What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote:Totally agree with your review of Girl Boss Guerilla - found it very entertaining. Picked it up as part of the Pinky Violence Collection, and really dig Miki Sugimoto - need to see more of her!
Seen Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs or Violent Panic: The Big Crash?
chazgower01 wrote:And... not sure where to put this, so moderation can move it if necessary, but... I'm looking for what I've heard is a subtitled blu-ray edition of Revenge of the Pearl Queen (Shintoho 1956)... any help would be much appreciated!
I doubt one exists except for festival/event distribution. It's certainly not out on BD in Japan.

This is probably the source of the rumor:
http://www.japansociety.org/event/reven ... no-fukushu

That being said, I'm no expert on Shin Toho films so I could be mistaken.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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I found this, which looks like the DVD version of it (Im ok with that),

http://www.play-asia.com/onna-shinjuou- ... iftigniter

but then this looks like a collection of three of the AMA films from Shin Toho starring the bosomy Michiko Maeda.

http://www.play-asia.com/shin-toho-meig ... iftigniter
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Do you know if there's an English friendly DVD of Roaring Fire available, Hung? Sounds cool :)
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:Do you know if there's an English friendly DVD of Roaring Fire available, Hung? Sounds cool :)
There is an English subbed German DVD, but it's OOP and difficult to obtain. Also beware, there are several other German DVD releases which are cut and lack subs.

Might be easier to get the JP DVD and add subs by yourself.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote:
grim_tales wrote:Do you know if there's an English friendly DVD of Roaring Fire available, Hung? Sounds cool :)
There is an English subbed German DVD, but it's OOP and difficult to obtain. Also beware, there are several other German DVD releases which are cut and lack subs.

Might be easier to get the JP DVD and add subs by yourself.
Thanks Hung :)
I think the correct one is available through a seller on Amazon.de, expensive though:

https://www.amazon.de/Diamantenauge-COV ... mantenauge
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Lady Snowblood (1973) 4.5/5
Haven't seen this in over ten years, and the version I watched was the Criterion Collection copy, which I wasn't aware of the controversy over ahead of time - it appeared to me to be very bright in it's primary colors, but in dark scenes, the blacks are very black and sometimes difficult to see what was going on.
Anyway, a classic of Japanese cinema, at least for those of us who prefer a little more bloodshed in our entertainment - and some of the elements of style and pacing from director Toshiya Fujita can be clearly seen as an influence in some of Tarantino's work, though Fujita never slows down the pace quite the way QT does. This movie built for efficiency, the quieter moments being neatly unwasteful in setting up the carnage.
The .5 deducted I can only say comes from Meiko Kaji not being the sword handler that you'd expect from this character and I've just seen too many movie sword fights to not notice how they do their best to cover it.
But, that's not really what we watch Meiko for and she delivers in the rest of her performance as a women driven by a quiet resolve to avenge the rape of her mother and murder of her father.
The blood sprays like a secondary character here, in it's over the top use, and at the same time, it's perfect for this movie - a metaphor for the unleashing of this vengeance pent up inside of Meiko.
Beyond the savage violence of it, Lady Snowblood focus' on something that gives this revenge flick an interesting added angle - the complications of how revenge plays out on everyone else around the hunter and the hunted - making it not always so easy to avoid collateral damage.
If for some reason you've never seen this, and you're a revenge flick fan and a Japanese cinema fan - you need to see it!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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I fully agree about Lady Snowblood. One thing that I also loved about it is the old fairytale like atmosphere (not like Disney fairytale, but the brutal and tragic kinda fairytale).

I think Kaji struggled more with the action in the more flamboyant sequel. In the first film its not so much an issue as the action is grittier. And her performance is of course fantastic.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Account of the Ando Gang: Killer Younger Brother (Japan, 1974) [35mm] - 3.5/5
Violent, anarchic and ballsy take on the Noboru Ando true story. As most people know, Ando was a gangster jailed for 6 years after one of his men nearly killed a blackmailing target. He disbanded his gang and became a movie star after his release. There's a whole bunch of Ando true account films featuring Ando himself, and it would be a safe bet that most of them take artistic liberties save for the key facts. In this film Ando is a background character, with the spotlights on mad dog Bunta Sugawara, a gang member of his in the film. Sugawara is his usual maniac self, as best evidenced by the great scene where he, after being shot in the stomach, walks to the woman he suspects ordered the hit, pulls a bloody piece of bandage stuck between his guts and throws it at her. Actually, she had nothing to do with it as it was his own pals who were tired of his constant violent and drunken rampages that they ordered him to be killed. Director Sadao Nakajima was a bit of a Fukasaku lite, but he manages a good swing here and is aided by a fast paced script, even though character depth is limited.

