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Relatively warm on the heels of Miramax's recent announcement that they'll be releasing a Blu-Ray box set of martial arts films in September comes word that Sony Pictures has plans to do the same, only a hell of a lot sooner. Next week, on July 14th this bad boy comes out:  Yup, that's exactly what it looks like. The reviews on Amazon are mostly filled with people complaining about that the titles are not being made available individually (except House Of Flying Daggers, which is already available). A lot of people didn't particularly care for Curse Of The Golden Flower (though I liked it) and just want Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A fair complaint. I'd probably be joining them if I'd already purchased House Of Flying Daggers. I haven't yet, though, so I want this. Pre-order from Amazon is $52.99, which isn't much of a price difference from the Miramax box set (which has 4 movies instead of 3). I don't expect that any of the three films in the Sony box will have any extra features or be anything more than the films repackaged as they were for Blu-Ray. The box art indicates a certain amount of laziness that just screams "put it out and make a quick buck!!!!!!!!". Regardless, that shit is on my want list. Tags: dvd news
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Let me tell you about DVDs. On July 28th, Hitoshi Matsumoto's batshit crazy Big Man Japan comes out.  BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrayal of an original superhero. As Big Man Japan, Daisato inherited the role of defending Japan against a host of bizarre monsters. He receives high-voltage electroshocks which transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high.
However, where his predecessors were revered as national heroes, he is an outcast among the citizens he protects.I have not seen this movie. It screened for a week at the Nuart Theater in LA, but I am too old and/or lazy to drive out there after work, drive the 50+ miles home afterwards (around midnight) and then get up for work the next morning. This is a problem I currently have with my life. Anyway, pretty much everything I've heard and read about this movie has been positive and I think Magnet Releasing deserves some points for giving it theatrical distribution and then a timely DVD release. I'm not sure when I'll get around to seeing it myself, but hopefully it won't take me too long. Amazon - Netflix - Blockbuster------------------------ AnimEigo has announced that they'll be releasing a boxset of the first four Tora-san films by Yoji Yamada in November!  Tora-san is a 48 film series about a "kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love". Yes, I said forty-eight film series. I believe all but two of them were directed by Yoji Yamada, and that Yamada wrote all of them. The series ran from 1969 to 1995. Feel free to read more about the series on Wikipedia. I have never seen any of these, either. In fact, if not for Yoji Yamada's name being on them, I don't know how much interest I'd even have. Given the incredible quality of Yamada's work that I have seen, though, ( The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade) I fully expect these are very enjoyable. It'll be interesting to see how much this first boxset goes for, as you can currently get the first 32 installments in Region 3 boxsets (8 in each box) with english subs for about $60 each at HKFlix. ------------------------ Also from AnimEigo, coming in September is a boxset containing the first four Shinobi No Mono movies.  Shinobi No Mono was a series of, I think, 8 films made in Japan during the 60's about a ninja "and his struggle to survive during Japan's warring states period." It stars Raizo Ichikawa (from The Sleepy Eyes Of Death which is also being released in a box by AnimEigo) and Tomisaburo Wakayama (also star of the Lone Wolf & Cub movies). Is there really anything else that needs to be said? The four movies in this boxset have already been released individually by AnimEigo. I have a copy of the second one that was given to me, but I wanted to watch the first one before I watched it. Amazon ---------------------- That's all I have time for at the moment. Tags: dvd news
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Tomorrow sees the US DVD release of Hideo Nakata's recent ghost story film Kaidan by Lions Gate.  I saw this movie at last year's Japanese Film Festival in Los Angeles and briefly wrote about it for PiQ (the short-lived magazine that was actually paying me to write), but never got around to writing a full review. Plot synopsis from the press release: "The unwitting victim of a terrible curse, a young man accidentally injures his wife, a jealous teacher who soon dies from her wound. Running away with one of her students, he fails to heed the dead woman's warning that if he remarries, she'll haunt him to the grave."I like Hideo Nakata a lot. I really do. I know his style doesn't suit everyone. A lot of people watch the original Ring or Dark Water and consider them boring, but I tend to really enjoy his style and pacing, even if it is a bit slow. The phrase you hear used the most in (positive) reviews of his films is "slow burn" and with good reason. His horror films tend to be sparse on the scares for the vast majority of their running time, with Nakata usually opting to have little bits of them here and there before a pay off at the end. His films are not necessarily scary. A better word for them might be haunting. Or creepy. Kaidan is pretty much the same. It's clearly a tribute to the older Japanese horror films like Kobayashi's Kwaidan, Shinoda's Onibaba, Mizoguchi's Ugetsu or even parts of Oshima's Empire Of Passion. Hell, just about any pre-90's Japanese movie