Retro Cinemas and Cult Films in Japan

[HungFist]

Teruo Ishii Retrospective: Part 2/3

Hot Springs Giesha


King of the Ring: The World of Glory (1957)


Queen Bee and the School for Dragons (1960)






Queen Bee and the School for Dragons (1960)


Abashiri Prison 3: Saga of Homesickess (1965)




Original scripts for Love, the Sun and The Gang, Boss wo taose, Love & Crime...




Ishii items for sale. Oh and those soundtracks are playing in the lobby around the clock... as usual!

[HungFist]

Teruo Ishii Retrospective: Part 3/3

Finally, the program Chirashi







And website:
http://www.laputa-jp.com/laputa/program/ishiiteruo/

I only had a change to catch 8 films this time. That was alright since this was the 3rd Ishii event I've attended in 3 or 4 years (following Cinema Vera's Ishii retrospective and Shin bungeiza's Ishii all night). A few brief comments:

History of the Shogun’s Harem (1968) screened from an absolutely amazing 35mm print. It’s one of those movies that have to be experienced in 35mm in an old school theatre… not just for the film, which is a bit slow but sells an image of an almost otherworldly place via beautiful sets, seductive camera work and atmospheric score, but also to get a sense of what people must have been feeling when they first saw it back in ’68. I believe it was the first pink film produced by a major studio with lavish production values. Critics were offended, feminists enraged, and audiences flocked to see it.

The Nikkatsu film Rising Dragon’s Iron Flesh (1969) was better than I expected. A starring vehicle for singer Hiroko Ogi and bit of routine production, Ishii stills injects it with his own brand of the perverse: there’s an unexpected 30 min WiP segment with gratuitous bathing scene, a fight where Hideki Takahashi's sword causes someone's face to explode (!), and a cool final massacre where the heroes are repeatedly aligning their tattoos into one big dragon in the midst of the action. Not really a great movie, but has enough great scenes to warrant a viewing.

From the Shintoho films King of the Ring (1957) was alright, an entertaining if not very convincing boxing drama with already a number of Ishii trademarks visible: a night club scene with a scarcely clothed go-go dancer, a femme fatale who seduces the hero (a side plot that hasn't aged very well gender politically) and frantic boxing scenes. Queen Bee and the School for Dragons (1960) on the other hand was a thoroughly entertaining street fighting actioner with Yoko Mihara leading a gang of of scarcely clothed, arse kicking prostitutes/townswomens whose tops are constantly about to fall off... unfortunately the time was not yet ripe for full-on pinky violence, hence we get a bit too much plot focus on daddy Kanjuro Arashi's gang struggles and young hero Teruo Yoshida.

I also ended up seeing Love and Crime (1969)... again. I was on my way to see Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge (1963) in Jimbocho when I got another reminder why I hate Shinjuku Station... all four of them! I went to the fucking wrong one! That was because I needed to ride the Shinjuku Line, and there are two of those, too! Then when I finally got to Jimbocho station, with only 3 minutes left till the film, I took the wrong exit in a hurry and ended up on the side of the district that I didn't recognize and was lost. Then changed my plan and headed back to Laputa as fast as I could, got to the theatre about 2 min late, fell in the dark when I was trying to find a seat, and finally managed to sit my butt down when the opening credits were playing. It's the first time I have ever been late from a movie, and I felt embarrassed to enter / disturb others when the film had already started.

[HungFist]

A 15 film Tetsuya Watari retrospective is starting in Jimbocho tomorrow:
https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/jinbocho-t ... atari.html

[HungFist]

A pretty great Toho New Action series coming up at Laputa. Dying to see Attack on the Sun (1970) and The Target of Roses (1972) by Kiyoshi Nishimura. And maybe Bullet Wound as well. The others I've seen.

The whole program:

11/09(土)～11/15(金)　「狙撃」(Sun Above, Death Below) (Hideichi Nagahara, 1968)
11/16(土)～11/25(月)　「弾痕」(Bullet Wound) (Hideichi Nagahara, 1969)
11/26(火)～12/02(月)　「白昼の襲撃」(Attack on the Sun) (Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1970)
12/03(火)～12/12(木)　「豹（ジャガー）は走った」(The Creature Called Man) ()Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1970)
12/13(金)～12/19(木)　「野獣都市」(City of Beasts) (Jun Fukuda, 1970)
12/20(金)～12/26(木)　「ヘアピン・サーカス」 (Hairpin Circus) (Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1972)
1/06(月)～1/12(日)　「薔薇の標的」(Target of Roses) (Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1972)
1/13(月)～1/19(日)　「野獣狩り」(Beast Hunt) (Eizo Sugawa, 1973)

As promised, I managed to make it to Attack on the Sun (1970) and The Target of Roses (1972). This was playing in Laputa Asagaya at the same time with the Teruo Ishii retrospective! All I can say is... look at the line-up above, it's bloody amazing! I had actually been hoping for a Toho New Action series for years, and I was just about to start suggesting it to theatres!

