“The last thing I hate is that life always forces us to keep moving forwards.”
In the aftermath of the New York Film Festival, reporter Vincent Canby wrote an article about the films of the festival he aptly named “Why Some Films Don't Travel Well”. Works such as Zhang Yimou's “Red Sorghum”, Andrei Konchalovsky's “Asya's Happiness” and Hou Hsiao-Hsien's “Daughter of the Nile” are mostly relevant thanks to their “sociology factor” Canby begins his article, an aspect that these works are and have been applauded for around the world while as films themselves they are not that interesting. Hou Hsiao-Hien, one of the most popular directors of Taiwanese New Cinema along with Edward Yang, was still trying to find a cinematic language for his films, one which strongly resembled the works of Yasujiro Ozu in terms of style and content, the sense of resignation, as he writes...
In the aftermath of the New York Film Festival, reporter Vincent Canby wrote an article about the films of the festival he aptly named “Why Some Films Don't Travel Well”. Works such as Zhang Yimou's “Red Sorghum”, Andrei Konchalovsky's “Asya's Happiness” and Hou Hsiao-Hsien's “Daughter of the Nile” are mostly relevant thanks to their “sociology factor” Canby begins his article, an aspect that these works are and have been applauded for around the world while as films themselves they are not that interesting. Hou Hsiao-Hien, one of the most popular directors of Taiwanese New Cinema along with Edward Yang, was still trying to find a cinematic language for his films, one which strongly resembled the works of Yasujiro Ozu in terms of style and content, the sense of resignation, as he writes...
- 2/13/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The immediate family of leading Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien said on Wednesday that he had retired from filmmaking due to illness and is now living peacefully in retirement. They said that their family-run company remains active and in business.
The statement (see below) was issued in response to news articles earlier this week that followed an introductory speech given in London by critic and curator Tony Rayns before a screening of 1985 title “A Time to Live and a Time to Die,” one of Hou’s best-known features.
Rayns was reported to have said that Hou has dementia, will not direct again and that members of Hou’s company had lost their jobs.
The family statement – signed by Cao Baofeng, Hou’s wife, son Isaac Hou and daughter Bess Hou – explained that Hou had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease before the Covid pandemic and that Covid had, to their surprise,...
The statement (see below) was issued in response to news articles earlier this week that followed an introductory speech given in London by critic and curator Tony Rayns before a screening of 1985 title “A Time to Live and a Time to Die,” one of Hou’s best-known features.
Rayns was reported to have said that Hou has dementia, will not direct again and that members of Hou’s company had lost their jobs.
The family statement – signed by Cao Baofeng, Hou’s wife, son Isaac Hou and daughter Bess Hou – explained that Hou had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease before the Covid pandemic and that Covid had, to their surprise,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Update: “Hou Hsiao-hsien’s family released a statement today confirming that Hou has Alzheimer’s. Initially, it didn’t affect his filmmaking work, but long Covid has forced him to stop. His company continues to operate, but he will no longer work,” reports Kevin Ma, from a translated report by Now News. “Hou’s family also adds that Hou is healthy and that his illness has also helped his family forge a tighter bond because he is spending so much time at home. They also ask for privacy and peace.”
Long-rumored, still unconfirmed, but seeming ever closer to terrible reality is Hou Hsiao-hsien’s retirement amidst struggles with dementia. It was alarming to read (via Twitter user @mattmccrac) that legendary Asian cinema scholar Tony Rayns claimed “Hou’s health is failing him and he likely won’t make another film.” A bit of dialogue with a colleague alleged this further...
Long-rumored, still unconfirmed, but seeming ever closer to terrible reality is Hou Hsiao-hsien’s retirement amidst struggles with dementia. It was alarming to read (via Twitter user @mattmccrac) that legendary Asian cinema scholar Tony Rayns claimed “Hou’s health is failing him and he likely won’t make another film.” A bit of dialogue with a colleague alleged this further...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Ozu Yasujiro, the leading Japanese film director behind classics including “Tokyo Story” and “Late Spring,” has had his double birth and death anniversaries – Ozu died in 1963 on the day of his 60th birthday, a little more than a year after the release of his last film “An Autumn Afternoon” – celebrated throughout 2023 at places as varied as the Cannes Film Festival, Los Angeles’ Margaret Herrick Library and the Taiwan Film & Audiovisual Institute.
But it falls to October’s Tokyo International Film Festival to put on this year’s biggest and most comprehensive reconstruction of Ozu’s surprisingly varied career.
Working in conjunction with the National Film Archive of Japan, the festival will present an extensive retrospective that covers almost all the films that Ozu directed (TIFF/Nfaj Classics: Ozu Yasujiro Week) from Oct. 24-29.
Ozu spent his entire career, from camera assistant in 1923 to renown director in 1962, as an employee of major Japanese studio Shochiku,...
But it falls to October’s Tokyo International Film Festival to put on this year’s biggest and most comprehensive reconstruction of Ozu’s surprisingly varied career.
Working in conjunction with the National Film Archive of Japan, the festival will present an extensive retrospective that covers almost all the films that Ozu directed (TIFF/Nfaj Classics: Ozu Yasujiro Week) from Oct. 24-29.
Ozu spent his entire career, from camera assistant in 1923 to renown director in 1962, as an employee of major Japanese studio Shochiku,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
By Paul Caspers
Junji Sakamoto was born in 1958 and shot his first 16 mm short in 1986. His lengthy filmography includes movies about boxers—including his debut feature “Knockout” (1989)—and yakuza, political thrillers, historical films, and domestic dramas, and much besides. He used to be known for macho protagonists, but when gave the stage actress Naomi Fujiyama her first starring role in “Face” (2000), he gathered international acclaim, which has eluded him since. Hailed as ‘one of the unsung heroes of modern Japanese cinema’ by the critic Tony Rayns, he never became a household name, but the qualities and the sheer diversity of his work suggest a re-evaluation is overdue.
Junji Sakamoto’s latest film “Okiku and the World” had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, ahead of its Japanese release in late April, and the writer-director, attending the festival for the first time in 22 years, agreed to answer a few questions.
Junji Sakamoto was born in 1958 and shot his first 16 mm short in 1986. His lengthy filmography includes movies about boxers—including his debut feature “Knockout” (1989)—and yakuza, political thrillers, historical films, and domestic dramas, and much besides. He used to be known for macho protagonists, but when gave the stage actress Naomi Fujiyama her first starring role in “Face” (2000), he gathered international acclaim, which has eluded him since. Hailed as ‘one of the unsung heroes of modern Japanese cinema’ by the critic Tony Rayns, he never became a household name, but the qualities and the sheer diversity of his work suggest a re-evaluation is overdue.
Junji Sakamoto’s latest film “Okiku and the World” had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, ahead of its Japanese release in late April, and the writer-director, attending the festival for the first time in 22 years, agreed to answer a few questions.
- 2/8/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
When Edward Yang’s “A Brighter Summer Day” was released by Criterion on the European market in 2017, many cinephiles – at least those who did not own a region free-player – were able to enjoy a film many had praised over the years but only a few had actually seen. Even though Yang’s film is certainly not the only title which has become much sought after by film fans, for years after its release in 1991, “A Brighter Summer Day” was a title which one could only enjoy at festivals and selected screenings. Along with “Yi Yi” (2000), 2018 marked the year in which many film fans could enjoy two of the most significant titles within Asian cinema, news which Yang surely would have been delighted to hear given the amount of work he put into his films, but also considering their themes.
