The opening credits of The Shape of Night introduce us to sex worker Yoshie (Kuwano Miyuki) in close-ups under the neon reds and blues of nighttime Tokyo streets. Cigarette between two fingers and a look of cool detachment on her face, she seems ready for whatever the city can throw at her. But as the sequence drags on, her calm shatters and she begins to look around her in darting, nervous glances as she seeks out potential customers. Though she quickly recovers her icy facade, Yoshie reveals a part of herself that she hasn’t fully armored against her work.
From there, Nakamura Noboru’s film flashes back a few years to the start of Yoshie’s current line of work, finding the woman as a fresh-faced factory worker who takes a second job as a bar hostess for extra cash. One night, a charming young man, Eiji (Hira Mikijiro...
From there, Nakamura Noboru’s film flashes back a few years to the start of Yoshie’s current line of work, finding the woman as a fresh-faced factory worker who takes a second job as a bar hostess for extra cash. One night, a charming young man, Eiji (Hira Mikijiro...
- 4/18/2024
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
As December begins, you might be looking forward to spending time with friends and family over the holidays—and in need of some gift-giving inspiration. Look no further than Notebook's Cinephile Gift Guide, the proverbial online Shop Around the Corner (1940).Below is our third annual, lovingly curated guide to the holiday season. It's sure to spread film-themed cheer, and we hope it's thorough enough to surprise all of the film fans in your life.Jump to a category:Books about cinemaBooks by filmmakers and artistsHome videoMusicHome goods, posters, and gamesApparel Books About CINEMAFirst up is UK culture and music critic Ian Penman’s kaleidoscopic, genre-bending offering to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors. The book has drawn comparisons to Charles Baudelaire and Roland Barthes, but is undoubtedly a sui generis response to a singular legacy.On offer this year from Another Gaze Editions is My Cinema by Marguerite Duras, a...
- 12/12/2023
- MUBI
J-Horror is among the most renowned internationally genres of Asian cinema, with the popularity of titles like “Ringu”, “Ju-on”, “Pulse” and so many others still echoing quite intensely. As such, it is quite interesting, even today, to shed a more thorough look to the roots, the motifs, and the reasons of success of these movies, also because some of the most central directors are still at large.
Check also this article Is J-Horror Coming Back? Six Movies that Suggest So
As such, I have to begin the review by stating that shooting this documentary seems like a colossal endeavor, both for arranging interviews with the likes of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Teruyoshi Ishii, Joji Iida, Masayuki Ochiai, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Mari Asato, and for tracking down Rie Ino'o, who played Sadako in the first two films, and Takako Fuji, who played Kayako in a number of entries of “Ju-on”. Add...
Check also this article Is J-Horror Coming Back? Six Movies that Suggest So
As such, I have to begin the review by stating that shooting this documentary seems like a colossal endeavor, both for arranging interviews with the likes of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Teruyoshi Ishii, Joji Iida, Masayuki Ochiai, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Mari Asato, and for tracking down Rie Ino'o, who played Sadako in the first two films, and Takako Fuji, who played Kayako in a number of entries of “Ju-on”. Add...
- 8/29/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The Film
When Battle Royale came out in 2000, I was 19 and just really getting into foreign language films. Like many of my generation of cinephiles, it was an early part of my DVD collection. While I enjoyed it though, I have to confess that I’ve not been back to it for over 15 years, and I never used it as a jumping off point to discover more of its director Kinji Fukasaku’s work. On this evidence, that was an error.
After a failed rebellion in which 37,000 Christians are massacred, their leader Amakusa Shiro (Kenji Sawada) returns from the dead, pledges his soul to the Devil and becomes a demon who can resurrect others to join him in his quest for vengeance. This is an interesting jumping off point for the film, because for much of the opening half hour, as Shiro gathers his band of demons (including swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi...
When Battle Royale came out in 2000, I was 19 and just really getting into foreign language films. Like many of my generation of cinephiles, it was an early part of my DVD collection. While I enjoyed it though, I have to confess that I’ve not been back to it for over 15 years, and I never used it as a jumping off point to discover more of its director Kinji Fukasaku’s work. On this evidence, that was an error.
After a failed rebellion in which 37,000 Christians are massacred, their leader Amakusa Shiro (Kenji Sawada) returns from the dead, pledges his soul to the Devil and becomes a demon who can resurrect others to join him in his quest for vengeance. This is an interesting jumping off point for the film, because for much of the opening half hour, as Shiro gathers his band of demons (including swordmaster Miyamoto Musashi...
- 6/21/2023
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There are more than enough corpses to fill a cemetery once the smoke clears in Yakuza Graveyard, but in Fukasaku Kinji’s caustic thriller national honor is the central casualty. With Japan’s severe economical crisis spreading across both sides of the law, a shooting can become a transaction. “If you kill someone, you owe damages” is how a drug-addicted prostitute justifies detective Kuroiwa’s (Watari Tetsuya) responsibility for her after he’s killed her pimp—just one of the film’s many relationships defined in business as opposed to moral terms.
Assigned to the local crime beat to cool his rogue-cop jets, Kuroiwa quickly finds himself wedged between the Nishida and Ushin families, warring yakuza groups with unsavory links to the police department. His allies include Iwata (Umemiya Tetsuo), a bellicose underworld torpedo with whom the detective bonds over bruises, booze, and Yankee hookers, and Lady Snowblood herself, Kaji Meiko,...
Assigned to the local crime beat to cool his rogue-cop jets, Kuroiwa quickly finds himself wedged between the Nishida and Ushin families, warring yakuza groups with unsavory links to the police department. His allies include Iwata (Umemiya Tetsuo), a bellicose underworld torpedo with whom the detective bonds over bruises, booze, and Yankee hookers, and Lady Snowblood herself, Kaji Meiko,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Fernando F. Croce
- Slant Magazine
The Film
I’m trying to remember the title of a movie. There’s a bomber, who puts a device on public transport. If it registers a speed over… ah I forget what the exact marker was, but anyway, that arms the bomb, then if it goes below that speed…Boom! So the cops have to figure out who this guy is, and how to disarm the bomb. I think it was called “The bus that couldn’t slow down”, but it might have been a bit snappier than that.
That aside, 1975’s The Bullet Train definitely bears some striking similarities to, you know, that bus movie. Ken Takahara plays Okita, he’s 40, has lost his company in a bankruptcy and is recently divorced. Recruiting two friends (Kei Yamamoto and Akira Oda) to help set it up, he develops a plan to hold a bullet train with approximately 1500 passengers to...
I’m trying to remember the title of a movie. There’s a bomber, who puts a device on public transport. If it registers a speed over… ah I forget what the exact marker was, but anyway, that arms the bomb, then if it goes below that speed…Boom! So the cops have to figure out who this guy is, and how to disarm the bomb. I think it was called “The bus that couldn’t slow down”, but it might have been a bit snappier than that.
That aside, 1975’s The Bullet Train definitely bears some striking similarities to, you know, that bus movie. Ken Takahara plays Okita, he’s 40, has lost his company in a bankruptcy and is recently divorced. Recruiting two friends (Kei Yamamoto and Akira Oda) to help set it up, he develops a plan to hold a bullet train with approximately 1500 passengers to...
- 4/27/2023
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Samurai Reincarnation [Makai TENSHŌ] (Masters of Cinema) Special Edition Blu-ray is available to Pre-order now from the Eureka Store http://bit.ly/42x5ua2
In the aftermath of a failed rebellion, Amakusa Shiro (Kenji Sawada) is crucified, but returns as a vengeance-filled demon with the power to resurrect the dead. Shiro uses his power to assemble a team of undead warriors—including legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (Ken Ogata)—and the only one who can stop them is the wandering samurai, Yagyu Jubei (Sonny Chiba).