Attack on the Sun (白昼の襲撃) (1970) , which follows two punks and a girlfriend coming in possession of a handgun, has similar vibe to early 70s Nikkatsu new action, only with Nishimura’s trademark aggressive jazz score and international flair with G.I.s and their offspring flocking the bars in the era of ANPO controversy. It isn’t Nishimura at his best, but it’s still an interesting, politically and socially conscious action film. And I really like Noriko Takahashi, who had an exceptionally captivating presence and facial features. Unfortunately Takahashi would go on to retire soon after co-starring in Jun Fukuda’s City of Beasts later the same year following marriage at the age of 24.

The Target of Roses (薔薇の標的) (1972) on the other hand is an absolutely fantastic action thriller with professional killer Yuzo Kayama hired to assassinate a foreign photographer (Rolf Jesser) and a Chinese woman (Zhen Zhen). Before soon, he falls in love with the woman and realizes his own employer is the Japanese branch of a neo-nazi organization planning to initiate the fourth reich! This features some of the most beautiful, naturalistic cinematography I've seen in any Japanese film, and very little music, which elevates the intensity near the level of Too Young to Die (1969), Nishimura's masterful debut film. Shot in Japan and Hong Kong, largely in English (thankfully, Kayama is pretty good at pronouncing English lines). Only if the otherwise badass ending had had a bit more inspired action design the film would be even better.



The Target of Roses


Attack on the Sun




The Target of Roses


Attack on the Sun


Program chirashi

[HungFist]

Japan is getting a "Bruce Lee 4K Revival Festival" that will tour the country this summer. It's been booked to 36 theatres already.

The films are The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon and Game of Death.

4K DCP and blah blah, but what is interesting is that they will be the original Japanese theatrical release versions. They are all listed as being in English.

Of course I'd much rather see these in 35mm, but I'll go see these anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hX...ature=youtu.be

http://brucelee4k.com/

[HungFist]

I had a bit of a Bruce Lee day today. The Criterion BD set arrived in the morning, and I went to see The Big Boss in theatre in the evening. The screening was part of the Bruce Lee re-releases that are playing nationwide here in Japan.

As I mentioned earlier, the soundtrack was the original Japanese theatrical audio, which was actually an ENGLISH language track. This track appears to have been included on an earlier Japanese BD, I don’t think is present on the Shout or Criterion releases. Hardcore fans surely know more about this matter than I do, but I can summarize the Japanese English track in three points:

1) The Peter Thomas score is NOT present in the opening credits.
2) The Peter Thomas score is, however, used frequently during the film, the famous theme tune popping up at least 4 times.
3) The film’s last 45 seconds feature the Mike Remedios song.

I don’t know the film well enough to tell what other differences there may be compared to the standard English track.

As for audio quality, it was comparable to the English / Peter Thomas tracks on Criterion and Shout BDs, meaning it doesn’t sound quite as good as you’d wish.

As for picture quality, I can’t give a very detailed report, but it looked like the Fortune Star 4K master without the kind of colour correction done by Shout and (to lesser extent) Criterion in USA. So, a green / blue push, though there are parts that look perfectly natural as well (e.g. the ending fight).

[HungFist]

I caught Fist of Fury in cinema yesterday (part of the Japanese theatrical re-releases). This was advertised as a DCP re-construction of the Japanese 1974 Theatrical Version (based on the Fortune Star 4K masters), but that info appears to be partially incorrect. It was the standard 106 min cut unless I’m completely mistaken, and not the shorter Japanese theatrical cut (which I've never seen).

I was rather anxious (scared shitless) because the flier ad said the film would be presented with 5.1 audio. I believe the Japanese BD release was also 5.1. What I can say is that it did not sound like a 5.1 track, and there was thankfully no Fortune Star junk on it. It was an English track with the glorious Mike Remedios theme song at the beginning and end, though audio quality left something to be desired and the track sounded like it was stitched together from more than one source.

Sadly, this audio track is not included on the Criterion BD, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s not on Shout’s BD either? Though bizarrely it can be heard playing in the background in the Mike Leeder commentary.

Oh and sorry for a noob question, but who exactly was this great man Mike Remedios and how did he end up on the Japanese (only?) prints?

[HungFist]

I went to see The Way of the Dragon yesterday (part of the Japanese theatrical re-releases). Now, this was interesting because not only did it have the English dub with the great Mike Remedios songs, it was a slightly longer cut with about 2 minutes of new title and logo screens at the beginning and end to allow the songs to play in full.

- In the beginning there was a Japanese language title screen and a credits screen (about 1 min in total) before the standard opening credits. The theme song would play throughout the new screens and the standard opening credits.

- At the end there was a “dragon logo screen” (about 1 min) after the closing credits. Again, the song would play throughout the closing credits and the new logo screen.

This version of the film is not present on the Criterion or Shout BDs, which do have the Japanese theatrical audio track, but in cut form since we are missing the above mentioned footage.

Curiously, I don’t think there was a Fortune Star logo at all, unlike in the earlier films. Maybe they omitted it by accident?

I had a blast with the film, as it’s my favourite Lee film. I also took my girlfriend to see it (her first ever kung fu film!). I figured The Way of the Dragon would be the most beginner / girl friendly of Lee’s films since it’s rather humoristic, features some nice Rome scenery and if nothing else, she could rest her eyes on Chuck Norris’ hairy chest Much to my surprise (and delight), she loved the film! “One of the best films!” I agree!

