BATTLE ROYALE (2000) - If you only ever see one Japanese movie...

If you haven't been here before, the Black Hole blog recommends all sorts of movies, old and new, from around the world. But half the films are from Japan. I'm so impressed by the quality and freedom of the film-making, the style and imagination and, well, they come up with stuff that no one else does. Sometimes impeccably tasteful, other times, not so. A case in point...

BATTLE ROYALE
(2000, Japan)

If you only ever see one Japanese movie...

...make sure it's this one!

In the near future, 42 schoolkids are abducted and taken to a remote island. They are given a weapon each and told that only one of them will be allowed to leave the island. They have three days to kill all their classmates...

An outrageous scenario with brutal violence that veers between tragedy and black humour. Not visually extreme by today's standards, but repeatedly shocking. It could easily be TV from the near future - as each teenager dies, a scorecard comes up of how many survivors are left. I first watched it in a state of continuous astonishment, and it's the best movie I can think of which would change someone's mind over watching a subtitled movie.

There's a grim introduction, as we see the winner of last year's tournament (clutching a teddy bear) and then the new batch of kids are all too easily kidnapped. We're then clued in to the film's dark humour with the tongue-in-cheek, chirpy video guide to the rules of the game. Their randomly allocated weapons range from machine-guns to kitchen utensils. Oh, and look out for that handheld rice sickle, guys.

As the slaying begins, the young contestants pick their initial victims based on schoolyard jealousies, or by bringing down the bullies. But this certainly isn't The Running Man. Not everyone instantly turns into motivated killing machines. The teenagers react realistically - some panic, some crack under stress, some can't face killing their friends.


The only flaw in this almost perfect cult movie, is the under-explained history of the game. There's a huge media frenzy around the winner of the previous game, but no good explanation of why there is a game. Televising it all would have made more sense, but there's no hint that it is. This would also repeat the themes of other legalised murder-sports moves, such as The 10th Victim, Rollerball and Death Race 2000.


After first seeing Battle Royale, I looked up the director's other credits, assuming it was a young film-maker wanting to cause a controversial splash. I was surprised to learn that Kinji Fukasaku was a seasoned veteran with a filmography packed with cult goodies such as The Green Slime and Black Lizard (both from 1968). Remembering his childhood in World War II, Fukasaku had intended Battle Royale to be a reminder of how adults can turn teenagers into killers in times of war. After a fascinating career, this proved to be his last complete film (he'd just started shooting Battle Royale II: Requiem when he passed away).


The hugely respected film star and director, Takeshi Kitano, heads the cast as the sinister supervisor of the tournament. Many of the huge, young cast have since sustained acting careers. Leading man, Tatsuya Fujiwara recently starred in the live-action version of the phenomenon that is Death Note. Actress Chiaki Kuriyama went on to steal her only scene from Uma Thurman, as the schoolgirl assassin in Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1

.

There are two versions of the film, the original and The Director's Cut - a revised version where Fukasaku added a little more blood to the film. There's an important additional scene that shows the class playing basketball together before they're abducted. It's the only opportunity to see them in a normal situation before the havoc begins.

But see either version. Whichever way, you won't forget Battle Royale in a hurry.



Check out more from the Japanese Blog-a-thon at Wild Grounds.


Here in the Black Hole, there are lists of links to Japanese horror films, anime, monster movies and TV... down the sidebar...

GEGEGE NO KITARO 2: KITARO AND THE MILLENNIUM CURSE (2008) - live-action sequel

GEGEGE NO KITARO 2:
KITARO AND THE MILLENNIUM CURSE
(2008, Japan, GeGeGe no Kitaro 2: Sennen Noroi Uta)

The first live-action spin-off from the long-running anime series did so well that this sequel immediately followed. But while I love the characters and the stories, the live-action films are disappointing. Even though my expectations were pretty low for this sequel, as an adult, I was barely entertained. My main consolation is that least these films are raising awareness about Gegege No Kitaro, and the character has finally made a debut on English subtitled DVDs.

