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: I watched these back to back and still enjoyed them! (I’m not going to push my luck with the other 4… Hung has reviewed them well on here, but at the sake of over saturating myself with them, I’m going to leave some space inbetween viewing them!)
That's exactly what I did. I saw the first two in March 2017 and although I liked them (rated them 3.5/5 and 3/5 respectively, forgot to write reviews) I didn't feel like rushing to the rest. It wasn't until November-December that I watched the last 4 almost back to back, because I got really addicted in the series.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Street of Shame (Japan, 1956) Filmstruck VOD 4/5
dir: Kenji Mizoguchi
Daiei Studio movie, a part of the short-lived ‘Akasen’ genre (or ‘red light films), it follows the lives and issues revolving around a small group of prostitutes working in Tokyo's Yoshiwara district. Flashy new girl Mickey (Michiko Kyo) is an early version of the ‘delinquent girl’ - indifferent to everything. The popular, young and cute Yasumi (Ayako Wakao) is also smart and saving for her future. Hansae (Michiyo Kogure) has a sick husband and a baby she has to try and make money and care for. Aging Yumeko (Aiko Mimasu) wants to get out of the business and live with her grown son…. we see the good, the bad, the harsh, the desperation; all of it, as director Kenji Mizoguchi’s interweaves each woman's story along.
It takes place as the country is considering a ban on prostitution, and the daily political struggle in conversation and on the radio plays a part in the story as well.
I began to wonder… is it an ANTI-prostitution movie, because all of it is truthful…. or is it a PRO-prostitution movie, because… all of it is truthful. It’s hard to tell sometimes, but ultimately it’s the last few frames of the movie that maybe gives us the final hint.
THIS is how you make a movie about a controversial subject, show more than one side and yet never preach… great art, and a wonderful film.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Killer Constable (1980)

Effective Shaws film, with Chen Kuan-Tai as a police officer on the trail of looted royal treasure. The gorgeous Bava/Argento-ish photopgrahpy makes this feel a lot fresher then the films coming out from Chang Cheh at the same time, and the violence is for the most part gritty and painful - tip to action fim guys, mud is indeed thicker then blood! Well worth a watch

7/10
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote:Once a Thief (Hong Kong, 1991) [DVD] - 3.5/5
Chow Yun Fat is the weakest link. I used to love the film but seeing it again now I must say Chow is more irritating than charming with his comedy act. He does have his moments though, and there are times when the dumb humour works in the "only in Hong Kong" sense.
Then you really need to avoid Chow's actual comedies like The Greatest Lover and Eighth Happiness. He's excruciating in them.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote:
HungFist wrote:Once a Thief (Hong Kong, 1991) [DVD] - 3.5/5
Chow Yun Fat is the weakest link. I used to love the film but seeing it again now I must say Chow is more irritating than charming with his comedy act. He does have his moments though, and there are times when the dumb humour works in the "only in Hong Kong" sense.
Then you really need to avoid Chow's actual comedies like The Greatest Lover and Eighth Happiness. He's excruciating in them.
Thanks. Haven't seen either one of them.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Give Chow a gun and he's great. But ask him to 'be funny' and it's a disaster.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Cruel Story of Youth aka Naked Youth (Seishun zankoku monogatari) (Japan, 1960) Filmstruck VOD 4/5
dir: Nagisa Oshima
Director Nagisa Oshima was Shochiku Studios answer to the 'sun tribe' youth movement movies in Japan, and Oshima would go on to continued success and controversy (In the Realm of the Senses, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence). This was his second movie, and first in full color.
A highly influential movie, It's the story of two young lovers, growing up in a different Japan. Quick money rackets, back room abortions, older women paying younger men for sex - this is the back street tough life we'd come to see play a larger part in the movies.

