Takakura is god. He skipped the second film but now he’s back and his scenes with Junko Fuji are heavenly. The only other actor I can think of with similarly captivating presence is Humphrey Bogart. But Takakura and Fuji aren’t the only reasons why this movie stands up. Director Tai Kato does excellent job helming classy old school yakuza entertainment that is engaging enough to make you wish the final bloody confrontation would never come.
- dvd / Toei
Shigero Ozawa’s (The Street Fighter) instalment differs greatly from the previous three films in terms storyline. This time Oryu (Fuji) promises a dying boss to complete his railroad project for the government. Compared to the more strictly yakuza related storylines of the earlier films this does not feel the most natural move. However, at the latest when Takakura steps into the picture you know you’re watching a great movie. Bin Amatsu, who’s been killed a few times already in the series, returns as yet another new villain. Tomisaburo Wakayama is taking his day off and is replaced by Tatsuo Endo who delivers the comic relief to a few scenes.
- dvd / Toei
Although my limited genre knowledge prevents me from making any definitive statements, I think it would be a pretty safe bet to say that this is the best yakuza film ever made. Certainly it’s one of the greatest movies of all time in general. The storyline, characters and acting are all perfect. Junko Fuji has become phenomenal in the lead role, and Koji Tsuruta is even better. Tomisaburo Wakayama limits his comedic show to minimum. As usual, the villain is played by Bin Amatsu and even he is better than ever. He of course takes part in the final duel, which is the best action piece in the series so far. The gambling scenes are superb as well.
- dvd / Toei
Tai Kato, the director of the third film, returns to the series and delivers a direct sequel to Flower Cards Match. Unfortunately the storyline and characters are not quite as good as before, and the film suffers from some sentimentialism. Surprisingly the cast features neither Takakura nor Tsuruta, instead the male lead played by Bunta Sugawara. It’s a pleasure to see him as the good guy for a change, but ultimately his character is given too little screentime. Another unexpected turn is Bin Amatsu. While he is in the film - and evil as usual – he only appears very briefly in a supporting role. The main villain is played by Toru Abe. In the end Oryu Returns is a solid yakuza film, but feels somewhat underwhelming after the masterful fifth film.
- dvd / Toei
Leave it to Wong Jing to start an action-flick with a bunch of school-children being brutally massacred, while in the very next scene suddenly delivering outrageously immature jokes from the bottom of the toilet, like nothing ever happened. Very fast paced plot (some kind of “Die Hard”-spoof), lots of shooting, fighting and random violence in general (no CAT-III, though, but still pretty tough), starring Jet Li and everybodies darling Chingmy Yau. Yes, you heard right. She’s in there, and she’s around a lot. Also look out for a helicopter(!!!) wreaking major havoc inside a hotel-lobby, and Jackie Cheung’s carricature of a Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee inspired character is a killer; “High Risk” is nothing less than another immensely satisfying 90s High-Profile Action-Goodie from HK-Cinema.
- HK-DVD
I didn’t quite dug what director Takashi Ishii was trying to achieve with this movie, except delivering a (still strangely fascinating) refined profile of a stalker. Otherwise “Red Porno” sadly suffers from a lot of idling and starts too late with characterizing it’s female protagonist. Some of the sex-scenes are pretty steamy, though, closely scraping the borders to hardcore-pornography, while fortunately being accompanied by visuals with a subtle Arthouse appeal. And since we’re talking “Angel Guts” here, brace yourself for one really disturbing rape-scenario. In the end I found it kinda odd, that of all people Ishii (he wrote the original Manga) would deliver the weakest entry into the series so far. One to go . . .
- US-DVD
Ishii directed Red Vertigo, not Red Porno. Red Porno was directed by Toshiharu Ikeda (the director of
Have mixed them up, somehow, and I felt so sure . . .
But you’re right, “Red Vertigo” is considerably better. My favorite part until now, despite being also the most controversial, remains “Nami”, though.