“A Brighter Summer Day” is screening at Five Flavours...
“A Brighter Summer Day” is screening at Five Flavours...
- 11/22/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Danny Yung is an experimental art pioneer and one of Hong Kong’s most influential artists. He is a founding member and co-artistic director of Zuni Icosahedron. In the past 40 years, Yung has been working extensively in diverse fields of arts, including theatre, cartoon, film, video as well as visual and installation art. In the span of his 50-year artistic profession, Yung has been involved in over 100 theatre productions as director, scriptwriter, producer and/or stage designer. His theatre works were staged in multiple cities across the world, including Tokyo, Yokohama, Toga, Singapore, Jakarta, Taipei, Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Brussels, Berlin, Munich, Hannover, London, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Dubai and New York. The artist keeps a close eye on the arts and cultural policy and on education development in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. He currently serves as chairman of the Hong Kong–Taipei–Shenzhen–Shanghai City-to-City Cultural Exchange Conference and is...
- 10/6/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something wrong with her.”
When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.
“Audition” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition...
When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.
“Audition” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition...
- 4/25/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“They call me Drunken Cat”
King Hu’s Come Drink With Me (1966) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video. It can be pre-ordered Here
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process.
When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother.
King Hu’s Come Drink With Me (1966) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video. It can be pre-ordered Here
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process.
When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother.
- 2/10/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Japanese wartime drama Red Angel (1966) will be available on Blu-ray January 18th from Arrow Video
Directed by Yasuzo Masumura, Red Angel takes an unflinching look at the horror and futility of war through the eyes of a dedicated and selfless young military nurse.
When Sakura Nishi is dispatched in 1939 to a ramshackle field hospital in Tientsin, the frontline of Japan’s war with China, she and her colleagues find themselves fighting a losing battle tending to the war-wounded and emotionally shellshocked soldiers while assisting head surgeon Dr Okabe conduct an unending series of amputations. As the Chinese troops close in, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Okabe who, impotent to stall the mounting piles of cadavers, has retreated into his own private hell of morphine addiction.
Adapted from the novel by Yorichika Arima, Masumura’s harrowing portrait of women and war is considered the finest of his collaborations with...
Directed by Yasuzo Masumura, Red Angel takes an unflinching look at the horror and futility of war through the eyes of a dedicated and selfless young military nurse.
When Sakura Nishi is dispatched in 1939 to a ramshackle field hospital in Tientsin, the frontline of Japan’s war with China, she and her colleagues find themselves fighting a losing battle tending to the war-wounded and emotionally shellshocked soldiers while assisting head surgeon Dr Okabe conduct an unending series of amputations. As the Chinese troops close in, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Okabe who, impotent to stall the mounting piles of cadavers, has retreated into his own private hell of morphine addiction.
Adapted from the novel by Yorichika Arima, Masumura’s harrowing portrait of women and war is considered the finest of his collaborations with...
- 12/22/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hello, dear readers! We’re back with a brand new assortment of horror and sci-fi home media releases this week, and as we creep closer and closer towards Halloween, there are definitely a handful of titles coming out on Tuesday that would be fun to check out as you get ready for the spooky season. Arrow Video is keeping busy with a handful of releases, including a 4K version of Dario Argento’s The Cat O’ Nine Tails and Blind Beast. And speaking of Argento, Blue Underground is showing Two Evil Eyes - his collaboration with George A. Romero - some love with their 4K presentation of the film. Larry Cohen’s A Return to Salem’s Lot is finally getting a Blu-ray, and if you missed the latest Conjuring film in theaters earlier this year, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is headed home on multiple formats this week as well.
- 8/23/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Yasuzô Masumura’s Blind Beast (1969) will be available on Blu-ray August 24th from Arrow Video
Blind Beast is a grotesque portrait of the bizarre relationship between a blind sculptor and his captive muse, adapted from a short story from Japans foremost master of the macabre, Edogawa Rampo.
An artists model, Aki (Mako Midori), is abducted, and awakens in a dark warehouse studio whose walls are decorated with outsized womens body parts eyes, lips, legs and breasts and dominated by two recumbent giant statues of male and female nudes. Her kidnapper introduces himself as Michio (Eiji Funakoshi), a blind sculptor whom she had witnessed previously at an exhibition in which she featured intently caressing a statue of her naked torso. Michio announces his intention of using her to sculpt the perfect female form. At first defiant, she eventually succumbs to his intense fixation on her body and finds herself drawn into his sightless world,...
Blind Beast is a grotesque portrait of the bizarre relationship between a blind sculptor and his captive muse, adapted from a short story from Japans foremost master of the macabre, Edogawa Rampo.
An artists model, Aki (Mako Midori), is abducted, and awakens in a dark warehouse studio whose walls are decorated with outsized womens body parts eyes, lips, legs and breasts and dominated by two recumbent giant statues of male and female nudes. Her kidnapper introduces himself as Michio (Eiji Funakoshi), a blind sculptor whom she had witnessed previously at an exhibition in which she featured intently caressing a statue of her naked torso. Michio announces his intention of using her to sculpt the perfect female form. At first defiant, she eventually succumbs to his intense fixation on her body and finds herself drawn into his sightless world,...
- 7/25/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
We have a relatively quiet week of Blu-ray & DVD releases to look forward to, but there are still a few things for genre fans to get excited about. Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder is getting the Criterion treatment this Tuesday, and if you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, you’ll definitely want to give The Mortuary Collection a watch as well. Other releases for April 20th include At Night Comes Wolves, Death Ranch, A Werewolf in England, and Interviewing Monsters and Bigfoot.
Memories of Murder: The Criterion Collection
In his breakthrough second feature, Bong Joon Ho explodes the conventions of the policier with thrillingly subversive, genre-defying results.
Based on the true story of a string of serial killings that rocked a rural community in the 1980s, Memories of Murder stars New Korean Cinema icon Song Kang Ho as the local officer who reluctantly...
Memories of Murder: The Criterion Collection
In his breakthrough second feature, Bong Joon Ho explodes the conventions of the policier with thrillingly subversive, genre-defying results.
Based on the true story of a string of serial killings that rocked a rural community in the 1980s, Memories of Murder stars New Korean Cinema icon Song Kang Ho as the local officer who reluctantly...
- 4/19/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Fetch Publicity releases the first 4K Blu-ray release outside of “Irezumi,” (1966) Yasuzo Masumura’s early masterwork, outside of Japan. The Blu-ray will be available on 21 June 2021.
From us: Yasuzo Masumura may be practically unknown to the west, but he is quite famous and respected in Japan, with filmmakers like Shinji Aoyama and Nagisa Oshima considering him as one of the precursors of the Japanese New Wave of the sixties, and one of the most important creators in postwar Japan. Irezumi is of the first films that established his exploitation style, which was later implemented in his most well known ones, like “Hanzo the Razor: The Snare” and “Blind Beast.”…“Irezumi” is an exploitation film of rare quality that will definitely satisfy fans of the genre, as it paved the way for the surge of the category that occurred in the 70’s.” (Panos Kotzathanasis)
From Fetch: Drawn from...