A spectacular chanbara fantasy epic from Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale), Samurai Reincarnation makes its UK debut from a stunning 2K restoration as part of the Masters of Cinema series.
Special Edition Blu-ray Features:*
Limited Edition Slipcase (First print run of 2000 copies) featuring artwork by Takato Yamamato | 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K restoration of the original film elements | Uncompressed original Japanese mono audio | Alternate English dubbed audio...
In the aftermath of a failed rebellion, Amakusa Shiro (Kenji Sawada) is crucified, but returns as a vengeance-filled demon with the power to resurrect the dead. Shiro uses his power to assemble a team of undead warriors—including legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (Ken Ogata)—and the only one who can stop them is the wandering samurai, Yagyu Jubei (Sonny Chiba).
A spectacular chanbara fantasy epic from Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale), Samurai Reincarnation makes its UK debut from a stunning 2K restoration as part of the Masters of Cinema series.
Special Edition Blu-ray Features:*
Limited Edition Slipcase (First print run of 2000 copies) featuring artwork by Takato Yamamato | 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K restoration of the original film elements | Uncompressed original Japanese mono audio | Alternate English dubbed audio...
- 3/31/2023
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Announced by Arrow Video this morning, Ju-On: The Grudge Collection is due out this December, featuring a brand new 4K restoration of Japanese classic Ju-On: The Grudge.
This one is a UK Release, headed our way on December 19, 2022.
“Ju-On”: the name given to a deadly curse spawned when someone dies in the grip of a violent rage. All who come into contact with it are doomed… Collected together for the first time, writer-director Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge series represents the flesh-crawling pinnacle of Japanese chillers that swept the globe at the turn of the millennium.
The films introduce the anonymous family house in the suburbs of Tokyo where an unspeakable evil lingers alongside its residents, the ghastly mother-son pairing of Kayoko and Toshio Saeki. Shimizu’s disconcerting approach to plotting, unnerving eye for the uncanny details in the dark corners of the frame and an innate talent...
This one is a UK Release, headed our way on December 19, 2022.
“Ju-On”: the name given to a deadly curse spawned when someone dies in the grip of a violent rage. All who come into contact with it are doomed… Collected together for the first time, writer-director Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge series represents the flesh-crawling pinnacle of Japanese chillers that swept the globe at the turn of the millennium.
The films introduce the anonymous family house in the suburbs of Tokyo where an unspeakable evil lingers alongside its residents, the ghastly mother-son pairing of Kayoko and Toshio Saeki. Shimizu’s disconcerting approach to plotting, unnerving eye for the uncanny details in the dark corners of the frame and an innate talent...
- 9/30/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Kaizo Hayashi’s To Sleep So As To Dream (1968) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video.
Two private detectives hunt for an actress trapped within the reel of a silent ninja film in the dreamlike debut of Kaizo Hayashi, a magical double-handed cinephilic homage to the movie worlds of the 1910s and 1950s.
When private eye Uotsuka and his sidekick Kobayashi are approached by an aged former actress, Madame Cherryblossom, to go in search of her kidnapped daughter Bellflower, their investigations lead them to the studios of the mysterious M. Pathe company. Here Uotsuka has a strange vision in which he comes face to face with the beautiful star of a 1915 chanbara film that appears to have no ending. From then on, things begin to get a little strange…
Among the most impressive and critically regarded Japanese films of the 1980s, To Sleep so as To Dream...
Two private detectives hunt for an actress trapped within the reel of a silent ninja film in the dreamlike debut of Kaizo Hayashi, a magical double-handed cinephilic homage to the movie worlds of the 1910s and 1950s.
When private eye Uotsuka and his sidekick Kobayashi are approached by an aged former actress, Madame Cherryblossom, to go in search of her kidnapped daughter Bellflower, their investigations lead them to the studios of the mysterious M. Pathe company. Here Uotsuka has a strange vision in which he comes face to face with the beautiful star of a 1915 chanbara film that appears to have no ending. From then on, things begin to get a little strange…
Among the most impressive and critically regarded Japanese films of the 1980s, To Sleep so as To Dream...
- 3/11/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ursprünglich hätte Regisseur Toshiaki Toyoda der neue Stern am Himmel der Shogi-Spieler werden können, hatte er doch, wie viele andere junge Männer, hart trainiert und Jahre seines Lebens in den das Spiel, dessen Strategien und Taktiken investiert. Dann jedoch zog er nach Tokio und begann eine ganz andere Karriere als Filmemacher, die 1999 fulminant mit seinem Spielfilmdebüt „Pornostar“, auch bekannt unter dem Titel „Tokyo Rampage“, begann. Mit diesem ersten Film machte er nicht nur auf sich aufmerksam, sondern setzte den Grundstein für ein wütendes Kino, welche, mit reichlich Verweisen auf die japanische Pop- und Jugendkultur, auf Themen wie Gewalt, Verbrechen, soziale Isolation und Ungleichheit verwies, die Toyodas Werk bis heute prägen und zu einem der wohl wichtigsten zeitgenössischen Filmografien machen.
Im Zentrum der Handlung steht Arano (Koji Chihara), ein junger Mann, der eines Tages im Tokioter Stadtteil Shibuya erscheint. Unauffällig und den Kopf vergraben in der weiten Kapuze seines dunkelgrünen Regenmantels...
Im Zentrum der Handlung steht Arano (Koji Chihara), ein junger Mann, der eines Tages im Tokioter Stadtteil Shibuya erscheint. Unauffällig und den Kopf vergraben in der weiten Kapuze seines dunkelgrünen Regenmantels...
- 11/19/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Salor Suit and Machine Gun
A perky high-schooler takes on the mob in “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun”, a one-of-a-kind genre-bender that riffs on the yakuza film, coming-of-age drama and ‘idol movie’, inventively adapted from Jiro Akagawa’s popular novel by director Shinji Somai, a massively influential figure in Japanese cinema whose work has been little seen outside his homeland.
Hoshi Izumi is a young innocent forced to grow up quickly when her father dies and she finds herself next in line as the boss of a moribund yakuza clan. Wrenched from the security of her classroom and thrust into the heart of the criminal underworld, she must come to terms with the fact that her actions hold the key to the life or death of the men under her command as they come under fire from rival gangs.
Presented in both its Original Theatrical and longer Complete versions, and...
A perky high-schooler takes on the mob in “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun”, a one-of-a-kind genre-bender that riffs on the yakuza film, coming-of-age drama and ‘idol movie’, inventively adapted from Jiro Akagawa’s popular novel by director Shinji Somai, a massively influential figure in Japanese cinema whose work has been little seen outside his homeland.
Hoshi Izumi is a young innocent forced to grow up quickly when her father dies and she finds herself next in line as the boss of a moribund yakuza clan. Wrenched from the security of her classroom and thrust into the heart of the criminal underworld, she must come to terms with the fact that her actions hold the key to the life or death of the men under her command as they come under fire from rival gangs.
Presented in both its Original Theatrical and longer Complete versions, and...
- 8/29/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In 2002, there was possibly no way of avoiding the presence of Japanese director Takashi Miike in his home country, given the incredible output of eight films released that year. Starting off with the final entry in the “Dead or Alive”-trilogy 2002 included such features as “The Happiness of the Katakuris”, “Agitator” as well as “Graveyard of Honor”, a re-interpretation of the original directed by Kinji Fukasaku in 1975. While some of the entries of that year have more or less disappeared into obscurity, perhaps one of the most notable development in Miike’s career is the occurrence of two films – “Graveyard of Honor” and “The Happiness of the Katakuris” – based on an already existing film. But then again, a “remake” by Takashi Miike is never just a “remake”, it is always something quite unique.