Hmm… schools girls with axes. That’s a pink film element that only a very special director could ruin. The honor goes to genre specialist Shogoro Nishimura, who skillfully turns the film into crap. No surprises quality wise here, really. The start is boring, the slighty interesting but badly executed part follows (the axes are just one brief scene), and the the remaining 50 minutes is your usual Oniroku Dan / Nikkatsu sm entertainment. I guess this, too, will find its audience. Jigoku hen is the first part in the 80s Flower and Snake series (preceeded by Masaru Konuma’s 1974 foul classic)
- dvd / HK
First, the big surprise; Shiiku hen features approximately two minutes of full blooded character developement. It may not be much, but I assure you, it’s a rare treat in a Nikkatsu sm flick. Otherwise Shiiku hen, which doesn’t seem to have an english language title due to the fact that writer / bootlegger and overseas information bank Thomas Weisser failed to notice its existense, is a standard effort. The lack of new ideas is obvious, and the boring warehouse setting doesn’t help either. There’s only one memorable scene, plus a soundtrack that has a tiny bit of attempt. Neither are major merits.
- dvd / HK
This movie had potential. Rope maniac dentist targets Ran Masaki. You’d think even a lesser director would be able to deliver a decent exploitationer from those ingredients. But not Shogoro Nishimura. The film is strangely unpassionate and doesn’t even have a good offensive swing. That is perhaps also a relief, but most surprising considering the director’s earlier gross out achievements. But, the dentist theme is still something, and the film’s got a tiny bit of good 80s vibe. The opening credits use the kick ass music from Hebi to Muchi (also 1986) but to much lesser effect.
- dvd / HK
I lost count how maniest instalment this is in the Hana to hebi series, but for the most part Ultimate Rope Discipline is just what you’d expect; a mixture of boring and unexciting. However, this time I can’t help myself with the rating. The last scene is such a mindblowing, mean sprited bravura of immoral movie making that it alone deserves the film an additional half star. The other half comes from the under-used but impressively threatening and moody soundtrack. Occasionally the director also shows some eye for visuals. Such a shame the rest of the film doesn’t rise too far above the low genre standards.
- dvd / R2J
With Konuma and Nishimura churning out more pathetic sm crap than a sane person can take, it’s a pleasure to see a truly great film in the genre. Noboru Tanaka’s concluding part in the Showa Era trilogy starts a bit emotionless, but later turns into a hypnotic masterpiece. Sleaze and cheap shocks are not found in this obsession / torture tale, instead the psychological tension is so strong that the film can’t be recommended to the faint of heart. The pace is very slow with 110% focus on characters. Tanaka’s favourite leading lady Junko Miyashita gives a very decent performance in the physically extremely demanding role.
- dvd / R2J
This is the movie you thought Nikkatsu would never be able to produce. Koyu Ohara’s Pink Hip Girl is a serious contender for the ’cutest youth film ever’. First of all, it’s got the rarest of things; a good screenplay. Not only does the storyline make a lot of sense, the dialogue is often terrific. No less impressive is the acting. While nobody gives bad performances, the young lead, 19 year old Kahori Takeda, is simply perfect. Ohara’s direction is highly enjoyable and he manages to avoid practically every problem that typically plagues the genre. Even the sex, which is not dirty at all this time, is formatted into the story perfectly. Very positively surprising. As a final touch the film’s pop soundtrack and especially the theme song is exhilarating.
Two things; Miike’s film does not only get better by repeated viewings but also benefits greatly from being viewed back to back with a 60’s Django film, in my case Ferdinando Baldi’s Viva Django (1966). Sukiyaki Western features some irritating visual tricks and is also way too obvious in its intention to become a cult movie, but for some reason none of that hurts the film. The engrish dialogue has proven problematic to some viewers, but I didn’t really find it hard to understand at all. It certainly adds something to the film.
Again. When reserved my festical ticket I had not yet decided on seeing the film on friday (which came to happen for various reasons not directly related to the film itself) and the only alternative would’ve been The Magic Sword (USA, 1962). I’ve always found medieval knight pics boring, and I was not feeling like giving the genre a new new chance at 4:15 am. So, Sukiyaki it is, again.
The night, no wait, it’s bright outside already, ah whatever, closes with Kazuhiko Yamaguchi’s super rare karate actioner (sometimes incorrectly mistaken as Dragon Princess) starring Yasuaki Kurata and Toei’s greatest kick & punch villain; Masashi Ishibashi. Kurata’s fight in the tower of death is decent martial arts fun, but the cameraman is misplaced in the middle of the furious fights (half of the time the poor fella seems to dodging kicks instead of capturing the action on film). Good female characters are nowhere to be found in this pic, but at least it’s got two decent baddies; Ishibashi and, of course, the deadly tiger.