From us: Yasuzo Masumura may be practically unknown to the west, but he is quite famous and respected in Japan, with filmmakers like Shinji Aoyama and Nagisa Oshima considering him as one of the precursors of the Japanese New Wave of the sixties, and one of the most important creators in postwar Japan. Irezumi is of the first films that established his exploitation style, which was later implemented in his most well known ones, like “Hanzo the Razor: The Snare” and “Blind Beast.”…“Irezumi” is an exploitation film of rare quality that will definitely satisfy fans of the genre, as it paved the way for the surge of the category that occurred in the 70’s.” (Panos Kotzathanasis)
From Fetch: Drawn from...
- 4/3/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
“I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something wrong with her.”
When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.
“Audition” is streaming on Mubi
Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition”, “Dead or Alive” and...
When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.
“Audition” is streaming on Mubi
Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition”, “Dead or Alive” and...
- 2/21/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
If you’re after real nonconformist filmmaking with a political bent, Shohei Imamura’s daring and often sexually candid pictures fit the bill. Arrow gathers three of his best from the 1980s, the international success The Ballad of Narayama, the stunning Hiroshima aftermath drama Black Rain and the largely unseen, often wickedly funny Zegen. Each is disturbing, politically pointed and relentlessly honest. Arrow appoints this three- title set with new expert audio commentaries and Tony Rayns featurettes, plus a fat essay booklet. Zegen, we are told, has never before been available subtitled in English.
Survivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura
The Ballad of Narayama, Zegen, Black Rain
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1983-1989 / Color, B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 130, 125, 123 min. / Street Date December 8, 2020 / 99.95
Directed by Shohei Imamura
Films by the Japanese director Shohei Imamura have one thing in common — they’re as provocative as a slap in the face. Our introduction to...
Survivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura
The Ballad of Narayama, Zegen, Black Rain
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1983-1989 / Color, B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 130, 125, 123 min. / Street Date December 8, 2020 / 99.95
Directed by Shohei Imamura
Films by the Japanese director Shohei Imamura have one thing in common — they’re as provocative as a slap in the face. Our introduction to...
- 12/29/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
After the success of “The Ballad of Narayama” production company Toei, satisfied with the result of their first collaboration, wanted to continue working with acclaimed director Shohei Imamura, but it would take quite a while before he was able to take over directing duties once again. As film scholar Tony Rayns mentions in his introduction to “The Ballad of Narayama”, Imamura defined a period piece, if it should have any merit for the present, to have something to say about the present state of affairs. In the light of that concept “Ballad” can be read as a parable on the state of Japan at the time of production in the 1980s, whereas Imamura’s next film, “Zegen”, has been largely regarded as a comment on Japan’s aggressive imperialism at the beginning of the 20th century. However, there is so much more to say about a black comedy such as...
- 12/24/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
When asked by film scholar Tony Rayns about his take on the period drama, Japanese auteur Shohei Imamura said in an interview taking place during a retrospective of his work, that the story should present a certain kind of relevance to today’s world. You can see such a connection to a universal, but rather sad truth in Imamura’s original opening for his 1983 Palme d’Or winning “The Ballad of Narayama”, which was supposed to feature a sequence in which a family brings an elderly woman to a retirement where she, after her family is gone again, another woman of the same tells her she will never see them again, despite their promises of doing so. Even though Imamura would eventually change the opening of his script to an aerial shot of the mountain area where the story takes place, the theme stayed with the story, making “The Ballad of Narayama...
- 12/19/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Between the Cannes premiere of “Parasite” in May 2019 and its Best Picture win at the Oscars some nine months later, writer-director Bong Joon Ho gave over 600 interviews, and participated in more than 100 post-screening Q&As. That’s an average of more than two interviews every single day. It’s a testament to Bong’s endurance that he survived that gauntlet (and was just as pleasant to speak to at the end of that journey as he was at the beginning), and it’s a testament to the vitality of his film that — even after speaking with virtually every semi-legitimate entertainment journalist on the planet Earth — there was still more to say about it.
Nevertheless, when Bong and revered British film writer Tony Rayns connected over Zoom to record the audio commentary for the Criterion Collection’s new edition of “Parasite,” they were faced with the unusual challenge of shining new...
Nevertheless, when Bong and revered British film writer Tony Rayns connected over Zoom to record the audio commentary for the Criterion Collection’s new edition of “Parasite,” they were faced with the unusual challenge of shining new...
- 10/27/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Criterion Collection has announced an October release date for its “Parasite” Blu-ray release, a fitting date as the release will mark the one-year anniversary of Bong Joon Ho’s U.S. theatrical release. The Criterion “Parasite” release includes not only a 4K remaster of the original film supervised by Bong Joon Ho himself, but also the movie’s much-touted black-and-white version and new audio commentary track with Bong and film critic Tony Rayns.
“A zeitgeist-defining sensation that distilled a global reckoning over class inequality into a tour de force of pop-cinema subversion, Bong Joon Ho’s genre-scrambling black-comic thriller confirms his status as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers,” Criterion wrote in a statement announcing the film’s October release date. “A bravura showcase for its director’s meticulously constructed set pieces, bolstered by a brilliant ensemble cast and stunning production design, ‘Parasite’ cemented the New Korean Cinema...
“A zeitgeist-defining sensation that distilled a global reckoning over class inequality into a tour de force of pop-cinema subversion, Bong Joon Ho’s genre-scrambling black-comic thriller confirms his status as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers,” Criterion wrote in a statement announcing the film’s October release date. “A bravura showcase for its director’s meticulously constructed set pieces, bolstered by a brilliant ensemble cast and stunning production design, ‘Parasite’ cemented the New Korean Cinema...
- 7/15/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Almost exactly one year since it began its theatrical release in the United States, Bong Joon Ho‘s Parasite is arriving on The Criterion Collection. The Best Picture winner leads their October 2020 lineup, and for those who bought the standard Blu-ray edition earlier this year, you can now plan to give it to a friend as the disc is packed with extras.
Among the special features is the black-and-white version of the film, an audio commentary by Bong Joon Ho and critic Tony Rayns, a feature on the New Korean Cinema movement featuring Bong and Park Chan Wook, a storyboard comparison and more.
Also part of the October lineup is Stephen Frears’ crime drama The Hit, starring Terence Stamp, the Gregory Peck-led western The Gunfighter, John Berry’s Claudine, which features an Oscar-nominated performance by Diahann Carroll, and a new restoration of the Jean-Luc Godard classic Pierrot le fou.
Among the special features is the black-and-white version of the film, an audio commentary by Bong Joon Ho and critic Tony Rayns, a feature on the New Korean Cinema movement featuring Bong and Park Chan Wook, a storyboard comparison and more.
Also part of the October lineup is Stephen Frears’ crime drama The Hit, starring Terence Stamp, the Gregory Peck-led western The Gunfighter, John Berry’s Claudine, which features an Oscar-nominated performance by Diahann Carroll, and a new restoration of the Jean-Luc Godard classic Pierrot le fou.