I also couldn’t resist the temptation to put on my Sister Street Fighter t-shirt, and have her wear my Return of the Sister Street Fighter t-shirt. There’s a Japanese word that might be useful here… bakappuru. It’s a combination of the words “baka” (stupid or silly) and kappuru (couple)

[HungFist]

I went to see The Way of the Dragon again, since I love it so much. Here are corrections and additions to my previous post:

I went to see The Way of the Dragon yesterday (part of the Japanese theatrical re-releases). Now, this was interesting because not only did it have the English dub with the great Mike Remedios songs, it was a slightly longer cut with about 2 minutes of new title and logo screens at the beginning and end to allow the songs to play in full.

- In the beginning there was a Japanese language title screen and a credits screen (about 1 min in total) before the standard opening credits. The theme song would play throughout the new screens and the standard opening credits.

Actually the theme song plays only during the new title and credits screens (about 1 minute). Then the original Mandarin score plays during the standard opening credits that follow.

- At the end there was a “dragon logo screen” (about 1 min) after the closing credits. Again, the song would play throughout the closing credits and the new logo screen.

This was correct alright.

This version of the film is not present on the Criterion or Shout BDs, which do have the Japanese theatrical audio track, but in cut form since we are missing the above mentioned footage.

The Criterion / Shout version has also another change: it replaces the opening credits score with the Mike Remedios song, even though in the DCP Japanese version the Remedios song played before the credits and the credits retained the original score. Dammit.

Also, the audio quality on the BDs is inferior, with evident hiss. The DCP sounded much better. I guess I will have to buy this new Japanese version on BD if they ever put it out...

The image quality was quite nice as well. Some (only a few) shots had some blue tint whereas the same scenes have a greenish tint on the Criterion. Shout probably has the best image quality, but I think all three look good and considering the audio, I think the DCP had the best overall presentation.

Curiously, I don’t think there was a Fortune Star logo at all, unlike in the earlier films. Maybe they omitted it by accident?

No Fortune Star logo, but also no Toei logo. It only has Concord and Golden Harvest logos (brief still-type logos, not the usual long Golden Harvest fanfare).

[HungFist]

I went to see Game of Death, the last one of the Japanese theatrical re-releases. Quite an awkward Frankenstein job indeed, but it does have a fantastic score, great Lee footage at the end, and a heart-warmingly exploitative touch throughout. It was certainly the right choice to make the film… just not to make it this way. Surely they could have done it with a better plot that doesn’t need the lazy Lee insert shots, and without the constant confusion about whether we are supposed to be seeing Bruce Lee or Billy Lo on the screen. And whose idea was it to make Hugh O'Brian the final opponent after Kareem Abdul Jabbar?

The version screened was again (advertised as) a reconstruction of the Japanese theatrical cut. It had the full opening with the John Barry score over the Golden Harvest logo before the Bruce yells. However, the audio was NOT the same Japanese Theatrical track that is on the Criterion BD. This version played the Ji Han Jae fight without the John Barry score, and also had some audio issue in either the Ji Han Jae or the Dan Inosanto fight (I forgot which) where the audio source clearly changed to something inferior for about 10 seconds. There may be other differences, but I wouldn’t know since this was probably only the 3rd time I’ve ever seen the film.

A diehard Lee fan might find this version interesting (if it comes out on Japanese BD later), but the opening aside I think the above mentioned changes are to the worse, so I’ll be quite happy the US BDs. And I don't know if those changes are correct or an accident (how is the Japanese print on the Shout disc? Barry in the Ji Han Jae fight?).

Anyway, I must say I had a blast with this “Bruce Lee 4K Revival Festival”, going to cinema every week for 4 weeks. The local (4 screen) theatre also honoured Lee by putting all the films on their biggest screen and having the original Japanese posters on display. I’d say this was the coolest thing to hit mainstream multiplexes in Japan since Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno reboot.

[HungFist]

Nikkatsu is celebrating Roman Porno's 50th anniversary this year. The first ever double feature (Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon & Castle Orgies) premiered Nov. 20, 1971.

There will be a 38 film Roman Porno program in Cinema Vera. The films were selected by actors, directors, critics and fans, including Yuko Katagiri, Moeko Ezawa, Junko Miyashita, Naomi Tani, Sion Sono, Jim O’Rourke, Nami Iguchi and Yu Irie.
- https://www.nikkatsu-romanporno.com/top ... cinema.php
- https://www.nikkatsu-romanporno.com/top ... n-2021.php

The selection is a bit of a mess to be honest, and sadly 20 of the 38 films play in digital, so I can’t recommend anyone to waste their money on those ones, but 18 are from 35mm prints, including Love Hotel, Pink Hip Girl, Secret Chronicle: She Beast Market, Angel Guts: Red Classroom, Zoom In: Rape Apartments, and Crazed Fruit (all excellent films). They have also included two of Nikkatsu's Sweden Porno titles, though both in digital.
- http://www.cinemavera.com/preview.php?no=269

Nikkatsu's website also says the retrospective should travel to other cities, but there's no further info about that yet. I'm not expecting the full line-up to be shown in many, if any, other cities but perhaps a smaller selection.