I can't get enough of Kitaro's many anime series. They first appeared on Japanese TV in 1968. But to do Shigeru Mizuki's stories justice in a live-action movie requires a considerable budget, which this sequel lacks. I got the same vibe off Saiyuki: Monkey Magic, made in Japan the same year. It's good fun for kids, but lacking the intrigue and sophisticated special effects to please adult audiences.

The Millennium Curse begins with a typical scare as young women are menaced by ancient spirits. During the title sequence we get a flashback of Kitaro's origin (also seen in the impressive anime OVA Hakaba Kitaro) as baby Kitaro crawls out of his mother's grave, guided by all that's left of his dad (the walking eyeball). Kitaro, Rat Man, Cat Girl and the gang now have to unravel the mystery of a series of disappearances, all linked to an ancient curse lingering after a great injustice, many centuries ago.

While the plot is solid, it generates little intrigue or excitement, even in fight scenes. Kitaro's primary weapons are his flying wooden sandals and needle hair - these are made to look dynamic and interesting in the anime but fall flat when rendered realistically.


On the upside there's the late Ken Ogata (The Hidden Blade, Mishima), in his final film role as Kitaro's nemesis Nurarihyon. But this arch-villain doesn't fully emerge until the climax. The finale is especially impressive for a well-animated giant skeleton piling on the jeopardy.

But mostly the yokai monster make-ups of supporting characters are either obviously CGI or use completely static masks. Two busy monster scenes in the yokai library and the forest simply look like a bunch of dancers in masks. I'd rather yokai monsters be done properly or not at all. The effects in these scenes reminded me of similar techniques used in the 1960s yokai film trilogy. For instance, there's nothing on the scale of the flying demon attack on Kitaro's house in the first film.


The main cast are good, all returning from the first film. Once again Yo Oizumi makes the most of the treacherous, hypocritical, smelly Rat Man. The baddies include Yasha, who's a terrifying yokai in the anime who hypnotises victims with his music and steals their souls. But here the character looks like a failed rock star who only uses his guitar like a machine-gun rather than for anything supernatural.

I might have enjoyed the story less because of the poor English subtitles on this Malay DVD, available here from HKFlix. But really, the 2007 anime series would provide more action and scares than this - that's what I'd prefer to see on DVD.

My review of the first Gegege No Kitaro film is here.

My guide to the Gegege No Kitaro anime series is here.

Here's a Japanese-only trailer for Kitaro and the Millennium Curse on YouTube...

... and there's an English subtitled trailer on this page in the AsianMediaWiki.

Much more background info, pictures and a plot summary on SciFi Japan, and Sarudama.

YAJI & KITA: THE MIDNIGHT PILGRIMS (2005) - a surreal road trip

YAJI & KITA: THE MIDNIGHT PILGRIMS
(2005, Japan, Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san)

Not a gay comedy. It's much, much more.

Some Japanese comedies like Swing Girls and Waterboys aim at international audiences with accessible 'universal' humour. The more offbeat comedies are primarily for a Japanese audience, full of cultural references, cameos and in-jokes. I assumed that Yaji & Kita was the latter, and was surprised that it was released on DVD in the US, especially with an upfront gay storyline. But this is a unique movie, that defies simple assumptions or categorisations.

It begins as a freewheeling comedy, with singing transvestites, a comedy baddie (Riki Takeuchi of Battle Royale II), and a gang of housewives who think they're watching a TV show. But then it turns darker and beautifully philosopical for a dramatic and very rewarding second half.


It begins with two samurai back in the Edo period (though they don't have swords). A surreal video-game dream and a ride on a motorbike soon shatter the period feel. Kita is a drug-addict with a loose grip on reality, so these anachronisms could all be in his head. But anything goes, as they embark on a journey across Japan to reach a temple where Kita hopes to kick his habit. Along the way, the more people they meet, the harder their quest gets, especially when both Yaji and Kita are holding back huge secrets from each other...

Early on, it's very episodic as they meet bizarre new characters in each town. I settled into just letting it all wash over me and assumed I was missing out on the in-jokes. But I did recognise Kazuo Umezu and Sadao Abe (Uzumaki, The Great Yokai War) acting more bizarrely than usual. But then the seemingly random events started to make more sense and a solid storyline started to emerge. It's ambitious and complex, and I appreciated one of the characters saying "I'm lost" during the climax.