In an interview during the 2002 International Rotterdam Film Festival, Miike finds a moment of...
In an interview during the 2002 International Rotterdam Film Festival, Miike finds a moment of...
- 8/9/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Hello, everyone! To kick off this month’s horror and sci-fi home media releases, we have an eclectic array of titles coming out this week. In terms of recent genre films, Rlje Films is releasing both Lucky by Natasha Kermani and Simon Barrett’s Seance on Tuesday, and if you’re a fan of the original Transformers movie (like this writer is), Shout! Factory has put together an incredible-looking Steelbook to celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary as well.
Arrow Video is keeping busy with two different sets of genre classics with their Sergio Martino Collection and The Daimajin Trilogy, and Code Red is showing some love to Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker this Tuesday with a special edition Blu-ray release.
Other titles headed home on August 3rd include Night Feeder, Dead Again, It Wants Blood, and Tailgate.
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Aka Night Warning: Special Edition
Terror begins when a...
Arrow Video is keeping busy with two different sets of genre classics with their Sergio Martino Collection and The Daimajin Trilogy, and Code Red is showing some love to Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker this Tuesday with a special edition Blu-ray release.
Other titles headed home on August 3rd include Night Feeder, Dead Again, It Wants Blood, and Tailgate.
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Aka Night Warning: Special Edition
Terror begins when a...
- 8/2/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The Daimajin Trilogy will be available on Blu-ray July 27th from Arrow Video
The Daimajin Trilogy saw Daieis Kyoto studios bringing its own iconic movie monster to life in a unique but short-lived series that transplants the Golem legend to Japans Warring States period of the late-16th century.
In Daimajin, directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, the young son and daughter of the benevolent feudal lord Hanabusa flee to the mountains when their parents are slain by the treacherous usurper Odate. Ten years later, when the elderly priestess who has harbored them is also murdered, the rage of the slumbering ancient god that lies beneath the crumbling giant stone idol hidden deep in the forests in the mountains is invoked. In Return of Daimajin, Kenji Misumi brings his usual stylistic flourish, as the wrathful deity is roused from his new home on an island in the middle of a lake by...
The Daimajin Trilogy saw Daieis Kyoto studios bringing its own iconic movie monster to life in a unique but short-lived series that transplants the Golem legend to Japans Warring States period of the late-16th century.
In Daimajin, directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, the young son and daughter of the benevolent feudal lord Hanabusa flee to the mountains when their parents are slain by the treacherous usurper Odate. Ten years later, when the elderly priestess who has harbored them is also murdered, the rage of the slumbering ancient god that lies beneath the crumbling giant stone idol hidden deep in the forests in the mountains is invoked. In Return of Daimajin, Kenji Misumi brings his usual stylistic flourish, as the wrathful deity is roused from his new home on an island in the middle of a lake by...
- 6/14/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Asian Cinema Education is an invitation to a journey through contemporary Asian cinema and an encouragement to learn how to talk and write about it. The platform was created to fill in the blanks in the knowledge of modern Asian cinema. This is a unique opportunity for all Asian film lovers and future film critics to debate the key phenomena in the cinemas of South and Southeast Asia hand-in-hand with experts and film organizers.
Check the Facebook group of the project
The project was initiated by film festivals promoting Asian culture in the EU: Five Flavours Asian Film Festival from Poland, Camera Japan Festival from Holland, Udine Far East Film Festival from Italy, and Helsinki Cine Aasia from Finland. The organizations are a part of the informal Network of Asian Film Festivals in Europe (Naffe). Their mission is not only to create a gripping film program, but also to infect...
Check the Facebook group of the project
The project was initiated by film festivals promoting Asian culture in the EU: Five Flavours Asian Film Festival from Poland, Camera Japan Festival from Holland, Udine Far East Film Festival from Italy, and Helsinki Cine Aasia from Finland. The organizations are a part of the informal Network of Asian Film Festivals in Europe (Naffe). Their mission is not only to create a gripping film program, but also to infect...
- 5/5/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
We have an eclectic array of home media offerings coming out this week, led by the latest from Neil Marshall, The Reckoning. Shadow in the Cloud, featuring Chloë Grace Moretz, is also headed to Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, and if you missed the previous release of the Shinya Tsukamoto set from Arrow, they are releasing a standard Special Edition version of Solid Metal Nightmares as well.
Other Blu and DVD releases making their debut on April 6th include Doors, Sleepless, Dawn of the Beast, Lurking in the Woods, and Killer Karaoke.
The Reckoning
After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil...
Other Blu and DVD releases making their debut on April 6th include Doors, Sleepless, Dawn of the Beast, Lurking in the Woods, and Killer Karaoke.
The Reckoning
After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil...
- 4/5/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Tom Mes, in his book “Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto” writes: The international breakthrough of Tsukamoto and Tetsuo came at a time when Japanese cinema seemed all but forgotten by foreign minds. The monolithic Akira Kurosawa and a few survivors of the generation that had come to prominence in the 1960s – the filmmakers who made up the Japanese New Wave, most notably Nagisa Osima and Shohei Imamura – still gained praise during the ’80s, but it can be argued that the 1983 Palme d’Or for Imamura’s The Ballad of Narayama in Cannes had less impact than the award for Best Film from Tetsuo at the relatively modest FantaFestival in Rome. The reason is that not only was Tetsuo a film by a director from a new generation, it also brought a new generation of foreign fans to Japanese film. Rather than being built on the remnants of the past,...
- 3/26/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“You’re not in touch with your feelings.”
Considering the majority of his work deals with the link of the body, our consciousness and the (often urban) environment, making a film about sexuality was perhaps just the logical next step in the career of Shinya Tsukamoto. In fact, the director admits having thought about that idea ever since the production of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”, especially since both works demonstrate narrative and formal parallels. Much like this film’s premise the story for the project, which would later be called “A Snake of June”, also consisted of a minimalist environment in which a character is stalked and finally confronted by a villainous person.
“A Snake of June” is streaming on Mubi
However, it took him longer than expected to make “ A Snake of June”. In the end, this time benefited the project to a certain degree, Tsukamoto admits, for his relationship towards the opposite sex,...
Considering the majority of his work deals with the link of the body, our consciousness and the (often urban) environment, making a film about sexuality was perhaps just the logical next step in the career of Shinya Tsukamoto. In fact, the director admits having thought about that idea ever since the production of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”, especially since both works demonstrate narrative and formal parallels. Much like this film’s premise the story for the project, which would later be called “A Snake of June”, also consisted of a minimalist environment in which a character is stalked and finally confronted by a villainous person.
“A Snake of June” is streaming on Mubi
However, it took him longer than expected to make “ A Snake of June”. In the end, this time benefited the project to a certain degree, Tsukamoto admits, for his relationship towards the opposite sex,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Shinya Tsukamoto is a particularly significant filmmaker for the contemporary Japanese industry, since his “Tetsuo” turned international interest once more toward the country’s cinema, after a rather disastrous decade during the 80s. Furthermore, it created a completely new audience for Japanese filmmakers, this time not among those who had previously dealt with Kurosawa, Ozu and Mizoguchi, but younger ones, who were searching for films that would eventually take the title of cult.
Tom Mes paints a rather thorough and analytical portrait of the prolific artist, starting from his childhood and encompassing all his capacities, that also include stage plays, acting and voice acting, particularly for TV and radio commercials, which Tsukamoto still refers to as his main source of income. In that fashion, the book begins with how Tsukamoto grew up and his first influences (Ultra Q), his relationship with his brother, mother and the rather...
