Game Trilogy (1978 & 1979) Arrow Video Blu-ray Review

Tory Murakawa is a Japanese film director that is probably best known for his collaborations with the actor Yūsaku Matsuda in both film and television.

In the late 1970s, Toru and Yūsaku joined forces for the Game Trilogy. Arrow Video known for giving American films fans a chance to own foreign film on deluxe Blu-rays now are giving the Game Trilogy a chance to shone on Blu-ray. Let's see the films that are included in this trilogy.

Our Rating System:
****=Don’t Miss it!
***=Worth a look.
**=An Ok way to spend an evening.
*=You haven’t missed anything.

The Most Dangerous Game (1978) Shoheo, an assassin hired to recover a kidnap victim, becomes involved in a war between the police and other criminals. ***

The Killing Game (1978) After making a sensational hit, Narumi has gone into hiding for 5 years. When he comes back he bumps into two women that he has spared 5 years ago. ***

The Execution Game (1979) When he is forced to kill another assassin, a hit man becomes embroiled in a complex web of mysterious organizations and hidden identities. ***

These films are action packed and Yūsaku Matsuda is amazing to say the least. The scores by Yuji Ohno really enhance the enjoyment of these films. In a word of warning. These films are from another generation so there is violence towards women and some sexual violence. So viewer discretion is advised.

Arrow Video have transferred this trilogy to Blu-ray. All three films are presented in 1080p in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The soundtrack is the original lossless mono Japanese soundtracks. There is also the option for newly translated English subtitles. Every single film looks and sounds really good. Fans of Japanese cinema are going to be impressed with how good these films look!

But a nice transfer is not all that is included in this set. The Blu-ray set includes, reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella, A double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella, and Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Hayley Scanlon and Dimitri Ianni. But than there is also on disc bonus features as well!

DISC 1: THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

* Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow

* The Action Man, a 30-minute interview with director Toru Murakawa

* Original Japanese theatrical trailer

* Image gallery


DISC 2: THE KILLING GAME & THE EXECUTION GAME

* Brand new audio commentary on The Killing Game by Earl Jackson and Jasper Sharp

* Brand new audio commentary on The Execution Game by Tom Mes

* Remembering Yusaku Matsuda, an interview with Yutaka Oki, film critic and personal friend of Yusaku Matsuda

* Game Changer, an interview with The Execution Game screenwriter Shoichi Maruyama

* Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
* Image galleries for both films

So as you can see there is a lot of entertainment in this collection. Three films, commentaries, interviews, featurettes and more. There is enough material here for days of entertainment! Arrow Video continually produces Blu-rays that are must own releases.

So if you enjoy Japanese cinema I think this Arrow Video Blu-ray release of Game Trilogy is a Blu-ray you will want to add to your collection. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.

Out of 4 Film Reels (4 being the best) the Blu-ray release of Game Trilogy receives...