Bullets 'n' Babes

Shing, have you (or anyone else) tested the other IVL Toei releases? I've got Samurai Reincarnation (watched, but can't remember sub quality) and Bullet Train (not watched) myself and I'd be interested in some others too (mainly Fukasaku dramas).

Holy shit, Cinema Epoch strikes hard

Over the past year or so Cinema Epoch have quietly built themselves into one tasty little boutique label for fans of unusual film, particularly of the Asian variety, and the menu just expanded considerably. The company picked up a fistful of classic titles at the recent Cannes Marche Du Film and will be bringing all of them to DVD in 2009 with brand new anamorphic transfers taken from new prints of the films. What have they got?

BAD GIRL MAKO (Furyo Shojo Mako) (1971)
Director: Koreji Kurahara
Cast: Junko Natsu
Cult classic from Nikkatsu Studios. Patronized by a gang ruling the city, Mako delinquently plays around a nightclub everynight with her bad company. When her lover Hideo is murdered by the gang, Mako swears vengeance on all of those responsible.

TALE OF SORROW AND SADNESS (Hishu Monogatari) (1977)
Director: Seijun Suzuki
Cast: Kyoko Enami, Yoshio Harada, Masumi Okada
Seijun Suzuki’s sole directorial effort from the 1970s follows a professional model poised for success in the golfing magazine fashion world. Pure Suzuki madness ensues when she is confronted by a sexy female blackmailer.

YELLOW FANGS (Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi) (1990)
Director: Sonny Chiba/Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Bunta Sugawara
Yuki’s family is killed by a huge maneating bear, and her childhood friend Eiji and his fellow hunters set off in search of the murderous beast. Although she cannot join them as women are forbidden from entering the mountains, she is determined to pursue a perilous quest for revenge. Based on a true story.

THE HEARTBREAK YAKUZA (Saraba itoshiki hito yo) (1987)
Director: Masato Harada
Cast: Hiromi Go, Mariko Ishihashi, Kazuya Kimura, Koichi Sato
A precursor to John Woo’s “The Killer” about an up and coming Yakuza member who accidentally blinds a childhood friend during a shootout. An impressive early work by director Masato Harada. The Japanese title was later used as a Sony Playstation game.

- http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/cinema- ... -classics/

I was about to pick Nikkatsu's R2J Bad Girl Mako. But now I'm gonna wait.

I've not tested the IVL Toei titles Hung, only bought a couple from the first batch of titles IIRC, will have to go through my collection to see which ones. I never bought Bullet Train and Makai Tensho though.

You don't remember what dvds you own?

At least IVL used dvd-9 with those Toei films, unlike with the Kadokawa releases. The sad truth was that my custom dvd-5 discs (created from the R2J's) had much better compression than those commercial IVL Kadokawa dvds, although they used the same source material as the R2J's. The subtitles were also badly timed and I had to spent hours fixing them so that they would meet my own fansubbing standards.

HungFist wrote:You don't remember what dvds you own?

I own too many DVDs
Anyway I found the titles, they're a couple of Fukasaku titles: Rage of Love and House on Fire.

At least IVL used dvd-9 with those Toei films, unlike with the Kadokawa releases. The sad truth was that my custom dvd-5 discs (created from the R2J's) had much better compression than those commercial IVL Kadokawa dvds, although they used the same source material as the R2J's.

Yeah the badly compressed DVD-5 problem is exactly the reason why I avoided those releases. I did want to buy a fair few of the titles, but thought i'd wait and see what made it to R1 land.

Shingster wrote:BTW Kev Gilvear has put in a request to cover Epoch's Bad Girl Mako DVD, so look out for that to appear (hopefully fast) on DVDTimes.

It may still take some time considering the dvd is not even in production yet


August 26, 2008

These lone wolf releases are great but it's going to be a long and expensive road to acquire them all sadly

Toei August

See here

Toei September

Shin Abashiri Bangaichi (新網走番外地) (1968)


Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Runin-masaki no ketto (新網走番外地 流人岬の血斗) (1969)


Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Saihate no Nagare-mono (新網走番外地 さいはての流れ者) (1969)


Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Dai Shinrin no Ketto (新網走番外地 大森林の決斗) (1970)


Toei October

Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13) (1973) (starring Takakura)


Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment (ゴルゴ13 九竜の首) (Starring Chiba)


Sakitto no ookami (サーキットの狼 ) (1977) (Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi)


What a crazy Toei year it is... they’re obviosly trying to prove something, lol. And, let me guess, the original Abashiri Prison series will be low priced in December?