Tom Mes paints a rather thorough and analytical portrait of the prolific artist, starting from his childhood and encompassing all his capacities, that also include stage plays, acting and voice acting, particularly for TV and radio commercials, which Tsukamoto still refers to as his main source of income. In that fashion, the book begins with how Tsukamoto grew up and his first influences (Ultra Q), his relationship with his brother, mother and the rather...
- 9/26/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Burst City is an explosive Molotov cocktail of dystopian sci-fi, Mad Max-style biker wars against yakuza gangsters and the police, and riotous performances from members of the real-life Japanese punk bands The Stalin, The Roosters, The Rockers and Inu.
In a derelict industrial wasteland somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, two rival punk bands and their unruly mobs of fans gather for a Battle of the Bands-style protest against the construction of a nuclear power plant, bringing them head to head with the yakuza industrialists behind the development of their turf.
This extraordinary celebration of Japan’s punk music scene of the early 1980s thrust Sōgo Ishii (now known by the name of Gakuryū Ishii), the underground filmmaking wunderkind behind such works as Half Human: Einstürzende Neubauten (1986), Angel Dust (1994) and Electric Dragon 80,000V (2001), to the next level and is regularly cited as an early landmark in Japanese cyberpunk cinema.
In a derelict industrial wasteland somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, two rival punk bands and their unruly mobs of fans gather for a Battle of the Bands-style protest against the construction of a nuclear power plant, bringing them head to head with the yakuza industrialists behind the development of their turf.
This extraordinary celebration of Japan’s punk music scene of the early 1980s thrust Sōgo Ishii (now known by the name of Gakuryū Ishii), the underground filmmaking wunderkind behind such works as Half Human: Einstürzende Neubauten (1986), Angel Dust (1994) and Electric Dragon 80,000V (2001), to the next level and is regularly cited as an early landmark in Japanese cyberpunk cinema.
- 8/31/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Camera Japan are very pleased to announce two screenings before the start of the 2020 edition of Camera Japan on 23 September.
On 26 August, they will team up with LantarenVenster to screen the animated romantic drama Ride Your Wave (きみと、波にのれたら, 2019) by Yuasa Masaaki (湯浅政明).
Tom Mes will give a talk about anime before the start of the screening. The talk will be in English and the film is also subtitled in English. Tickets are available online via the website of LantarenVenster.
On 10 September, they will present a Film & Curry event at the Paviljoen aan het Water at Brielselaan 157 in Rotterdam. They know you must have missed their legendary vegan curry, so be sure to grab the chance and bag seats at this Camera Japan exclusive!
At the event, they will screen Like Father, Like Son (そして父になる, 2013) by Kore-eda Hirokazu (是枝裕和). The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, received...
On 26 August, they will team up with LantarenVenster to screen the animated romantic drama Ride Your Wave (きみと、波にのれたら, 2019) by Yuasa Masaaki (湯浅政明).
Tom Mes will give a talk about anime before the start of the screening. The talk will be in English and the film is also subtitled in English. Tickets are available online via the website of LantarenVenster.
On 10 September, they will present a Film & Curry event at the Paviljoen aan het Water at Brielselaan 157 in Rotterdam. They know you must have missed their legendary vegan curry, so be sure to grab the chance and bag seats at this Camera Japan exclusive!
At the event, they will screen Like Father, Like Son (そして父になる, 2013) by Kore-eda Hirokazu (是枝裕和). The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, received...
- 8/25/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
“Zombie for Sale“
Synopsis:
An infectiously funny slice of modern Korean cinema where Train to Busan, The Quiet Family and Warm Bodies collide to create a memorable rom-zom-com from first time director Lee Min-jae.
When the illegal human experiments of Korea’s biggest Pharmaceutical company go wrong, one of their “undead” test subjects escapes and ends up in a shabby gas station owned by the Park family – a band of misfits spanning three generations who hustle passers-by to make ends meet. When the Park family uncover their undead visitor, he bites the head of their household, who instead of transforming into an undead ghoul becomes revitalised and full of life! The family then hatch a plan to exploit this unexpected fountain of youth, allowing locals to pay to be bitten too, until things go wrong…
With a cabbage-munching zombie who prefers ketchup over blood, and a dysfunctional family that gives...
Synopsis:
An infectiously funny slice of modern Korean cinema where Train to Busan, The Quiet Family and Warm Bodies collide to create a memorable rom-zom-com from first time director Lee Min-jae.
When the illegal human experiments of Korea’s biggest Pharmaceutical company go wrong, one of their “undead” test subjects escapes and ends up in a shabby gas station owned by the Park family – a band of misfits spanning three generations who hustle passers-by to make ends meet. When the Park family uncover their undead visitor, he bites the head of their household, who instead of transforming into an undead ghoul becomes revitalised and full of life! The family then hatch a plan to exploit this unexpected fountain of youth, allowing locals to pay to be bitten too, until things go wrong…
With a cabbage-munching zombie who prefers ketchup over blood, and a dysfunctional family that gives...
- 4/26/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Jasper Sharp is a writer, curator and filmmaker specialising in Japanese cinema, and co-founder of the Japanese film website Midnighteye.com. His book publications include The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (2003), joint-written with Tom Mes, Behind the Pink Curtain (2008) and The Historical Dictionary of Japanese Film (2011). He is the co-director of The Creeping Garden (2014), alongside Tim Grabham, a documentary about plasmodial slime moulds. He has programmed a number of high profile seasons and retrospectives with organisations including the British Film Institute, Deutches Filmmuseum, Austin Fantastic Fest, the Cinematheque Quebecois and Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
We spoke with Jasper no longer after his talk – in recent, more social times – on Ero Guro for the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies in London, and we discussed about how he got sucked into the wild side of Japanese Cinema, the years of Midnight Eye, his latest passions and more.
Hi Jasper. In...
We spoke with Jasper no longer after his talk – in recent, more social times – on Ero Guro for the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies in London, and we discussed about how he got sucked into the wild side of Japanese Cinema, the years of Midnight Eye, his latest passions and more.
Hi Jasper. In...
- 4/17/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
“Last Run” is a stand out film in Miike’s oeuvre, for a number of reasons, which, unfortunately, have very little to do with quality. The script of the film was kickstarted by a screenplay competition organized by TV Tokyo and Nikkei newspaper, who asked their readers to submit a feature-length story about a business-related topic. The winner was Keiwa Okada, who was inspired by the true story of a Japanese collector who paid Us$ 18.8 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 Gto, the largest sum ever paid for a single car at the time. Miike, the ultimate Director-for-hire was the right man for the job. However, the production was a good opportunity for him, since the big budget (for a TV movie) allowed him to shoot abroad and with a foreign crew for the first time, and particularly in Ferrari’s hometown, Modena, and Imola, where the homonymous racetrack is.
Despite being based on a true event,...
Despite being based on a true event,...
- 4/5/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Probably Tom Mes’s biggest trait as a writer is the fact that he manages to combine academic-level analysis with a style of writing that is quite easy to read. This has been exhibited in his previous book about Takashi Miike, Shinya Tsukamoto and Meiko Kaji, but seems to have found its apogee in his latest effort, about the cult-samurai movie series, “Lone Wolf and Cub”.
To begin with, the research is as thorough as possible and spares no detail about not only the movies, but every aspect that surrounds them. In that fashion, the first part of the book begins with the story of the manga and its two creators, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, continues with the concept of Bushido and its presentation (and deconstruction) in Japanese cinema, and concludes with the life stories of director Kenji Misumi, who directed the first three entries, and Tomisaburo Wakayama,...
