Slash And Burn

Masumura/Wakao Retrospective in Oita

Oita, Japan. Not a hot bed of cinematic activity. There are only two small cinemas in the downtown area, and they show pretty much only foreign films. You occasionally get a Japanese film but usually by the time I notice they've come, they've gone. I've caught this one in time, but will I actually make it to a screening?

The Cinema 5 is running Yasuzo Masumura movies all week long, specifically ones fro the '60s that star Ayako Wakao. They are: A Wife Confesses (1961), Seisaku's Wife (1965), Irezumi (Tattoo) (1966), and Red Angel (1966). Irezumi is the one I really want to see, a revenge film with a script by Kaneto Shindo (director of The Naked Island). The only problem is it's only playing late Wednesday night, and I have to get up early on Thursday for a kanji test.

School or Ayako? Good grades or hot tattoos? Sleep or, well, less sleep? If I make it to the theater, you'll know it by the review posted here.

Ichi + Za Toichi

A couple of recent updates on Twitch on Zatoichi-related film projects. The first is Ichi, a retelling of the blind swordsman tale with a woman in the lead. Helmed by Ping Pong's Fumihiko Sori, the film stars Haruka Ayase as the wandering bad-ass. See the teaser trailer here. Check out this older post with a news clip on the casting of Haruka Ayase.

In related news, Sonny Chiba has announced his debut project as a director. Called Za Toichi, it tells the tale of a blind money lender, as played by actor Ginji Yoshikawa, last seen in the Steven Seagal vehicle Into the Sun. Za Toichi is both a pun on the famous film and television series and "the toichi," "za" being the Japanese pronunciation of the English "the" and "toichi" being an abbreviation of "tooka de ichiwari," or usury parlance for a loan that charges 10% interest for every 10 days. Oh, and it should be mentioned that Sonny Chiba will not be using his new moniker JJ Sonny Chiba for this project, nor his established Japanese name Shin'ichi Chiba, but Rindo Wachinaga. Hey, the man can call himself whatever the hell he wants as far as I'm concerned. He's... well, whatever name he goes by he's still a bad-ass.

Buying Japanese DVDs Part 2

Recently I linked to a piece I wrote last year about buying Japanese films on DVD. After looking it over I realized there was more to cover, particularly in the realm of bootleg DVDs and all-region DVD players. I'll address those two in this piece.

You may want to get caught up on the previous piece before delving into today's guide.

Bootleg DVDs
When I wrote the previous piece, I had yet to really get into the wild wild west world of bootleg DVDs. There are just so many amazing films that haven't been released on DVD, or are frantically difficult to come by, that sometimes it's just necessary. But where to buy good bootlegs? Here are three vendors that I frequent.

Kurotagi
http://www.kurotokagi.com/
The Good: Huge selection, professional quality, hard-to-find films.
The Bad: Pricey ($15.00).
The Skinny: If you can afford it and are serious about Japanese film, this is the place to visit first. Color DVD inserts, screen-printed discs, menus and everything. Better take out a second mortgage as there's so much good stuff you're going to bankrupt yourself quick.

Super Happy Fun
http://www.superhappyfun.com
The Good: Big selection (and from more than just Japan), good quality.
The Bad: No inserts, label-printed DVDs, pricey ($13.00).
The Skinny: I like Super Happy Fun, primarily because of the name. But they also have good stuff, like Himiko and Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan. A bit pricey for no insertsor case though.

All Clues No Solutions
http://allcluesnosolutions.com
The Good: SUPER cheap ($7.00, or $6.00 each if you buy 5), and some weird-ass stuff.
The Bad: No case, no inserts, no label on the DVD.
The Skinny: All Clues No Solutions is the new kid on the bootleg block and they're off to a good start. I like them because of the price, which you can't beat, and the selection. They've got stuff I haven't seen anywhere else.

All-Region DVD Players
I don't own one yet, so I can't vouch for specific players. Friends have them, and it seems really convenient to be able to play DVDs from any region, any country. You can always hack your player like I did, but that won't allow you to play PAL DVDs in an NTSC player (or vice versa for those of you on the other side of the pond). That being said, I have heard friends complain about the crappy look of PAL DVDs in their all-region players, but my friends are poor so better quality players may take care of that issue.