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+ Sonny Chiba Special: Part 58

Jitsuroku Kyushu yakuza retsuden kyoken to yobareta otoko (Japan, 2003) [DVD] - 1/5
Shot on video DTV "true account" yakuza film with almost nothing of interest on offer. It's surprising how often these films refrain from sex and violence (as is the case here), which are the two things they could use to try and bump the entertainment value up even by a tiny bit. Instead they tend to go for 90 minutes of talking heads. Sonny Chiba has a small supporting role as a yakuza boss, but he's given almost nothing to do. Rikiya Yasuoka has a similarly dull supporting role. Add a really irritating narrator and you've got a truly unremarkable film.

Shuryo no michi 6 (Japan, 2013) [DVD] - 1/5
This is the first film in the DTV yakuza film series that features Sonny Chiba in a supporting role as one of the yakuza bosses. His daughter, later played by Asami, does not yet appear. I watched the films with Chiba (6-9) out of order and have/will give a brief overview of the series with my reviews of parts 8 and 9. This one is weaker than them; a dull and talkative gangster film with insufficient production values. Chiba appears in a couple of dialogue scenes but has next to nothing to do. The series has no English title but the Japanese one translates as "The Boss' Way" or "The Leader's Way".
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Cops vs. Thugs (Japan, 1975) [35mm] - 4/5
A somewhat atypical Fukasaku gangster film shifts focus from the yakuza to the police station where everyone is best friends with shady underworld figures. The film's got a slightly disjointed start, but develops loads of character depth and social relevance by the end. It really gets great when righteous new supervisor Tatsuo Umemiya enters the frame and starts busting corrupt cops' balls. Suddenly the whole system is in turmoil and wrong people are getting arrested. Bunta Sugawara is his usual great self as a tough detective with flexible morals, and Hiroki Matsukata shines as his gangster pal. Matsukata's got a great scene early on where he's hanging out at the police station and randomly answers the phone, only to find out another gangster is calling the station for a favour. I still don't know how Reiko Ike's pubic hair got past EIRIN - I thought I was daydreaming the 1st time I saw the film in theatre, but now I'm sure about it!. Toshiaki Tsushima's score is fantastic as usual.

+ Sonny Chiba Special: Part 59

Shuryo no michi 7 (Japan, 2013) [DVD] - 1.5/5
Quest star Sonny Chiba did his entry into the series in the previous film. This movie is where things star moving as yakuza boss Chiba orders a couple of hits that get him into a conflict with the series' regular gangsters. Chiba has three or four scenes and gets to do a bit of angry acting. Otherwise the film is as underwhelming as these modern zero-budget DTV yakuza flicks tend to be. There's a fair bit of gunplay but the action is strangely lifeless and dull. The next two movies in the series, however, would be a bit better.