To begin with, the research is as thorough as possible and spares no detail about not only the movies, but every aspect that surrounds them. In that fashion, the first part of the book begins with the story of the manga and its two creators, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, continues with the concept of Bushido and its presentation (and deconstruction) in Japanese cinema, and concludes with the life stories of director Kenji Misumi, who directed the first three entries, and Tomisaburo Wakayama,...
- 3/20/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
In collaboration with LantarenVenster, Camera Japan will screen Tokyo Godfathers at 19:00 on Tuesday, March 24 at LantarenVenster in Rotterdam.
Tokyo Godfathers is a modern classic by Kon Satoshi, a renowned director of Japanese animation. Kon, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 46, also directed Perfect Blue and Paprika.
Storyline:
One Christmas Eve, three homeless people – a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, a former drag queen named Hana, and a dependent runaway girl named Miyuki – discover an abandoned newborn while searching through the garbage. A search for the parents of the child ensues. During their efforts their respective pasts catch up with them as they learn to look ahead to the future.
Anime is usually seen as something typically Japanese, even representing the country and its culture. But the Japanese animation industry has a long history of interaction with Asia, North America, and Europe. From the early days of Astro Boy,...
Tokyo Godfathers is a modern classic by Kon Satoshi, a renowned director of Japanese animation. Kon, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 46, also directed Perfect Blue and Paprika.
Storyline:
One Christmas Eve, three homeless people – a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, a former drag queen named Hana, and a dependent runaway girl named Miyuki – discover an abandoned newborn while searching through the garbage. A search for the parents of the child ensues. During their efforts their respective pasts catch up with them as they learn to look ahead to the future.
Anime is usually seen as something typically Japanese, even representing the country and its culture. But the Japanese animation industry has a long history of interaction with Asia, North America, and Europe. From the early days of Astro Boy,...
- 3/10/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
In 1999, Miike suggested to the producer of Shinya Tsukamoto’s film, “Gemini” to shoot a documentary on the film’s production process, since he was very interested in the director’s method of filmmaking. Miike was granted permission, but since it was impossible for him to attend the entire shooting period, he allocated recording duties to Seiji Minami, who remained present for the entire production, shooting with a small Dv camera. In the end however, only 17 minutes of the documentary were included in the Japanese version of the DVD of Gemini. (Source: “Agitator” by Tom Mes)
The documentary starts with some clips from the movie accompanied by the great theme by Chu Ishikawa, before Miike starts presenting the actual shooting process. Since Tsukamoto was also the Dp of the film, a number of scenes feature him shooting the action in guerilla fashion, on top of carriages moved...
The documentary starts with some clips from the movie accompanied by the great theme by Chu Ishikawa, before Miike starts presenting the actual shooting process. Since Tsukamoto was also the Dp of the film, a number of scenes feature him shooting the action in guerilla fashion, on top of carriages moved...
- 1/31/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
In February, Arrow Video send a wonderful Valentine to genre film fans, with a bells and whistles release of a classic J-horror trilogy.
The One Missed Call Trilogy- An iconic trilogy of J-horror films comes to Blu-ray for the first time! Tapping into the same brand of terror as the Ring and Grudge movies, visionary director Takashi Miike presents a modern, high-tech twist on that mainstay of Japanese folklore, the yurei or vengeful spirit, in the form of its own iconic antihero – the terrifying Mimiko.
In the first instalment in the trilogy, 2003’s One Missed Call, student Yoko receives a phone message from her future self, ending with her own death scream. Two days later, she dies in a horrific rail collision. As the mysterious phone curse spreads, claiming more young lives, Yoko’s friend Yumi joins forces with detective Hiroshi, whose sister met the same gruesome fate.
The One Missed Call Trilogy- An iconic trilogy of J-horror films comes to Blu-ray for the first time! Tapping into the same brand of terror as the Ring and Grudge movies, visionary director Takashi Miike presents a modern, high-tech twist on that mainstay of Japanese folklore, the yurei or vengeful spirit, in the form of its own iconic antihero – the terrifying Mimiko.
In the first instalment in the trilogy, 2003’s One Missed Call, student Yoko receives a phone message from her future self, ending with her own death scream. Two days later, she dies in a horrific rail collision. As the mysterious phone curse spreads, claiming more young lives, Yoko’s friend Yumi joins forces with detective Hiroshi, whose sister met the same gruesome fate.
- 12/1/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Kintaro Yajima (Katsunori Takahashi) once was the leader of an infamous biker gang, but as he became a father, he exchanged his bike for a business suit and began working for Yamato Construction. Behind the scenes, a politician along with a rival company schemes to destroy Kinatro’s employer by taking away or canceling all government contracts the firm has or competes with alongside other companies. During this time, Kintaro’s boss sends his employee to work with Igo (Tsutomu Yamazaki), a former friend of Yamato and manager of the company, who over the years has been more fond of gambling and/or drinking than taking care of business affairs.
While Kintaro has trouble getting through to Igo, Yamato loses more contracts, which jeopardizes the company as a whole along with the livelihood of its employees. Brave and confident in his abilities, Kintaro tries to fight what he sees as...
While Kintaro has trouble getting through to Igo, Yamato loses more contracts, which jeopardizes the company as a whole along with the livelihood of its employees. Brave and confident in his abilities, Kintaro tries to fight what he sees as...
- 8/8/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“He admires you. That’s why he entered the Yakuza world.”
On the DVD release of “Full Metal Yakuza” by Artsmagic, the Japanese director addresses the origin story of the film, a tale which could be seen as one of the high time of Asian economy before it collapsed, according to Miike. As he was waiting in an office of a production company for V-cinema releases which went straight to VHS, Miike was aware of a couple of pages from a script which had the title Full Metal Yakuza written on top of them. He quickly read through the pages and decided he would make the film one of his projects, one which he finally realized in 1997.
Considering the genesis of the project as well as the narrative and technical aspects of many of Miike’s films, it is perhaps all too easy to label his film...
On the DVD release of “Full Metal Yakuza” by Artsmagic, the Japanese director addresses the origin story of the film, a tale which could be seen as one of the high time of Asian economy before it collapsed, according to Miike. As he was waiting in an office of a production company for V-cinema releases which went straight to VHS, Miike was aware of a couple of pages from a script which had the title Full Metal Yakuza written on top of them. He quickly read through the pages and decided he would make the film one of his projects, one which he finally realized in 1997.
Considering the genesis of the project as well as the narrative and technical aspects of many of Miike’s films, it is perhaps all too easy to label his film...
- 8/7/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In their hometown of Osaka, a group of teenagers celebrates their graduation from school and their road into adulthood. Led by loudmouth Riichi (Koji Chihara), the three boys try to make ends meet collecting debts from local businesses, offering their services as bodyguards and eventually attempting to take on more solid jobs when, for example, Kotetsu (Kyosuke Yabe) gets a job as a bartender.
However, especially Riichi struggles with the reality after school. While his girlfriend manages Ryoko (Sarina Suzuki) to get a job at a local hair salon, his attempts at a regular job fail. When he cheats on her with a childhood friend of his, he becomes estranged from Ryoko as well as the other friends. Eventually, the separation and the fact he is beaten up several times by his former enemies, result in Riichi being severely depressed and lacking the necessary drive to move on in life.
However, especially Riichi struggles with the reality after school. While his girlfriend manages Ryoko (Sarina Suzuki) to get a job at a local hair salon, his attempts at a regular job fail. When he cheats on her with a childhood friend of his, he becomes estranged from Ryoko as well as the other friends. Eventually, the separation and the fact he is beaten up several times by his former enemies, result in Riichi being severely depressed and lacking the necessary drive to move on in life.