You can find all-region DVD players all over the place. Kinokuniya in San Francisco's Japantown has one. I've seen them in Chinatown as well. J-List has a variety of them as well, in a variety of prices (all under $100). I mention J-List because I'm an affiliate, and if you buy something from them I benefit.

Alright, happy hunting.

Animeigo Release List

Animeigo has updated its release list until the end of 2008, and there's some interesting (and unexpected) stuff here.

October 2007: Shinobi No Mono
1962 Raizo Ichikawa ninja flick. Um, hell yes.

November 2007: Battle of Okinawa
Kihachi Okamoto brings his usual cynicism to WWII.

December 2007: Mikogami Trilogy Box Set
Hope Animeigo fixed the combing!

January 2008: Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
Takashi Miike's gay prison arthouse film. Apparently as whacked as Izo. Can't wait.

February 2008: A Hardest Night!!
"A classy and refined Japanese comedy set in the world of Rakugo (Japanese Comic Storytelling) -- or at least, it would be if it weren't full of the raunchiest jokes you've ever heard or seen."

March 2008: Shinobi No Mono 2

April 2008: Shogun Assassin 4
Animeigo must be making a mint off these dubbed Lone Wolf and Cub movies.

May 2008: The Wolves
Hideo Gosha. Yes please.

June 2008: Revenge of Kabuki Actor
This is Kon Ichikawa's Revenge of an Actor, apparently not his best but it does star the beautiful Ayako Wakau.

July 2008: Shinobi No Mono 3

August 2008: Father of the Kamikaze
"This is the story of Admiral Onishi, known as the father of the Kamikaze missions -- and who, despite helping to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor, thought it was a mistake."

September 2008: Shogun Assassin 5

October 2008: The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
This is a fantastic film from Shohei Imamura. Nice job, Animeigo. (Wait, I better save the accolades until I see the print.)

November 2008: Shinobi No Mono 4

Lots to look forward to! Yay for being alive and liking Japanese movies.

Oh, and here's a PDF of upcoming releases with nifty pictures and such.

Guide To Buying Japanese DVDs

Way back in September 2006, when I first started this blog, I wrote a guide to buying and watching Japanese films on DVD. It covers everything from hacking your region 1 DVD player to buying region 2 and 3 DVDs online.

That was awhile ago so I thought I'd make some noise about it again:

Buying Japanese DVDs

*End shameless self-agrandizing now*

Seven Samurai Remake

It's all over the Interwebs that the Weinsteins have announced they want to remake Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. They're excited to work with Ziyi Zhang, because there aren't any Japanese actresses worth teaching phonetic English to, apparently.

I suppose I should weigh in with some criticism here: LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!

Godzilla 3-D

SciFi Japan has a great article up about the long and convoluted history of Godzilla 3-D, which has yet to even enter production.

Briefly:
It's being done by Yoshimitsu Banno, writer and director of my favorite Godzilla movie, Godzilla Vs. Hedora.
It'll be in IMAX 3-D.
It'll be in English.
Physical effects are being done by Kerner Optical, a branch of ILM.
The foe, Deathla, shape-shifts like Hedora, and is something of an update of Hedora.
"Deathla" sounds much cooler in Japanese, where it's pronounced Desura (デスラ).
It may or may not ever be finished.

Where's the Love, New York Times?

While perusing the New York Times online, as I like to do while having my cup of morning coffee, I spotted a link to The 1000 Best Movies Ever Made, a book published by the newspaper. "Well," I said to myself, "let's see how many Japanese films are included."

A paltry few, it turns out.

Outraged, I read over the criteria to find out why so few Japanese films had made the list. The films had to have been favorably reviewed in the NY Times, and that means they had to have theatrical releases in New York. (As New York is one of the great movie towns in this country, that isn't as strict a filter as it sounds.) Also, the book was published in 2002, cutting off release dates to five years ago. But still!

Out of 1000 films listed, only 20 were from Japan. That's 2 percent! This, by all accounts, is outrageous. "But surely the other films that made the list are of such high quality that there were only room for 20 Japanese films," you must be saying. Yeah, you'd think. But look at the list: a quick glance reveals such cinematic brilliance as Airplane!, Back to the Future, Jerry Maguire, and Shrek. Shrek! Better than all Ozu films except Tokyo Story. Better than anything by Masahiro Shinoda, Kon Ichikawa, or Shohei Imamura. Ouch.