The gay couple are central to the plot, but it's not at all intended for a gay audience. It's more like a running gag, aimed at a straight male audience, like the gay-themed plots and characters of South Park. Yaji & Kita are gay because it's a subversion of old Yaji & Kita films and stories. The script is an adaption of a cult manga, which in turn is based on an 18th century comic novel, previously adapted as a comedy in the 1920's and 30's.

The lead actors look a little uncomforatable with their intimate moments, a couple of scenes of mouth-on-mouth kissing (shown in the behind-the-scenes extras). But for the rest of the film it could just as easily be a buddy movie. While the gay relationship is initially played for laughs, it's never offensive, and the plot matures as it progresses. It's rebelling against the norm, along with plenty of irreverent nudity, swearing and even some punky rock. There's an early homage to Easy Rider as they jump on a familiar-looking motorbike.

It's misleading that Kita (Shichinosuke Nakamura, also seen in The Last Samurai) has been made to look so weird in the poster. I was almost put off, thinking he was going to be a stereotypical gay comedy character. He's sleightly built but not effeminate. His character is primarily a junkie. Effortlessly handsome Tomoya Nagase (TOKIO band member, also seen in Ring: The Final Chapter) expertly plays the good-humoured Yaji. Japanese pop stars-turned-actors seem to be far better at acting than the ones in the west.

I was surprised at how well the central characters are handled. But this is due to a hugely imaginative film-maker, Kankuro Kudo, a first-time director whose talents mature even during the film (which was shot in sequence). He's also a successful scriptwriter, responsible for the wondeful Zebraman and Maiko Haaaan! (also starring Sadao Abe).

Another surprise were the special effects, many of which are wild and eye-poppingly good, when they're detectable. According to the extras, post-production was done over two years, plenty of time to perfect them. Many scenes don't depend on effects but on inventive sets (like the seemingly endless house of shuttered doors) and expert lighting so carefully controlled that two people on the same set appear to be in different time zones.

Hard to categorise or define, I'm very glad that I've seen this, and look forward to more from the director.

Here's the Japanese trailer...

Media Blasters rightfully thought they had a cult classic on their hands and gave this a deluxe two-disc treatment. The US DVD is anamorphic widescreen, the English subtitles are carefully and humorously translated, and the extras disc includes an astonishingly honest 'Making Of' documentary, very different from the Hollywood style. It's are to see a director looking tired and distraught while watching a scene being filmed.

There are also enthusiastic reviews on FilmBrain and Twitch.

4bia (2008) - patchy Thai horror anthology

4bia
(2008, Thailand, See Prang)

I'm quite reluctant to write this review. I want to encourage Thai movies internationally, especially since the country is so keen on the supernatural genre. But I'm duty bound to write an honest review, to compensate for the growing hype, from both the east and the west. 4bia may have been successful in Thailand, with a sequel in the works already, but most of the good reviews seem to be saying 'this is very good... for a Thai movie'. Yes, 4bia has elements that are rare in Thai cinema - car stunts and CGI characters, for instance. While this might be impressive in Thailand, I don't honestly think it'll be at all satisfying for regular horror fans. 4bia only has one story out of four that I can recommend.

It's made up of four short horror stories, all by different Thai directors. While the title is a twist on phobia, the common thread is ghosts, as is usual with Thai horror.


The first segment is called Loneliness (though the onscreen title on the Malay DVD was Happiness). I was disappointed that the story centred on a mobile phone, now a ragged Asian horror cliche. The pace also started quite slowly, as a young woman with her leg in a cast starts getting text messages from a mysterious admirer. Just as I was getting restless, the tale started to get successfully creepy. This was interesting considering the director's previous films included The Iron Ladies films, basically feelgood comedies. But the carefully built atmosphere was shattered by a clumsy shock moment from a shoddy video effect and a confusing sting in the tale.


