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DOBERMAN COP aka Doberman Deka - Dir. Kinji Fukasaku (1977)

Haven't seen this film in ages but upon re-watching, it made me realize what I loved about Fukasaku and Chiba. Very funny & humorous throughout and Chiba plays the role of the country bumpkin rogue cop to the hilt but of course, Fukasaku wasn't lax in the exploitation elements either as witnessed by the early scene of Chiba getting "raped" by one of stage gals at an Osaka hardcore live sex show.

[paul h. woly boly Find all posts View Profile Close paul h.]

BROKEN ARROW. Just got the blu for $5. It's mpeg 2, so there's room for improvement, but it looks pretty good on the 50" LCD. It think this disc may have one of my favorite menu screens of all time (animated schematics of the atomic bomb featured in the film).

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OUTLAW KILLERS: THE THREE MAD DOG BROTHERS - Dir. Kinji Fukusaku (1972)

Another classic Fukusaku yakuza flick starring the inimitable, Bunga Sugawara as an out of control low level yakuza thug who just can't seem to adjust to the "new" rules of the Japanese underworld upon his release from prison. Bunta is just mesmerizing in his role and even though he is an absolute despicable character, particularly in his treatment of women, one can't help root for the guy till the end. Fukusaku's trademark style of shaky handheld shots is also present in this film and lends itself well during the chaotic hand to hand combat & gunfight scenes that Bunta engages in with a rival yakuza gang.

[Toyboy like a hole in the head Find all posts View Profile Close Toyboy]

Andy Milligan's CARNAGE - I finally got to a point while watching this where I became angry with Milligan. The guy was so fucking in love with his dialogue, yet his dialogue was fucking shit. Its like he just kept making the same shitty play over and over, the type of play where ladies say shit like "Your father, god rest his soul..." and "You were always such an obstinate child."

Nobody says that shit. Ever.

And guess what...one guy gets his hand chopped off and another one gets a pitchfork thru the neck.

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THE DEVIL'S TEMPLE - Dir. Kenji Misumi (1969)

An allegorical tale of a fateful meeting in an abandoned temple between a once noble samurai reduced to being a common thief and killer (played by Shintaro Katsu of Zatoichi fame), his wife & current lover and a mysterious Buddhist priest who has a past with Katsu's lover, Aizen. At times it plays like a typical jidegeki; at others like a supernatural horror film...all the while being totally engrossing over its taut 76 minute run time. No excess wasted on superfluous plot & character development here as the story unfolds rather quickly & reaches its resounding climax before you know it. Highly recommended!

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KANDAGAWA PERVERT WARS - Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa (1983)

Like many acclaimed Japanese directors, Kurosawa got his start in pinku films. This one isn't particularly notable in the genre but it has its moments & worth seeking out. This movie reminds me of a pink version of Hitchcock's Rear Window with bits of Godard's Breathless thrown in -- perhaps it was Kurosawa's own twisted homage to both? This is not as far fetched as it sounds as one of the set pieces in the film (the wall of the incestuous mother & son's apartment) is filled with the titles of famous films by the aforementioned directors. I also noticed one of the actors is Tatsuya Mori, who later gained notoriety as a documentary filmmaker covering the Aum Shinrikyo cult & the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

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CASTLE OF OWLS [Ninja hicho fukuro no shiro] - Dir. Eiichi Kudo (1963)

Kudo's take on ninja films & one of the best IMHO. Story centers on around an Iga ninja named Juzo who patiently plots revenge against warlord, Hideyoshi for the massacre of his parents and rape of his sister a decade earlier. Standing in his way is former fellow Iga ninja, Kohei who has betrayed his clan & is now working for Hideyoshi. The eventual showdown between Juzo and Hideyoshi doesn't unfold as expected but instead leads to a plot twist which will have the viewer sheepishly grinning at the turncoat Kohei's comeuppance at the end.

As typical of Kudo films, he takes a more 'realistic' approach to the fight choreography & swordplay -- which means a lot of awkward flailing of swords & multiple slashes needed to bring an opponent down...it just appears more chaotic as opposed to say Misumi's more visually poetic & bloodier version of swordplay. Which style is better depends on one's personal preference but obviously Kudo's interpretation was far closer to the truth in the field of battle.