If you’ve never watched a Girls with Guns Flick before, you’ll probably find it awesome; truth is though, that “Killer Angels” represents a rather mediocre section of HK-Action Cinema, occasionally spoiled by awkward humour. There’s still some solid kickin’ to be found, shootouts are ferocious and bloody, but static camera and choppy editing rarely succeed in creating an urgent athmosphere of excitement. Also Gordon Liu seems surprisingly miscast, and a butch female dressed up as a man is a fetish I don’t particularly get off on too much, either. So the most memorable scene about “Killer Angels” remains an 80s disco-style dance-and-sing performance by Moon Lee (tight, black leather costume, HOT!!!) which actually was the closest thing I’ve ever seen her do in order to establish herself as a sex-symbol.
- German DVD
Already one of the most extraordinary films of the year: notorious director Takashi Miike makes the impossible possible by creating an Italo-Western spoof without completely reverting into superficial funny-land. The storyline, stripped to it’s bare bones, is still a deadly serious affair with a few individual acts of disturbing assault and melancholism, while all the rest has been left for the sake of pure tongue-in-cheek entertainment: moments of Bizarre alternating with hilarious over-the-top violence, cranky characters (most memorable performance from Yusuke Iseya, plus a show-stopping guest-appearance by Quentin Tarantino) and an incredibly furious showdown resulting in a Samurai Sword vs. Revolver 1-on-1. All the fun and weirdness aside, the more jaded Miike afficionado will be pleased to find out, that typical trademarks of the director are present as ever. And I’m not talking about some gross-out violence here, Duh.
- Movie Theater
Grounded upon a similar premise like Shinobu Yaguchi’s “Swing Girls” (only this time featuring Schoolgirls and Garage Rock), “Linda Linda Linda” may feel a bit shallow, but what it lacks in personal drama, it wholly makes up for with compelling charme and a sympathetic (and cute) cast. The movie starts off rather slow and doesn’t considerably speed up in the long run, until it kinda hit me, that “Linda Linda Linda” wasn’t so much about characters and plot, than about capturing a certain mood of easy-going teen spirit and school days nostalgia, and suddenly it was all good. Very straightforward, no twist, (but no cliches either), it had subtle humour throughout, nothing loud and slapstick-like, though, but always revolving around some not-too-dramatic everyday situations, most of us will be able to identify with at some point. I may not remember this movie for very long, but as long as it lasted, it brought a constant smile on my lips.
- US-DVD
Storywise pretty solid Cyberpunk Tale employing similar technology like “Appleseed”, but in the course turns out annoyingly artificial and soulless, which is an odd thing to say about CGI-Anime in the first place, but watch it and see for yourself: at times “Vexille” runs more like a 3D-rendered interlude from a PC-Game than an actual movie; maybe it’s a budget thing, heck, even the characters from “FFVII: Advent Children” seemed more alive than this cinematic stillbirth. Also having experienced genre-masterpieces like “The Matrix” or “Ghost in the Shell” (and to some extent also “Innocence”) the plot in “Vexille” doesn’t seem remotely original anymore, still it succeeds in creating a few impressive and epic Action Set-Ups, accentuated by pounding beats of an Industrial Rock Soundtrack. Needless to say, that the finale is being spoiled by an utter generic and conformal ending-solution, while something darker and less conciliatory would have been more apt. If this is the future of Anime, then I’ll prefer living in the past.
- German DVD
Awesome, fast paced Crime-Fu Action-Treat (with a stress on “Action”) from the late 80s, starring Guess-Who (yes, her!), featuring a healthy amount of John Woo-ish gunplay for good measure. Due to the usual tight budget action is strictly limited to cheap backyard settings, but a satisfying mixture of ultra-violence, exciting choreographies and brisk (yet competent) editing will make for an entertaining viewing-experience. Just that particular torture/rape throw-in kinda came out of the blue and went a little too far for it’s own good, therefore delivering a nasty and disturbing notion, so before you’ll show “Devil Hunters” to your friends, I’ll strongly advise you checking it out beforehands. The showdown is the very epitome of “Ass Kicking”, though.
Anthony Wong gives an unforgettable performance in this all time category 3 classic. Wong plays a loser psychopath who flees from Hong Kong to South Africa, and after raping a tribes woman becomes the carrier of the ebola virus. The results are horrifying but often hilarious. The hamburger scene made me feel ill, again.