with scary parts. There's no loud blast of music accompanying the scare. It stays quiet and lets the events onscreen do the work. Atmosphere. That's the word I want. There aren't many people who do this sort of thing better than Nakata does, in my opinion. Even in his lesser movies, he does a very good job with the atmosphere. The sense of building tension is very clear and very much a part of the story. This sense of atmosphere and creepiness is helped along masterfully by Kenji Kawai's music. I really wish Kawai was better known in the west because trying to actually acquire his stuff out here can be hellish. He does a lot of anime music, which I've not heard a lot of, but his "scary" music is so fucking good that I would be willing to pay the price to import it (usually) if only I could find it! Anyway. Kaidan is far from a perfect movie. There are bits that seem just a little too coincidental and the film also suffers at times from poor CGI/effects that make parts seem cheesy and funny when they're clearly meant to be something else. However, if you've enjoyed Nakata's past horror films, then this one is definitely worth renting, but probably not much more than that. Amazon - HK Flix - Netflix - BlockbusterI also want to mention, for The Lady's benefit, that Samurai Champloo: The Complete Collection comes out tomorrow, as well. Tags: dvd news, movie reviews
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Saw this just now on Affenheim Theater. On September 15th, Miramax is going to be releasing this:  All four films will be released separately, as well as in the box. The HD Room is reporting that Iron Monkey, Legend Of The Drunken Master and Zatoichi are going to have an individual SRP of $39.99 and that Hero will be $44.99 because it includes "one new bonus feature, Close-up of a Fight Scene, a new transfer, a slip-case and a digital copy." They also say the whole boxset will have an SRP of $109.99. Now. Aside from the high price, I worry about this. The regular DVD releases for 3 of these 4 movies left a LOT to be desire. A LOT. The Zatoichi release wasn't that bad. The rest were. All of them except Zatoichi were released with the actual film edited. Scenes cut out. For Zatoichi, the film was intact but some of the interviews in the special features were edited. Jackie Chan's Legend Of The Drunken Master was released dubbed, with no options for the original audio track and subtitles. And you KNOW how much I love that. In addition, the release of Hero, a movie whose main draw is it's visuals, left a lot to be desired visually. So. Are these going to be any different? HD Room says Hero is getting a new transfer. That's encouraging. It'll probably still be edited. In fact, I'll be amazed if any of the films other than Zatoichi are uncut. But if the picture quality is as good as it should be and the discs make dubbing OPTIONAL, then this could be cool, although very expensive. I'm sure Amazon'll have them quite a bit cheaper... Either way, though, it'd probably be a good idea to wait until reviews of the discs come out before wetting our pants. In my opinion, these are all fantastic movies that would be well worth owning on Blu-Ray. Hero especially. Tags: dvd news, materialism
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 The post seems to be gone, but the LJ RSS feed entry isn't. The damage is done.  It says October 23rd. According to the message boards on Blu-Ray.com, the box includes Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, Sanshiro Sugata I & II, Sanjuro, Men Who Tread On The Tiger's Tail and The Bad Sleep Well. They'll be released individually as well as in the box. No english subtitles.  This I find out just after Affenheim Theater and Wildgrounds both recently wondered aloud about Japanese films being released on Blu-Ray without english subs. It's a sad state of affairs. No doubt, Criterion will eventually get around to releasing most/all of these on Blu-Ray themselves, but who knows when that'll happen? Another missed opportunity. Tags: blogathon, dvd news
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The 10th Anniversary of release of Audition. Holy crap, I feel old.  This will be the third time I've bought this film, though it'll be on Blu-Ray this time. According to Outcast Cinema, the new special features are as follows: • Feature-length audio commentary with Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan, who is also scripting Miike's upcoming remake of the chanbara classic 13 ASSASSINS. Film writer and Eiga Hi-Ho contributor Masato Kobayashi moderates the Japanese-language (and English-subtitled) commentary track. • Video introduction by Miike • New video interview featurettes with the film's main cast From Audition to Vampire Girl: Eihi Shiina Tokyo—Hollywood: Ryo Ishibashi Miike's Toy: Renji Ishibashi The Man in the Bag Speaks: Ren Osugi • Film trailer, plus liner notes by Agitator author and Midnight Eye founder Tom Mes Due out in October. Fangoria says that the 2 disc DVD and Blu-Ray will both be priced at $24.98 and that they'll have "a new high-definition transfer from the internegative (with a fresh digital stereo soundtrack)". Audition is my favorite Takashi Miike movie. In an effort to show my appreciation for the chance to have this film on Blu-Ray, as well as to make this a somewhat more meaningful entry for the Blogathon, I'm going to share some high resolution pictures from Audition that make excellent desktop backgrounds. I recommend that you all join the Cool Kids Club and make one of these your desktop picture. I hear that chicks dig it and who doesn't want chicks to like them? ( Words create lies. Pain can be trusted. )Tags: blogathon, dvd news, pictures