- 8/7/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Climbing in the ranks of the yakuza has nothing to do with working hard or sticking to a certain code, but rather the opposite, as Reijiro Masaki (Kiyoshi Nakajo) sees it. When his original clan was disbanded, he was named the second-in-command of the Hattori family by their leader (Koji Shimizu). The path to this position has been defined by murder, but Masaki has tried his best to stick to principles like loyalty while doing so, which has resulted in Hattori respecting him. However, since he was a former enemy, the other lieutenants of the family, especially Hazama (Takeshi Caesar) are disgruntled by the decision as they see it as an insult.
Despite the heavy resistance within his new family, Masaki proves to be a valuable addition. Willing to stick to a certain code of honor and applying it to those men under him, Masaki quickly gains a large group...
Despite the heavy resistance within his new family, Masaki proves to be a valuable addition. Willing to stick to a certain code of honor and applying it to those men under him, Masaki quickly gains a large group...
- 8/1/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The fact that Miike made this film the same year as “Ley Lines“, “Audition” and “Dead or Alive” may come as a complete surprise initially, but once one looks at the credits, the reason will come out: Hisao Maki, the “nemesis” of Miike’s quality is once more in charge of the script, and as usual, the result is quite bad.
The paper thin story revolves around Jun Shirogane, an ample-bosomed wrestler and champion of karate who is recruited by Minamida, a secret agent who happens to be an ex-lover, in order to fight criminals outside the law. In order to so while undercover, she joins a female wrestlers troupe (where she takes the name Silver), who eventually travel to the area her first target is located: Nancy Otori, a dominatrix who has enslaver men in power with her S&m tricks. The clash between the two women is inevitable,...
The paper thin story revolves around Jun Shirogane, an ample-bosomed wrestler and champion of karate who is recruited by Minamida, a secret agent who happens to be an ex-lover, in order to fight criminals outside the law. In order to so while undercover, she joins a female wrestlers troupe (where she takes the name Silver), who eventually travel to the area her first target is located: Nancy Otori, a dominatrix who has enslaver men in power with her S&m tricks. The clash between the two women is inevitable,...
- 8/1/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Akio Jissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy will be available on Blu-ray August 20th from Arrow Academy
Akio Jissôji created a rich and diverse body of work during his five decades in Japan s film and television industries. For some, he is best-known for his science-fiction: the 1960s TV series Ultraman and 1998 s box-office success Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. For others, it is his 1990s adaptations of horror and mystery novelist Edogawa Rampo, such as Watcher in the Attic and Murder on D Street. And then there are his New Wave films for the Art Theatre Guild, three of which This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, forming The Buddhist Trilogy are collected here.
Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, This Transient Life is among the Art Theatre Guild s most successful and most controversial productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who...
Akio Jissôji created a rich and diverse body of work during his five decades in Japan s film and television industries. For some, he is best-known for his science-fiction: the 1960s TV series Ultraman and 1998 s box-office success Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. For others, it is his 1990s adaptations of horror and mystery novelist Edogawa Rampo, such as Watcher in the Attic and Murder on D Street. And then there are his New Wave films for the Art Theatre Guild, three of which This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, forming The Buddhist Trilogy are collected here.
Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, This Transient Life is among the Art Theatre Guild s most successful and most controversial productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who...
- 7/16/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“You cannot beat concrete.”
Considering the link between spirit and body has been one of the main themes in his work, perhaps it was only a matter of time before the Japanese director would explore the world of sports. While “Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer” already dealt with the body being altered through outside forces, in this case post-industrial culture and modernity’s obsession with physical optimization, Tsukamoto’s next project would go in a different direction. However, keen observers will quickly notice many similarities between this film and “Tokyo Fist” which may not only serve as an extension of these issues, but also as a visual allegory for the fragility of our bodies, and their connection to our spirit.
“Tokyo Fist” is screening at Nippon Connection
Another interesting parallel, which, for example, author Tom Mes points out, is how the story of “Tokyo Fist” mirrors its director’s biography too.
Considering the link between spirit and body has been one of the main themes in his work, perhaps it was only a matter of time before the Japanese director would explore the world of sports. While “Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer” already dealt with the body being altered through outside forces, in this case post-industrial culture and modernity’s obsession with physical optimization, Tsukamoto’s next project would go in a different direction. However, keen observers will quickly notice many similarities between this film and “Tokyo Fist” which may not only serve as an extension of these issues, but also as a visual allegory for the fragility of our bodies, and their connection to our spirit.
“Tokyo Fist” is screening at Nippon Connection
Another interesting parallel, which, for example, author Tom Mes points out, is how the story of “Tokyo Fist” mirrors its director’s biography too.
- 5/29/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Akio Jissôji created a rich and diverse body of work during his five decades in Japan’s film and television industries. For some, he is best-known for his science-fiction: the 1960s TV series “Ultraman” and 1988’s box-office success “Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis”. For others, it is his 1990s adaptations of horror and mystery novelist Edogawa Rampo, such as Watcher in the Attic and Murder on D Street. And then there are his New Wave films for the Art Theatre Guild, three of which – “This Transient Life“, “Mandara” and “Poem”, forming “The Buddhist Trilogy” – are collected here.
Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, “This Transient Life” is among the Art Theatre Guild’s most successful – and most controversial – productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who defy the expectations placed on them: he has little interest in further...
Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, “This Transient Life” is among the Art Theatre Guild’s most successful – and most controversial – productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who defy the expectations placed on them: he has little interest in further...
- 5/18/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“You’re not in touch with your feelings.”
Considering the majority of his work deals with the link of the body, our consciousness and the (often urban) environment, making a film about sexuality was perhaps just the logical next step in the career of Shinya Tsukamoto. In fact, the director admits having thought about that idea ever since the production of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”, especially since both works demonstrate narrative and formal parallels. Much like this film’s premise the story for the project, which would later be called “A Snake of June”, also consisted of a minimalist environment in which a character is stalked and finally confronted by a villainous person.
However, it took him longer than expected to make “ A Snake of June”. In the end, this time benefited the project to a certain degree, Tsukamoto admits, for his relationship towards the opposite sex, his visual approach...
Considering the majority of his work deals with the link of the body, our consciousness and the (often urban) environment, making a film about sexuality was perhaps just the logical next step in the career of Shinya Tsukamoto. In fact, the director admits having thought about that idea ever since the production of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”, especially since both works demonstrate narrative and formal parallels. Much like this film’s premise the story for the project, which would later be called “A Snake of June”, also consisted of a minimalist environment in which a character is stalked and finally confronted by a villainous person.
However, it took him longer than expected to make “ A Snake of June”. In the end, this time benefited the project to a certain degree, Tsukamoto admits, for his relationship towards the opposite sex, his visual approach...
- 5/16/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Teruo Ishii’s action classic Yakuza Law (1969) will be available on Blu-ray May 14th From Arrow Video
Director Teruo Ishii, the Godfather of J-sploitation, presents Yakuza Law (Aka Yakuza s Law: Lynching) a gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history and bringing to the screen some of the most brutal methods of torment ever devised.
In this deep dive into the world of the Yakuza, meet the violent men who rule the Japanese underworld and the cruel punishments inflicted on those who transgress them. The carnage begins in the Edo Period with a violent tale of samurai vengeance starring Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honor and Humanity), before shifting to the Meiji Period as the exiled Ogata returns to face punishment for his past transgressions… and, ultimately, to take his revenge. Finally, the action is brought right up to date with a tale of gang warfare set...