Shuryo no michi 9 (Japan, 2013) [DVD] - 2/5
Part 9 in this DTV yakuza film series that is basically the men's equivalent of a TV soap opera. Each film continues the story from where the previous one left off, much like TV show episodes. It's cheap and poorly made but not entirely void of minor merits. The positives are Sonny Chiba, whose presence and one brief swordfight alone add something to the film, Asami, who looks very pretty here and does a bit of fighting as well, and a yakuza romance between Asami and young guy that against all expectations you begin to care for a bit towards the end. That being said, the film is barely worth watching. This was the last instalment with Chiba and Asami.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Operation Plazma in Osaka (Japan, 1976) [35mm] - 3/5
My second time seeing in 35mm. Last time I probably should've gone with a three and half star rating but I let it slip to four. I may be making the same mistake again, this time to the opposite direction. The jitsuroku saga features little character depth or originality, but comes with fun action scenes and a wonderful cast of Toei actors (Matsukata, Watase, Murota, Ibuki etc.) not afraid to look dirty and disrespectable on screen. Roman Porno actress Yuko Katagiri has a small supporting role as well. Toshiaki Tsushima's badass score is almost a carbon copy of his work in Fukasaku films, and that's a mighty good thing. One just wishes the storyline (based on true events) and characters would be a bit more interesting.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Women's Violent Classroom (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 3.5/5
A surprisingly mean spirited first film in the series with Miki Sugimoto as a nasty school gang leader. This film was remarkable not so much for being a side product of the Girl Boss series, but for being one of the movies that brought the Pinky Violence genre to darker grounds in 1972. Although the film is not terribly graphic, it is genuinely disturbing, not least because the heroine herself is a ruthless bully. A naive new male teacher tries to calm this down, but his attempts are futile with students greeting new teachers with knives and dead cats. The audience has to wait a good while for supporting star Reiko Ike to appear to find anyone to side with. Over-the-top action scenes are mostly missing, except for an iconic scene with two small school girl armies facing each other. The film also ends with one of the genre's defining moments as the girls burn their school uniforms at the school gate. Occasional silly humour does little to soften things; in fact it only makes the film feel dirtier. Masao Yagi's groovy score, on the other hand, ups the kick-ass factor.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Voice Without a Shadow (1958) 3.5/5
One of Seijun Suzuki's earlier movies, this B&W whodunit is still pretty watchable, thanks to a few interesting visual touches and strong performances by the strikingly beautiful Yoko Minamida, chain smoking Hideaki Nitani and of course Jo Shishido.
It's about a telephone operator who when connecting a call one random day, hears the voice of a killer - a voice that will haunt her for years, as the murder he commits goes unresolved. Three years later, her husband gets involved with three new friends who play mahjong every night and one of them, is a little too friendly towards her. When he doesn't show up at the start of a game one night, her husband asks her to call him and - it's the voice of the killer from three years ago...
Apparently unseen since it's theatrical release in 1958, it's a Hitchcock like puzzle with some memorable supporting characters, some cool Suzuki visual flair, and a look at pre-60's Japan.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Sounds like a good movie.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Carmen from Kawachi (Japan, 1966) [35mm] - 2.5/5
A girl from a rural village goes to Osaka and first becomes a hostess first and then later a model. Director Seijun Suzuki was better known for wild gangster films. This drama feels a bit underwhelming in comparison, although there are moments where the film really comes alive with the typical Suzuki energy.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 4/5
One of the finest films in the Pinky Violence genre, an anarchic, supremely stylish, erotic-grotesque end-of-the-world high school film. It is also, for its over-the-top nature, an easier movie to stomach than the first film in the series. Miki Sugimoto and her three pals (all brought into the film with ultra-cool introduction scenes) are bad girls coming to a new school to find who murdered Sugimoto's former gang boss. Turns out Ryoko Ema's gang is responsible; they've set up a torture lab in a classroom where they are draining poor victims out of their blood. The film's ending, where the entire school is demolished by the rioting students, is a dream come true to anyone who's ever felt frustration towards the educational system. However, the finest proof of director Norifumi Suzuki's talent is that he manages a handful of genuinely touching and beautiful scenes in the midst of all the chaos.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Yoshiwara Story (Japan, 1968) [VoD] - 2/5
Daiei's in-period Women's Prison series is probably best known for the 5th entry, Decapitation Island (1970). This is the 3rd film, and an odd one for it is not set in a prison at all. Nevertheless, it is considered a part of the series. Rather than an inmate, the protagonist is a woman forced to prostitution in Edo. Director Kazuo Mori (of several Zatoichi films) helms technically adequate, but extremely tame exploitation drama. Like most of the entries in the series, this film suggests samurai film studio Daiei and their filmmakers were not keen on jumping the exploitation bandwagon, but could also not ignore the financial realities of the era, hence coming up with films that flirted with exploitation but rarely crossed the border.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 2.5/5
The 3rd film in the series is a letdown after the supremely anarchic Lynch Law Classroom. This film doesn't really know what it wants to be. There's a bit of serious mother-daughter drama with Reiko Ike and Yoko Mihara, silly perverted high school teachers, the usual sukeban fights between rival gangs, and as a new addition, lots of gaijin raping high school girls. It all works alright as modest exploitation entertainment, but none of it packs too much punch. Director Masahiro Shimura seems to be to blame. He took over the directorial duties from Norifumi Suzuki for this and the following film, which remain his only directorial efforts. He also worked for Toei as an assistant director and contributing screenwriter. As a director he lacked the style, energy and kick ass factor that Suzuki was able to vent into the first two films.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Ghost in the Shell (Japan, 1995) [BD] - 4.5/5
The mediocre live action adaptation made me want to revisit Oshii's film, which remains a mind blowing throwback to the 90s cyber punk anime. It's a movie I'm forever dreaming of seeing in 35mm as it is audio-visually an incredibly atmospheric film. It also crams so much complicated plot content and philosophical discussions into mere 82 minutes that it demands the viewer's full attention. It could be argued that it goes overboard with the latter, and even comes out a bit corny with some of the philosophical bits, but that only works in its benefit by giving the film the personality that the chewed out and bland Hollywood film solely lacked. It must be emphasized that Oshii also knows when to slow down and cut out all the talk. I feel it is in part this "inconsistency" - from long silent sequences to dialogue overkill, from juvenile nudity and action scenes to philosophical discussions - that characterizes Ghost in the Shell and makes it endlessly re-watchable.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Animal Courage (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 2/5
The last and the least in the series. This one is a notch more realistic than some of the earlier films in the series, but in Masahiro Shimura's direction that only translates to increased dullness. The film lacks both the groove and the nastiness of the first two films, and adds very little of its own. Reiko Ike is a new student who enters a school where two girl gangs are fighting while the corrupt management enjoys exploiting the students. Old stuff. Minor genre charm aside, probably the most enjoyable thing about the movie is comedic relief Akira Oizumi as a horny English teacher. Oh, and Ryoko Ema is basically a good (bad) girl here for once. I guess that counts for something. The ending is rather good as well, but that comes too late and offers too little.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Red Pier (1958) B&W 4/5
I'm enjoying some of these older Nikkatsu films, and I'm amazed at how well they're made - Red Pier is a mostly perfect example of crime noir right down to it's (to me) very classic last line of dialogue.

