Pathfinder Home Entertainment's DVD of Rikidozan: A Hero Extraordinaire showcases the film in a clean, smooth anamorphic widescreen transfer. The letterboxed 2.35:1 image looks great, with a warm 35mm print that is on par with your average big-budgeted Asian productions (minus the kung fu).
 
Rikidozan, is a 2004 South Korean and Japanese film written and directed by Song Hae-seong. The film is based on the life of professional wrestler Rikid?zan and stars Sol Kyung-gu in the titular role. Also starring in the movie are Miki Nakatani, Tatsuya Fuji, and actual Japanese wrestlers Keiji Mutoh and Masakatsu Funaki.
 
n 1953, Japan was in desperate need of a hero. After the national shame of WWII, the dreams and imaginations of Japan were captured by one man: superstar pro-wrestler Rikidozan. 5 foot 9 and 240 lbs of bulging muscle with a rakish smile that said, "Not only will I be just as good as you Yankee wrestlers, but I'll beat you at your own game." Billed as the villain when he wrestled in the U.S., Rikidozan was a national hero in Japan. At the height of his fame in the US and early 50's, millions of Japanese would be glued to their TV sets to watch his fights. "He's one of us, a Nihonjin (Japanese)," his fans must have thought at the time, "who's not afraid to stand up to the Americans." Strange then, that Rikidozan was in fact Korean, but would keep his true identity secret.