[HungFist]

Sonny Chiba Retrospective in Shin bungeiza (Oct. 20-30, 2021)

It’s been more than two months since Sonny Chiba’s passing, and Shin Bungeiza held a program for him. I took a few days off from work to attend, even if it was a brief program with only 12 films. I had not been to Tokyo since Jan. 2019 (Teruo Ishii and Toho New Action retrospectives).

Chiba on silver screen is always a great thing, even if time had not been kind on the prints. Wednesday’s double feature was Killing Machine and Karate Bullfighter, two excellent and violent karate biopics. Both prints were pretty beaten and missing some frames, but very watchable.

Jail Breakers and Golgo 13 were playing on Thursday. Again, relatively beaten and faded prints, but perfectly watchable. In fact, found myself having great time with Golgo’s lovely Hong Kong street cinematography and exploitative action projected on the big screen, and I almost exploded when the villain used the drug factory’s self-destruction switch, which had a 0 second timer!





I’d been looking forward to Friday’s Hiroshima Deathmatch and Okinawa Yakuza War, having only seen Okinawa in 2014 from a print that barely held together and was missing Chiba’s final scene entirely! Alas, the wait was for nothing. Hiroshima was switched to DCP on the last moment due to undisclosed issues with print distributor, and while Okinawa was a complete print this time, the heavy green tint it had developed didn’t give much reason to celebrate.

Saturday I had to apply a bit of movie slalom to catch Samurai Reincarnation in the morning at 9:45 (packed theater, perhaps due to Kenji Sawada fans), Shogun’s Samurai in the evening, and unrelated A Colt is My Passport in the middle at Jimbocho theater. I’ve fond memories of Reincarnation in Cinema Vera in 2014 as one of the most beautiful projections ever, and while it didn’t look quite as great this time, it was still a thing of beauty. Shogun was partly damaged with occasional dirt and missing frames, but otherwise beautiful. I’d rather watch this print anytime than a digital 37K copy!



Saturday also produced a fun little story to tell: between Colt and Shogun, I wandered into a Spanish restaurant for a late lunch or perhaps early dinner, and it turned out the proprietor was a Shaolin Karate practitioner who had appeared in Killing Machine as an extra. It was my Sister Street Fighter t-shirt that initiated the conversation. Then one of the other customers (actually, the only other customer) then informed us that he does "Oyama Karate" (Kyokushin karate, the topic matter of Karate Bullfighter). Whoa! Good thing they didn’t fight. Talk about cool random encounter!

Overall, great 4 days! I missed 4 films (The Street Fighter, Karate Warriors, Karate Inferno and Bodyguard Kiba) but I had already seen them in 35mm before. It’s a bit of a shame the prints weren’t as good as most Toei films screening in Tokyo, and that Bungeiza went really bare-bones with no original posters on display, though the Chiba theme songs playing in the theater between the films nicely upped the atmosphere.





Bonus photo: ads for upcoming Mamoru Oshii, Hiroyuki Sanada and Denis Villeneuve all night programs!

[HungFist]

Complementing Bungeiza’s Chiba program was Tokyo Seoul Bangkok Drug Triangle in Laputa Asagaya. Near-excellent print, and the film just keeps getting better every time I see it. I also caught (unrelated to Chiba) Koreyoshi Kurahara’s fascinating, unreleased-on-video hippie road movie epic Sunset, Runrise (1973) (shot in France, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and India), screening from a beautiful print. Bad luck my trip finished one day early for Laputa’s Battles without Honor and Humanity screenings, starting Oct. 31!













As mentioned before, I also made a brief stop at Jinbocho Theater for A Colt is My Passport, which was such a joy in 35mm! It was playing in a novelist Shinji Fujiwara series. Teruo Ishii’s The Flower, the Storm, and the Gang was also included in the series.

[HungFist]

Chirashi for Cinema Vera's 私たちの好きなロマンポルノ (2021/11/20 ～ 2021/12/17)
(I missed one page which just has the same text comments that are on the website)
- http://www.cinemavera.com/preview.php?no=269

[HungFist]

Shin Bungeiza’s Toei Yakuza Films series started a few days ago. The program is:

- Tales of Japanese Chivalry (日本侠客伝) (1964) (DCP)
- Brutal Tales of Chivalry: I Sincerely Want to Kill You (昭和残侠伝 死んで貰います) (1970) (DCP)
- Gambling Den: A Life of Cards (博奕打ち いのち札) (1971) (35mm)
- Gambling Den: Big Time Gambling Boss (博奕打ち 総長賭博 ) (1968) (DCP)
- The Tattooed Hitman (山口組外伝　九州進攻作戦) (1974) (35mm)
- Japan's Violent Islands: Murder in the Capital (日本暴力列島 京阪神殺しの軍団) (1975) (35mm)
- Street Mobster (現代やくざ 人斬り与太) (35mm)
- Graveyard of Honour (仁義の墓場) (1975) (DCP)
- Red Peony Gambler (緋牡丹博徒) (1968) (35mm)
- Red Peony Gambler: Oryu's Return (緋牡丹博徒 お竜参上) (1970) (DCP)
https://www.shin-bungeiza.com/schedule#d1201

Nice program, but why on earth are they doing digital screenings for half of them??? You used to be able to count on Toei when it come to film prints, but looks like now even Toei is pushing digital garbage to theatres.