Yûjirô Ishihara (Crazed Fruit) stars as Jiro 'The Lefty', a handsome, cool gangster who arrives in town just as a murder happens in front of him on the pier. A cop played by Shirô Osaka trails and questions him throughout the movie as different crimes happen, always a step behind him. Their relationship actually becomes important to the story.

Jiro tries to get involved, (unknowingly at first) with the murder victims sister Keiko (Mie Kitahara, his co-star from Crazed Fruit), but his sort of girlfriend Mami (the sexy Sanae Nakahara) refuses to give up easy. Her performance is a highlight in the movie, and as a performance dancer and sexually promiscuous female, I'm sure it raised a few eyebrows in 1958.

And there are others rounding out the story... Jiro's younger brother Teko (Masumi Okada), himself wanting to be a gangster; the menacing rival hitman Tsuchida (wonderfully played by Hiroshi Hijikata) and Hideki Nitani (the Detective from Voice Without a Shadow) as Jiro's superior in the Yakuza gang that has his reasons for wanting to betray him.

All of this is put together nicely as directed by Toshio Masada (Tora! Tora! Tora!) who uses all of the elements of the noir visual style to make a good looking entertaining film. Released as a part of Arrow Films Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 1 DVD, I watched it as a part of Amazon Prime online (geez, they have an amazing amount of good movies to watch for free).

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Crazed Fruit (1958) 5/5
This movie apparently caused quite a commotion when it was released, and watching it in the context of the times, I can see why. Still, nothing I had read could really prepare me for it, and so... the less I say about specifics the better.

The whole movie takes place during a summer vacation at the lake. Rich spoiled Yûjirô Ishihara (Red Pier) as the older brother Natsu, and Masahiko Tsugawa (Summer Storm) as the younger brother Haru, who both fall in love with the pretty Eri, played by Mie Kitahara. I almost didn't recognize her, as she's bubbly yet mysterious here compared to Red Pier where she was reserved, quiet and demure.