- 7/15/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Synopsis
Released to critical acclaim in 1997, the year of the Hong Kong handover, Fruit Chan’s “Made in Hong Kong” was praised as an anarchic masterpiece, a powerful distillation of urban alienation and youthful despair.
Moon (Sam Lee) is a small-time triad, stuck in an endless cycle of pointless violence with no hope of escape. After he and his friends witness the suicide of a young girl, they embark on a journey to deliver two letters she had on her when she died.
Produced on a shoestring budget, with non-professional actors and using discarded film reels for stock, the film has been rescued from obscurity and fully restored in 4K in time for its 20th anniversary in 2017 , thanks to the Far East Film Festival, in collaboration with Andy Lau’s Hong Kong production company, Focus Film.
Special Features
Limited Edition O-card Slipcase [2000 Units]
1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital...
Released to critical acclaim in 1997, the year of the Hong Kong handover, Fruit Chan’s “Made in Hong Kong” was praised as an anarchic masterpiece, a powerful distillation of urban alienation and youthful despair.
Moon (Sam Lee) is a small-time triad, stuck in an endless cycle of pointless violence with no hope of escape. After he and his friends witness the suicide of a young girl, they embark on a journey to deliver two letters she had on her when she died.
Produced on a shoestring budget, with non-professional actors and using discarded film reels for stock, the film has been rescued from obscurity and fully restored in 4K in time for its 20th anniversary in 2017 , thanks to the Far East Film Festival, in collaboration with Andy Lau’s Hong Kong production company, Focus Film.
Special Features
Limited Edition O-card Slipcase [2000 Units]
1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital...
- 7/5/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Yasujirô Ozu’s films use minimalist storytelling and an emphasis on character to paint a portrait of family life and the relationships between the generations.Made the year before his career defining masterpiece “Tokyo Story” (which will be released on Blu-ray by the BFI on 15 June) “The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice” is one of Yasujirô Ozu’s most beautiful domestic sagas, a subtly piercing portrait of a marriage coming quietly undone.
Secrets and deceptions strain the already tenuous relationship of a childless, middle aged couple, as the wife’s city bred sophistication clashes with the husband’s small town simplicity, and a generational sea change in the form of their headstrong, modern niece sweeps over their household. Ozu’s expert grasp of family dynamics receives one of its most spirited treatments, with a wry, tender humour and an expansiveness that moves the action from the home, to the...
Secrets and deceptions strain the already tenuous relationship of a childless, middle aged couple, as the wife’s city bred sophistication clashes with the husband’s small town simplicity, and a generational sea change in the form of their headstrong, modern niece sweeps over their household. Ozu’s expert grasp of family dynamics receives one of its most spirited treatments, with a wry, tender humour and an expansiveness that moves the action from the home, to the...
- 5/8/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
As part of their release slates for the months June and July 2020 Arrow Academy will release the classic Nagisa Oshima “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence” starring David Bowie and Hideo Sekigawa’s powerful documentary “Hiroshima”
Synopsis for “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence”
David Bowie stars in Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 Palme d’Or-nominated portrait of resilience, pride, friendship and obsession among four very different men confined in the stifling jungle heat of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java during World War II.
In 1942, British officer Major Jack Celliers (Bowie) is captured by Japanese soldiers, and after a brutal trial sent, physically debilitated but indomitable in mind, to a Pow camp overseen by the zealous Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Celliers’ stubbornness sees him locked in a battle of wills with the camp’s new commandant, a man obsessed with discipline and the glory of Imperial Japan who becomes unnaturally preoccupied with the young Major,...
Synopsis for “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence”
David Bowie stars in Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 Palme d’Or-nominated portrait of resilience, pride, friendship and obsession among four very different men confined in the stifling jungle heat of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java during World War II.
In 1942, British officer Major Jack Celliers (Bowie) is captured by Japanese soldiers, and after a brutal trial sent, physically debilitated but indomitable in mind, to a Pow camp overseen by the zealous Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Celliers’ stubbornness sees him locked in a battle of wills with the camp’s new commandant, a man obsessed with discipline and the glory of Imperial Japan who becomes unnaturally preoccupied with the young Major,...
- 4/18/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Synopsis
One of the most important cinematic achievements in Hong Kong cinema, Tsui Hark’s “Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain” birthed the modern-day special effects industry in Hong Kong, and influenced filmmakers around the world, including John Carpenter (who credited the film as the inspiration for “Big Trouble in Little China”).
Featuring an all-star cast led by Yuen Biao as young soldier Dik Ming-kei, currently caught in a war between two rival armies during Tang Dynasty. Taking sanctuary in a cave within the ominous Zu Mountain, he becomes entangled in a battle with supernatural forces beyond his comprehension.
Featuring breath-taking art design, stunning cinematography, and groundbreaking special effects, Eureka Classics is extremely proud to present “Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain” from a brand new 2K restoration making its worldwide debut on Blu-ray.
Special Features
Limited Edition O-card with new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 units]
Limited Edition...
One of the most important cinematic achievements in Hong Kong cinema, Tsui Hark’s “Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain” birthed the modern-day special effects industry in Hong Kong, and influenced filmmakers around the world, including John Carpenter (who credited the film as the inspiration for “Big Trouble in Little China”).
Featuring an all-star cast led by Yuen Biao as young soldier Dik Ming-kei, currently caught in a war between two rival armies during Tang Dynasty. Taking sanctuary in a cave within the ominous Zu Mountain, he becomes entangled in a battle with supernatural forces beyond his comprehension.
Featuring breath-taking art design, stunning cinematography, and groundbreaking special effects, Eureka Classics is extremely proud to present “Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain” from a brand new 2K restoration making its worldwide debut on Blu-ray.
Special Features
Limited Edition O-card with new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 units]
Limited Edition...
- 3/6/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Night Tide
Blu ray
Powerhouse/Indicator
1960/ 1:85:1 / 86 min.
Starring Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson
Directed by Curtis Harrington
During the early fifties, an anxious era that leaned on fanciful songs like Faraway Places, Beyond the Sea and Robert Maxwell’s Ebb Tide, Curtis Harrington wrote a similarly dreamy fable called The Girl from Beneath the Sea. The 34 year old director’s script was finally produced in 1960 and premiered as Night Tide at the Spoleto Film Festival in 1961. Thanks to Filmgroup, Roger Corman’s distribution company, the movie reached American theaters in 1963. Instead of the windswept romance of Maxwell’s song, ticket buyers were treated to a fatalistic thriller with the unpredictable qualities of a New Wave film.
Dennis Hopper plays Johnny Drake, a navy recruit from the arid climes of Oklahoma. Though he looks seaworthy in his white uniform and cap he still seems pretty landlocked, ambling through the beachfront...
Blu ray
Powerhouse/Indicator
1960/ 1:85:1 / 86 min.
Starring Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson
Directed by Curtis Harrington
During the early fifties, an anxious era that leaned on fanciful songs like Faraway Places, Beyond the Sea and Robert Maxwell’s Ebb Tide, Curtis Harrington wrote a similarly dreamy fable called The Girl from Beneath the Sea. The 34 year old director’s script was finally produced in 1960 and premiered as Night Tide at the Spoleto Film Festival in 1961. Thanks to Filmgroup, Roger Corman’s distribution company, the movie reached American theaters in 1963. Instead of the windswept romance of Maxwell’s song, ticket buyers were treated to a fatalistic thriller with the unpredictable qualities of a New Wave film.