The beautiful Miyuki Kuwano, plays a girl from the good side of the tracks who hitches a ride home one night from an older man who tries to take advantage of her. In steps attractive bad boy Yûsuke Kawazu, who beats the guy up, saves her and begins a whirwind romance, where they use that same set up - she meets an older man to get a ride from - to extort money from those men.

Set amongst the youth protests, the underworld bad guys, and the clash of a new generation, it hits the ground running and never lets up. Once again, it's hard to tell if it's message is slanted because no one seems to be getting life right - just doing what they can to make certain moments worth it.

BTW: Filmstruck is awesome. If you can stream it where you live and you're a fan of classic movies from all over the world (and the Criterion Collection), I highly recommend it. Has to have over 100 Japanese movies from the 1930's through today, as well as films from all over. The entire Criterion Catalog + the Filmstruck Catalog for $10 a month - and it has a 30 Day free trial...

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

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The Killing Machine (Chiba) (1975): 4/5
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote:The Killing Machine (Chiba) (1975): 4/5

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

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The Executioner (1974): 4/5

The film is sleazy at times (particularly with the way women are treated) but there's some great action in this one, it's still fun. The scene in which Chiba takes out different killers is hilarious (in one he enters a room where a black dude - built like a brick sh*thouse, is having sex with a girl and kills him) :D
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Delinquent Boss: Ocho the She Wolf aka Furyo Bancho: Inoshika Ocho (Japan, 1968) DVD - 3/5
dir: Yukio Noda
Kanada (Tatsuo Umemiya) and his group bust out of prison and five years later they're running a successful dance studio that covers as a way to kidnap woman and sell them to gentlemen's clubs around the world. We call that 'Human Trafficking' today. They also randomly kidnap women and rape them for fun.
The yakuza isn't too keen on them working thier turf and start muscling them. Each scam they undertake, seems to end up crossing the yakuza and just as the yakuza is about to do one of them in, their new friend Ocho of Inoshika (Junko Miyazono, looking like she came straight from the Okatsu set) or old jailhouse friend Sonny Chiba show up to save them.
Tamami Natsu returns in a smaller role as the 'female member' who is a boyfriend of one of the gang. She's much hotter in this movie, though she plays a different character.
Chiba's part is minimal, which is unfortunate, because... well, because he's Chiba; but their OTHER jailhouse friend Bunta Sugawara shows up to help out whenever it seems Chiba's not around. Maybe they had conflicting schedules?
Finally, when a few of the good guys end up dead, it's time for the big payback - and everyone who's left shows up for it.
It's a pretty good finale, and Chiba earns his paycheck in his final scene, but this movie is a 3/5 primarily because of all the additional star power.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote:
grim_tales wrote:The Killing Machine (Chiba) (1975): 4/5
Love it!
It's one of Chiba's best films. Decent story, good action, charismatic performance. The only weakness is the lack of a good final opponent. It's also one of the Chiba films that (alongside the even better Hong Kong style Roaring Fire and the ninkyo influenced The Defensive Power of Aikido) that I could recommend to Mark as well.
grim_tales wrote:The Executioner (1974): 4/5
The film is sleazy at times (particularly with the way women are treated) but there's some great action in this one, it's still fun. The scene in which Chiba takes out different killers is hilarious (in one he enters a room where a black dude - built like a brick sh*thouse, is having sex with a girl and kills him) :D
Director Teruo Ishii was assigned to direct it against his wish. That's why it's so bonkers. The sequel is even crazier (it's more of a comedy, but I like it even better).