Frank played by Masumi Okada (Jiro's younger brother in Red Pier) plays a parent neglected rich kid who sees girls as interchangeable, when Eiko Higashitani (Michiko) after spending the night is told, "I'll see you around sometime", she smacks him as he answers a phone call, and when questioned about it he says, "Oh that was Michiko. She was just leaving."

The sexual innuendo is pretty straight forward...When their father comes to visit, Haru goes to find his brother at a friends house and a woman in a nightgown starts to flirt with him. His brother interrupts and as they leave he tells him, "She slept in 'cause we all took turns wearing her out last night."

Or my favorite line: "Did you get a look at that body? Those ain't falsies."

It's a movie of first loves, lost loves, rebellious youth, infidelity, promiscuity, cultural divides, betrayal... oh man, honestly, after watching so much pinky violence and then crime noir movies, I thought this would bore me, but.... I got into it. And got further into it. And... well I'm not going to say anymore. I can see why it's a classic of Japanese Cinema.

Director Kô Nakahira, who would also direct 'Summer Storm' released that same year, would primarily be remembered for these first two movies of his, though his 1971 film 'Yami no naka no chimimoryo' (A Soul to Devil) was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (according to wikipedia).

I watched the Criterion Collection version of this movie and it includes a commentary track from the late Japanese historian Donald Richie, which I'll update once I watch it. Yeah... I'm going to watch it again!

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Underworld Beauty (1958) 3.5/5 directed by Seijun Suzuki
A dark look at the yakuza underworld, where a boyfriend will cut the stones out his freshly dead girlfriend's brother just to get rich!

Miyamoto (Michitaro Mizushima) upon being released from jail, retrieves three diamonds from a robbery that put him there, only to tell the yakuza boss he's giving them to his partner, who lost a leg in the crime, kept his mouth shut, and is living in poverty. They're not keen on that idea. The beauty here is Akiko (Mari Shiraki), his partner's younger sister, who's more interested in partying and posing nude for a local mannequin maker, who she also dates.

The sets are impressive, the blacks are as jarring as I've ever seen them in a B&W film, and Suzuki moves this crime noir along at a pretty steady pace, already showing some of his interesting touches. His juxtaposition between the young teens dancing at the soda shop and the dark world of the yakuza is interesting... the pure joy and sexuality in their behavior against everyone trying to get their hands on the diamonds in their miserable dark spaces...

It's not a film without it's flaws - at times it looks so good, it's easy to forget it was put together cheaply and quickly, but it's worth seeing especially for an early look at Suzuki's work.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Those two films seem very daring for the late 1950s :o
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:Those two films seem very daring for the late 1950s :o
As for Japanese cinema? Perhaps. I've only seen Crazed Fruit. It wasn't controversial so much for being graphic (which it isn't) but for content. It's a film about a modern, rebellious generation. There were actually a whole bunch of movies like that around that time. Lots of parents, teachers etc. were worried that youngsters would be influenced by the films. The (Sun Tribe) genre was brought to a temporary end as a result, although that only lasted for a few years.

It's ironic that the writer of the original novel (and the brother of the star Yujiro Ishihara), Shintaro Ishihara, later became a conservative politician. He was the governor of Tokyo for God only knows how long, and he was very much the Japanese Donald Trump.

I personally prefer the 1980s Kichitaro Negishi version of Crazed Fruit. It's not so much a remake in the sense we understand the word "remake" as the setting, era, storyline and characters are all different.

As for "daring" I can't help but to point out that I recently watched a Finnish 1952 mainstream horror film with plenty of full frontal nudity. Japan didn't do uncensored full frontal until the 1990s :lol:
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Delicate Skillful Fingers (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 4/5
My second time seeing this, this time with my girlfriend. I picked this film because it's one of the few Roman Porno films I think are both great and somewhat female friendly... although from a female perspective Hiroko Isayama's (a naive young girl falling in love with a pick pocket) character could surely be stronger. That, and some poor acting and unnecessary sex aside this is such a good film. From the vivid depiction of the early 70s Tokyo to the pick pocketing scenes that are small works of art, the film is loaded with great scenes, not to mention a cool as hell Ichiro Araki performance and a fabulous score that is absolutely firing on all cylinders. It was probably the unlikely pairing of writer Tatsumi Kumashiro (known for his low key approach and social realism) and flamboyant director Toru Murakawa that made the film so great, giving it both style and substance. There's been some guessing that the film was in fact so good that it destroyed debut director Murakawa's career (following the raving reviews he directed 2 more films in the next 6 months, both less-well received, before retiring from cinema for almost a decade).