Dennis Hopper plays Johnny Drake, a navy recruit from the arid climes of Oklahoma. Though he looks seaworthy in his white uniform and cap he still seems pretty landlocked, ambling through the beachfront...
- 1/21/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Conceived by Shôhei Imamura, Kazuo Hara’s audacious, deeply unsettling documentary feature follows Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran who has fought tirelessly and often violently to bring to justice Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and the Army commanders whom he holds responsible for the countless deaths and other atrocities involving Japanese soldiers during the war in the Pacific.
Harrowing, unflinching and extraordinarily powerful, Hara’s film pushes against the proprieties of Japanese society (the film remains unreleased in its home country), and forces us to question the relationship between documentary filmmaker and protagonist.
Special Features:
• A new filmed interview with Kazuo Hara, shot exclusively for this release.
• Kazuo Hara Masterclass: the filmmaker in conversation at the 2018 London Open City Documentary Festival event.
• 20-page booklet featuring writing by film historians Tony Rayns, Jason Wood and Abé Mark Nornes.
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• Region free Blu-ray and DVD.
Harrowing, unflinching and extraordinarily powerful, Hara’s film pushes against the proprieties of Japanese society (the film remains unreleased in its home country), and forces us to question the relationship between documentary filmmaker and protagonist.
Special Features:
• A new filmed interview with Kazuo Hara, shot exclusively for this release.
• Kazuo Hara Masterclass: the filmmaker in conversation at the 2018 London Open City Documentary Festival event.
• 20-page booklet featuring writing by film historians Tony Rayns, Jason Wood and Abé Mark Nornes.
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• Region free Blu-ray and DVD.
- 10/26/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The final film is King Hu’s “Inn Trilogy”, and the follow-up to his highly-acclaimed A Touch of Zen, The Fate of Lee Khan once again shows the master filmmaker’s impeccable talent in creating drama out of a single setting. An espionage thriller with a unique wuxia twist and shades of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, the film chronicles a tense showdown between warriors on opposing sides of a civil war in a rural inn.
When Lee Khan a dangerous and cunning Mongol official, and his equally deadly sister Lee Wan-erh (Hsu Feng; A Touch of Zen), arrive at the Spring Inn to obtain a battle map that reveals the location of the Chinese rebel army, a group of resistance fighters, including an all-female group of ex-convicts plan to recapture the map, whatever the cost.
As much a pre-cursor to the ‘hangout’ movie as it is an action packed wuxia adventure,...
When Lee Khan a dangerous and cunning Mongol official, and his equally deadly sister Lee Wan-erh (Hsu Feng; A Touch of Zen), arrive at the Spring Inn to obtain a battle map that reveals the location of the Chinese rebel army, a group of resistance fighters, including an all-female group of ex-convicts plan to recapture the map, whatever the cost.
As much a pre-cursor to the ‘hangout’ movie as it is an action packed wuxia adventure,...
- 8/9/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Masayuki Mori, Eitaro Ozawa, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Mito, Machiko Kyō | Written by Matsutarō Kawaguchi, Yoshikata Yoda | Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was one part of the Holy Trinity of directors – alongside Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu – spearheading the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s. Released in 1953, Ugetsu is based on the book by Ueda Akinari, written in the 18th century (one of two known works by the author). Mizoguchi states upfront that he’s “refreshing the fantasies” of Akinari, which is a nice way of putting it.
The story opens in the village of Nakanogō in Omi Province, sometime in the 16th century. Genjūrō (Masayuki Mori) and Tōbei (Eitaro Ozawa) are best pals. Genjūrō is a potter; Tōbei is a clutz who dreams of being a samurai. One day the village is attacked by soldiers. Genjūrō and Tōbei flee with their wives, Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and...
Kenji Mizoguchi was one part of the Holy Trinity of directors – alongside Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu – spearheading the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s. Released in 1953, Ugetsu is based on the book by Ueda Akinari, written in the 18th century (one of two known works by the author). Mizoguchi states upfront that he’s “refreshing the fantasies” of Akinari, which is a nice way of putting it.
The story opens in the village of Nakanogō in Omi Province, sometime in the 16th century. Genjūrō (Masayuki Mori) and Tōbei (Eitaro Ozawa) are best pals. Genjūrō is a potter; Tōbei is a clutz who dreams of being a samurai. One day the village is attacked by soldiers. Genjūrō and Tōbei flee with their wives, Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and...
- 3/5/2019
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
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
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
“Why do all you big shots say the same stupid lines?”
Japanese director Seijun Suzuki is perhaps the greatest of all mavericks within the film industry of his country, certainly among the first voices bringing fresh ideas, images and above all a re-definition of the traditional genre the big studios like his employers at Nikkatsu churned out, year after year until the 1960s. Similar perhaps to French director Jean-Luc Godard, a comparison which is often mentioned in reviews or discussions about his body of work, his cinema, like “Branded to Kill” or “Youth of the Beast”, did not reach its audience at the time of its release, but survived over the years and have added to the reputation of Suzuki as an artist who simply grew tired of repeating the same formula because it meant a steady paycheck.
According to authors Frederick Veith and Phil Kaffen, it...
Japanese director Seijun Suzuki is perhaps the greatest of all mavericks within the film industry of his country, certainly among the first voices bringing fresh ideas, images and above all a re-definition of the traditional genre the big studios like his employers at Nikkatsu churned out, year after year until the 1960s. Similar perhaps to French director Jean-Luc Godard, a comparison which is often mentioned in reviews or discussions about his body of work, his cinema, like “Branded to Kill” or “Youth of the Beast”, did not reach its audience at the time of its release, but survived over the years and have added to the reputation of Suzuki as an artist who simply grew tired of repeating the same formula because it meant a steady paycheck.
According to authors Frederick Veith and Phil Kaffen, it...
- 11/14/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Over about 27 years, the Vancouver International Film Festival's "Gateway" section (previously the "Dragons and Tigers" competition) has developed a reputation as one of the most notable selections of East Asian films outside of Asia. With long-standing relationships with directors such as Jia Zhangke and Hong Sang-soo (going back to before either were international festival mainstays), the section started in 1989 as a series titled "Cinema of the Pacific Rim," and has long since been notable within Viff's larger international programming. Previously helmed by film critic and scholar Tony Rayns (who retired from his role in 2016), the section is now mainly curated by film critics Shelly Kraicer and Maggie Lee. And while diminished in volume in comparison to previous years, the 2018 edition does still offer a chance for directors who may otherwise get lost in the festival shuffle to make their mark apart from internationally-lauded selections such as Ash Is Purest White,...
- 10/30/2018
- MUBI
“The last thing I hate is that life always forces us to keep moving forwards.”