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Thanks to Twitch for the heads up on this. The artists responsible for the soundtrack to the recently released in the US French horror film Martyrs, Alex and Willie Cortez (who record under the name Seppuku Paradigm), have made their original score for the film available for free download from their website. Get it here. I watched this movie for the first time last week and, to be completely honest, I don't remember a damn bit about the music in it. I don't even remember there being any music in it. I'm pretty sure that that's due more to the fact that my jaw was on the floor and I was struck dumb for almost the entire running time of the film than any problem with the music, though. In fact, all of the "oh fuck, oh shit, holy crap" moments pretty much ruined my ability to review the movie after a single viewing. I remember exactly jack shit about the cinematography, for example. I didn't even notice it. I'll give you the synopsis from the back of the DVD: Lucie, a 10 year old girl, is found wandering in the streets, bruised and bloodied. Unable to say who did this to her, or why, she is placed in a hospital where she meets Anna, another young girl who had been abused. Fifteen years later, with Anna s help, Lucie sets out to get revenge on her attackers. When she believes she has found the couple who abused her, she confronts them ...and that is when the terror truly begins.So I pre-ordered the DVD of this because some friends of mine that saw it at a film festival had been raving about it, general word of mouth seemed very positive and because I do loves me a brutal revenge flick. But this movie... damn, I don't want to spoil it for any horror fans who haven't seen it yet, so all I'm going to say is that it is NOT a revenge movie. Not in the way you might think. It is so so so so much more than that. Less than halfway through the movie, the plot takes a sharp turn and goes into completely uncharted territory.  In keeping with the tradition of recent French horror films like Inside and Frontier(s), it's also incredibly gorey, violent and disturbing. Not at all for the faint of heart or weak stomached. If that sounds at all like your cup of tea, then get this goddamn movie in your DVD player as soon as possible. Get it at Amazon. In other horror news, the totally awesome Spanish language film [REC] is finally getting a R1 DVD release, although not on Blu-Ray for some reason. Tags: dvd news, movie news, movie reviews, music
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 Amazon.com and the Criterion Collection are teaming up to let customers decide which title will be the next release by Criterion on Blu-Ray. The titles being voted on are: Masaki Kobayashi's KwaidanLouis Malle's Au Revoir Les EnfantsJim Jarmusch's Down By LawHumphrey Dixon & James Ivory's Howard's EndPeter Weir's Picnic At Hanging RockVote Now! In addition, Amazon has trailers, stills and other video clips from each film on that page. They're also having a sale on Criterion Blu-Ray with all 11 titles selling for around $25! As someone who just yesterday received a Blu-Ray from his father for free, but is trying very hard to save money, I find this to be something of a dilemma. I voted for Kwaidan. Surprise!!!!!!! If it wins, I wonder if it will be the uncut version? The Criterion DVD is missing about 20 minutes of the film for some reason. The uncut version is available via the Masters Of Cinema release in the UK (which I have). According to the DVD Beaver review of the discs, the Criterion one also has different coloration and even screen edge cropping! So, yeah, I voted for that one. The fact that it's a brilliant movie did doesn't hurt either, though.  Thanks to Ryuganji for the heads up. Tags: dvd news, materialism
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Last night I went to the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood's double feature screening of In The Realm Of The Senses and Empire Of Passion for the first night of their Nagisa Oshima retrospective. I'd actually never seen an Oshima film before, but I've read about the man and his work a bit and I've been wanting to see his films for quite some time now. So when I heard about the retrospective, I made sure to leave myself some time to go and check it out on the day that In The Realm of The Senses was playing, as it's one of the more notorious Japanese films I've read about. These two films were presented with brand new prints, thanks to their being re-released shortly by Criterion. I actually own the previously released DVDs of these films, but never got around to actually watching them, which is something I can say about a very large number of films, sadly.  In The Realm Of The Senses is based on the true story of Sada Abe (played by Eiko Matsuda), a former prostitute, employeed as a maid at a hotel. She begins an affair with the hotel owner Kichizo Ishida (played by Tatsuya Fuji) that escalates in intensity over the course of the film. As the story progresses, the two of them engage in wild sexual experimentation, heavy drinking and spending the vast majority of their time (and lives) in hotel rooms. As the intensity of their relationship builds, so does Sada's mania. She becomes increasingly possessive and jealous, threatening her lover's naughty bits with sharp, metal objects. Ishida, though, becomes obsessive, too, becoming more eager to please and indulging as the story goes on, seemingly undisturbed by the cold metal being pointed at his goodies. Things escalate in this fashion over the 109 minute running time, culminating in Abe strangling Ishida to death during sex (with his full permission) and then cutting off his penis and testicles.  