Review of Sayonara

Introduction

The late great Marlon Brando stars in Sayonara, a film that garnered huge critical acclaim when the Oscars did the rounds in 1957, winning an impressive four out of the ten nominations it received. The story revolves around a Korean War fighter-pilot (Brando), the son of a general who`s been re-assigned to Japan, where fraternization with the local women is taboo. After his engagement to another`s daughter is broken, he finds himself falling for a Japanese entertainer (Miiko Taka) and then struggling with his own bias. Directed by Joshua Logan from a Paul Osborn script, and adapted from a novel by James Michener, the film takes a daring look at prejudice and post-war racial bias against the Japanese.

Video

Given the age of the source material, this is an outstanding replication onto the DVD medium. Unlike so many films from classic cinema being released on DVD recently, the blemishes & flaws in the print are kept to an absolute minimum here, with both the color & framing being top-notch. I did notice the contrast of some scenes would change to an either lighter or darker tone on the rare occasion, but this is just a small & for the most part, un-noticeable drawback.

Audio

The movie has a breath-taking score, and its realized beautifully on the DD 2.0 track. Dialogue is faultless throughout, at just the right balance, with the stereo separation moderate throughout.

Features

The only addition is a rather strange trailer narrated by female-lead Mikki Taka.

Conclusion

Sayonara is an overall satisfying experience let down by some illogical moments in the script. It`s all very preachy & predictable for the most part, but it is masterfully film-making, with all involved elevating the film from the mundane into higher grounds. Unsurprisingly extras are scarce, but both the video & audio quality is up to the recent high MGM standards, resulting in this being a safe bet for Brando fans.