Japan's Violent Gangs: Boss (aka Japan Organized Crime Boss) (Japan, 1969) [VoD] - 3.5/5
The first film in the transitional yakuza film series that paved way for the jitsuroku true account films of the 70s. Koji Tsuruta stars as an old school gangster boss who has become something of a fish out of water in the modern gangster world. Despite some ninkyo elements, and a soundtrack that resembles Teruo Ishii's contemporary gangster films, this movie already leans heavily towards the jitsuroku style. The opening disclaimer states the film to be fictional, but that's not entirely true as it was heavily influenced by true events (the Yamaguchi gang moving to the Kanto area). Director Kinji Fukasaku's trademarks are already in a steady use, including documentary like footage of violent chaos, effective use of still photos, and a nihilistic storyline. While the film is loaded with good performances - Noburu Ando being one of the many who deserve a mention - it's Tomisaburo Wakayama who is the real stand out as a drug addicted, volatile boss who is like a time bomb trying keep himself from exploding.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers (Japan, 1969) [VoD] - 2/5
The 2nd film in the series that started with Kinji Fukasaku's Japan Organized Crime Boss. This follow up by director Junya Sato feels somewhat disappointing in contrast. The documentary-like touches and the energetic visual output that made its predecessor feel ahead of its time are mostly missing here, although the film does have a fittingly dark ending. Koji Tsuruta stars again, this time playing a gangster boss who assassinates a yakuza in broad daylight, gets a bullet in his arm in the process, and then hides in a small shop. The main storyline (about what happened before) is then told in flashbacks. Lots of talk ensues. Not terribly bad, just not that exciting either.

Sex & Fury (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 4/5
Most foreign viewers fail to put this film into a context. As much as a Pinky Violence film, it was also a late descendant of Toei's 60s gambler/yakuza movies. Once a hugely popular genre, Toei was still trying to keep it alive in the early 70s. After their biggest female star Junko Fuji retired, Toei tried finding a substitute. All attempts failed, and each new female yakuza film came out sleazier than the previous. Sex & Fury was the film that essentially burned all the bridges as it wholeheartedly crossed to the exploitation side. No more straight female gamblers were to come. Reiko Ike stars as a female yakuza on a mission of vengeance, while Christina Lindberg (drafted by Toei during a flight from Paris to Stockholm!) is a British (!) spy whose boss is trying to start an opium war in Japan. The storyline is messy with political aspects that director Norifumi Suzuki has no patience to develop; however, the film is visually stunning. Nowhere is that better evidenced than in the scene where Ike, attacked by enemies while taking bath, takes out the whole gang with a sword while in the nude in a snowy garden. The hypnotically choreographed carnage makes that one of the greatest scenes in exploitation film history.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Japan's Violent Gangs: Degenerate Boss (Japan, 1970) [VoD] - 2.5/5
Koji Tsurura is a former yakuza gone straight, now running a jazzy night club, in the third film in the series. The films were not connected other than being part of the same series and all starring Tsuruta. This one was directed by Shin Takakuwa, whose brief filmography features one stand out (the superb Sonny Chiba cop drama A Narcotics Agent's Ballad, 1972) and handful of mediocre yakuza films. This film is sort of well made, with some steady handed cinematography, elegant use of colour and light (especially in the night club scenes) and a typically charismatic and stoic Tsuruta performance. However, it feels quite conventional compared to Fukasaku's film that was already reaching toward the 70s jitsuroku cinema. This one is a talkative film with the usual 'ex-yakuza trying to lead honest life while surrounded by underworld acquaintances' storyline. Not bad, and features a surprisingly sleazy op credits scene with a stripper, but a little pedestrian overall

Female Yakuza Tale (Japan, 1973) [35mm] - 3.5/5
Fun but hastily made sequel to Sex and Fury. Teruo Ishii directed the film, but it seems he didn't have much of a script to work with - more like a plot draft written in a hurry. There's a lot of incoherent nonsense between the opening and ending scenes. Ishii makes up for it with colourful images, a plot that revolves around a yakuza gang using girls who smuggle drugs in their vaginas, and a number of fantastic set pieces including the apocalyptic final massacre with two dozen naked ladies slaying yakuza with swords, nails, guns and hand grenades. There's a certain charm to seeing trash like this done with relatively amazing production values, something that would never happen in modern cinema.