HungFist wrote:
What a crazy Toei year it is...

... and it just got crazier. November: 4 Hiroyuki Sanada films, including the long awaited Roaring Fire, and Shadow Warriors season 2
- http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?s ... =522&st=97

And more excellent news; Criterion picks seven Nikkatsu action titles, including A Colt is My Passport.
- http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/criteri ... -passport/



+

Kino grabs Suzuki's Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards! and Bakuhatsu sanbyomae.

- http://outcastcinema.blogspot.com/2008/ ... pdate.html
- http://www.avmaniacs.com/forums/showthr ... 183&page=2

************************************

Toei’s low priced batch is coming November 1. There seems to be at least a lot of yakuza films, a couple of Hideo Gosha movies (Tokyo Bordello, Wives of the Yakuza + non-Gosha sequels) some pink (School of the Holy Beast, Mantis Wife’s Confession) etc. No Abashiri Prison unfortunately...

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/newrelease/jmo ... 2008-11-01

Kadokawa’s low priced dvds hit the streets October 24th. Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (original threatrical cut, almost certainly), Resurrection of the Golden Wolf, Beast to Die, The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (Obayashi), Legend of the Eight Samurai etc. Note that many of these are available in R1 and / or R3 HK. The R1 dvds should about the same quality, but as mentioned before in this thread, the IVL HK discs feature shitty encoding and badly timed subtitles.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/newrelease/jmo ... 20&step=20

I need to get The Little Girl Who Conquered Time at least. I've been meaning to get rid if the poor HK disc. Tomoyo Harada's face deserves a solid transfer!

Toei November

Shogun's Ninja (Ninja bugeicho momochi sandayu) (忍者武芸帖 百地三太夫) (1980) (Sanada, Chiba, Shihomi, Tamba... directed by Suzuki)


The Blazing Valiant (Moeru yusha) (燃える勇者) (1981) (Sanada, Wakayama)


The Kamikaze Adventurers (Bokensha kamikaze) (冒険者カミカゼ) (1981) (Sanada, Chiba)


Roaring Fire (Hoero! Tekken) (吼えろ鉄拳) (1982) (Sanada, Chiba, Shihomi, Ishibashi... directed by Suzuki)


+ Kage no Gundan S2 (sorry, no pic avaible yet)

EDIT:

Missed one release. A film every self-respecting inhabitant of planet earth has been eagerly awaiting to hit the dvd. Yes!

Doberman Deka (ドーベルマン刑事) (1977) (directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Shinichi Chiba

Toei December

反逆児 (1961)

http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1961/ck004970.htm

関の彌太ッペ (1963)

http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1963/cm003550.htm

血と砂の決斗 (1963)

http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1963/cm003660.htm

資金源強奪 (1975)

http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1975/cy001840.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0326140/

沖縄やくざ戦争 (1976)

http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1976/cz002700.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183594/

Okinawa Yakuza War (沖縄やくざ戦争) at least is a must buy.

************************************

All credit to Al Edwards from dvd maniacs for spotting these.

Cinema Epoch’s Yellow Fangs is scheduled for January 13, 2009 release
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.548 ... etails.htm

And Animeigo is releasing Kosaku Yamashita’s 199 minute war epic Aa kessen kokutai (1974) starring Koji Tsuruta, Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Hideo Murota, Noboru Ando, Tatsuo Umemiya, Goro Ibuki, Tsunehiko Watase, Nobuo Kaneko... damn, that cast is almost on par with the 1970 Toei war masterpiece Saigo no tokkotai (review a few pages back).


http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.548 ... etails.htm

Toei has released the film twice; original and low priced edition.

BCI will release Genji Nakamura's Go for Broke (V Madonna: Daisenso) (Ｖ．マドンナ大戦争) (1985) in 2009.


http://outcastcinema.blogspot.com/2008/ ... amura.html

The second director Outcast Cinema folks interviewed was Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, one of my favourite filmmakers. The interview will appear on Synapse's Wandering Ginza Butterfly dvds.

