Japanese Movies/Discussion/Recommendations

krim wrote:hmm... you make me want to replace all of my DVD's... i hate you. :grumble: :hehe:

It's called "upgrading." ;)

I've been looking for more Lone Wolf & Cub style of chambara films and I've finally found some.

Demon Spies
A nice ninja movie that offers pretty good (and bloody) action scenes, good soundtrack and all kinds of ninjas (including naked female ninjas). Definitely not a masterpiece, but quite entertaining film. Worth getting if you like the genre.

Shadow Hunters
A story of three roning who kill every single ninja they ever encounter (including naked female ninjas). And that's a hell of a lot of dead ninjas. Action scenes are pretty good, but the actors are not quite as skilled as they should be. Otherwise the film works well. Highly recommended for the fans of the genre.

Echo of Destiny: Shadow Hunters 2
The sequel is quite similiar to the original film. The film offers more action, more humour and of course more naked female ninjas. The first film had slighty better action (mostly the final battle), but the sequel has better story and better soundtrack.

DVD Beaver review of Basara - Princess Goh (starring Miyazawa Rie): http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews18/basara_dvd_review.htm

Someone's probably mentioned this movie, but in terms of wild, jumping up and down recommendations from me, the movie to see is:

"Red Lion" ("Akage") 1969.

This is Mifune Toshiro at the height of his stardom. An example of a star driven movie as opposed to a director driven movie.

The movie is fun, funny, fast, heartbreaking, tragic, memorable, and beautifully filmed.

Another movie really worth seeing is Hidden Blade. I thought the director stuck too close to the story elements he used in Twilight Samurai, but what the heck. It's a good story, and the actors in Hidden Blade did a great job.

Man, it's nice to have a couple of good movies to mention. Lately the overwhelming majority of Japanese movies that I've watched have been gawd awful.

Sex & Fury (1973)
This is probably the best exploitation movie I've ever seen. This movie has everything. First of all it looks visually stunning (colors, editing, cinematography). The soundtrack is beautiful and works very well. The biggest surprise was the great action choreography. The snowgarden fight (with naked Reiko Ike killing 20 guys with katana) has the best action choreography I have ever seen in a japanese film. 9/10

Geezer wrote:
Another movie really worth seeing is Hidden Blade. I thought the director stuck too close to the story elements he used in Twilight Samurai, but what the heck. It's a good story, and the actors in Hidden Blade did a great job.
.

yes, this movie premiered at last year's tokyo international film festival....it's a good film but i agree wholeheartedly...thematically the film is practically a continuation of the Yoji Yamada's treatment in Tasogare Seibei....it would have been nice to see a more novel exploration of life in Japan as it was at the cusp of the Meiji Restoration....but then again, as you mentioned, the acting was good and the film was enjoyable. a good film to see for fans of matsu takako.

Shurayuki-hime wrote:Sex & Fury (1973)
This is probably the best exploitation movie I've ever seen. This movie has everything. First of all it looks visually stunning (colors, editing, cinematography). The soundtrack is beautiful and works very well. The biggest surprise was the great action choreography. The snowgarden fight (with naked Reiko Ike killing 20 guys with katana) has the best action choreography I have ever seen in a japanese film. 9/10

What would your rating be if she wasn't naked? ;)

bmwracer wrote:
What would your rating be if she wasn't naked? ;)

hmmm... still at least 8/10 :naughty:
Actually I thought there was too much sex in this film =T. The only bad thing about this otherwise excellent film

Shurayuki-hime wrote:Actually I thought there was too much sex in this film =T.

Is that possible? :naughty: :hehe: :bonk:

DVD Beaver review of Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees: http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews18/Under_the_Blossoming_Cherry_Trees_dvd_review.htm

bmwracer wrote:
Is that possible? :naughty: :hehe: :bonk:

Yes. But I can't mention the genre here....although they are not really movies. :beaten: :mwahaha:

dochira wrote:Yes. But I can't mention the genre here....although they are not really movies. :beaten: :mwahaha:

Sure you can, you just can't post any 'caps. :hehe:


Yeah, they're not movies. More like sessions. :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:
Sure you can, you just can't post any 'caps. :hehe:

Nah, don't want the kiddies Googling some of the stuff I mention. ;)

bmwracer wrote:
Yeah, they're not movies. More like sessions. :hehe:

Some try to be movies, with "acting"....yeah right.

I noticed that there are some Japanese movies at Fry's. I didn't get a chance to see what titles they have.

dochira wrote:I noticed that there are some Japanese movies at Fry's. I didn't get a chance to see what titles they have.

Criterion stuff? Maybe Zatoichi?

bmwracer wrote:
Criterion stuff? Maybe Zatoichi?

Next time, I'll make a note of some of them, then report back here. :)

dochira wrote:Next time, I'll make a note of some of them, then report back here. :)

Can't remember when I last bought a DVD from a store... :headscratch:

DVD Beaver review of Hana-bi: http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews18/fireworks_dvd_review.htm

There are a couple of TV/Movie titles being released in the U.S. and Netflix picked them up, so naturally I picked them up.

They are sets of shorts from the Kadokawa studio (the folks who did the Ring movies) and they are being packaged as horror collections.

Two are called Anthologies; Underworld and Legends. Each DVD is a collection of half a dozen 15 minute short films.

And there are 3 volums titled, Mystery and Horror tales.

I expect they will follow the same pattern as the Anthology discs.

Basically these are pretty tame ghost stories. The kind boy and girl scouts tell around the camp fire. Nothing very shocking, everything rated G.

It's all filmed with digital cameras, and to be honest, they all look like student fiilms.

It's all pretty disposable, pretty forgetable. But I mention them because Netflix is carrying them. And if there are any other netflix members out there, I'd encourage you to rent them.

If these guys think the market for Japanese TV and films is strong... they'll get more.

They're also offering Santamaria Yusuke's "The Negotiator". I'll get that one tomorrow or the day after, so I'm pretty happy.

DVD Beaver comparison of the Ugetsu Monogatari: http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews16/ugetsu_monogatori_dvd_review.htm :thumbsup:

Has anybody seen this film or know of a torrent that is available for download? This film is coming to LA in a couple of weeks and I'd like to see it as it's gotten much critical acclaim at various int'l film festivals.

Any and all comments are welcome :)


Website: http://www.eijidokudan.jp

Shoujyo: The Adolescent
[image]

Director: Eiji Okuda
Starring: Mayu Ozawa, Eiji Okuda, Akira Shoji, Mari Natsuki & Hideo Murota
Runtime: 122 min.
Format: 1:85 Flat (35 MM)
Sound: Ultra Stereo
Rating: NR-R (pending)
Country: JAPAN
Language: Japanese/Sub-titled in English
Genre: Foreign, Erotic Comic Drama