In the aftermath of the New York Film Festival, reporter Vincent Canby wrote an article about the films of the festival he aptly named “Why Some Films Don’t Travel Well”. Works such as Zhang Yimou’s “Red Sorghum”, Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Asya’s Happiness” and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “Daughter of the Nile” are mostly relevant thanks to their “sociology factor” Canby begins his article, an aspect that these works are and have been applauded for around the world while as films themselves they are not that interesting. Hou Hsiao-Hien, one of the most popular directors of Taiwanese New Cinema along with Edward Yang, was still trying to find a cinematic language for his films, one which strongly resembled the works of Yasujiro Ozu in terms of style and content, the sense of resignation, as...
In the aftermath of the New York Film Festival, reporter Vincent Canby wrote an article about the films of the festival he aptly named “Why Some Films Don’t Travel Well”. Works such as Zhang Yimou’s “Red Sorghum”, Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Asya’s Happiness” and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “Daughter of the Nile” are mostly relevant thanks to their “sociology factor” Canby begins his article, an aspect that these works are and have been applauded for around the world while as films themselves they are not that interesting. Hou Hsiao-Hien, one of the most popular directors of Taiwanese New Cinema along with Edward Yang, was still trying to find a cinematic language for his films, one which strongly resembled the works of Yasujiro Ozu in terms of style and content, the sense of resignation, as...
- 9/26/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Eureka! News Release
A pair of effortlessly entertaining action-comedy adventures from peak Jackie Chan
Eureka Entertainment to release “Jackie Chan’s Project A and Project A Part II”, a set of effortlessly entertaining action comedy adventures, on Blu-ray as part of the Eureka Classics range on 22 October 2018, presented from brand new 2K restorations in a lavish Special Limited Edition 2-disc Hardbound Boxed Set.
A pair of incredible action-adventure extravaganzas from the legendary Jackie Chan, “Project A” and “Project A Part II” make their long overdue debut on Blu-ray in the UK from brand new 2K restorations. Starring three of the greatest martial-arts action stars of all time, the “Project A” films blended unparalleled martial artistry, death defying stunts and physical comedy in a way that has yet to be matched.
“Project A” – Jackie plays Sergeant Dragon Ma, a turn-of-the-century coastguard, hot on the trail of a ruthless band of cut-throat pirates,...
A pair of effortlessly entertaining action-comedy adventures from peak Jackie Chan
Eureka Entertainment to release “Jackie Chan’s Project A and Project A Part II”, a set of effortlessly entertaining action comedy adventures, on Blu-ray as part of the Eureka Classics range on 22 October 2018, presented from brand new 2K restorations in a lavish Special Limited Edition 2-disc Hardbound Boxed Set.
A pair of incredible action-adventure extravaganzas from the legendary Jackie Chan, “Project A” and “Project A Part II” make their long overdue debut on Blu-ray in the UK from brand new 2K restorations. Starring three of the greatest martial-arts action stars of all time, the “Project A” films blended unparalleled martial artistry, death defying stunts and physical comedy in a way that has yet to be matched.
“Project A” – Jackie plays Sergeant Dragon Ma, a turn-of-the-century coastguard, hot on the trail of a ruthless band of cut-throat pirates,...
- 8/4/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Inflato-faced Jô Shishido is at it again, here in a typically precocious, spoofy crime adventure by Japan’s playful Seijun Suzuki. If the eccentric color scheme doesn’t do the trick, the antic comic relief and wild musical numbers will. Shishido dances the Charleston, and the nightclub rocks with a terrific twist number. The music under Nikkatsu’s logo is more progressive than that in a Hollywood picture of 1963.
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Nikkatsuscope) / 89 min. / Kutabare akutô-domo – Tantei jimusho 23 / Street Date July 10, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Jô Shishido, Tamio Kawaji, Reiko Sassamori, Nobuo Kaneko, Kinzô Shin, Naomi Hoshi,Asao Sano.
Cinematography: Shigeyoshi Mine
Film Editor: Akira Suzuki
Original Music: Harumi Ibe
Written by Iwao Yamazaki from a book by Haruhiko Ôyabu
Produced by Shôzô Ashida
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
One can always count on Seijun Suzuki for something different, and even in...
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Nikkatsuscope) / 89 min. / Kutabare akutô-domo – Tantei jimusho 23 / Street Date July 10, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Jô Shishido, Tamio Kawaji, Reiko Sassamori, Nobuo Kaneko, Kinzô Shin, Naomi Hoshi,Asao Sano.
Cinematography: Shigeyoshi Mine
Film Editor: Akira Suzuki
Original Music: Harumi Ibe
Written by Iwao Yamazaki from a book by Haruhiko Ôyabu
Produced by Shôzô Ashida
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
One can always count on Seijun Suzuki for something different, and even in...
- 7/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Woman Is The Future Of Man and Tale Of Cinema, Two Films By Hong Sangsoo, will be available on Blu-ray July 17th from Arrow Academy
This collection brings together Women is the Future of Man and Tale of Cinema, the fifth and sixth films by Hong Sangsoo, the masterful South Korean filmmaker who has been favorably compared to that great French observer of human foibles, Eric Rohmer.
Women is the Future of Man tells of two long-time friends, a filmmaker (Kim Taewoo) and a teacher (Yoo Jitae), who have had an affair with the same woman (Sung Hyunah). The friends decide to meet the girl one more time and see what happens…
Tale of Cinema uses the trope of a film within a film to tell two stories, that of a depressive young man (Lee Kiwoo) who forms a suicide pact with a friend (Uhm Jiwon); and the tale of...
This collection brings together Women is the Future of Man and Tale of Cinema, the fifth and sixth films by Hong Sangsoo, the masterful South Korean filmmaker who has been favorably compared to that great French observer of human foibles, Eric Rohmer.
Women is the Future of Man tells of two long-time friends, a filmmaker (Kim Taewoo) and a teacher (Yoo Jitae), who have had an affair with the same woman (Sung Hyunah). The friends decide to meet the girl one more time and see what happens…
Tale of Cinema uses the trope of a film within a film to tell two stories, that of a depressive young man (Lee Kiwoo) who forms a suicide pact with a friend (Uhm Jiwon); and the tale of...
- 6/29/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The 8th Chinese Visual Festival (Cvf) will be held in London 3rd – 6th May at BFI Southbank and King’s College London. This year’s Festival builds on the success of previous editions, bringing the very best in the cinema of the Chinese language speaking world to UK audiences in a programme of unprecedented variety crammed into one unmissable extended weekend.
2018 Festival Highlights Include:
Festival opens with Zhou Ziyang’s award-winning Old Beast and closes with the UK Premiere of the Taiwanese Lgbtq hit “Alifu, The Prince/ss” 12 European and UK Premieres from the Chinese language speaking world, including the UK Premiere of Wang Bing’s award-winning documentary “Mrs. Fang” Guests include acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Cheung King-wai presenting the UK Premiere of his latest work “Somewhere Beyond the Mist”, Hong Kong Fresh Waves filmmakers, and more Special sessions focusing on Lgbtq cinema, including queer filmmaker Kit Hung in conversation Conference...