Director Teruo Ishii, the Godfather of J-sploitation, presents Yakuza Law (Aka Yakuza s Law: Lynching) a gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history and bringing to the screen some of the most brutal methods of torment ever devised.
In this deep dive into the world of the Yakuza, meet the violent men who rule the Japanese underworld and the cruel punishments inflicted on those who transgress them. The carnage begins in the Edo Period with a violent tale of samurai vengeance starring Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honor and Humanity), before shifting to the Meiji Period as the exiled Ogata returns to face punishment for his past transgressions… and, ultimately, to take his revenge. Finally, the action is brought right up to date with a tale of gang warfare set...
- 4/22/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“I’ve always had lots of dreams when I sleep. The dreams have always been about the future.”
In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.
In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time,...
In 2002, the hype for Japanese horror films was declining rapidly, as the sequels to series like “Ring” or “The Grudge” were commercially and critically unsuccessful. Even though directors such as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu came to Hollywood to helm the remakes to their films or their sequels, Hollywood had already adapted J-horror tropes to its own productions. As Jerry White points out, one of the perhaps most disappointing entries in the J-horror remakes was Jim Sonzero’s version of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Pulse” (2001). Perhaps it was this particular experience which made Kurosawa change genres with his next project “Bright Future”.
In general, Kurosawa is best known for his unique horror films such as “Pulse” or “Cure”, films which years after their release now unfold their true impact. At the same time,...
- 4/14/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Takashi Miike’s 2016 action epic Terra Formars will be available on Blu-ray From Arrow Video April 2nd
The ever-prolific Takashi Miike, the director behind the likes of Audition, the Dead or Alive trilogy and Blade of the Immortal, returns with this intergalactic epic in which a team of space explorers find themselves pitched against a horde of oversized anthropomorphic cockroaches.
In the mid-21st century, humankind has been forced to look to colonizing other planets as a means of combating overcrowding on Earth their first stop, Mars. With a population of cockroaches having been introduced on Mars some 500 years prior to help prepare the way for human colonization, a manned mission sets out to the red planet with the aim of clearing away the bugs. Upon arrival, however, they discover that the roaches have evolved to huge, vicious creatures capable of wielding weapons.
Based on the popular Manga series of the same name,...
The ever-prolific Takashi Miike, the director behind the likes of Audition, the Dead or Alive trilogy and Blade of the Immortal, returns with this intergalactic epic in which a team of space explorers find themselves pitched against a horde of oversized anthropomorphic cockroaches.
In the mid-21st century, humankind has been forced to look to colonizing other planets as a means of combating overcrowding on Earth their first stop, Mars. With a population of cockroaches having been introduced on Mars some 500 years prior to help prepare the way for human colonization, a manned mission sets out to the red planet with the aim of clearing away the bugs. Upon arrival, however, they discover that the roaches have evolved to huge, vicious creatures capable of wielding weapons.
Based on the popular Manga series of the same name,...
- 3/12/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Director Teruo Ishii, the Godfather of J-sploitation, presents Yakuza Law (Aka Yakuza’s Law: Lynching) – a gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history and bringing to the screen some of the most brutal methods of torment ever devised.
In this deep dive into the world of the Yakuza, meet the violent men who rule the Japanese underworld and the cruel punishments inflicted on those who transgress them. The carnage begins in the Edo Period with a violent tale of samurai vengeance starring Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honour and Humanity), before shifting to the Meiji Period as the exiled Ogata returns to face punishment for his past transgressions… and, ultimately, to take his revenge. Finally, the action is brought right up to date with a tale of gang warfare set in then-present-day 60s Japan and headlined by Teruo Yoshida (Ishii’s Orgies of Edo...
In this deep dive into the world of the Yakuza, meet the violent men who rule the Japanese underworld and the cruel punishments inflicted on those who transgress them. The carnage begins in the Edo Period with a violent tale of samurai vengeance starring Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honour and Humanity), before shifting to the Meiji Period as the exiled Ogata returns to face punishment for his past transgressions… and, ultimately, to take his revenge. Finally, the action is brought right up to date with a tale of gang warfare set in then-present-day 60s Japan and headlined by Teruo Yoshida (Ishii’s Orgies of Edo...
- 2/24/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Audition
Blu ray
Arrow Video
1999 / 1:85:1 / 115 Min. / Street Date – February 12, 2019
Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
Cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto
Directed by Takashi Miike
It could be described as lyrically sadistic but de Sade himself might flinch at Audition – like its fragile leading lady, Takashi Miike’s film treads ever so softly before lowering the boom on its stupefied audience.
Ryo Ishibashi plays Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle-aged widower tired of sleeping in a single bed but ill-equipped for the dating game. Like the desperate anti-heroes of so many noirs, Aoyama makes just one mistake but it’s a doozy – he stages a sham audition as his personal matchmaking service. Into that not-so-tender trap steps Asami, a supernaturally shy ballerina with secrets all her own.
Miike spins their gauzy-lensed courtship with kid gloves and compassion and by the time the happy couple set sail for a seaside rendezvous we’re aching...
Blu ray
Arrow Video
1999 / 1:85:1 / 115 Min. / Street Date – February 12, 2019
Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
Cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto
Directed by Takashi Miike
It could be described as lyrically sadistic but de Sade himself might flinch at Audition – like its fragile leading lady, Takashi Miike’s film treads ever so softly before lowering the boom on its stupefied audience.
Ryo Ishibashi plays Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle-aged widower tired of sleeping in a single bed but ill-equipped for the dating game. Like the desperate anti-heroes of so many noirs, Aoyama makes just one mistake but it’s a doozy – he stages a sham audition as his personal matchmaking service. Into that not-so-tender trap steps Asami, a supernaturally shy ballerina with secrets all her own.
Miike spins their gauzy-lensed courtship with kid gloves and compassion and by the time the happy couple set sail for a seaside rendezvous we’re aching...
- 2/23/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Love is certainly in the air this week, especially with our horror and sci-fi home releases, as we have plenty of tainted love on tap for those of you who tend to enjoy the darker side of romance. Scream Factory is ready to put you in the mood with both the Collector’s Edition of Valentine and their Poison Ivy box set, and Arrow Video has assembled an impressive Special Edition of Audition that fans are definitely going to want to pick up on Tuesday.
For those of you looking for some less romantically-inclined entertainment, Popcorn is getting the SteelBook treatment, and you can take a ride aboard the Horror Express as well. Other notable releases for February 12th include Possum, Killer Campout, Doom Room, Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten, Purgatory Road, and Nightflyers: Season One.
Audition: Special Edition
One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the...
For those of you looking for some less romantically-inclined entertainment, Popcorn is getting the SteelBook treatment, and you can take a ride aboard the Horror Express as well. Other notable releases for February 12th include Possum, Killer Campout, Doom Room, Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten, Purgatory Road, and Nightflyers: Season One.
Audition: Special Edition
One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the...
- 2/12/2019
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The ever-prolific Takashi Miike, the director behind the likes of “Audition”, the “Dead or Alive” trilogy and “Blade of the Immortal”, returns with this intergalactic epic in which a team of space explorers find themselves pitched against a horde of oversized anthropomorphic cockroaches.
In the mid-21st century, humankind has been forced to look to colonizing other planets as a means of combating overcrowding on Earth – their first stop, Mars. With a population of cockroaches having been introduced on Mars some 500 years prior to help prepare the way for human colonization, a manned mission sets out to the red planet with the aim of clearing away the bugs. Upon arrival, however, they discover that the roaches have evolved to huge, vicious creatures capable of wielding weapons.