The thing that you hear most about this film is the graphic, unsimulated sex that takes place through about 98% of it's running time. Seeing as how it came out in 1976, it's probably not a real big surprise that the film was controversial and, of course, banned in a number of different places. In fact, due to the strict censorship laws at the time in Japan, the film was officially listed as being French and the footage was actually shipped to France for processing. The film is not intended as pornography, though, and did not feel anything like the sex-filled exploitation films that were coming out of Japan during at the same time to me. Quite the opposite, in fact. Maybe it's because I was already familiar with the story, but from the get go, it seemed clear to me that there was a reason for all of the sex and, I think, in the context of the story it works extremely well. The music was subdued and sparse and the shot selection never seemed to focus on what you would expect it to focus on if the director's intent was titillation. The characters may have been having sex, but the focus was clearly on the characters, not the sex. The actors do a tremendous job of building the tension and the sense of impending doom. Subtle changes in their actions and reactions give credibility to the way their relationship escalates. It seems like every time they come together it's a little bit more intense than the previous time. In addition, they seem to lose weight as the story goes on. The couple spent so much time drinking and screwing, that they ate very little. This is commented upon by minor characters in the film on more than one occasion.  Reading about the film, I know that there was even more to the director's intent than to just tell a story about two obsessive lovers whose story caused a huge scandal in Japan. The film doubles as a political and social commentary, as well, made obvious in a scene in which Ishida walks down the street opposite a troop of soldiers on the march. I've also read that the film is meant as a comment on Japanese culture's obsession with morbid eroticism. Unfortunately, I really don't know enough of about the history of Japan to have much to say about that, nor did I really manage to pick up on any of it while watching it, aside from the previously mentioned scene with the soldiers, which I understood as symbolism but did not know exactly what it was meant to be symbolizing. Taken as a straight up, groundbreaking, boundary-pushing story about desire and the places people's minds take them, I think the movie is an incredible piece of work. It's a really brutal, disturbing piece of cinema, actually, but it's also beautiful in it's own way. The castration scene, in particular, was pretty squirm-inducing. The was an actual, audible wince in the theater from the men in the room (followed by some female snickering, of course). It was obviously a fake, but looked a lot more realistic than I had expected. Nasty.  Sada Abe's story is a fascinating one. I know of at least three different films about her. This one, Noboru Tanaka's A Woman Called Sada Abe (which came out only about a year before Oshima's) and Nobuhiko Obayashi's Sada, which came out in 1998 and, if I remember what I've read correctly, has no nudity whatsoever. She also appeared in a Teruo Ishii documentary called History of Bizarre Crimes by Women in the Meiji Taisho and Showa Eras, which I would LOVE to see. I highly recommend spending some time reading her Wikipedia page, as well as Japanese film scholar Donald Richie's article on the woman, which includes the details of his own personal meeting with her, as well as an interview with actress Eiko Matsuda (who played her in In The Realm Of The Senses). I also highly recommend seeing the film itself, if it sounds like something that would be of interest to you. Criterion releases both In The Realm Of The Senses and Empire Of Passion on DVD and Blu-Ray this coming Tuesday, April 28th. You can pre-order the DVD from Amazon or, if you'd prefer, the Blu-Ray. . If you're feeling adventurous, you might also consider checking out the other two films about her:   * A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975) on Amazon (out of print, it seems, but there are used copies) * Sada (1998) on Amazon I, myself, may also pick up the book about her, Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: A Woman, Sex, and Morality in Modern Japan . The little I read about it in preparation for this post sounds fascinating.  Tags: dvd news, movie reviews
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Hot on the heels of the announcement of Criterion releasing the Human Condition trilogy in June, Wildgrounds has come across news that July 14th will see the release of the Sleepy Eyes Of Death series in a boxset from Animeigo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Specs: # Audio Commentaries by Film Scholar Ric Meyers & Author/Martial Arts Expert Jeff Rovin # Program Notes # Cast/Crew Info. # Stills Gallery # Trailers # Collector’s Booklet Pre-order for $55.99 from Amazon or for $69.95 from HK Flix. For more info on this series, go check out the overview at Animeigo.com. Tags: dvd news