2018 Festival Highlights Include:
Festival opens with Zhou Ziyang’s award-winning Old Beast and closes with the UK Premiere of the Taiwanese Lgbtq hit “Alifu, The Prince/ss” 12 European and UK Premieres from the Chinese language speaking world, including the UK Premiere of Wang Bing’s award-winning documentary “Mrs. Fang” Guests include acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Cheung King-wai presenting the UK Premiere of his latest work “Somewhere Beyond the Mist”, Hong Kong Fresh Waves filmmakers, and more Special sessions focusing on Lgbtq cinema, including queer filmmaker Kit Hung in conversation Conference...
- 4/11/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Boundary-breaking Early Crime Thrillers, Mob Dramas And Action Movies From Legendary Cult Director Seijun Suzuki, Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years Volume 2: The Crime Years will be available on Blu-ray April 17th from Arrow Video
Includes: Eight Hours of Terror (1957), The Sleeping Beast Within (1960), Smashing the 0-Line (1960), Tokyo Knights (1961), The Man with a Shotgun (1961).
Available for home-viewing for the very first time ever outside of Japan, this collection of bleak crime thrillers, brash mob dramas and exuberant action movies, made across the first five years of Seijun Suzuki s career within Nikkatsu s Borderless Action (mukokuseki akushon) line, presents a heady mix that laid the ground for what was to come.
The Sleeping Beast Within (1960) is a gripping crime thriller that sees a newspaper reporter s search for his girlfriend s missing father lead him into heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama s Chinatown. Its companion piece, Smashing the...
Includes: Eight Hours of Terror (1957), The Sleeping Beast Within (1960), Smashing the 0-Line (1960), Tokyo Knights (1961), The Man with a Shotgun (1961).
Available for home-viewing for the very first time ever outside of Japan, this collection of bleak crime thrillers, brash mob dramas and exuberant action movies, made across the first five years of Seijun Suzuki s career within Nikkatsu s Borderless Action (mukokuseki akushon) line, presents a heady mix that laid the ground for what was to come.
The Sleeping Beast Within (1960) is a gripping crime thriller that sees a newspaper reporter s search for his girlfriend s missing father lead him into heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama s Chinatown. Its companion piece, Smashing the...
- 3/27/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
An Actor’s Revenge
Blu ray
Criterion
1963 / Color / 2.39:1 / 113 Min. / Street Date February 20, 2018
Starring Kazuo Hasegawa
Cinematography by Setsuo Kobayashi
Written by Daisuke Itô, Teinosuke Kinugasa
Edited by Shigeo Nishida
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
From Twelfth Night to Homicidal, casting calls for cross-dressers are a Hollywood tradition. The stories are alike in their differences; Katherine Hepburn was dodging the cops, Jack Lemmon was fleeing the mob, Dustin Hoffman was just an actor begging for work. Yukitarō, the enigmatic hero of An Actor’s Revenge, is gainfully employed but his motives are far more complicated than Hoffman’s needy thespian.
The story of a female impersonator’s vengeful killing spree, Kon Ichikawa’s 1963 film boasts a plot line John Waters would surely appreciate. But where Waters revels in the high comedy of lowlifes, Ichakawa’s movie is a ravishing melodrama set in the elevated atmosphere of death-dealing samurai, 19th century Kabuki...
Blu ray
Criterion
1963 / Color / 2.39:1 / 113 Min. / Street Date February 20, 2018
Starring Kazuo Hasegawa
Cinematography by Setsuo Kobayashi
Written by Daisuke Itô, Teinosuke Kinugasa
Edited by Shigeo Nishida
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
From Twelfth Night to Homicidal, casting calls for cross-dressers are a Hollywood tradition. The stories are alike in their differences; Katherine Hepburn was dodging the cops, Jack Lemmon was fleeing the mob, Dustin Hoffman was just an actor begging for work. Yukitarō, the enigmatic hero of An Actor’s Revenge, is gainfully employed but his motives are far more complicated than Hoffman’s needy thespian.
The story of a female impersonator’s vengeful killing spree, Kon Ichikawa’s 1963 film boasts a plot line John Waters would surely appreciate. But where Waters revels in the high comedy of lowlifes, Ichakawa’s movie is a ravishing melodrama set in the elevated atmosphere of death-dealing samurai, 19th century Kabuki...
- 3/27/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Stars: Nien-Jen Wu, Issei Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Su-Yun Ko, Adrian Lin | Written and Directed by Edward Yang
Taiwanese writer-director Edward Yang’s final film starts with an ironically schmaltzy piano score playing over a scene of a slightly dismal wedding. It immediately sets the arch, bittersweet tone of the film to come.
A couple of hours into this intimate three-hour picture you might think you’re becoming used to Yang’s beautifully precise compositions and bold use of colour, but then he’ll pull something new and evocative out of the hat – a desperate midnight telephone call shot entirely in silhouette, for example – and you’ll remember you’re watching the twilight work of a master.
For all its stillness and its characters’ lack of impetus, it’s a fast-moving film. Its dry humour might lack punchlines, but the scenes themselves are punchy. It’s a family drama employing a very loose narrative,...
Taiwanese writer-director Edward Yang’s final film starts with an ironically schmaltzy piano score playing over a scene of a slightly dismal wedding. It immediately sets the arch, bittersweet tone of the film to come.
A couple of hours into this intimate three-hour picture you might think you’re becoming used to Yang’s beautifully precise compositions and bold use of colour, but then he’ll pull something new and evocative out of the hat – a desperate midnight telephone call shot entirely in silhouette, for example – and you’ll remember you’re watching the twilight work of a master.
For all its stillness and its characters’ lack of impetus, it’s a fast-moving film. Its dry humour might lack punchlines, but the scenes themselves are punchy. It’s a family drama employing a very loose narrative,...
- 3/5/2018
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
Seijun Suzuki, The Early Years is now available on Blu-ray from Arrow Video
Youths On The Loose And Rebels Without Causes In The Unruly Seishun Eiga Youth Movies Of Japanese Iconoclast Seijun Suzuki
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of Nikkatsu Diamond Guys and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past.
The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe.
Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his...
Youths On The Loose And Rebels Without Causes In The Unruly Seishun Eiga Youth Movies Of Japanese Iconoclast Seijun Suzuki
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of Nikkatsu Diamond Guys and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past.
The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe.
Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his...
- 2/15/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Review by Roger Carpenter
After laboring for close to a decade as an assistant director for Nikkatsu Studios, Yasuharu Hasebe burst onto the scene as a lead director in 1966 with Black Tight Killers and 1967 with the more subdued but very good Massacre Gun. Retaliation, which starred some of Nikkatsu’s primary actors (called the “Diamond Line”), was an A-list film, in color, and was a return to a more violent yakuza tale than Hasebe’s previous Massacre Gun.
Akira Kobayashi stars as Jiro, a yakuza who has just been released from a long stint in prison. He returns to find his family dismantled, with only his ailing boss and one loyal yakuza member remaining. On top of this, Hino (Jo Shishido), brother of the man Jiro was imprisoned for killing, is tailing him and seeking revenge. Jiro reaches out to another family for help in rebuilding his gang and is...
After laboring for close to a decade as an assistant director for Nikkatsu Studios, Yasuharu Hasebe burst onto the scene as a lead director in 1966 with Black Tight Killers and 1967 with the more subdued but very good Massacre Gun. Retaliation, which starred some of Nikkatsu’s primary actors (called the “Diamond Line”), was an A-list film, in color, and was a return to a more violent yakuza tale than Hasebe’s previous Massacre Gun.
