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Posted on 10.20.08 by David @ 9:23 am
AKA: Porno Jidaigeki: Bohachi bushido Review By: David Austin  Bohachi Bushido is proof that, while Teruo Ishii might not always have brought the most disciplined and sophisticated visual sense to the table, when focused he was capable of some gorgeous work. Indeed, with Bohachi Bushido, Ishii shows he could be a match for the formal rigor of his colleague Norifumi Suzuki, usually by far the greater visual stylist as demonstrated in films like School of the Holy Beast and Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom. Those familiar only with The Executioner series, where Ishii killed time by having Sonny Chiba pick his nose and put it in people’s drinks, will be shocked to learn that Bohachi Bushido comes from the same director. Ishii’s works have always been stagy, but here his direction tips over the line into full-blown theatrical. Characters scheme and declaim their lines as if in a Kabuki drama. Even his images of the classic Yoshiwara red light district of Edo (pre-Meiji restoration Tokyo) are drawn as if from an old ukiyoe print, with crowded horizontal planes filled with bars, theaters, and pleasure-seekers. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: Japan and Contributors: David and Rating: Average ★★ and DVD Companies: Discotek and People: Teruo Ishii and Studios: Toei and People: Tetsuro Tamba Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 11.05.07 by David @ 11:44 am
AKA: Kaidan Hebi-onna Review By: David Austin  Those whose previous exposure to Japanese horror maestro Nobuo Nakagawa is limited to Jigoku will be in for a surprise with Snake Woman’s Curse. Jigoku is a surrealist masterpiece, whereas Snake Woman’s Curse is a far more conventional piece, very much based in traditional kaidan or ghost stories of the sort performed by repertory Kabuki companies every summer (an experience I heartily recommend). Snake Woman’s Curse starts off on a highly surreal note, with an opening montage of snakes and spirits, but never returns to its offbeat roots until the finale. Rather, the majority of the film is a steady drama setting up the eventual ghostly vengeance. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: Japan and Contributors: David and Rating: Average ★★ and DVD Companies: Panik House and DVD Companies: Synapse Films and People: Nobuo Nakagawa and Studios: Toei and People: Tetsuro Tamba Comments: None |
Posted on 09.25.06 by David @ 4:13 pm
 The great actor Tetsuro Tamba had one of those faces that even casual viewers of Japanese film recognize, even if they aren’t sure why. It’s hard not to recognize him - Tamba was an insanely prolific actor, putting his cool reserve and sly wit at the service of literally hundreds of films. Like Klaus Kinski, a similar master of the bit part, even a minute of Tamba could add spice to a good movie or liven up a bad one. While Tamba is most well-known in the West for his role as superswank spymaster Tiger Tanaka in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (memorable for its hollow volcano and the ninjas), genre fans have probably seen Tamba in dozens of films without even realizing it. Tamba continued to act until the year of his death, for example, in 2001 alone, Tamba played the stern but lovable Grandpa in Takashi Miike’s Happiness of the Katakuris and the tough art critic in Teruo Ishii’s Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf (see review here - the “making of” featurette on the recent DVD captures some wonderful moments between Tamba and the younger crew). Filed under: Movie News and Movie News: Japan and Contributors: David and Movie News: Obituaries and People: Tetsuro Tamba Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 08.27.06 by David @ 9:04 pm
AKA: Môjû tai Issunbôshi Review By: David Austin  In Teruo Ishii’s final film, Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf, famous fictional detective Kogoro Akechi states that “There is only a fine line between genius and insanity.” No more apt words could ever be said about the career and films of Teruo Ishii, of which BBVKD is a perfect exemplar. BBVKD is also proof that not everyone mellows with age (something which seems to hold true for many prominent Japanese genre directors, witness the last film of Kinji Fukasaku, Battle Royale, or the latest from Seijun Suzuki, Princess Raccoon). Ishii died in 2005 at the age of 81 (my obituary of Ishii can be found here), but his last film is as much a grue-infested whirlwind of sex and violence as the films he made in his prime. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: Japan and Contributors: David and Rating: Good ★★★ and DVD Companies: Panik House and People: Teruo Ishii and People: Shinya Tsukamoto and People: Tetsuro Tamba Comments: None |
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Posted on 10.18.05 by David @ 8:28 am
AKA: Zeroka no Onna: Akai wappa Review By: David Austin
Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is the latest in a recent series of releases of old Toei Pinky Violence films, long unavailable in the US (see also my reviews of Toei’s Sex and Fury and Female Yakuza Tale). The film at hand is the inspiration for a series of recent direct-to-video sleazefests, all going under the “Zero Woman” name. Don’t confuse the original with its imitators though – Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is a piece of prime-grade, gritty ‘70s exploitation, more on the same wavelength as Coffy and Female Convict Scorpion. Unfortunately, the film fails to live up to the promise of its fantastic opening. (Click Here To Read More…) Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and DVD News and DVD News: Japan and DVD Reviews and DVD Reviews: Japan and Contributors: David and Rating: Good ★★★ and DVD Companies: Discotek and People: Tetsuro Tamba Comments: None |
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