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Finally. I'd heard this was coming and I've been holding my breath for months in anticipation. On July 14th, Criterion is going to be releasing the LONG out of print Human Condition trilogy by Masaki Kobayashi.  Three movies. Four discs. • New, restored high-definition digital transfer • Excerpt from a rare Directors Guild of Japan video interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide) • New video interview with actor Tatsuya Nakadai • Video appreciation of Kobayashi and The Human Condition featuring Shinoda • Japanese theatrical trailers • New and improved English subtitle translation • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp This release is more exciting than the super awesome Criterion release of Seven Samurai was. Seriously. I've never seen these, but I've pined over the out of print DVDs forever now. July 14th. Oh, baby. Synopsis from Criterion.com: Masaki Kobayashi’s mammoth humanist drama is one of the most staggering achievements of Japanese cinema. Originally filmed and released in three parts, the nine-and-a-half-hour The Human Condition (Ningen no joken), adapted from Junpei Gomikawa’s six-volume novel, tells of the journey of the well-intentioned yet naive Kaji (handsome Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet POW. Constantly trying to rise above a corrupt system, Kaji time and again finds his morals an impediment rather than an advantage. A raw indictment of its nation’s wartime mentality as well as a personal existential tragedy, Kobayashi’s riveting, gorgeously filmed epic is novelistic cinema at its best.Masaki Kobayashi is also responsible for the following pieces of brilliant movie-making: Samurai Rebellion
Kwaidan
Hara-KiriMaybe that'll help explain. JFilm Powow has the trailers for all three of them up, if you'd like to take a look. As soon as this is up on Amazon, I'll be pre-ordering it. Fuck yes. Tags: dvd news
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Let me see how fast I can get through this. * There's a trailer for the new Mike Judge movie, Extract up on the internets. It has a good cast and Jason Bateman is the main character. Therefore, it will probably be awesome. * Wim Wenders is reportedly doing a live-action adaptation of Ryu Murkami's novel In The Miso Soup. I could have sworn I wrote about this at some point, but apparently the production still hasn't gotten underway, so I don't know. The story is about an American serial killer in Tokyo and it's a pretty good book. The article says Willem Dafoe is in talks to star, which is awesome. Wenders is not a director I'd have imagined for this kind of thing, but it could work out nicely... * There is FINALLY a trailer for Departures over at Apple.com. please tell me you remember the name of this movie.  It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. Release is slated for late May. * And this is mostly for myself, but I'm going to post it here, anyway. 24 Frames Per Second reported that a company called Well Go USA is going to be releasing Go Ohara's Geisha Vs Ninja on DVD in the US in early May under the title Geisha Assassin.  Why the hell they thought Geisha Assassin was a better name than Geisha Vs. Ninjas is beyond my comprehension, but... ok. Anyway, I don't know much about the film other than it seems to be a standard, low budget revenge flick, but the trailer is available at the official website and I need to watch it. You may want to do so as well and then, if you feel like it, you may order it from Amazon . You have my permission. * And lastly for the moment, it looks like the UK is getting Kim Ji-woon's totally awesome The Good, The Bad & The Weird on DVD and Blu-Ray as of June 1st.  (that's not the cover art) Still no word on what's happening with it over here yet. LAME. Tags: dvd news, movie news
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This from Joe LoTruglio.com: Well, we’ve been crying wolf for about two years now. Let’s hope the sheep don’t slaughtered this time, because I think this is finally it. MTV Home Entertainment plans to release the long-awaited State DVD set on July 14th….Bastille Day! Because as you know, The State would not exist if not for its deeply influenced origins in French history.
Now…there’s a slight chance this exact date may change, but it will be released in the summer. MTV is hoping to set up a State DVD Website in the next couple months with more info, and possible pre-order sales. Their ultimate plan is to coordinate the release between the Reno finale and the premiere of Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter’s very funny new show, Michael and Michael Have Issues.
Tell your friends. Storm the castle.  OH SHIT. FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The State is probably my favorite sketch comedy show ever. I used to watch it religiously on MTV along with Beavis & Butthead. I've been pining for these DVDs for YEARS!!!!!!  The State.comIf you watch Reno 911, you'll be familiar with a good portion of the cast. The non-regulars on the show have almost all made guest appearances. I noticed last night that Joe LoTruglio is a new cast member this season, too, which is cool. Anyway. GREAT news. Tags: awesometown, dvd news
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Just read this and I want to post it now before I set aside to post about later and then forget about until it's no longer relevant. On may 19th, Kino International is releasing a couple 60's Japanese gangster flicks that deserve some notice.   Both of these are well regarded, possibly even considered classics. Especially Detective Bureau 2-3. In fact, I think I'm going to go ahead and copy the summaries from Amazon because they read very well. Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards!FROM THE LEGENDARY DIRECTOR OF TOKYO DRIFTER AND BRANDED TO KILL STARRING JAPANESE SUPERSTAR JO SHISHIDO (BRANDED TO KILL and A COLT IS MY PASSPORT) Assigned a standard Yakuza film in the hardboiled vein pioneered at Japan s famed Nikkatsu Studios, director Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) and his frequent leading man Jo Shishido used 1963 s Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! to flip the Japanese gangster film genre on its ear. A rapid fire gun heist, credits with an infectious jazz pop score, and a wide-screen close-up of a burning car announce Detective Bureau 2-3 as the film that would both lampoon and redefine Asian crime films for an irreverent new decade of garish panache and ultra-violent cool. The story follows police detective Tajima (Shishido), who, tasked with tracking down stolen firearms, turns an underworld grudge into a bloodbath -- while Suzuki transforms a colorful potboiler into an on-target send-up of cultural colonialism and post-war greed. (This isn t an American TV series,) one of Tajima s doubting subordinates tells the sharkskin-suited, super suave sleuth. Anarchic, breakneck paced, darkly comic, and stylish to the extreme, Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! was a movie unlike anything audiences had ever seen. It would cement Suzuki s fervent popularity at home and heralded his imminent cult status worldwide. 