- Cinema
Once again Imamura is dealing with a real life subject, this time following the life of â€
The action doesn’t really start before the lengthy finale, which is actually a good thing, because in “Arahan” the comedy works better than anything else. In fact only one really good fight-scene has found it’s way into the movie (restaurant scene), the rest is spoiled by effusive (yet okay) CGI and lame wirework, resulting in a tedious stop-and-go: one impressive move, opponent crashes in slo-mo into some wall; another impressive move, opponent flies through another piece of architecture, and so on. Fortunately a bit of sword-fighting makes for a welcome diversification (painfully repetitive reciting of pseudo-spiritual platitudes drags, though). Yet, all it’s flaws aside, “Arahan” has repeatedly proven itself a good choice to watch together with friends in a relaxed manner. Maybe I am judging a bit too harsh, after all: it’s two charismatic leads (So-yi Yoon from “Shadowless Sword”) and ample humour are still gonna ensure a solid amount of popcorn entertainment.
- German DVD
Imagine Sergio Leone helming the latest entry into the “Zero Woman” Franchise (minus the Rape) and you know what? This wasn’t a half bad achievement in action-oriented V-Cinema. Plot, Structure, Athmosphere, they’re pure Spaghetti Western; hell, they even managed to pull off a Morricone-inspired Soundtrack. Enter Ryoko Yonekura as The Woman from Nowhere, riding on her Harley into town (located next to The Middle of Nowhere and an US Military Base), and promptly getting into trouble with the local reckless Ronin Yakuza Boss. Action strictly relies on posing and editing, but performs in a surprisingly competent way, and the amount of violence and bloody chestwounds doesn’t disappoint, either. The rest indulges in conventional genre set pieces, offering zero character depth, some cheesy Badguy acting by American soldiers to boot, but due to it’s short running time (70 minutes) there’s actually not much time left to get bored with. No mind-blowing visuals or lasting images around here, though, but a cool showdown, echoing with a reminiscence of the final resolution from “Once upon a Time in the West”. The one thing missing in order to keep this movie from sliding into mental oblivion after 15 minutes would be Riki Takeuchi as the evil Kingpin’s right hand; another unmistakably good thing to say about “Gun Crazy” would be the fact, that “A Woman from Nowhere” seems to be utterly devoid of CGI-Crap.
- UK-DVD
Toei resurrects the Sasori series two years after Meiko Kaji dropped out and brought the original series to an end. The new Nami Matsushima is played by Yumi Takigawa, best known from Norifumi Suzuki’s Convent of the Sacred Beast. She’s no match to Kaji, but her cute face and cold precence is quite fit for the role. Dragon Princess director Yutaka Kohira does solid job helming an enjoyable although not all that graphic women in prison film. The supporting cast features some enjoyable performances, especially by the men playing the prison guards. The most important part of the film is the last 20 minutes, which is a non-stop series of jaw droppingly great scenes. The sasori mythology is also in good use.
- dvd / Pathe
Yet another clean start, this time with Yoko Natsuki in the lead role. She’s the least impressive of the three actresses that have played Sasori, but thankfully not all that bad. At least she looks good with the correct clothing… Yutaka Kohira’s directing is good but not especially inspired. The last 30 minutes is very succesfull, though. Another strength is the supporting cast. The warden is played by Toei’s uncrowned evil karate king Masashi Ishibashi. He doesn’t get to do any martial arts in this movie, but for once his role actually allows some minor acting, plus plenty of screentime. His right hand men are played by Hiroshi Tachi and Takeo Chii. Both are superb.
- dvd / Pathe
[quote=“diceman”]
Woah, thanks for correcting my mistake. :o
Have mixed them up, somehow, and I felt so sure . . .
But you’re right, “Red Vertigo” is considerably better. My favorite part until now, despite being also the most controversial, remains “Nami”, though.