It's also a great film to watch when you're feeling down. I was once turned down by a pretty Japanese girl, but after watching The Executioner I felt better again :lol:

Big :thumbs: for Grim for watching Chiba stuff
chazgower01 wrote:Delinquent Boss: Ocho the She Wolf aka Furyo Bancho: Inoshika Ocho (Japan, 1968) DVD - 3/5
This, in turn, is one of my least favourite Chiba films ever :lol: This, Storm Riders, Master of Thunder, and a couple of semi recent DTV films make the Bottom 5 :lol:
chazgower01 wrote:Ocho of Inoshika (Junko Miyazono, looking like she came straight from the Okatsu set)
It's supposed to be the same character Reiko Ike plays in Sex & Fury, I believe (even though the films are set in completely different periods). The character, at least as far as Sex & Fury is concerned, originates from a comic book.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Girls' Junior High School: Dangerous Games (Japan, 1970) DVD 3/5
dir: Mio Ezaki
Junko Natsu takes the lead role in a big way in this first of a series of Sukeban movies set in a Girls' JUNIOR High School. Not to worry, Natsu was 21 when she did this, and the only nudity is in the background strip club of the yakuza gang (they hang out with!).

Don't get me wrong, this movie was made to titilate, and even though wet uniforms in the shower fights or underwear in strip poker is all you get, it's done with a zeal meant to appeal. Even without subtitles, it's entertaining, and has its comedic moments (the hidden microphone, the principal's mugging), though it has its boring drama near the end.

Chieko Matsubara plays the gym teacher (she was only 4 years older than Junko) who the girls try to have gang raped by some of the yakuza goons - good mainstream Japanese fun! - and Tatsuya Fuji has a cool cameo at the end - other than that it's 80 minutes of non-PC Japanese silliness!

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

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Equinox Flower (Japan, 1958) Filmstruck VOD 3.5/5
dir: Yasujiro Ozu
Having enjoyed Tokyo Twilight a great deal, I watched director Yasujiro Ozu's next film, made a year later, Equinox Flower; featuring Ineko Arima (Tokyo Twilight) and Miyuki Kuwano (Two years before 'Cruel Story of Youth') as sisters.
What I had observed in the previous film, as far as style, is even more pronounced here. Stationary camera framed on the scene, allowing the characters to act out the story - there are no tricks here - other than the simplistic beauty of staging - this is about straight forward storytelling.
Successful businessman Wataru Hirayama (Shin Saburi) has two daughters, one of whom seeks to get married outside the older, traditional arranged marriage idea favored by her father. In fact, she's found the man she wants to marry, and her dad isn't too happy with that.
Once again, we see this all unfold, almost as an invisible outsider, able to spy upon the private conversations of these people. And it succeeds in that, this isn't American drama, it's the quiet, respectable, peaceful drama of Japan - no lamps get broken, no one falls out of a second story window - it moves along at a quiet pace, telling the story.
For some movie watches, that might seem boring. For film buffs, it's interesting to see the slow transformation of the father, if he really does transform at all - this is sort of the other side of the youth rebellion movement - how it crept into the well to do family home and slowly changed the way the Japanese went about everyday life.
Not to make it sound TOO stuffy, like real life, it has it's humorous moments ("I know you tend to go on and on, so I went to the bathroom first!"), and it really is beautiful film (when Ozu shoots an outdoor scene, it tends to be spectacular in it's beauty), it's just a vast departure from the exploitation films we love.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (Japan, 1969) Filmstruck VOD 2.5/5
dir:Nagisa Oshima
An experimental film that has it’s appealing aspects to it, director Nagisa Oshima takes a basic story: Book thief Birdy Hilltop (Tadanori Yokoo) gets apprehended by a pretty clerk, Umeko (Rie Yokoyama), and they begin a relationship. But, the relationship, especially it’s sexual peculiarities, PARTICULARLY it’s sexual peculiarities, are examined in ever changing creative film methods. From documentary style psychoanalysis, to kabuki style theater, to fantasy play that turns into a reality gang rape - all of which is also interspersed with performance art, live acoustic song, and real footage of the Shinjuku area at the time. In fact, much of the cast simply play themselves, a part of the Japanese underground youth scene of the time and place. (Which IS cool to see)
Much of it is interesting to watch, actual extremely appealing to watch, but some of it isn’t, and seems to go on far too long, and try way to hard to convince us of it’s authenticity as a amateur shot hand held film- it was most likely a labor of love for Oshima, far from being an amateur, who wanted to capture the feel of the times, amidst a sexual examination of two complex individuals. Worth seeing for film buffs - not sure if this was even available to the public for many years - it IS a cool underground Japanese artifact of it’s times.