1963 Japan 88 min. Color In Japanese with Optional English Subtitles Letterboxed (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs 3 Seconds Before ExplosionSTARRING JAPANESE SUPERSTAR AKIRA KOBAYASHI (BLACK TIGHT KILLERS and ROUGHNECK) A lightning-paced 60 s crime film from Japan s Nikkatsu Studios, Three Seconds to Explosion packs enough subterfuge and action into its 84 volatile minutes to fill out a dozen pictures made anywhere else. (I like shady dealings,) purrs undercover superspy Yabuki (Akira Kobayashi The Yakuza Papers) en route to infiltrating a sadistic, trigger-happy gang of international jewel thieves. Gone renegade from the shadowy espionage bureau that honed his killer instincts to a razor s edge, the implacable Yabuki teams up with fellow mercenary crime fighter Yamawaki (Hideki Takahashi Fighting Elegy). Together, they follow a trail of stolen gems leading from the final days of WWII to a contemporary conspiracy that reaches into the highest corridors of corporate power and nefarious international villainy. A widescreen whirlwind of sharkskin thread, revenge-crazed assassins, ticking time bombs, deadly booby traps, and triple-crossing lingerie-clad femme fatales, Three Seconds to Explosion connects Nikkatsu s (mood action) yakuza gangster films of the 50 s and 60 s to the studio s subsequent kinky 70 s (pink films,) and is a primer in the tough, super-cool world of no borders exploitation cinema Nikkatsu style. 1967 Japan 84 min. Color In Japanese with Optional English Subtitles Letterboxed (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs The only drawback I see on these is the price. Kino DVDs tend to be a bit more expensive in general, with little in the way of extras, but the quality of the films they release is usually pretty high. Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards! is $26.99 at Amazon and $20.95 at HK Flix. 3 Seconds Before Explosion is also $26.99 at Amazon and $20.95 at HK Flix. I know that there are also plans to release TWO box sets of Nikkatsu action flicks by Criterion via there Eclipse series sometime this year. And that, my friends, is fucking badass. Tags: dvd news
Current Music: Peter Broderick - Diverge | Powered by Last.fm
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Today has been doo-doo for me, but it won't stay that way because I am going to go out and spend some money. On this:  I could attempt to describe my feelings at the release of a new PJ Harvey recording, but I won't. I'm sure you can guess. I haven't heard any of the music yet, except what was played at the live show I saw last week, which is how I like it. I want every track to be something of a surprise. It's good to be alive today. Feel free to order it from Amazon if you're not set on physically acquiring it this evening. As amazing and exciting as this is, there's actually a whole Metric Fuckton of good shit coming out today and I did, in fact, actually weigh all of the combined items on a scale of win and Metric Fuckton was what the scale read. ( This way to have your cash separated from your accounts )I think that's it. Can you believe how much awesome shit is coming out on the same day? During a recession? WTF? I hope Obama decides to fix this soon. Tags: dvd news, materialism, music, pj harvey, spending too much fucking money
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(Apologies in advance for those of you seeing this twice.) Synapse films has FINALLY announced a release date and details for their release of the Wandering Ginza Butterfly films! After years of waiting!   WHY, YES, THAT IS MEIKO KAJI AND SONNY CHIBA STANDING BACK TO BACK AND LOOKING BADASS. THANKS FOR NOTICING. YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A KEEN EYE. OH, ABSOLUTELY, I AGREE. IT'S TOTALLY FUCKING BADASS THAT THE TWO OF THEM ARE IN THE SAME MOVIE KICKING ASS TOGETHER. I MEAN, HONESTLY, THEY'RE AMONGST THE MOST ASS-KICKING PEOPLE TO HAVE EVER WALKED THE FACE OF THE EARTH AND THUS THE "TEAM UP" IS NOTHING SHORT OF MONUMENTAL. YOU DO HAVE EXCELLENT TASE, I MUST SAY. Oh, and that's not just the cover. That shit actually happens in the movie!!!!!  The DVDs are scheduled to come out on May 19th. Special features for the first film: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Mono Audio Commentary by Japanese Film Expert Chris D. New Video Interview With Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Cast/Crew Info. Stills Gallery Trailers Reversible Cover With Japanese Poster Artwork Newly Restored Special features for the second: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Mono New Video Interview With Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Interview With Pinky Violence Film Expert J-Taro Sugisaku Cast/Crew Info. Stills Gallery Trailers Reversible Cover With Japanese Poster Artwork Newly Restored You can pre-order both of these titles now, if you wish. Wandering Ginza Butterfly$17.49 at Amazon $16.95 at HK FlixWandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler$17.49 at Amazon $16.95 at HK FlixAaaaaaand if you're anywhere near as excited about this as I am, then feel free to peruse a gallery of 82 screencaps I did of the first film from a bootleg about two years back. They all have Meiko Kaji in them, so they're all pretty fuckin' badass (though the quality isn't so fantastic). Tags: dvd news, meiko kaji