What follows is a list of films that I think should absolutely be on the list. Those that the New York Times actually liked link to their page. Many of the original reviews are available to read if you register (it's free). The reviews are fascinating. Almost all the reviews written in the 1950s feature the words "exotic" or "Oriental," and some are laughably ignorant of Japanese culture. Granted, this was just after World War 2, but really. The Rashomon review is particularly bad, with the writer wondering how well the film captures modern Japanese life. Um, I think the point is about human nature?

OK, the list:

1. After Life (1998)
2. Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
3. Branded to Kill (1967)
4. The Burmese Harp (1956)
5. Chushingura (1962)
6. Doing Time (2002) (Slash and Burn Review)
7. Double Suicide (1969)
8. Eureka (2000)
9. Fires on the Plain (1959)
10. The Family Game (1983) "A stylish, deadpan comedy about Japan's comparatively affluent, utterly directionless, new middle class."
11. Giants & Toys (1958)
12. Gojira (1954) (Slash and Burn Review)
13. Hana-bi (1997)
14. Harakiri (1962)
15. Ikiru (1952) "Confused in its story-telling."
16. Jigoku (1960)
17. Kwaidan (1964)
18. Late Spring (1949)
19. Onibaba (1964)
The Pornographers (1966)
20. Ran (1985) "Ran stands above all other 1985-86 movies with the implacable presence of a force of nature."
21. Rashomon (1950) "An artful and fascinating presentation of a slice of life on the screen."
22. Samurai Assassin (1965)
23. Sansho the Bailiff (1954) "A film of breathtaking visual beauty."
24. Seven Samurai (1954) "It is a solid, naturalistic, he-man outdoor action film, wherein the qualities of human strength and weakness are discovered in a crisis taut with peril."
25. Sword of Doom (1966)
26. Tampopo (1985) "A funny sensibility is at work here."
27. Tokyo Story (1953)
28. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
29. Twilight Samurai (2002)
30. Ugetsu (1953) "You'll get flavor from this weird, exotic stew."
31. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
32. Woman in the Dunes (1964) "A strongly allegorical, strangely engrossing film."
33. Yojimbo (1961)

The following are films that the New York Times included but I didn't, for various reasons (mostly that I haven't seen them, or don't think they're as exceptional as those above). You'll notice that the Times loves Kurosawa. We all do, but let's give some other filmmakers a chance too.

1. Gate of Hell (1953)
2. A Geisha (1953)
3. High and Low (1963)
4. Kagemusha (1980)
5. Sanjuro (1962)
6. A Taxing Woman (1987)
7. A Taxing Woman's Return (1988)
8. Throne of Blood (1957)

I neglected to list Spirited Away in the above list as it's animated, and I don't cover animated films on this blog.

Shinobi Remake Announced

Shinobi was apparently a hit in Japan in 2005 but has had lackluster response on DVD in the US, odd because it really is a lot of fun. Who can argue with a Romeo and Juliet-inspired ninja film? Variety Asia reports that the film is being remade for the American market by Hong Kong-based filmmmaker Max Makowski, who can count among his credits director of the TV show, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

Makowski will begin scripting the Shinobi remake immediately in hopes it can begin production early next year. While the original pitted two rival ninja clans against each when members from each fall in love, Makowski is modernizing the Romeo and Juliet premise and resetting it in Hong Kong. There, the victor of a 160-year-old feud between two multinational security forces is being decided, with a love affair complicating matters. Makowski will infuse the film with elements from Asian gangster and ninja genres.

So, if you're moving the feudal-era Japan ninja story to modern day Hong Kong, thus making it an entirely new story that retains only its Romeo and Juliet elements, why bother licensing the rights from Shochiku? Last I checked, Shakespeare is in the public domain. Hence, it's free.

Who Says Zatoichi Has To Be A Man?

Apparently all bets are off. Now that Beat Takeshi has played Shintaro Katsu's iconic Zatoichi as a bleach-haired sourpuss, apparently it's OK to run with the series and do whatever the hell. Not that I'm against a woman playing a blind swords—um, person. Zatoichi is just so synonymous with Shintaro Katsu.

OK, so it's called Ichi, it stars cutie-pie actress Haruka Ayase, and it's being directed by Ping-Pong helmer Fumihiko Sori for a 2008 release.

From TokyoGraph.