For once I'm excited about a dvd extra.

http://outcastcinema.blogspot.com/2008/ ... guchi.html

Yamaguchi films I've seen (with ratings out of 5)

Blossoming Night Dreams - 4/5
Tokyo Drifters - 3/5
Ballad of Yokohama Hoods - 4/5
Worthless to Confess - 4/5
Sister Street Fighter - 4/5
Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread - 4/5
Return of the Sister Street Fighter - 3/5
Karate Bull Fighter - 4/5
Karate Bear Fighter - 4/5
Karate for Life - 3/5
Karate Warriors - 3,5/5
Which Is Stronger, Karate or the Tiger? - 2,5/5

Not a single bad movie in the list. Amazing filmography, and that's not even complete. Can't wait to see the Wandering Ginza Butterfly films. Also, hopefully Toei will back us up with Wolfguy Enraged and Tarao Bannai: Kimen mura no sangeki dvds soon.

Dokaben (1977)

Norifumi Suzuki’s humour has never been very intelligent. But this... is a landmark in stupidity. Based on manga by Shinji Mizushima (who also has a cameo in the film) it’s a baseball – karate comedy with some ”drama” thrown in. The characters are probably 1:1 copies of the manga heroes... it’s really the only logical explanation. Or how else do you explain a character who has a 10 inch flower in his mouth in every scene. Or a guy who wears baseball glove in his leg. Obviously not for everyone, but offers good laughs for those who enjoy Suzuki’s triple-swedish-o grade jokes. Those looking for slightly (only slightly) more substance and higher quality should check out his excellent Truck Yaro films from the same era (1975-1980).

The image quality is good as you can see from the caps, but what's really worth mentioning is that Toei has found not one but two teasers from their vaults. Behind the scenes footage, including some with the manga author Shinji Mizushima can be see in the teasers. Trailer and stills are also included. Toei's Tarao Bannai dvd (see the next post) features one teaser and one trailer, both with some fantastic promo footage (but not behind the scenes clips). The transfer is excellent.

Film










Promotional footage

Tarao Bannai (1978)

Tarao Bannai ala Norifumi Suzuki is a dialogue loaded detective film that gets increasingly weird as the case becomes more complicated. Although the tempo is rather slow in the beginning, it will change later. Humour is plenty, and Suzuki has a couple of big surprises in his back pocket, including some Italian genre cinema borrowals. Akira Kobayashi and his numerous disguises play the lead role. Toei’s no. 1 yakuza and karate villains Bin Amatsu and Masashi Ishibashi also appear, among many other stars.











Promotional footage

Toei upcoming

January is a Teruo Ishii month!!! Could there possibly be a better start for the new year!!!!!

花と嵐とギャング (Hana to arashi to gyangu) (1961)

- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1961/ck003030.htm
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054962/

顔役 (Kaoyaku)(1965)

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142427/
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1965/co000010.htm

異常性愛記録　ハレンチ (Ijo seai kiroku, harenchi) (1969)

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064472/
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1969/cs000540.htm

実録三億円事件　時効成立 (Jitsuroku 3 okuen jiken: Jiko seiritsu) (1975)

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142414/
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1975/cy003550.htm

大脱獄 (Daidatsugoku) (1975)

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142208/
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1975/cy001000.htm

暴力戦士 (Boryoku senshi) (1979)

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142129/
- http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1979/dc002960.htm

February: Sukeban 3-7
https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... &start=350

March: New Abashiri Prison 5-8

Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Hagure Okami 新網走番外地 吹雪のはぐれ狼 (1970)


Shin abashiri bangaichi: Arashi yobu shiretoko-misaki 新網走番外地 嵐呼ぶ知床岬 (1971)


Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Dai-Dassou 新網走番外地 吹雪の大脱走 (1971)


Shin abashiri bangaichi: arashi yobu danpu jingi 新網走番外地 嵐呼ぶダンプ仁義 (1972)


+ Yaju-deka (野獣刑事) (1982)


+ Keisho sakazuki (継承盃 ) (1992)

Toho’s LW&C 1-3 cover arts







Trailers and picture galleries listed... and a 4500 yen price tag. Almost makes you wonder if Toei authored these dvds...

However, the box set comes with bonus disc with interviews (and possibly other content).



