What Asian Films Have You Been Watching Recently?

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Caught a double bill earlier...the first was Daishi Matsunaga's PIETA IN THE TOILET based on Osamu Tezuka's diary entries.

the other was the rotoscope anime, THE CASE OF HANA AND ALICE by Shunji Iwai, which is the prequel to the live film & voiced by the same actresses.

You forgot to tell the most important thing: are they good or not?

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

You forgot to tell the most important thing: are they good or not?

I enjoyed both but really enjoyed the anime since I'm such a fan of Hana & Alice. Shame there is still no legit English friendly blu ray release. :( Thank goodness for HK bootleggers tho'

Caught THE DOLLHOUSE MURDER earlier. Sucker for anything Yusaku Matsuda.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

I like Matsuda, but I often find his films a little disapponting.

My favourites are:
1. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (1979)
2. Classroom of Terror (1976)
3. Black Rain (1989)
4. Family Game (1983)

These four I can easily recommend to anyone. Proof of a Man and The Most Dangerous Game have their merits as well. I was less impressed by Yokohama BJ Blues, A Homance, The Execution Game, The Murder Game, No Grave for Us, The Beast Must Die, and Detective Story (film).

I kinda feel he became a star too late, just when Japanese action cinema started going downhill. Had he been a big star in the early/mid 70s his filmography could've been amazing.

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yep, definitely a shame he came along a bit too late. Also a shame that his entry into the international market/Hollywood came too late as well & it was that dreadful BLACK RAIN to top it off...but I see it is your #3 movie listed. oh well, I guess that's part of his mystique now. One of my favorites is THE BEAST MUST DIE -- not due to the quality of the movie but more the fact, he plays a killer who is an audiophile! :up: Not many movies of that ilk, the other one that pops in my head is Woo Min-ho's MAN OF VENDETTA. As a whole, a rather lackluster crime thriller but I enjoyed it due to storyline about the kidnapper being obsessed over a certain TOTL exotic tube amplifier.

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some Hiroyuki Sanada today in THE BLAZING VALIANT...not his best that's for sure but worth a watch if you're a fan.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

that dreadful BLACK RAIN

One of Ridley Scott's best films!

some Hiroyuki Sanada today in THE BLAZING VALIANT...not his best that's for sure but worth a watch if you're a fan.

I saw The Blazing Valiant years ago, and yeah, not Sanada's finest moment. More of an 80s drama with a tiny bit of action thrown in than a real action movie. Obviously they were hoping to attract more female audiences.

There's another action drama from the same era, called Kamikaze Adventurer (1981), startting Chiba and Sanada as equal leads. It's been ages since I saw that, but I recall that being quite a bit better. Tons of "fan service" for Chiba/Sanada fans.

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One of Ridley Scott's best films!



I saw The Blazing Valiant years ago, and yeah, not Sanada's finest moment. More of an 80s drama with a tiny bit of action thrown in than a real action movie. Obviously they were hoping to attract more female audiences.

There's another action drama from the same era, called Kamikaze Adventurer (1981), startting Chiba and Sanada as equal leads. It's been ages since I saw that, but I recall that being quite a bit better. Tons of "fan service" for Chiba/Sanada fans.

Going to have to scope out KAMIKAZE ADVENTURER, although I doubt any fan subs are available right? Wasn't even planning on watching THE BLAZING VALIANT but it was in a folder on my hard drive titled J.A.C./Chiba...other titles listed in that folder are fan subs of KABAMARU, THE NINJA BOY and Chiba's LEGENDARY LULLABY aka GAME OF CHANCE trilogy. Being our resident Sonny Chiba expert, any opinion on those? should I bother to watch 'em or let 'em languish on my hard drive?

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Probably no subs for Kamikaze.

I've only see the first Game of Chance film, which is very much worth a watch.

Haven't seen Kabamaru yet, but my based on Leave It to Kotaro (1984) my expectations are not too high.

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Probably no subs for Kamikaze.

I've only see the first Game of Chance film, which is very much worth a watch.

Haven't seen Kabamaru yet, but my based on Leave It to Kotaro (1984) my expectations are not too high.