Now I regret I went to see No Pants Nurses instead of Graveyard of Honour a few years ago. Damn, what a mistake! Thankfully I have seen Graveyard of Honour from a beautiful 35mm print in Laputa before. I thought there would be more opportunities to view that beauty…

[HungFist]

More yakuza mayhem going on in Laputa, who are on their last week of their Battles without Honour and Humanity 5 week screening series.

《仁義なき戦い 阿佐ヶ谷死闘篇 RETURNS》
10/31(日)～11/06(土)　「仁義なき戦い」(Battles without Honour and Humanity)
11/07(日)～11/13(土)　「仁義なき戦い 広島死闘篇」(Hiroshima Deathmatch)
11/14(日)～11/20(土)　「仁義なき戦い 代理戦争」(Proxy War)
11/21(日)～11/27(土)　「仁義なき戦い 頂上作戦」 (Police Tactics)
11/28(日)～12/04(土)　「仁義なき戦い 完結篇」(Final Episode)
http://www.laputa-jp.com/laputa/program ... tatakai_r/





After Battles, they will be screening Hiroki Matsukata films for the next 2½ months

《松方弘樹 ギラギラNIGHTS》
12/05(日)～12/11(土)　「８９３愚連隊」(YA-KU-ZA-Hoodlums)
12/12(日)～12/18(土)　「脱獄広島殺人囚」(Escaped Murderer from Hiroshima Prison)
12/19(日)～12/25(土)　「新 仁義なき戦い」(New Battles without Honour and Humanity)
1/05(水)～1/11(火)　「暴動島根刑務所」(Prison Island Riot)
1/12(水)～1/18(火)　「暴力金脈」(Violent Money Network)
1/19(水)～1/29(土)　「お祭り野郎 魚河岸の兄弟分」(Festival Champ)
1/30(日)～2/05(土)　「強盗放火殺人囚」(Robbery, Arson and Killer Convicts)
2/06(日)～2/12(土)　「実録外伝 大阪電撃作戦」(Authentic True Account: Osaka Shock Tactics)
2/13(日)～2/19(土)　「沖縄やくざ戦争」(Okinawa Yakuza War)
2/20(日)～2/26(土)　「北陸代理戦争」(Hokuriku Proxy War)
http://www.laputa-jp.com/laputa/program ... atahiroki/



Unlike in Shin bungeiza, ALL films will be screened in 35mm!

[HungFist]

Tokyo-Osaka, part 1/3

I’m back from my movie travels. I had hectic two days after being unable decide between Osaka and Tokyo, and then choosing to visit both cities since the former had Girl Boss Guerilla (1972) and the latter was playing Rica (1972), in 35mm of course. So I made a two day schedule with 2 cities, 4 flights, 7 movies and too little sleep. And then on the third day I’d get up at 5:30 in my capsule hotel, head to the airport and fly to work because I had work on that day! Admittedly not something anyone in their right mind would do.

Day 1

The 1st day was for Osaka, and required a bit of “outside the common sense” thinking to pull it off. With no cheap direct flights in the morning, I ended up flying to Osaka via Tokyo, then spend a mere 7 hours in Osaka to catch two films, and then fly back to Tokyo at night so that I’d be ready for a 5 film set the following day. I had ramen for dinner after midnight because there was no time to dine earlier.

The Osaka trip was for Shinsekai Toei who do nothing but Toei double features from morning to night (they used to do all nighters too, but not now) in 35mm. I had wanted to visit them for years, but since Osaka and Kyoto don’t have that many 35mm screenings, I hadn’t found enough value for money to warrant a trip before. But this time I figured why not, for the sake of the experience, as well as a few movies!

Shinsekai Toei’s program has been rather conservative in the past (mostly ninkyo and samurai films), but they’ve screened more jitsuroku and Pinky Violence films recently so I thought now would be the time to visit. Note that the theatre doesn’t have a webpage: all you can find is Twitter and Facebook fan pages with handwritten weekly screening schedules.
https://twitter.com/FanTouei



This week's program: Girl Boss Guerilla (1972) and Prison Island Riot (1975)


The theatre is located in the Shinsekai district, aptly described by Japan Guide as “developed before the war and then neglected in the decades afterwards” and “has a reputation as one of Japan's more seedy and dangerous neighbourhoods”. I might describe the difference between Tokyo and Osaka in yakuza film terms: Tokyo has Teruo Yoshida type gangsters in suits; Osaka has those sweaty Kawatani and Murota type motherfuckers in rags.

I brought this up because it also describes Shinsekai Toei. The theatre is located in a building that also hosts a pink theatre with two screens: a straight one and a gay one. They all share the same lobby, vending machine, and an employee sitting behind a desk smoking tobacco (he was a nice guy though). The screening room itself has dirty looking floor and walls, and the decently sized screen had two big tears and a few smaller ones. The seats contain ads for cheap apartments! It’s relatively bright in the room even during screenings, and the exit sign above the door can cast some light to the screen in dark scenes.