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Japan's Violent Gangs: Loyalty Offering Murder (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 2/5
The 4th and last in the series was helmed by Yasuo Furuhata, a director whose films I have never especially cared for. He made talkative, character driven crime dramas that were usually neither ninkyo nor jitsuroku films. I suppose there is more-than-usual character depth to be found in his films - if you find them interesting to begin with. It sometimes seemed like he shouldn't have been working in yakuza films in the first place, but in the drama genre where he later ended up. Anyway, Tsuruta is the lead again, this time a guest at a gambling house where he kills two attackers and has to flee from the city. He settles down with old friend and gangster boss Tetsuro Tamba, whose clan is in a conflict with another gang. Tsuruta starts helping him but angers Tamba's neurotic underling Rinichi Yamamoto in the process. Chris D declared this as one of his favourite yakuza films (out of the 1000 or so that he has seen). As often is the case, I don't quite understand where his opinion is rooted. There are some good scenes with Tsuruta and Tamba, and Yamamoto is good in his role, but none of it feels especially captivating. It's not a movie you'd call "bad", just one you don't care much for.

Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (Japan, 1973) [35mm] - 4.5/5
This is the most feminist of all the Pinky Violence films, in addition to being one of the best. Reiko Ike is the daughter of a murdered man, sent to prison after she fails to kill the yakuza boss responsible. She makes friends with a miscellaneous bunch of girls (each given the coolest introduction scenes since Lynch Law Classroom) who team up with her after they're out of the slammer. It's a relatively simple story told with impeccable style, superb pacing, functional plot and likeable characters. Especially notable is how the heroines are handled by the filmmakers with worshipping rather than sleazy hands. That's not saying the film is lacking it in the nudity and sex department, even featuring the infamous chainsaw intimidation scene and the longest girl fight ever filmed (with malfunctioning garments, of course). However, the approach is quite different compared to some other films in the genre. These women are goddesses, and the sleazy guys are doomed from the start. The men ain't got nothing on these girls.

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Student Wife: Weeping Silently (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 2/5
There's a bit of charm to these early Roman Porno melodramas that emphasized emotion more than sex. This one is about a high school girl (Yuko Katagiri) living in a small apartment next to an industrial site with a former rock star who is a bit of an asshole. Katagiri does what she did best: play a cute but a little slow girl who ends up abused by men. Her debut film Coed Report: Yuko's White Breasts (from which this film recycles music) was better, but this one isn't so bad either. While the storyline isn't that interesting, mediocre director Akira Kato manages to keep the film moving. Unremarkable, but intermittently entertaining. The "wife" part in the title is a bit misleading since she is not actually married.

Foreigner's Mistress Oman: Falling Autumn Flower (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 2.5/5
The 2nd film in the Rashamen Oman series is better than the first. This one is groovier, slightly better paced, and feels more like a real yakuza film, albeit a porno hybrid one. It can't entirely decide what it wants to be, though. There's the usual ninkyo premise with a wandering gambler (Sally May) whose sister (Yuri Yamashina) gets abused by an evil gang, but also a modern twist with a supporting girl gang straight out of a 60s Nikkatsu action film. We also get rope torture, sadistic young yakuza boss, and blind dice master Akira Takahashi. The action at the climax is actually pretty decent and more stylishly staged than those in some of Toei's lesser ninkyo films. Takahashi goes full on Zatoichi with a sword, and the yellow haired May in her beautiful white yukata make a genuinely memorable and unusual sight in the midst of the carnage. There's an evident Seijun Suzuki influence to the scene. One only wishes the film had a bit more plot and a bit less sex as even at 65 minutes it comes with some boring moments.

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