Akira Kobayashi stars as Jiro, a yakuza who has just been released from a long stint in prison. He returns to find his family dismantled, with only his ailing boss and one loyal yakuza member remaining. On top of this, Hino (Jo Shishido), brother of the man Jiro was imprisoned for killing, is tailing him and seeking revenge. Jiro reaches out to another family for help in rebuilding his gang and is...
- 1/8/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“The past is not just the past. It comes back again and again, it affects our time. If the present cannot be changed then the future threatens to be the same as the past.”—Jung Yoon-sukIn any other year, South Korean artist and filmmaker Jung Yoon-suk’s films could not have screened at the London Korean Film Festival, noted curator Tony Rayns as he introduced Jung’s films at the festival. Under the previous government, led by the now-imprisoned Park Geun-hye, Jung’s work—licentious and overtly political, even if the director wouldn’t describe it as such—would not have met the standards of that government’s officiators, whose notorious blacklist was alleged to contain nearly 10,000 names of artists whose work was deemed unfit for the state-controlled funding programs. It’s not clear how much influence that same government held over the activities of the UK’s...
- 12/18/2017
- MUBI
Happy October, gang! With the Halloween season now officially underway, we have an incredible day of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to enjoy. Arrow Video has put together three stunning special edition sets for Children of the Corn, Don’t Torture A Duckling, and The Suspicious Death of A Minor, but we also have several other modern cult titles debuting as well, including Popcorn, 976-evil, and The Hidden.
For all you Charles Lee Ray enthusiasts out there, Cult of Chucky and the Chucky: Complete 7-Movie Collection both come home on Tuesday, and Scream Factory is also releasing the recent indie horror thriller Jackals on Blu-ray.
Other notable home entertainment titles bowing on October 3rd include American Horror Story: Roanoke, A Ghost Story, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut, iZombie: The Complete Third Season, and Vampyr: Special Edition.
For all you Charles Lee Ray enthusiasts out there, Cult of Chucky and the Chucky: Complete 7-Movie Collection both come home on Tuesday, and Scream Factory is also releasing the recent indie horror thriller Jackals on Blu-ray.
Other notable home entertainment titles bowing on October 3rd include American Horror Story: Roanoke, A Ghost Story, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut, iZombie: The Complete Third Season, and Vampyr: Special Edition.
- 10/3/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Of all the legendary early horror films Carl Theodor Dreyer’s vampire nightmare was once the most difficult to appreciate — until Criterion’s restoration of a mostly intact, un-mutilated full cut. Dreyer creates his fantasy according to his own rules — this pallid, claustrophobic horror is closer to Ordet than it is Dracula or Nosferatu.
Vampyr
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 437
1932 / Color / 1:19 Movietone Ap. / 73 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Julian West (Baron Nicolas De Gunzberg), Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan Hieronimko, Henriette Gérard.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté
Art Direction: Hermann Warm
Film Editor: Tonka Taldy
Original Music: Wolfgang Zeller
Written by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Christen Jul from In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu
Produced by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Julian West
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr is a tough row to hoe for horror fans, many of whom just...
Vampyr
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 437
1932 / Color / 1:19 Movietone Ap. / 73 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Julian West (Baron Nicolas De Gunzberg), Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan Hieronimko, Henriette Gérard.
Cinematography: Rudolph Maté
Art Direction: Hermann Warm
Film Editor: Tonka Taldy
Original Music: Wolfgang Zeller
Written by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Christen Jul from In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu
Produced by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Julian West
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr is a tough row to hoe for horror fans, many of whom just...
- 9/19/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Film culture moves awfully fast sometimes. I had never even heard of The Saga of Anatahan when the New Beverly here in Los Angeles showed it (under the title Ana-ta-han) about a year and a half ago on 16mm. It being Josef von Sternberg’s final feature, it was paired with another not-on-dvd title of his, The King Steps Out (1936). Now here we are, Anatahan has toured in a full restoration and is now available on Blu-ray for all to see. The somewhat-superior The King Steps Out has not yet had its day, sadly, but I’m glad for any von Sternberg on Blu in general, and for the chance to revisit and further consider this sincerely odd film.
Von Sternberg was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, emigrated to the United States when he was seven, then back to Vienna three years later, and back to the United States three years after that.
Von Sternberg was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, emigrated to the United States when he was seven, then back to Vienna three years later, and back to the United States three years after that.
- 9/10/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Hou Hsiao-hsien is best known and most acclaimed for historical dramas like A City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster, Flowers of Shanghai, and The Assassin, but a much more persistent subject for him has been contemporary films about young women. From his first two films through the early 2000s (after which he took a break from his native Taiwan, and, soon, directing in general), urban-set and neon-lit portraits of restless youth have proven a renewable source of interest. For those who casually dismiss Cute Girl and Cheerful Wind as pop entertainments he made for hire – they were, but they’re quite good – this trend can more definitively traced back to 1987’s Daughter of the Nile.
Lin (played by pop star Lin Yang) is in her late teens, working at KFC and attending night school (where, typically, underperforming or troubled students are shuffled). Her mother has passed away, her eldest brother killed in gang activity.
Lin (played by pop star Lin Yang) is in her late teens, working at KFC and attending night school (where, typically, underperforming or troubled students are shuffled). Her mother has passed away, her eldest brother killed in gang activity.
- 7/19/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
”Haunting, Hypnotic, Flamboyant, Erotic, Bizarre… Suzuki!”
The Taisho Trilogy from director Seijun Suzuki will be available from Arrow Academy on August 8th
After over a decade in the wilderness following his firing from Nikkatsu for Branded to Kill (1967), maverick director Seijun Suzuki returned with a vengeance with his critically-praised tryptic of cryptic supernatural dramas set during the liberal enlightenment of Japan s Taisho Era (1912-26).
In the multiple Japanese Academy Award-winning Zigeunerweisen (1980), two intellectuals and former colleagues from military academy involve their wives in a series of dangerous sexual games. In Kageroza (1981), a playwright is drawn like a moth to a flame to a mysterious beauty who might be a ghost, while Yumeji (1991) imagines the real-life painter-poet Takehisa Yumeji s encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
Presented together on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan, the films in the Taisho Trilogy are considered Suzuki s masterpieces in his homeland.
The Taisho Trilogy from director Seijun Suzuki will be available from Arrow Academy on August 8th
After over a decade in the wilderness following his firing from Nikkatsu for Branded to Kill (1967), maverick director Seijun Suzuki returned with a vengeance with his critically-praised tryptic of cryptic supernatural dramas set during the liberal enlightenment of Japan s Taisho Era (1912-26).
In the multiple Japanese Academy Award-winning Zigeunerweisen (1980), two intellectuals and former colleagues from military academy involve their wives in a series of dangerous sexual games. In Kageroza (1981), a playwright is drawn like a moth to a flame to a mysterious beauty who might be a ghost, while Yumeji (1991) imagines the real-life painter-poet Takehisa Yumeji s encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
Presented together on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan, the films in the Taisho Trilogy are considered Suzuki s masterpieces in his homeland.
- 7/18/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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