Alright, so we’re are in genuine grind house setting as opposed to Tokyo’s clean and beautiful (new or old) screening houses. What could go wrong? A lot, it seems. Girl Boss Guerilla is the first film I watch. Mediocre print and surprisingly soft image. And then around halfway into the film the image goes out of focus for the rest of the feature. I thought that was a print issue, but when it happened again with in Prison Island Riot (this time I looked at my watch, it was at approx. 44 min, which sounds like a reel change spot to me) I figured someone just doesn’t know how to do their job. Perhaps the projectionist was drunk or absent on that day, I dunno. Oh well, it was an experience at least.









Ads for the pink screens

[HungFist]

Tokyo-Osaka, part 2/3

Despite the projection issues I enjoyed revisiting the two films, particularly Girl Boss Guerilla which is supremely enjoyable in a laidback way despite not being quite as good as the best Pinky Violence films. After the films I had 10 minutes to grab a few photos of the neighbourhood, and one thing that caught my eye was Shinsekai Kokusai. This must be the only theatre in the world that is displaying Spiderman: No Way Home and a sleazy pink film poster side by side on the street.



Look carefully and you can see Bond is also paired with a Porno.


Spidie with Porno


One good thing about the Shinsekai district is that it’s extremely accessible. There’s a direct train connection from the airport with rapid airport trains stopping at Shin Imamiya Station (it takes about 45 min from the airport). Shinsekai Toei is only a few hundred metre walk from the station. You don’t even need map/navigation, just look for the famous Tsutenkaku Tower: Toei and the Pinks are located right next to it.



After that it was back to the airport for another 5000 yen / $50 flight to Tokyo, followed by an hour train ride to Ueno for my usual capsule hotel. Ramen, shower and hit the sack.

Midnight ramen at 0:30. Had not eaten anything since lunch at 11:00 a.m., besides one onigiri, one ice cream and one chocolate brownie.

[Guro Taku]

Very enjoyable write-ups! I found the details about the differences between cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka especially fascinating. From the photos it looks like wearing a mask is mandatory?

Hey, I have seen the film on the right! That's Naoyuki Tomomatsu's A Single Rose (一輪の薔薇, 2008), one of four gay-themed pink films by a director more widely known for wacky straight fare like the Lust of the Dead/Rape Zombie franchise and Stacy. A very good and serious drama about a married man with a family whose gay romance as a young man catches up to him when he meets a young man who looks exactly like his flame from all those years ago. Not sure if I'd have to balls to go rewatch it theatrically, though.

PS: The lengths you usually go to to catch these screenings is quite inspring! In fact, you just inspired me to buy my first movie tickets since 2019! I originally hesitated to go see Dario Argento's new film this Friday because it'll entail a 2 hour wait for my train back home but then I read your report and realized how lazy and ultimately pathetic that kind of thinking is.

[HungFist]

Very enjoyable write-ups! I found the details about the differences between cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka especially fascinating. From the photos it looks like wearing a mask is mandatory?

Thanks. I've got the Tokyo part coming once I find time to write it.

Yeah, masks are mandatory indoors basically everywhere. Outdoors everyone wears them even if they're not specifically asked to do so. Cultural thing.

Hey, I have seen the film on the right! That's Naoyuki Tomomatsu's A Single Rose (一輪の薔薇, 2008), one of four gay-themed pink films by a director more widely known for wacky straight fare like the Lust of the Dead/Rape Zombie franchise and Stacy. A very good and serious drama about a married man with a family whose gay romance as a young man catches up to him when he meets a young man who looks exactly like his flame from all those years ago. Not sure if I'd have to balls to go rewatch it theatrically, though.

Oh cool! I didn't look that carefully, haha. And yeah, even for straight pinks I don't really feel comfortable going to pink cinemas to see them. In arthouses and revival houses like Laputa for sure, but not really in those genuine pink theatres. Not because of the films, but because I'm suspicious of the audience

PS: The lengths you usually go to to catch these screenings is quite inspring! In fact, you just inspired me to buy my first movie tickets since 2019! I originally hesitated to go see Dario Argento's new film this Friday because it'll entail a 2 hour wait for my train back home but then I read your report and realized how lazy and ultimately pathetic that kind of thinking is.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing if I inspired you to go see a new Argento film But in general yeah! With movies and travel you always experience more than just the films.

[HungFist]

Tokyo-Osaka, part 3/3, the first half

Saturday's plan was five films in three different theatres around Tokyo, which I somewhat surprisingly managed to pull off.

My first destination was Meguro Cinema, one of Tokyo's few remaining double feature theatres with a distinctly 90s atmosphere. I like how they ring bells every time a film is about to begin to let people know it's time to get seated. They were also giving small printed program brochures with some hand-drawn, false God worshipping British villagers with animal heads on the cover.



The Britons were from The Wicker Man: Final Cut (1973), which was playing together with Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977). Both were DCP, but since I had nothing better to do at 10:30 am (other than sleep) decided to give Wicker Man a go. I had not seen it since a TV broadcasting when I was a kid. Great film! I didn't have time to stay for Sorcerer, but I've seen that theatrically already and have the BD in my shelf, so no biggie.

Meguro was also doing a one night only 35mm screening of Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967) but I sadly had no chance to attend since I had other plans for the night. More about that later.