[/quote]
Naomi Tani’s celebrated farewell movie is a pink version of Red Peony Gambler. Unfortunately the comparison is utterly unfavourable, and Rope and Skin doesn’t even succeed in being a fun trash version of the legendary series. Despite the participation of an acclaimed Toei screenwriter Takeshi Matsumoto Rope and Skin falls very short on its yakuza ingerients. The sm stuff is slighty less graphic than is some of these films, but equally offputting. The brief action scenes deliver topless Tani with a knife, but true style is nowhere to be found. Nikkatsu’s 1970 movie Blind Woman’s Curse has been given the â€
[i]If I actually had to rate the “Angel Guts”-movies, I’d sort them like this:
- Nami
- Red Classroom
- High School Co-ed
- Red Porno
- Red Vertigo[/i]
It’s a bit ironic, that of all the directors messing with the “Angel Guts”-Theme Takashi Ishii, who spawned the original Manga, would deliver one of the weaker contributions. While “Red Vertigo” still succeeded in raising a few thought-provoking issues, there’s actually very little plot, and most of it isn’t even filmed in a visually challenging way. Similar to “Red Classroom” Ishii is not interested in telling a story revolving around rape in general, but instead takes a rape-scenario as a starting-point for a series of seemingly unconnected, consecutive events, as a means to explore the psychology of it’s already from their outset doomed characters in a painstaking down-and-out manner (thankfully leaving potentially moral issues for the viewer to solve). The last minutes kinda save the day, though, closing with a haunting sequence of beautifully interacting imagery and music.
- US-DVD
Romantic drama with a delicate twist: a love affair between Highschool students manifests itself in sado-masochistic behaviour. Kudos for Akihiko Shiota for not indulging into superficial sensationalism (which actually would’ve been a more convenient path to walk on), so don’t expect something overly kinky; “Moonlight Whispers” is all about psychology, subtle titillation, and how such a fetish affects your everyday life (in case you’re nurturing a socks-fetish, this movie is heaven, though). Some dark humour at work here, too. Furthermore it’s remarkable how the director, despite this film’s delicate nature, still manages to treat his teenage-actors with dignity and respect. A thoroughly original and mature movie with a satisfying conclusion, and also pleasantly modest if it comes to teaching a moral lesson; because, you see, there’s none.
- US-DVD
Masaki Kobayashi proves even the japanese used to be capable of making good ghost stories. Kwaidan consists of four stories, running altogether approximately 3 hours. The first story feels more like a warm up, while the second – starring Tatsuya Nakadai – is the most impressive of the bunch. The third episode is excellent as well, but the film might perhaps feel even more effective without the short final story. It’s a very interesting ending, though, and probably deserves its place in the movie. Kobayashi’s use of colours and especially the cinematography are terrific thoughout the film. The version I saw was the 160 min cut, but getting to see it in cinema pretty much compensated for the missing 20 min.
- Cinema
Kazuhiko Hasegawa, the screenwriter of the masterful cop film Retreat Through the Wet Wasteland, takes the directing duties in the most interesting film of the 70’s. Kenji Sawada plays a high school science teacher who decides to build an atomic bomb of his own. The film begins as a masterpiece but unfortunately, and for a reason that I couldn’t quite figure out, the director takes the film so over the top at the end, that it loses all its credibility. Perhaps Hasegawa wanted to underline the fact that the film is indeed a black comedy, although a quite restrained one most of the time, but the outcome is nevertheless wrong. Still, even with the flaws the film is amazingly fascinating and memorable.
- dvd / R2J
After stealing plutonium from a nuclear power plant, a science-teacher (rockstar Kenji Sawada, looking a bit like Mick Jagger’s illegitimate brother) starts working on a home-made atomic bomb in order to preoccupy police and national security with ridiculous demands. Some tragicomedy in the beginning, but in the course turns into a serious affair, after all. The ending is pure thriller, complete with car-chases, dramatic stand-offs and bits of hard-to-swallow controversy. Good (and tough as usual) performance by Bunta Sugawara as the law-bound opponent. Furthermore the director got some interesting visual tricks up his sleeve, so despite it’s long running time (147 minutes) the movie rarely drags, but it tends to get a bit more talkative in the middle part. “The man who stole the sun” is not a character-piece, so don’t expect to get the bomb-builder’s motivation presented on a silver-plate; it’s strong on social commentary, though, a detail, which sadly got lost in translation with hideous subs on the HK-DVD, so I strongly advise you to stay away from it as far as possible (they even changed names to Chinese ones and deliberately ommited lot’s of important background information). I have yet to check out the Japanese DVD, but it’s supposed to be way better, and it also comes with english subtitles.
- HK-DVD