Based on the popular Manga series of the same name, “Terra Formars” is an action-packed space adventure brought to life by one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers.
In the mid-21st century, humankind has been forced to look to colonizing other planets as a means of combating overcrowding on Earth – their first stop, Mars. With a population of cockroaches having been introduced on Mars some 500 years prior to help prepare the way for human colonization, a manned mission sets out to the red planet with the aim of clearing away the bugs. Upon arrival, however, they discover that the roaches have evolved to huge, vicious creatures capable of wielding weapons.
Based on the popular Manga series of the same name, “Terra Formars” is an action-packed space adventure brought to life by one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers.
- 2/3/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Takashi Miike’s Audition will be available on Blu-ray From Arrow Video February 12th
One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris.
Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and...
One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris.
Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and...
- 1/25/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
[The following essay contains major spoilers.]
“I firmly believe a very Japanese film that is different from others can easily cross borders.”
(Hideo Nakata in the foreword of “The Midnight Eye Guide to Japanese Film”)
There are many stories connected to people’s first encounter with Hideo Nakata’s “Ring”. However, most of them have less to do with his film, but the remake released in 2002 and directed by Gore Verbinski. Sitting in the theater watching the first encounter with Samara, one which would soon spawn a tidal wave of Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror films, many, perhaps, thought how fresh and of course scary the films was. While highly stylized and polished, “The Ring” felt like a much-welcome departure from the meta-horror films following in the footsteps of Wes Craven’s “Scream” (1996). However, many of us did not know at the time those ideas and image,s which felt so unique to us, came almost...
“I firmly believe a very Japanese film that is different from others can easily cross borders.”
(Hideo Nakata in the foreword of “The Midnight Eye Guide to Japanese Film”)
There are many stories connected to people’s first encounter with Hideo Nakata’s “Ring”. However, most of them have less to do with his film, but the remake released in 2002 and directed by Gore Verbinski. Sitting in the theater watching the first encounter with Samara, one which would soon spawn a tidal wave of Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror films, many, perhaps, thought how fresh and of course scary the films was. While highly stylized and polished, “The Ring” felt like a much-welcome departure from the meta-horror films following in the footsteps of Wes Craven’s “Scream” (1996). However, many of us did not know at the time those ideas and image,s which felt so unique to us, came almost...
- 12/29/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“It’s bad for your health thinking about revenge and killing all the time.”
Japanese director Hiroyuki Nakano had directed several music videos for artists like Tomoyasu Hotei (who also plays the part of the villain in “Samurai Fiction”), Dee-Lite and Bjork but had always wanted to make a feature film. During the shooting of a music video for drum and bass artist Photok, Nakano was reminded of the great samurai Musashi Miyamoto, who has developed his famous two sword-technique observing drummers during a village celebration. With the additional inspiration from the works of Shugoro Yamamoto, whose work had also inspired the film by Akira Kurosawa, Nakano slowly developed the idea for a modern samurai film, which would blend the ideas the samurai and the times they lived in stood for but which would also use a modern sensibility, music, editing and use of camera.
The second...
Japanese director Hiroyuki Nakano had directed several music videos for artists like Tomoyasu Hotei (who also plays the part of the villain in “Samurai Fiction”), Dee-Lite and Bjork but had always wanted to make a feature film. During the shooting of a music video for drum and bass artist Photok, Nakano was reminded of the great samurai Musashi Miyamoto, who has developed his famous two sword-technique observing drummers during a village celebration. With the additional inspiration from the works of Shugoro Yamamoto, whose work had also inspired the film by Akira Kurosawa, Nakano slowly developed the idea for a modern samurai film, which would blend the ideas the samurai and the times they lived in stood for but which would also use a modern sensibility, music, editing and use of camera.
The second...
- 11/25/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Legendary Toei director Teruo Ishii tells three stories of moral sickness set during Japan s prosperous Genroku era in this bloody follow-up to his sexploitation classic Shogun s Joy of Torture, and the fourth entry in Toei s abnormal love film series. Ishii s politically incorrect moral lessons paint a trio of tales of tragic heroines caught up in violence, sadomasochism, incest and torture.
Told in anthology style by an impassive physician (Teruo Yoshida), the first story follows Oito (Masumi Tachibana), an innocent young girl deceived by a handsome yakuza and sold into prostitution who finds herself in a doomed love affair with the man who brought her to ruin. The tale of Ochise (Mitsuko Aoi) is about the daughter of a rich merchant whose insatiable appetite for filth and perversion draws her deeper into violence, darkness and betrayal. Finally, the story of Omitsu (Miki Obana) follows a sadistic lord...
Told in anthology style by an impassive physician (Teruo Yoshida), the first story follows Oito (Masumi Tachibana), an innocent young girl deceived by a handsome yakuza and sold into prostitution who finds herself in a doomed love affair with the man who brought her to ruin. The tale of Ochise (Mitsuko Aoi) is about the daughter of a rich merchant whose insatiable appetite for filth and perversion draws her deeper into violence, darkness and betrayal. Finally, the story of Omitsu (Miki Obana) follows a sadistic lord...
- 11/5/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“Wherever we go…however far we walk…everything will stay the same.”
If we take a body of work as diverse as Takashi Miike, quite naturally one asks the question whether the director has a favorite. As Miike has repeatedly stated in the past, this particular honor goes to his 1998 film “Young Thugs: Nostalgia”, a prequel to “Young Thugs: Innocent Blood” released the year before and also based on the autobiographical novel by Riichi Nakabana. Considering films like “Blues Harp, “Ley Lines” and the “Dead or Alive”-series explored themes like origin, identity and growing up, the choice of this project, along with the finished product being Miike’s favorite film should not come as a surprise.
In general, both films, “Innocent Blood” and “Nostalgia”, define what has become the side of Miike, which is at times forgotten among the wildness of his other films, a tendency...
If we take a body of work as diverse as Takashi Miike, quite naturally one asks the question whether the director has a favorite. As Miike has repeatedly stated in the past, this particular honor goes to his 1998 film “Young Thugs: Nostalgia”, a prequel to “Young Thugs: Innocent Blood” released the year before and also based on the autobiographical novel by Riichi Nakabana. Considering films like “Blues Harp, “Ley Lines” and the “Dead or Alive”-series explored themes like origin, identity and growing up, the choice of this project, along with the finished product being Miike’s favorite film should not come as a surprise.
In general, both films, “Innocent Blood” and “Nostalgia”, define what has become the side of Miike, which is at times forgotten among the wildness of his other films, a tendency...
- 10/20/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
September 18th is definitely a phan-tastic day to be a genre lover, as we’re finally getting individual Blu-ray releases for both Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead and Phantasm IV: Oblivion this week, courtesy of Well Go USA. Scream Factory has given two classic horrors an HD overhaul—Scream for Help and The Evil—that cult film enthusiasts should definitely check out, and there is a pair of Special Edition Blu-rays arriving on Tuesday from Arrow Video to boot: Horrors of Malformed Men and The Pyjama Girl Case.
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 18th include Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The X-Files: Season 11, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, Impulse, and 666: Seance Hour.
The Evil
A psychologist (Richard Crenna) and his wife (Joanna Pettet) buy a dilapidated historical mansion with a dark past in this terrifying chiller. Hoping to restore the estate and turn it into a drug rehabilitation clinic,...
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 18th include Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The X-Files: Season 11, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, Impulse, and 666: Seance Hour.
The Evil
A psychologist (Richard Crenna) and his wife (Joanna Pettet) buy a dilapidated historical mansion with a dark past in this terrifying chiller. Hoping to restore the estate and turn it into a drug rehabilitation clinic,...
- 9/17/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
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