Japanese DVD / BD News (Don't Expect Subs)

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

Has Chiba's The Bodyguard ever got a DVD/BD/HD release in Japan?

The movies? No release but Toei does have HD masters which they've screened in SD and HD on Toei Channel. The quality seemed ok for the first film, but the sequel has blown out contrasts and bluish colors. Screencaps below, from SD broadcastings!

Bodyguard Kiba (1973)





Etsuko Shihomi doing stunt doubling for Yayoi Watanabe










Bodyguard Kiba 2 (1973)

Shihomi and Oyama














As for the unrelated and awesome TV series The Bodyguard (1974), Toei released it on DVD a few months ago.

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

Oh my God, a fifth one?

I just watched the second one, and it was pretty amazing. A real art house-style pink film about a seaside rapist/killer who keeps his victims in a cave.

Accompanied by classical music, great central performance, moody photography.

Rough in parts, but the strange state of the origin element gives it a more otherworldly feel.

I loved it.

Now onto the 3rd one.

[Killer Meteor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Killer Meteor]

The movies? No release but Toei does have HD masters which they've screened in SD and HD on Toei Channel. The quality seemed ok for the first film, but the sequel has blown out contrasts and bluish colors. Screencaps below, from SD broadcastings!

As for the unrelated and awesome TV series The Bodyguard (1974), Toei released it on DVD a few months ago.

Great! Hope Arrow will do these!

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

Toei will be releasing three Teruo Ishii films on DVD 2017/10/04
- Orgies of Edo (1969)
- Yakuza's Law (1969)
- Horrors of Malformed Men (1969)

http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1008381
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1008377
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1008380

Although these will be DVD releases, they will almost certainly utilize new HD masters (since Toei never released them on dvd before, it's unlikely they had SD masters available). Which means that if Arrow and others have any interest in these titles, now is your chance!

Btw, Toei also screened Love and Crime in HD on Toei Channel last month, even though it's a title they released on DVD more than a decade ago.

Oh and I can't believe they are finally putting Malformed Men out.

Here's the funny thing. Yakuza's Law and Orgies of Edo have been given R15 ratings and Malformed Men is PG-12! The text on Toei's site says that they were originally released as "adult films" (R18) but those designations are out of date, and the contents corresponds to R15 and PG-12 respectively by modern standards. They are uncut, it says.

For Malformed Men it also says "adult guidance is necessary if you show the film to elementary school kids!"
- http://www.toei-video.co.jp/special/ishii13/

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

Takahisa Zeze's 278 minute revenge drama epic Heaven's Story (2010) is finally coming out on DVD and BD in Japan on 2017/12/06.
- http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1011447
- http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1011448

I saw this at Nippon Connection back in 2011.

I heard some rumous that Zeze wanted to keep the film special and didn't allow home video release before. The film has been popping up in theaters and special screenings pretty much every year until now.

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

Toei will release Junya Sato's Organized Crime (組織暴力) trilogy on DVD 2018/11/02.

組織暴力 (1967)

http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1025968

続組織暴力 (1967)

http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1025969

組織暴力　兄弟盃 (1969)

http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1025970

https://www.toei-video.co.jp/special/soshiki/

And no, Sato hasn't died (as far as I know).

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

Happinet will release Tatsumi Kumashiro's debut film Front Row Life (かぶりつき人生, Kaburitsuki jinsei) (1968) on DVD 2018/9/4

- http://www.happinet-p.com/jp3/releases/digs-1055
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaFt93q9v04

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

Happinet will release Chusei Sone's “BLOW THE NIGHT！”　夜をぶっとばせ (1983) on DVD on 2018/12/04


- http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1028289

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

More Sugawara & Nakajima DVDs from Toei 2019/02/06

Cold Wind Monjiro (木枯し紋次郎) (1972)
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1032276



Cold Wind Monjiro: None of My Business (木枯し紋次郎　関わりござんせん) (1972)
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1032277



The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers (極道ＶＳまむし) (1975)
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1032278



Good to see The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers coming out. I`ve been watching the Viper Brothers films recently and this crossover film (with Wakayama`s Scoundrel series) was previously unavailable on dvd.

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

[b]More Sugawara & Nakajima DVDs from Toei 2019/02

The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers (極道ＶＳまむし) (1975)
http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_d...um_sid=1032278



Good to see The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers coming out. I`ve been watching the Viper Brothers films recently and this crossover film (with Wakayama`s Scoundrel series) was previously unavailable on dvd.

Did you find the Viper Brothers films generally good?

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

Did you find the Viper Brothers films generally good?

No

But there are a few exceptions.

Reviews to come at some point.

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

Kadokawa is putting Raizo Ichikawa out on BD.

2019/07/05
Nichiren and the Great Mongol Invasion (1958)



2019/07/12
Buddha (1961)



2019/08/02
Samurai Vendetta (1959)
A Certain Killer (1967)
A Certain Killer's Key (1967)
The Lone Stalker (1968)









2019/10/04
Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962)
The Outcast (1962)
Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
Nakano Spy School (1966)









They are also releasing other Daiei films but I'm too lazy to list right now.

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

Great. Besides the nemuri kyoshiro, I'm most interested in the A certain killer films. Fan subs are available for all these, so it's just a matter of waiting for the encodes or the remuxes to appear on the usual sites shortly after they are officially released.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

It looks like Jigoku and Ghost Story Of Yotsuya are coming out in August (credit to Marc Walkow's twitter feed for this info).

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

The original Japanese DVDs of Jigoku and Ghost Story Of Yotsuya had English subtitles, so the blu-rays might as well.