Upcoming program: The Man Who Stole the Sun, Bullet Train and Family Game




Next up was a trip to Jinbocho, a district perhaps best known for its 5 million small book stores. But I was going to Jinbocho Theater, a pretty cool place with a futuristic design - a bit of a mismatch with their programs which focus on 60s dramas, comedies musicals. They seem to be very popular with the elderly audiences and the screenings are nearly always well attended. I got there 25 min prior to Yagyu Secret Scrolls (1957), and got ticket number 54.

Photos stolen off the internet


Yagyu was a good, although slightly pale 35mm presentation of a passable Toshiro Mifune film - I prefer the more action packed and pulpy 60s Toei films (nine films in 1961-1964) however. The film was playing in a jidai geki novel adaptation retrospective, that also included films like Tai Kato’s Warrior of the Wind (1964), Hideo Gosha’s Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (1978) and Norifumi Suzuki’s Ninja's Mark (1968).

The latter was the reason for my visit. It was my 2nd time seeing Ninja’s Mark in 35mm, but I didn't remember how gorgeous the print was! Another example of why home cinema will never equal a fine 35mm presentation. The film is a good bit of fun, starting from the opening scene where an evil ninja turns a woman having sex into a fish! Someone should release this on BD in a box set with other ninja films based on Futaro Yamada novels (e.g. Female Ninja Magic, Ninja Wars, Samurai Reincarnation).

Ninja’s Mark also has some historical relevance for being the 1st movie Toei head Okada had producer Amao make in order to milk the eros boom. The film failed at the box office ("men don't forgive eros that only goes half-way", Okada said) and has since been largely forgotten. Their follow-up try History of the Shogun's Harem (1968), however, was a huge hit and went down in history books as the official start of Pinky Violence.







Stay tuned for Tokyo-Osaka, part 3/3, the second half (I know, I screwed up)

[HungFist]

Tokyo-Osaka, part 3/3, the second half

My final destination was one of my favourite places in the whole wide world: Laputa Asagaya. The lovely theater located in a building made of stone and wood, and named and modelled after the Miayzaki anime, does nothing but Japanese film retrospectives from morning to night. The Morning Show is usually golden oldies, the Late Show is genre films from yakuza to pink, and the massive Main Program is anything between. That means there are usually six 35mm screenings every day.

Some stolen photos and image glued together.

Note that the camera really lies here. The screen looks very small. In reality, there are 4 rows and the back row is the only place where the screen (in 2.35:1) won't fill your entire field view. Any closer and it will either fill the entire field view (3rd row), or you won't be able to see the entire screen (1st and 2nd row).

This time the main program was called "50 Film Directors' Debut Movie", which was accompanying a recent book release of the same name (which is something Laputa often does). A lot of the best stuff in this retro (Nakajima's Female Ninja Magic, Murakawa's Delicate Skillful Fingers, Ito's Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion, Ishii’s Red Vertigo etc.) was unfortunately saved for later dates.

The film I caught was Hideo Onchi’s Young Wolf aka Hidden Fangs (1961), a complete blind watch for me, but I figured Toho plus delinquents minus home video release would warrant a viewing. That’s how I discovered the great cop docudrama Car 33 Doesn't Answer (1955) years ago (why hasn’t Criterion released this yet?!). The film was a low key, semi-documentary style drama about a young man trying to go straight after a stint in youth prison (Kunie Tanaka plays fellow inmate), only to find out his gal (Yuriko Hoshi) had developed an attitude and a delinquent girl hairstyle while he was away. Good film and gorgeous print!



Following Young Wolf was the awesome “Toho Pinky Violence” Rica (1972) in the Late Show, which was dedicated to manga artist Bonten Taro. Other films in the retro were the Rica sequels, Sex and Fury, and Female Yakuza Tale. A couple of Roman Porno films + Irezumi also accompanied the program in the neighbouring theater space Zamuza Asagaya. I think the program was split like this because the latter ones only had BDs available for screening whereas Laputa screens everything from film prints. Speaking of which, Rica had sadly been beaten to pulp and turned all pink. I hope they will discover a better print for future screenings.



Laputa went a bit overboard with Bonten Taro merchandise this time




Plus their usual other film books and CDs


These books are for sale, but you can also browse them to kill time


Chirashi




I was too lazy to scan it myself, so I just stole it from here:
https://mobile.twitter.com/BG_WORKSHOP/ ... 4784916481

Rica finished around 22:30. Then it was time to head back to my capsule for a quick shower and too little sleep. I had to get up at 5:45 to head to the airport and fly not home but to work - yes, I had work on that day. Thank god it was a busy day, I'd have fallen asleep otherwise. Couldn't get any sleep during the flight thanks to Jetstar's "hang your head frontwards" type seats (seriously, who the hell designed those seats?) either.

[Guro Taku]

And yeah, even for straight pinks I don't really feel comfortable going to pink cinemas to see them. In arthouses and revival houses like Laputa for sure, but not really in those genuine pink theatres. Not because of the films, but because I'm suspicious of the audience

Yes, exactly. I'd worry about maybe being the only guy in there wanting to find out if the flashback scenes shot on 8mm stock look better theatrically than in the 480p version on FANZA. I mean, I'm sure it'd be an adventure but I'm not sure I'm that adventurous anymore.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing if I inspired you to go see a new Argento film But in general yeah! With movies and travel you always experience more than just the films.