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

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chazgower01 wrote:Girls' Junior High School: Dangerous Games (Japan, 1970) DVD 3/5
I thought the film had certain nostalgic charm, and was generally enjoyable despite being very tame. The two sequels are less memorable, though part 2 utilizes a cool Takuro Yoshida song.

One of the films had a scene where boys are peeking at the girls in the shower and a text appears saying something like "only 14 years old and she has such big..." :lol: I can't remember which film that was.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Zatoichi (座頭市) (Japan, 2003) [DVD] - 3/5
Kitano's over-rated revival of the legendary character features good moments (e.g. the tap dance scene) but suffers from a mediocre script. Kitano himself makes a passable but forgettable Zatoichi. He acquits himself well with sword, and the action could be quite enjoyable if it wasn't for the God-awful CGI blood. Co-star Tadanobu Asano plays a hired-by-the-yakuza ronin with a sick wife, a strangely under-written character whose kind is familiar from dozens of ninkyo yakuza films. The score is pretty good at times, though no Hisaishi. Looking back at the film and its initial popularity, it probably benefitted from Kitano and Asano having been at the height of their popularity, and many viewers not having been terribly familiar with Japanese yakuza and jidai geki films beyond Kurosawa, mistaking Kitano's "vision" as something more original than it really was. It's not that different from Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi films, and in the Zatoichi cannon it's a pretty mediocre entry.

Outrage: Final Chapter (アウトレイジ 最終章) (Japan, 2017) [Flight] - 3/5
Stylish but incredibly convoluted yakuza film is probably the best Kitano can do these days. Writer/director/actor Kitano has made himself play second fiddle in his own movie, with the main focus being on an extremely complex series of secret alliances, double crossings and double crossings that are planned don't have time to happen because someone else already double crossed someone, most of which have little to do with Kitano's character. Kitano's tough guy charisma still works, however, and there are moments of violence that drop the jaw. The human depth of his 90s masterpieces is long gone, as are the magical Joe Hisaishi scores, replaced by too much talking (and yelling) but at least this is a somewhat decent yakuza film with proper production values, unlike the garbage other Japanese filmmakers are putting out these days.

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

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My Way (South Korea, 2011): 4.25/5