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The UK trailer for the upcoming Blood: The Last Vampire is out and about.  This has been on my list ever since it was announced that Gianna Jun Jeon Ji-Hyun was going to be in it. She being from the awesome Korean film My Sassy Girl. It went higher on my list when Koyuki was signed on. She being the lady in white in that there trailer, whom you may recognize as Tom Cruise's lady friend in The Last Samurai or, if you're really cool, you recognize her as Harue in the original Pulse. A lot of the press photos that have made it out before now looked pretty cool. I was cautiously optimistic. After watching that trailer, however, I don't think I'll be expecting much out of it. I'm probably in the minority on this, but I thought that trailer looked terrible. Hope I'm wrong. On the other hand, I also just watched the trailer for a film called Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle.  This has potential. Not like Machine Girl or Tokyo Gore Police potential, but the star, Miki Mizuno, is actually a trained martial artist AND the film's gore is being done by Yoshihiro Nishimura, who was also in charge of the gore for the two previous mentioned films.  Yup, that one's got my name allllllllll over it. The film is actually a sequel to a 45 minute long film called Hard Revenge Milly, which you can purchase at HK Flix for $10.95. Everything I've read about the original indicates it's exactly what's you'd hope/expect. Which is good. Tags: dvd news, movie news
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I found this on there a little while ago.  Irma Vep (Essential Edition) . Released December 9, 2008. Special features: - 16:9 Anamorphic transfer, available for the first time in North America - Audio commentary: a discussion with director Olivier Assayas and critic Jean-Michel Frodon - 30 minutes of never before seen on-set footage, plus an additional audio essay by Assayas and Frodon - "Man Yuk: A Portrait of Maggie Cheung" (1997), a short film by Assayas - Black-and-white rushes of Cheung as Irma Vep on Parisian rooftops - Original French theatrical trailer - Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired - 16-page booklet with essays on Maggie Cheung and Les Vampires director Louis Feuillade by Assayas, and a new appreciation by critic Kent Jones Son of a bitch. When (not if) I purchase this, it will be my third goddamn copy of this movie. I have the original, barebones Region 1 release that's pretty crap, and I bought the Region 2 release last year, I think, because it had special features on it. Not as many special features as this one does, though. Lately, I've gotten a lot better about ignoring shit like this. I mean, it's rare that another featurette is worth the cost of double or triple dipping, you know? But this... those special features on this movie? Yeah, I ain't got that kind of willpower. Tags: dvd news, materialism, spending too much fucking money
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Get your priorities in order. You owe it to yourself and to your loved ones not to leave the awesome behind. OUT NOW:Supercop (aka Police Story 3)  $19.95 @ HK Flix$16,99 @ Amazon Remember when Jackie Chan made good movies? I do. This is a 2 disc set of one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies, but before I spooge all over the internet about it, I should mention that this is apparently NOT the uncut HK version of the film. It's the same edited version that was released in the US before, only now we finally get subtitles as an option. The previous release was dubbed and only dubbed (although Jackie and Michelle Yeoh did their own dubbing). I'm not sure why Dragon Dynasty didn't give us the full version. I do know I will still be picking this up, though, because of Bey Logan's commentary track and I've heard the special features are pretty excellent. I'll just be sure to hang onto my crappy HK DVD, too. ( DVDs coming out in the near future )There's actually a lot more coming out in the next couple of months, but I'm out of time. Maybe later. Tags: dvd news, materialism, spending too much fucking money
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I've been out of it, but I got through some of my friends list today and read some of my feeds and now I bring you some highlights. • The next release from Dragon Dynasty is scheduled to come out on January 13th, and it's another one I've been waiting for for some time. Jackie Chan's Police Story 3: Supercop!!!! Amazon link. According to Kaiju Shakedown, it'll be a 2 disc release and include interviews with Jackie and Michelle Yeoh. I expect the picture and sound quality will be somewhat lacking, as they have been in a couple other recent DD releases, but... I'm still happy it's coming out. • Speaking of Michelle Yeoh and DVD releases, Quiet Earth has some details about the upcoming release of Babylon A.D. starring Michelle and Vin Diesel. I never got around to seeing it and, sadly, I'm perfectly ok with that. I would like to see it eventually. • Everyone's heard that Sam Mendes ( American Beauty, The Road To Perdition) has signed on to direct a film of Preacher, right? Well, he is. They don't have a script yet, but... it looks like it's happening. • Oy. And you all heard that Steven Spielberg wants to cast Will Smith in a remake of Oldboy, yeah? Hope that's a joke... • Is Terminator: Salvation going to suck? I don't know, but some of the production art looks