the character of Baek-ji is underwritten and she has little to do. It is also a pity that towards the end the film becomes overly melodramatic, the script, music and acting contributing equally. Blades of Blood may be talk heavy but it is not without interest and entertainment. It looks gorgeous, features engaging characters we can identify with, and has humour and some decent fight sequences. One just has the feeling that it could have been so much better with less talk.

Video

     The Blu-ray of Blades of Blood is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which I suspect is the original theatrical ratio, in 1080p.

     The print is fine, although not something to show off your Blu-ray. It is an improvement over the DVD, as one would expect; detail is excellent and the colours deep and natural, showing off the wide range of gorgeous costumes and sets. Skin tones are also natural, brightness and contract consistent. Blacks are good, but as with the DVD, shadow detail varied, sometime fine but sometimes indistinct. The aliasing on one building (88:02) was still evident and the HD showed up grain to a greater extent but otherwise I noted no film or film to video artefacts.

     Burnt in English subtitles are in a white font and are easy to read. They are in American English and I did not notice any spelling or grammatical errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is Korean DTS MA HD and is a noticeable improvement over the DVD. Dialogue was clear and the surrounds gave a nice enveloping feel with panning effects, ambience and music. Swords clanged satisfactorily and at one point a sword scraping over the cobblestones put my teeth on edge! The sub woofer was mostly subdued but did support music and some effects.

     Lip synchronisation was fine throughout.

     I cannot find a composer credited. The score is quite epic, with swelling strings and beating drums that was generally fine although it did go into melodrama in moments near the end (as probably was intended!).

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Absolutely noting, not even trailers for other attractions.

     This Blu-ray is coded A, B, C so is playable in all regions. The only other Blu-ray version I can find is a German Region B, that has a German language track (as well as the Korean) and some extras, including a featurette, making of and trailer. However, I cannot confirm if there are English subtitles from the feature or extras. For English speakers, go the local release.

     The Region 1 DVD US edition of the film is due for release on 13/9/2011; I am unable to find any details of specifications or extras. There was a Region 3 Korean version that included many extras, including an audio commentary, making of, music video, pre-production featurette, but YesAsia lists it as out of print. There is a single disc Region 3 Korean version with some extras, but as I don’t read Korean I’m not sure what they are. While there are English subtitles for the feature, I cannot tell if there are subtitles for the extras. The Region 2 UK release seems similar to our release.

     Blades of Blood looks fantastic with stunning costumes and sets and beautiful sweeping landscapes. While there are a couple of set piece battles and one-on-one duels, this is more a film of political intrigue that full on action.

     The video is good, but not outstanding, the audio fine but there are absolutely no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall