Country and Year: Japan (2001)
Director: Sogo Ishii
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase

Review By: David Austin
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars (great)

Electric Dragon 80,000 V almost completely does away with plot, dialogue, reducing film to its audio-visual essence. The editing, the music and sound design are as much the stars of the film as Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase. It’s an audacious punk masterpiece that would fit in as comfortably as an installation in any museum as it does as a narrative film.

The plot is super-hero comic deep (and I’m not talking about Watchmen). Two rivals, each closely attuned to electricity, face off. Dragon Eye Morrison (Tadanobu Asano) has been charged with electrical energy since a power cable accident stimulated his reptile brain. After years of boxing and electric shocks, he has learned to control his powers by releasing his energy through his electric guitar. Now he works as a Reptile Investigator, helping to find lost lizards. As the film succinctly puts it: “He controls electricity. He talks to reptiles. He’s the Man!” More than just a last name ties the character to the original rock god Lizard King. As Morrison, lanky Asano (Ichi the Killer, The Taste of Tea, Café Lumiere) is the very embodiment of hipster cool, prowling the city in black leather and jamming on the guitar in the middle of crowded Shibuya when the need seizes him.

His rival, Thunderbolt Buddha (Masatoshi Nagase - Mystery Train, Pistol Opera), is a much more calculating type. Buddha controls his electrical nature by grounding half his body in metal, though sometimes his wilder half tries to seize control. Buddha monitors the airwaves, works as a satellite dish repairman, and takes jobs as a hitman on the side. For his own reasons (not shared), Buddha decides to take on Morrison, leading to a climactic battle royale atop the roofs of Tokyo.

Sogo Ishii was the Jean-Luc Godard of the Japanese punk scene, creating cyberpunk masterpieces that focused on bosozoku biker gangs, punk rockers and freaks of all kinds. He literally burst onto the scene with a series of raw, energetic films (some made while he was still a student!) including Panic High School, Crazy Thunder Road, and Burst City. His influence stretches far, from Shinya Tsukamoto to more recent indies like Wild Zero. More recent films like Gojoe and Electric Dragon have shown that while his style has not mellowed over time, his control over the medium has increased dramatically. Like Dragon Eye Morrison and his guitar, Ishii has sublimated his anarchic punk spirit into tightly controlled, impeccably made films. Much like the characters in Electric Dragon, he’s harnessed lightning.

Electric Dragon was filmed simultaneously with Gojoe, which also starred Asano and Nagase, but where Gojoe is ponderous, Electric Dragon is fleet of foot. Electric Dragon is a quick 55 minutes; Gojoe a lengthy 138. Electric Dragon makes up its mythology as it goes along; Gojoe gets bogged down in the (usually fascinating) mythology of Yoshitsune and Benkei, subjects of a thousand stories and ukiyoe prints. Asano is restrained in much of Gojoe; here he literally cuts loose with music and electricity. Ishii turns Electric Dragon into a free-form film – the emphasis is on imagery and music, not structure. It’s also an incredibly visually innovative film, shot in stark black-in-white. While it wears the influence of James Whale’s Frankenstein movies on its sleeve, it’s truly like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

So here’s the “catch” – this movie has no real meaning. Asano, describing Electric Dragon, said that it is “a movie you don’t really have to think too much about.” Normally I would take a statement like that with a grain of salt, but in this case I believe him. Electric Dragon is just about cool actors in cool outfits, wild effects, and hardcore music. During one of the interviews in the extras, with Ishii, producer Takenori Sento, and musician Hiroyuki Onagawa on stage, the three spend several minutes talking about Asano’s PANTS - how cool they were, and how the snakeskin had to be brushed just so. Under other circumstances, this would seem irredeemably shallow and prosaic, but it strikes me that it is really the only proper reaction to Electric Dragon. Asano’s pants ARE cool. Asano is cool. Nagase is cool. The music is cool. The whole damn movie is cool. Dripping in it, as a matter of fact. And what’s wrong with that?

Recommended? Yes. Electric Dragon is a proof that “experimental” does not have to be code for serious or boring.

If you like this, you might like: Wild Zero, Gojoe, Burst City, Tokyo Fist, Tetsuo: Iron Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Bio-Zombie

DVD DETAILS

DVD Production Company: Discotek (www.discotekmedia.com)
Release Date: June 27, 2006
Run Time: 55 Mins
Extras: Wow

After less than a year in business, Discotek has put out their first essential release. Electric Dragon has been long overdue on Region 1 DVD, forcing many to troll for bootlegs. This definitive release should make any others unnecessary. Electric Dragon is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, anamorphically enhanced. The picture looks absolutely beautiful, with crisp blacks, whites and grays, and the sound is equally clear, caressing each ambient noise. The film comes encased in an outer-sleeve, with different artwork on the interior cover, and a booklet with an essay by Tom Mes of Midnight Eye. However, the best extra by far is the inclusion of a complete soundtrack CD performed by Mach 1.67, which includes in its ranks Sogo Ishii, Tadanobu Asano, and musician Hiroyuki Onogawa.

Discotek also includes a bewildering array of additional bonus features, which appear to be ported directly from the Japanese special edition. First, there is one of the most thorough staff/cast bio sections I’ve ever seen, with information on all major cast and crew, including the all-important (in this film) sound engineers.

Next there are a series of interesting features that help provide context for the film. First is an illustrated history of the evolution of Asano’s dragon tattoo with commentary by tattoo artist Hiroki Mafuyu. Also on display are the original calligraphic designs for the animated title screens, created by Asano, Nagase, and Ishii. There are also a number of black-and-white and color production stills, which show that it is still true that green is the best color for B&W photography. Finally, there is an 22 minute featurette with the film’s special effects staff discussing how the effects were created and showing side-by-side comparisons. The details will be of primary interest to filmmakers, as some of the information is highly technical. There are some interesting tidbits for the layman, though, like the fact that Ishii considered switching the film to color at one point.

There are also a number of interviews and press conferences, featuring Ishii, Asano, Nagase, producer Sento, and musician Onogawa. There is a lot of discussion about creating a (still unmade) sequel, and Asano reveals that he designed his guitar in the film.

Overall, Discotek has done a tremendous job in bringing this film to Region 1 DVD, and with the inclusion of the soundtrack, they have truly gone above and beyond. This is one of the best releases of the year so far. Be sure to check out their simultaneous release of Ishii’s Burst City as well, and here’s hoping they get their hands on Crazy Thunder Road.

© David Austin

::: Buy the Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts DVD!