Blu Tuesday: “Paprika”

Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.

Pick of the Week: “Paprika”

Director Satoshi Kon’s 2006 anime classic may be nearly two decades old, but with the rise of commercial VR headsets and the growing scientific interest in neural implants, the futuristic vision of “Paprika” suddenly feels timelier than ever. And with a live-action series (also based on the Yasutaka Tsutsui novel of the same name) in development at Amazon, it’s the perfect time to revisit Kon’s final film, now available in a limited edition 4K SteelBook. Though Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” does a much better job with a similar premise — even if the influences from Kon’s movie are plain to see — “Paprika” is a visually stunning and wildly original sci-fi thriller that uses its visual medium to great benefit, creating an impressionistic dreamscape that showcases the power of our subconscious mind in ways that simply aren’t possible in live-action. That doesn’t completely make up for the film’s shortcomings, but it’s a major reason why “Paprika” remains one of the most striking animes of its time.

Extras include a new featurette on the movie’s 4K restoration, as well as a filmmaker commentary, a making-of documentary and much more. FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.