Overview: The Threat is a gritty crime drama in the vein of Kurosawa’s High and Low, set against the backdrop of a rapidly modernizing Japan that has left many of its citizens behind.

Misawa (Rentarō Mikuni, Fugitive from the Past, Vengeance is Mine) appears to lead a charmed life, the very model of Japan’s post-war economic miracle. His position as the account manager of a prestigious advertising agency is enough to pay the mortgage on the spacious modern house he shares with his wife (Masumi Harukawa, Intentions of Murder) and their two young boys, kitted out with all the latest mod-cons.

Then one day, the fragility of his existence is revealed when two violent jail-breakers turn up on his doorstep seeking refuge and threatening to embroil Misawa in their criminal activities.

Arrow Video presents this little-seen early masterpiece from Kinji Fukasaku, the future director of Battles Without Honor and Humanity and Battle Royale, for the very first time outside of its own country in a stunning new transfer.

Blu-ray Verdict: Kinji Fukasaku’s kidnap thriller plays out like Kurasawa’s High and Low meets Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, as Rentaro Mikuni’s corporate ‘yes man’ is embroiled in the kidnapping of a baby. The theme of submission, both voluntary (as expected by societal norms as a means to achieve what is considered to be corporate success) and involuntary (as Mikuni is forced to harbor a criminal duo who have taken an eminent doctor’s grandson to earn safe passage of mainland Japan), is heady and Fukasaku does a superb job of keeping this notion nail-bitingly palpable throughout.

As the ransom pick-ups veer between planned and dangerously unintentional, Mikuni’s compliance with the kidnappers begins to wane, his masculinity continually threatened (especially with a horribly passive second act beating at the fists of Hideo Murota). And the film slowly simmers to a horrible, boiling crescendo, Fukasaku’s history with brutal and shocking climaxes always keeping audiences on their toes about where and how all will be resolved.

Despite the theme of masculinity (toxic or otherwise) being heady, Mikuni is a somewhat unlikeable character – when he fears his wife has been raped by one of the kidnappers, he savagely beats her as a release from his pent-up frustrations. And its brisk running time of less than 85 minutes means that despite is unswerving propulsion, it feels all just a little surface, never really allowing any of the characters to be any more than broad ciphers for societal stereotypes.

But Fukasaku directs as if he’s taken the reins of a gritty American noir – a seedy, jazzy score, billowing shadows that threaten to overwhelm the picture, and a slowly ratcheting tautness that builds to a terrifically suspenseful finale – and despite its lack of any real depth, it remains a solid and stylish kidnap thriller.

Special Features:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed mono audio
Optional newly translated English subtitles
Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Tom Mes
Warning Warning Danger Danger, a brand new 20-minute video appreciation by critic and Japanese film specialist Mark Schilling
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Hayley Scanlon
Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella

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