FYI, there was a remake of this movie by Masahiro Shinoda in the late '90s but I have to watch it.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

THE EVICTORS - This Charles B. Pierce film has a similar twisted southern gothic atmosphere to S.F. Brownrigg's stuff. Jessica Harper and Michael Parks move into a long abandoned place in rural Louisiana, scene of some violent deaths. A creepy dude is soon stalking them and leaving notes in the mailbox to the tune of "I want you to move." You know this ain't gonna end well..Great cast (that also includes Vic Morrow), not very bloody but some real spooky bits. The period setting (early 1940s) works too, adding to the sense of isolation. The big reveal isn't much of a surprise but the film does end on a really bizarre note. I liked this. Jessica Harper should have been in more films...

[Horace Cordier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Horace Cordier]

What are you watching?

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN Blu.

Plays better on the small screen than the large and the humor is misplaced but Prine and Johnson do fine work and the murder sequences are undeniably effective.

Has a nifty climax too.

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CHAMPION (Olive BD) -- I'm not a huge fan of boxing films in the first place, even noirs; but this one was pretty darn good up to a point. Kirk Douglas is flat broke and starts boxing to make some money. He's already a cold and ruthless bastard and when he gets success it just amplifies it. Anyone in his life is used for what they can do for him and then tossed aside. Great support work from Arthur Kennedy as his brother and Ruth Roman as his wife (cast aside early on). As I said, up to a point this was good but in the big final scene Douglas just went completely OTT and was awfully close to Joe Flaherty's SCTV parody of him. And this was 1949, very early in his career. I like a lot of his films but he looses me when he goes into grimace and chew scenery mode. Still a pretty good noir though.

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What are you watching?

THE LAW AND JAKE WADE - very good but somewhat overlooked Western.

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DUEL OF BLOOD AND SAND [Chi to suna no ketto] - Dir. Sadatsugu Matsuda (1963)

This movie begins with the now familiar Seven Samurai theme of a ronin coming to the aid of a bunch of hapless farmers who are at the mercy of a group of ruthless bandits, who have been terrorizing their village at will. But director, Matsuda deftly handles the storyline & adds a plot twist which prevents this movie from merely becoming yet another paint by the numbers derivative of the classic Kurosawa film. Lead actor, Ryutaro Otomo is excellent as the rebellious ronin who becomes a savior to the disenfranchised villagers & likewise is Satomi Oka as the brash town prostitute.

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Get Carter - Classic, I've seen small bits of it when I was a kid. Tremendous Hodges and Cain flick.
Bringing Out the Dead - Another good collaboration between Scorsese and Schrader. It echoes Taxi Driver quite a bit.

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YELLOW FANGS [Rimienzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi] - Dir. Sonny Chiba (1990)

Loosely based on the Sankebetsu brown bear incident, which was the worst bear attack in Japan's history, causing the deaths of 7 people in Hokkaido back in 1915. It was also Chiba's directorial debut, in which he was also executive producer & its subsequent flop at the box office nearly did him in financially. Also of note, Kinji Fukasaku served as special assistant & it also features Bunta Sugawara in a prominent role.

The story was okay but at times it seemed more a rumination on the consequences of modern 'Western' ideals encroaching & displacing traditional Japanese communities than a straight 'when animals attack' thriller. The bear itself is almost an afterthought and perhaps with good reason as the actual portrayal of the bear is the film's weakest point. Chiba chose to use a mixture of live animal & stunt actor in a bear suit and often, it looks cheap and unrealistic. There are however a couple scenes bordering on animal cruelty & I'm sure the ASPCA would not allow such scenes to be filmed in a US production. Overall, I felt it was worth catching on netflix and perhaps I might be tempted to pick up the official US DVD release from Cinema Epoch on the cheap one day.

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OUTLAW COP [Yasagure Keiji] - Dir. Yusuke Watanabe (1976)

Yoshio Harada puts in a sterling performance playing hardened boorish detective Nishio, who is so focused on his duties that he neglects his wife & home life. So guess what happens? The wife soon begins an illicit affair with a car salesman whom she later discovers is a Yakuza boss who set the whole thing up to get back at Nishio for cracking down on his underworld activities. Upon discovering his wife's infidelity, it becomes personal for Nishio & he turns in his badge and goes all out in his vendetta to bring down the Yakuza boss & his gang with the wife wittingly along for the ride in this bizarre love triangle.