pretty badass. Some of it also looks incredibly lame. Terminator motorcycles?!? Really?? • Oh, and it looks like there's a film adaptation of the Vertigo comic book The Losers in the works. Pretty badass book, I thought, although it got a little... weird at the end? The film is set to be directed by Sylvian White who, according to the article, is also working on an adaptation of Frank Miller's Ronin. • December 9th sees the release of this beautiful monstrosity:  A 2 disc, COMPLETE score for The Dark Knight. Over 50 minutes of additional music. Comes with a 40 page hardbound book. You can pre-order it on Amazon for a little under $50 or you can pre-order it from The Official Soundtrack Website for $40. • One of the crappy things about not being on the internet much at this time of year is that the American Film Market is going on right now and so much news about upcoming movies is hitting the nets. And I feel like I'm missing a lot of it. But I did catch this:  The first poster for the live action Blood: The Last Vampire film. The film is due out on February of 2009 and marks the US film debut of that lady, Gianna Jun. Formerly known by her ACTUAL name of Jeon Ji-Hyun, star of My Sassy Girl. She's pretty awesome. Add to this the fact that Koyuki ( The Last Samurai, Kairo) is in it and you've got a recipe for getting me to plop down $10. I really hope it doesn't suck, but I'm kind of afraid that it will. • Another AFM thing I came across recently was this:  From the upcoming Shanghai, starring Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li, John Cusack, Ken Watanabe and Rinko Kikuchi. Holy shit, right? Right. I've been so out of it, I didn't even know this thing had started production. Then I go to the IMDB page just now and see three other, better quality, photos from the film, including this one:  Goddamn, I love that man. I hope this movie doesn't suck. And that's what I got for you. Tags: chow yun fat, dvd news, movie news
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What's been happening lately? Don't ask me because I have no idea. The week of November 3rd is the 2008 AFI Film Festival in Hollywood and I only just this evening remembered. This is a bad sign. Especially because the line up this year is incredibly pimp and there are a couple screenings that have already sold out on me. Not all of them, thankfully. I should still manage to grab tickets to see the new movies by Takeshi Kitano ( Achilles And The Tortoise) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa ( Tokyo Sonata) and if I can get November 6th off I can probably catch The Good, The Bad & The Weird, but the weekend screening of that is already sold out. Fuckers. Anyway. You probably already heard that Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery will no longer be working on the film The Black Hole, an adaptation of the fantastic Charles Burns comic. It was originally slated to be directed by Alex Aja ( High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes), but is now set to be directed by David Fincher. Not a bad thing, but I guess Neil and Roger aren't a fan of Fincher's process requiring over 10 drafts of script. Can't say I blame them. Still great news that someone like Fincher is doing the film, but it's not quite as exciting as an Aja/Gaiman/Avery team.  One of my favorite Takeshi Kitano movies is Yoichi Sai's Blood & Bones. I bought an HK DVD of the movie a couple of years ago, after hearing that it was Japan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and because it had been getting some great reviews. Then I watched it and I loved it. It's not even close to the best movie Kitano has appeared in, but it's probably the best acting performance of his career to date. Anyway, Tartan had the rights to it here in the US for quite some time, but apparently that is no longer the case and Kino will be releasing the film on DVD in the US on November 11th.  Do yourself a favor and add this baby to your Netflix or Blockbuster or whatever. I should probably warn you, though, this movie features Kitano's full body in the buff and, as much as I absolutely love this man, it's not really a pretty sight. Great movie, though. I feel like I should also mention that the score for the film, by Taro Iwashiro, is super fucking beautiful. i HIGHLY recommend tracking it down and downloading it. If you can find it to purchase, then that's even better, but that's unlikely. Just FYI. Tags: dvd news, movie news
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I swear to god, one day I will be caught up. • Some time ago, it was widely reported that the Weinstein Company had acquired the rights to the Thai action flick Chocolate (read my review), but apparently that was either not the case or they have relinquished those rights and now Magnolia has the rights. This is seriously fantastic news. Especially the part that says the film will be released theatrically in 2009.• A fantastic interview with writer Greg Rucka can and should be read here. LOTS of Queen & Country talk. • This is the poster for The Uninvited, aka the American remake of A Tale Of Two Sisters:  I don't know why I bother to mention that. Does anyone care at this point? • Akira is coming out on Blu-Ray in February! • An interview with Chuck Palahniuk about the film version of Choke can be read over here. The Lady and I saw the film a couple of days ago and we both enjoyed it quite a bit. It made me want to re-read the book again, so I think I'll do that as soon as I'm done with Kafka On The Shore. That's what I got right now. I would say that I'll be updating again soon, but you and I both know that the chances of that being true are currently slim. Tags: comics, dvd news, movie news, remakes
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