Pandemic Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
A deadly virus outbreak brings Japan to a standstill in the 2009 crisis thriller Pandemic (a.k.a. Kansen Retto). Coming especially relevant in a year marked by real pandemic scares, the film simulates on the silver screen the national crisis that ensues when a horrifying virus strikes Japan, infecting millions of people. Top actor Tsumabuki Satoshi (Dororo) stars as a young, valiant ER doctor who finds himself at the frontline in the fight against a highly contagious illness that begins with flu symptoms and ends in bloody death. Dan Rei (Love and Honor) plays a World Health Organization officer who joins Tsumabuki in the race against time to find a cure for the virus. Directed by Zeze Takahisa (Flying Rabbits), Pandemic features an impressive supporting cast that includes Sato Koichi (The Magic Hour), Ikewaki Chizuru (Strawberry Shortcakes), Fuji Tatsuya (Flavor of Happiness), Kuninaka Ryoko (Train Man), and Mitsuishi Ken.
Takahisa Zeze's "Kansen retto" a.k.a "Pandemic" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama. The supplemental features included on this release are two Japanese trailers and making of featurette. In Japanese, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Devastated
Somewhere in the Northern Philippines. An Avian influenza outbreak forces the government to quarantine a small village. An infected man, however, manages to escape, and the influenza quickly spreads throughout the country.
Somewhere in Japan. A man with flu symptoms is brought to a provincial ER. Dr. Matsuoka (Satoshi Tsumabuki, Dororo, Paco and the Magical Book) and his staff attempt to treat him but he dies in their hands. In a matter of hours, the hospital becomes a mad house – there are sick people with similar symptoms everywhere. The doctors are unsure what to do because none of the antibiotics they use can fight the flu.
Dr. Kobayashi (Rei Dan, Kabei: Our Mother), who works for the WHO, arrives in the hospital to investigate the mysterious flu. After a series of tests, she asks for volunteers to stay in the hospital and work with her to identify the virus.
Meanwhile, thousands of people all over Japan become infected. The government attempts to set up first aid camps in the large metropolitan areas, but there aren't enough medical supplies and staff workers to help the infected. People begin rioting. Eventually, the army is sent to restore order.
Back in the hospital Dr. Matsuoka and Dr. Kobayashi manage to trace where the virus originated from. Shortly after, the government announces that it would take approximately six months to develop a vaccine. Hundreds of thousands of people, however, have already died, and many of Japan's biggest cities have become mass graves. There are concerns that in six months there may be no one left to treat.
Japanese director Takahisa Zeze has done a good number of films in a variety of different genres, from pinku eiga (softcore pornography) to horror and drama. In the United States a number of his films have appeared on SDVD, amongst them Kokkuri-san, Tokyo X Erotica, as well as the very well received at various film festivals Moon Child.
Shot on locations in Japan and the Philippines, Pandemic blends drama, horror, and romance in a way that could potentially frustrate some viewers. While for the most part the film is finely lensed, its pacing is fairly inconsistent, and main characters rather cliched. Some of its special effects also look slightly out of place.
The film's message, however, is honest and very effective, and I don't believe that there are too many people who would question its validity – man is his own worst enemy. On the other hand, the SARS and Ebola outbreaks from recent years also prove that everything director Zeze shows in Pandemic could happen.
Pandemic should resonate well with those of you who enjoyed Wolfgang Petersen's similarly themed Outbreak (and perhaps even those of you who remember Robert Wise's The Andromeda Strain) - as long as you approach it with an open mind and understand that it is not meant to be a flashy Hollywood-style disaster film.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Takahisa Zeze's Pandemic arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama.
This is a good high-definition transfer, though one that is also somewhat inconsistent. Generally speaking, fine object detail is strong and clarity pleasing. There are a number of close-ups throughout the entire film showing the suffering of the infected, and the overwhelming majority of them look very good. With a few minor exceptions, contrast levels are also consistent. What I did not quite like are some of the apparently intentional color manipulations; the heavy orange tint for example is also accompanied with light pulsations. During the urban scenes, however, greens, blues, grays, and blacks look rich and well saturated. There are a couple of scenes where I noticed mild edge-enhancement creeping in. Light noise reduction has been applied to selected scenes as well (again, these are the scenes with the color manipulations). Macroblocking, however, is never an issue of concern. While viewing the film I also did not see any stability issues to report in this review. Finally, I also did not see any disturbing scratches, marks, flecks, or stains. All in all, this is still a very pleasing presentation of an interesting film, which is yet to be released on Blu-ray in North America. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (with portions of English). For the record, Panorama have provided optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature.
The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is not overly active but it is pleasingly potent, the rear channels intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Goro Yasukawa's music score either. Lastly, while viewing the film I did not detect any pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review. To sum it all up, the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track serves the film quite well.
Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on a separate R3 NTSC SDVD. In order to view them in North America, you must have a Region-Free Blu-ray player or a Region-Free SDVD player.
Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film. In Japanese, with optional Traditional Chinese subtitles. (28 min).
Trailer 1 - the original Japanese trailer for Pandemic. In Japanese, with optional Traditional Chinese subtitles. (2 min).
Trailer 2 - another Japanese trailer for Pandemic. In Japanese, with optional Traditional Chinese subtitles. (2 min).
A box office hit in Japan, Takahisa Zeze's Pandemic is an entertaining film with an excellent message. Hopefully, what it shows we never get to experience. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Panorama, looks and sounds good. It is, however, Region-A "locked", so keep that in mind if you reside in a Region-B territory and do not have the proper equipment to view its content. RECOMMENDED.
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