Also, Raro Video is listing Hunter in the Dark for February 2009. No specs so far, but there’s a chance english subs will be included. With both Shochiku and HK Video being flawed this could turn out the best release so far.



Also coming in February is Pale Flower. Again, no specs yet



Shochiku vs HK Video comparison:
https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... php?t=4309

Hey Hung, where did you buy it?

yesasia. I usually use cdjapan, but currently yesasia is cheaper because they have fixed dollar prices, and now yen has gone up to heaven. Their R2J product prices are currently below the Japanese standard / street prices.

Film caps and comments

HungFist wrote:yesasia. I usually use cdjapan, but currently yesasia is cheaper because they have fixed dollar prices, and now yen has gone up to heaven. Their R2J product prices are currently below the Japanese standard / street prices.

Film caps and comments

Thanks! No wonder I haven't found it. I was looking for the English title. But whoa!! €37.79 is quite expensive for ONE film. I know it is cheaper than usual, but still, it isn't worth paying an amount of money for one film, when the same amount can easily get me three other films.

thelostdragon wrote:

HungFist wrote:yesasia. I usually use cdjapan, but currently yesasia is cheaper because they have fixed dollar prices, and now yen has gone up to heaven. Their R2J product prices are currently below the Japanese standard / street prices.

Film caps and comments

Thanks! No wonder I haven't found it. I was looking for the English title. But whoa!! €37.79 is quite expensive for ONE film. I know it is cheaper than usual, but still, it isn't worth paying an amount of money for one film, when the same amount can easily get me three other films.

or 16 VHS. Be clever :bom:

It's approx. 33€, btw. You have some fixed currency asshole converter turned on. Everything is fixed at yesasia...

WTF? For real? Can it be turned off?

The second batch of R2J Kozure ookami coming 20.3.2009. The bonus disc comes again with interviews (and maybe something else) and... if I understood correctly... Shogun Assassin!









****************************************

'Oh, this is a good year. Animeigo just announced a 4 disc Nemuri Kyoshiro (Sleepy Eyes of Death) set for 2009.
http://www.animeigo.com/Samurai/SLEEPY.t

I was just thinking I'll never be able to afford the R2J's... well, now this only leaves 8 of them (but perhaps, in 2010 Animeigo will... lets hope for the best...)

They also have The Loyal 47 Ronin (Chushingura, 1958) coming.
http://www.animeigo.com/

And have uploaded a trailer for Gosha's The Geisha
http://www.animeigo.com/Other/GEISHA.t



************************************

There’s a great Art Theather Guild article in Eiga Go Go:
http://eigagogo.free.fr/Articles/ATG/atg_01.htm

I'm guessing the JP DVDs of LW+C have no English subs? I'm fine with the Thai box TBH (basically the same as the R1's), Shogun Assassin is on R1 Animego as well.
The different fonts on the R1 were useful though, so you could see who was talking.

No subs Grim.

Cops vs Thugs

This hard hitting study on the thin red line between the police and yakuza is one of my favourite Kinji Fukasaku crime films. Unfortunately I'm not entirely pleased with the R1 Kino transfer. I was hoping that Toei might have better image, but then, the Kino transfer actually looks a lot like some of Toei's weaker transfers. So I did a bit of investigation.

Against all odds I found this japanese review of the film, with a few screencaps. I can't quarantee they are from the R2J, but I think it's pretty safe to assume they are. JP cap top, R1 bottom.





yes, that's Reiko Ike

The cap from the japanese site is streched, and to make the comparison easier I have given the R1 cap the same treatement. All the other R1 caps in this post are correct.

It seems like the transfers are pretty similar. They could be the same, actually, as the R2J cap may not be accurate

Next up is the Wild Side Video dvd. This time I'm stealing caps from dvdrama. These caps don't seem very reliable, so lets only use them as rough reference only. FR top, R1 bottom. Not the exact same frame, this shouldn't cause much problems here.













It's a bit hard to say how accurate / inaccurate those caps are, but the cropping looks pretty nasty. Is there anyone who can confirm these Wild Sideo Video caps are correct or even close?

Finally, here's some more R1 caps. The transfer is interlaced and dvd-5 (shows some compression artifacts). If I had to take a guess, I'd say Toei is the same but without compression problems. Wild Side is most likely progressive.