Well acted, violent war action-drama is sometimes harrowing, reminded me of Woo's Bullet in the Head in places.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School (Japan, 1973) DVD – 3/5
dir: Sadao Nakajima
A well paced, nicely shot example of the Sukeban series, that does almost everything right, but seems to be missing some variable to put it over top. Part of it may be the ending, which I found unfulfilling, and the other is that the love interest plays a bigger part in things than I personally would have liked. (Miki hooks up with Tsunehiko Watase)
The best of these movies are all about girl power and accomplishing what they want with only the slightest help of a male ally. Either way, it's still a worthy example of the genre and features the usual display of exploitation - showers, ripped clothes, perverted men, sexual angst... and I actually like the full gang here better than most.
Miki Sugimoto, a regular reform school escapist, is caught and brought back, eventually uniting a crew of delinquents to put together a big escape - leading to a showdown finale.
It may not sound like high praise, but I did like and enjoy this movie! If nothing else, it's praise worthy for the full view of Miki's backside!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Warped Ones (Japan, 1960) FilmstruckVOD 4/5
dir: Koreyoshi Kurahara
Must’ve seemed raw and shocking when it was released, it’s the story of a Japanese delinquent, Akira (Tamio Kawaji, in an early role), who lives to have fun, have sex, and stir up trouble. The hand held camera, and the black and white grittiness of it (as well as Kawaji’s screen presence) give it an almost documentary like feel.
Akira and his prostitute friend Yuki (Yuko Chisiro) get out of jail for scamming a guy and meet up with her boyfriend (Eiji Go) to go swimming. They immediately run into the guy that put them in jail. So they hit him with the car, and kidnap his girlfriend. Akira rapes her on the beach, as revenge, and this being Japanese culture, she naturally LIKES it and forms a bond with him, even though she’s completely disgraced by it.
Kawaji struts through this movie in such a brazen, in your face, who-gives-a-shit-about-anything way that it really took me by surprise. I looked to check twice to make sure this came out in 1960 and not 1970. One of the funniest scenes is when he later goes unannounced to the disgraced girlfriend’s house (she’s a well-to-do artist) and her wealthy friends all look and treat him like a piece of art, while he blows smoke in their faces and scoffs at them.
Amazing jazz music score throughout, and some non-PC conversations:
When Yuki turns down Akira’s black friend for a date, she tells him, “I hate Darkies!”
Akira then says, “They’re the best. They created jazz. And then the whiteies stole it. And now we’re copying it. We’re the worst!”
To top that off, Akira and the black friend then run off to go swimming together, alone, in an alluded to homosexual get together (“Let’s have fun!”), in really the only outwardly gleeful moment he has that doesn’t involve contempt for someone.
The coolest ‘Sun Tribe’ film I’ve seen yet.

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

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Blood and Diamonds (血とダイヤモンド) (Japan, 1964) [35mm] - 3/5
A diamond heist goes wrong, leaving one member bleeding with a bullet in the stomach. They retreat to a bunker where tensions begin to rise. This Toho crime thriller by Jun Fukuda bears striking similarity to Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (far more than City on Fire) and some plot elements can't be discussed without spoiling both films. Blood and Diamonds isn't as tightly written but features a noirish atmosphere and interesting characterization especially regarding bleeding, sweat-covered gangster Makoto Sato whose greed for money is bone chilling. Takashi Shimura plays a doctor whose daughter is captured by the gangsters to force him to dig out the bullet of Sato's stomach.

Bullet Terror (恐怖の弾痕) (Japan, 1957) [35mm] - 2.5/5
A young judo expert (Akira Takarada) assumes a white collar job in a night club company that is being harassed by the yakuza and their sword for hire bodyguard (Jun Tazaki), whose father was once upon a time killed by the judo guy's good-for-nothing father (talk about coincidences) - an incident that has stained the decent son's life and career ever since. The new employer soon turns out to be no better - their real business is revealed to be narcotics. Mildly entertaining b-action film with a couple of judo vs. sword duels. The storyline and characterization are purely programmer stuff, though, and some scenes are badly dated (e.g. long episode featuring a time bomb ticking in the clueless hero's car while he's chasing the bad guy).