Finally got around to catching GAME OF CHANCE & your review was spot on. :up: some of it fell into sappy melodrama but I enjoyed it for the most part & the feminist POV certainly made for a refreshing change. Hiroyuki Sanada stole the show as the precocious son of Chiba. I kept thinking if he was born just a few years later that he would've made an excellent Diagoro. Reiko Ohara as the cheeky 'sis' figure was another highlight. I see her listed in the credits of the second film too, so that's definitely a plus. I'm going to have to watch the complete trilogy soon.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Finally got around to catching GAME OF CHANCE & your review was spot on. :up: some of it fell into sappy melodrama but I enjoyed it for the most part & the feminist POV certainly made for a refreshing change. Hiroyuki Sanada stole the show as the precocious son of Chiba. I kept thinking if he was born just a few years later that he would've made an excellent Diagoro. Reiko Ohara as the cheeky 'sis' figure was another highlight. I see her listed in the credits of the second film too, so that's definitely a plus. I'm going to have to watch the complete trilogy soon.

Glad to hear that.

I'm hoping Toei Channel will screen the sequels sometime soon. I noticed they came out on bootleg dvds recently, and though I haven't bought a bootleg in more than 10 years, I'm kind of tempted now. Well, I'll wait for a little longer and see.

Please let me know how are the sequels after you've seen them.

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You won't be disappointed in the sequels. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Game of Chance 2 is probably my fave out of the trilogy but it's a shame that print is the worst. :( The poignant and rather bittersweet finale in part 3 left open the possibility of continuing the series but guess it didn't fare that well at the box office?

Anyway, young Chiba sure was a handsome bugger and a bad ass mofo to boot (except in that Toei sci-fi superhero one, Iron Sharp(?) -- he looked like a doofus in that one with that hairstyle ) He definitely had a screen presence about him. The violence and action in the sequels is in line with the original, which means it is sparse and only shows up towards the end which is kind of a let down. But man, when Chiba loses it, he goes all Sword of Doom! The only other part that was rather disappointing was that Reiko Ohara makes a cameo appearance in the part 2 as nothing more than a prop. She made quite an impression on me in the first movie and I was hoping for more interaction between her and Chiba in part 2. Still the best scenes were the love between father and son as exemplified by Chiba's emotional and sometimes overtly sentimental affection for young Sanada. So glad, Chiba wasn't playing a stoic type here but rather wearing his fatherly love on his sleeve. Highly recommended! :up:

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

You won't be disappointed in the sequels. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Game of Chance 2 is probably my fave out of the trilogy but it's a shame that print is the worst. :( The poignant and rather bittersweet finale in part 3 left open the possibility of continuing the series but guess it didn't fare that well at the box office?

Anyway, young Chiba sure was a handsome bugger and a bad ass mofo to boot (except in that Toei sci-fi superhero one, Iron Sharp(?) -- he looked like a doofus in that one with that hairstyle ) He definitely had a screen presence about him. The violence and action in the sequels is in line with the original, which means it is sparse and only shows up towards the end which is kind of a let down. But man, when Chiba loses it, he goes all Sword of Doom! The only other part that was rather disappointing was that Reiko Ohara makes a cameo appearance in the part 2 as nothing more than a prop. She made quite an impression on me in the first movie and I was hoping for more interaction between her and Chiba in part 2. Still the best scenes were the love between father and son as exemplified by Chiba's emotional and sometimes overtly sentimental affection for young Sanada. So glad, Chiba wasn't playing a stoic type here but rather wearing his fatherly love on his sleeve. Highly recommended! :up:

Sounds great! Thanks.

I think I should ask Toei Channel to show them!

Chiba was good in Iron Sharp, too! Under-rated movie!

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Sounds great! Thanks.

I think I should ask Toei Channel to show them!

Chiba was good in Iron Sharp, too! Under-rated movie!

Ha, I didn't realize a gakujin had such pull with Toei's satellite programming. still trying to figure out what you have in common with Obama though? :think:

Btw, are you familiar with Shinji Aoyama's later works? I haven't watched anything from him since maybe Desert Moon or Desperado? I found a folder on my HTPC with SAD VACATION, the French short LE PETIT CHAPERON ROUGE & THE BACKWATER. Any opinion on these?

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Ha, I didn't realize a gakujin had such pull with Toei's satellite programming.

Me neither. I'm real proud of myself

Btw, are you familiar with Shinji Aoyama's later works? I haven't watched anything from him since maybe Desert Moon or Desperado? I found a folder on my HTPC with SAD VACATION, the French short LE PETIT CHAPERON ROUGE & THE BACKWATER. Any opinion on these?

No. Eureka and Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani are the only films of his that I've ever seen.

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Me neither. I'm real proud of myself



No. Eureka and Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani are the only films of his that I've ever seen.

oh man I totally forgot about "My God, My God...." - yeah that was probably the last movie I watched from Aoyama. Sitting through that was an interesting experience to say the least. I remember wanting to watch it at the time just to see Violent Onsen Geisha co-star alongside Asano.