Luckily the new Argento was sandwiched in between other, much better films by Fabrice Du Welz and Kirill Sokolov. I'll say it was better than Dracula 3D but that's about it.

My first destination was Meguro Cinema, one of Tokyo's few remaining double feature theatres with a distinctly 90s atmosphere. I like how they ring bells every time a film is about to begin to let people know it's time to get seated.

The one cinema I still regularily go to does this as well. First ring you may want to hit the bathroom if you got to go. Second ring you go to the bar and pick up your next batch of beers and snacks. Third ring you get seated.

The latter was the reason for my visit. It was my 2nd time seeing Ninja’s Mark in 35mm, but I didn't remember how gorgeous the print was! Another example of why home cinema will never equal a fine 35mm presentation. The film is a good bit of fun, starting from the opening scene where an evil ninja turns a woman having sex into a fish! Someone should release this on BD in a box set with other ninja films based on Futaro Yamada novels (e.g. Female Ninja Magic, Ninja Wars, Samurai Reincarnation).

Ninja’s Mark also has some historical relevance for being the 1st movie Toei head Okada had producer Amao make in order to milk the eros boom. The film failed at the box office ("men don't forgive eros that only goes half-way", Okada said) and has since been largely forgotten. Their follow-up try History of the Shogun's Harem (1968), however, was a huge hit and went down in history books as the official start of Pinky Violence.

Ninja's Mark is amazing and a much better film than Ishii's History of the Shogun's Harem, which I found to be dull harem melodrama for 95% of its runtime with just a single scene of titty dance and rat costumes qualifying as "pinky" in any way. In that sense, Okada's quote should be the reverse: Maybe audiences weren't ready for Suzuki going all the way with Ninja's Mark and needed to be lured in by the much more conventional History of the Shogun's Harem.

I'd also buy a Futaro Yamada BD box set in a second but I don't see anything of that sort coming from Toei any time soon. I'd pretty much have to be Arrow Video, I guess, and they seem to be done with that kind of thing at the moment.

Then it was time to head back to my capsule for a quick shower and too little sleep.

A shower in a capsule hotel? How does that work?

[HungFist]

Yes, exactly. I'd worry about maybe being the only guy in there wanting to find out if the flashback scenes shot on 8mm stock look better theatrically than in the 480p version on FANZA. I mean, I'm sure it'd be an adventure but I'm not sure I'm that adventurous anymore.

Nowadays if you go to a pink cinema, you're likely get a 360i version. Better stick to Fanza

Ninja's Mark is amazing and a much better film than Ishii's History of the Shogun's Harem, which I found to be dull harem melodrama for 95% of its runtime with just a single scene of titty dance and rat costumes qualifying as "pinky" in any way. In that sense, Okada's quote should be the reverse: Maybe audiences weren't ready for Suzuki going all the way with Ninja's Mark and needed to be lured in by the much more conventional History of the Shogun's Harem.

Actually, I'd say Harem has more eros and nudity than Ninja. I thought Harem it was really short on nudity, but there was more than I remembered when I caught it in 35mm a few years ago. Maybe it was because of the bigger screen

Btw, Toei finally scanned Ninja's Mark in HD. It was on Toei Channel last month.

A shower in a capsule hotel? How does that work?

Shared bathing facilities. Showers, sauna, "onsen" (not real onsen).
https://www.centurion-hotel.com/oriental_2/#oriental_2

That's usually around 2500 yen for a night, though I don't think I paid even than much last time.

[Guro Taku]

Nowadays if you go to a pink cinema, you're likely get a 360i version. Better stick to Fanza

I don't want to imagine what 360i would look like projected on even a tiny screen. I once saw Mari Asato's The Boy From Hell screened from a 480i digibeta and that was not an enjoyable experience at all.

Actually, I'd say Harem has more eros and nudity than Ninja. I thought Harem it was really short on nudity, but there was more than I remembered when I caught it in 35mm a few years ago. Maybe it was because of the bigger screen

You may well be right. I haven't revisited the film since Toei first released it on DVD in 2005 and I definitely went into watching it with the wrong expectations, having just come off discovering the likes of Shogun's Joy of Torture and Inferno of Torture. Maybe it's time for a rewatch.

Btw, Toei finally scanned Ninja's Mark in HD. It was on Toei Channel last month.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Now all that's missing, as far as my pinky violence needs are concerned, is 下苅り半次郎 (秘)観音を探せ. They'll have to get around to that eventually, right?

Shared bathing facilities. Showers, sauna, "onsen" (not real onsen).
https://www.centurion-hotel.com/oriental_2/#oriental_2

That's usually around 2500 yen for a night, though I don't think I paid even than much last time.

Makes sense, especially for that price. The cheapest places to stay during my film festival visits (in Europe, not Japan) tend to be €80-100 per night, which isn't ideal when all you need is a bed to crash for a few hours. Looks like a capsule hotel actually opened in my town the meantime, which is just €36 a night. Definitely going to give that a shot next time.