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

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Girl Boss 6: Mano-a-Mano (aka Diamond Showdown) (女番長 タイマン勝負) (Japan, 1974) DVD 3/5
dir: Ikuo Sekimoto
Number 6 in the series of Girl Boss movies, this and the last one are directed by Ikuo Sekimoto. Again in this installment, we get a lot of the traditional Girl Boss flavor: Prison fights, revenge, Yakuza involvement, nudity...just not a lot of anything new to it.
Unless you want to count cooking stray dogs to sell the meat, or peeing.
Anyway, bad girl Keiko (Reiko Ike) stabs the man who killed her sister and goes to jail, where she's constantly beaten up and intimidated by Girl Boss Miwa (Ritsuko Fujiyami). Once Miwa's released, Reiko works her way to the Boss spot of the prison, and is released one year later (at the end of the opening credits).
She's thinking revenge.
Helping some friends with their debts to a club, she finds out its run by Oshima (the always snarling Toru Abe), the man she stabbed and went to prison for. Regular Sukeban actress Ryoko Ema is another Girl Boss she squares off with and Tsunehiko Watase plays a cool yakuza.
There are what I guess you'd call plot twists, to keep you on your toes; let's just say it's a fun little romp that has Reiko in it, with lots of cool fashion, some great music (a few of the songs are on the Miki Sugimoto vs Reiko Ike CD), and an entertaining finale.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Gambling Monk (競輪上人行状記) (Japan, 1963) [35mm] - 3/5
A biting black comedy/drama about a mischievous middle school teacher (Shoichi Ozawa) who becomes a gambling addicted monk following his brother's death. He tries to take care of his family temple business, but gets mixed up in bicycle betting, alcohol and desperate women. This was Shogoro Nishimura's debut film, based on a screenplay by Shohei Imamura and Nobuyuki Onishi. It may not be a film tailored for my tastes, but fans of Imamura and Japanese 60s new wave ought to be in for a threat. The mix of dark drama, comedy and social satire aiming to spark some controversy is especially reminiscent of Imamura's films. It is then perhaps not surprising that, despite being adored by critics, it bombed in theatres upon its release and brought Nishimura's career to an instant end for three years. It remains a forgotten film waiting to be discovered.

Kaettekita ookami (帰ってきた狼) (Japan, 1966) [DCP] - 4/5
Excellent Sun Tribe film by Shogoro Nishimura; his second movie as a director. The story kicks off when a mixed blood, misunderstood loner (Ken Yamauchi) drifts back into a small seaside town where he slew a man years ago. Around the same time a super hot yacht girl Rika, who is a bit of a spoiled brat, sails to the shores. She has instant hot for him, and her bloated self ego takes a hit when he says he just digs her yacht. Then there is the film's actual protagonist (Junichi Kagiyama), a cowardish but decent guy and the only rational one of the bunch, as well as some local teen hoods giving everyone trouble. This is almost everything a good Sun Tribe film should be: yachts, motor boats, guitars, fights and burning teen passion, all packed into 78 minutes. The characters are excellent, there's a constant aura of energy to Nishimura's direction, and most importantly the Taiwanese-Japanese actress Judy Ongg is just amazingly hot and badass as Rika. When director Nishimura, in an unrelated interview, expressed his regret that much of the Roman Porno genre that later employed him may be problematic from a female perspective, I wondered if he truly cared. But seeing movies like this, with show stealing female characters, I can believe he really meant what he said. Fantastic film!

Note: I cannot find English title for this film anywhere. The Japanese title translates as "Return of the Wolf", referring to the character played by Ken Yamauchi.

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

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HungFist wrote:The Gambling Monk (競輪上人行状記) (Japan, 1963) [35mm] - 3/5
This'll be a tough one to track down, but I added it to my list....
HungFist wrote:Kaettekita ookami (帰ってきた狼) (Japan, 1966) [DCP] - 4/5
And this is a must see... Has it ever been released even on VHS do you know?
I have a few Meiko Kaji films I found on VHS, that I'm going to get around to transferring to DVD one of these days, so...
HungFist wrote:and most importantly the Taiwanese-Japanese actress Judy Ongg is just amazingly hot and badass as Rika.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by HungFist »

chazgower01 wrote:
HungFist wrote:The Gambling Monk (競輪上人行状記) (Japan, 1963) [35mm] - 3/5
This'll be a tough one to track down, but I added it to my list....
It's available on DVD. Well, was available at least. Seems OOP now.
chazgower01 wrote:
HungFist wrote:Kaettekita ookami (帰ってきた狼) (Japan, 1966) [DCP] - 4/5
And this is a must see... Has it ever been released even on VHS do you know?
I have a few Meiko Kaji films I found on VHS, that I'm going to get around to transferring to DVD one of these days, so...
I'm not aware of any release. Has obviously been on TV as proved by the screencaptures you posted, but I don't know what channel... I'd love to obtain a copy.

Which Kaji films have you found on VHS?
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