Second up was Tit For Tat, an example of the more gruesome wave of Thai horror that aspires to ladle out bloody shock effects. A schoolboy is victimised by a nasty gang of bullies and takes revenge using black magic. But this is presented with fast-cutting, shaky camerawork, pumped-up colours and a barrage of computer-generated effects, some successful (a whirlwind of paper) and some definitely not (CGI characters). The uneven special effects distracted me from the already flimsy story.

Best of the lot is the third story, In The Middle. Directed with a sure hand, from a director of Alone and the superb Shutter, Banjong Pisanthanakun. This is well-paced, well-acted and largely original. Four boys are on a camping trip in the forest, scaring each other with ghost stories in the tent at night and teasing each other about which horror films they've seen, (cue some smart in-jokes). But next day they have a Deliverance-style accident and the trip turns into a nightmare. This was easily the best - well made, scary and didn't insult horror fans.


Lastly is Last Fright where a stewardess attends to royalty on a specially chartered flight. But the princess starts ill-treating the attendant and everything escalates rather alarmingly. In the story's mission to scare, logic goes completely out the window in order to create any scares. Like part two, the director cheats the viewer every whichway, in order to get the shocks. The premise of royalty of any country (in this case a fictitious one) hiring a huge passenger jet all for one person is far-fetched to begin with. An appalling CGI plane sabotaged the segment, while the interior set was just about convincing.

So, a mixed bag, above average horror for Thailand, just about good enough as a TV film, OK for DVD. It's an accurate overview of Thai approaches to horror, with some over-familiar subjects. I'd like to see the directors of Dorm and Victim invited to the next batch.

The Malay DVD from Golden Satellite (pictured at top) is non-anamorphic widescreen. The English subtitles were well-translated but non-removable. Any curse words were censored with a silly black blob over the offending words. This could indicate that the gore had also been cut down for Malaysia. Maybe the promised UK DVD release later this year will have more gore (in the second story?).

As I'm still feeling guilty, in the name of balance here's the gushy review that inspired me to write this, and a far more balanced and informative review from Wise Kwai.

REIGO: DEEP SEA MONSTER VS BATTLESHIP YAMATO

REIGO: THE DEEP SEA MONSTER VS THE BATTLESHIP YAMATO
(2008, Japan, IMDB: Shinkaiju Reigo)

After years of tantalising photos, various reports of screenings and half a dozen title changes, Reigo has finally surfaced on DVD in Hong Kong, released by Panorama (cover art above). Despite the lack of English subtitles, I could wait no longer.

Starved of new Japanese giant monster movies and with the current hibernation of Godzilla, I was looking forward to this, my expectations fuelled by various news sites. Reigo was made by Godzilla/Gamera fan Shinpei Hayashiya. His previous film was Gamera 4: Truth, a short unofficial sequel to the awesome 1990s trilogy. As a fan production, this is extremely impressive. But as a monster movie, it wasn't very satisfying.

The setting is World War II. Japan launches the Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, to lead the Japanese fleet. The mission gets complicated when the Yamato mistakes a huge undersea monster for an enemy destroyer and accidentally kills its offspring. The monster, Reigo, wants revenge and starts attacking the fleet. But if anything can stop it, the Yamato can...

The WW2 setting is deadly serious and quite daring for a giant monster movie, a genre usually reserved for escapism. What lets the film down are the obviously limited budget (small sets and few actors) and the variable special effects. For what should be a visual effects movie, there are very few scenes that work convincingly.

There are obviously some intricate creature costumes and models, but these are only shown in very short cuts. A potentially startling scene, when some man-sized 'bone-fish' leap up onto the deck and attack the crew, was kept very short. Perhaps because the bloody nature of the scene had to be toned down. There's hardly a good look at the bone-fish at all, which looked as interesting a creature design as the main monster.

The wider shots of the creature are mainly done CGI, a very difficult technique when depicting the ocean. The best of the effects shots are very impressive, some saved for the film's climax. The Battleship Yamato is also largely CGI, and rarely looks at all convincing.

I don't want to list all my disappointments in the film. After all it's an ambitious and original project from a fan of the genre. But I strongly advise everyone to treat this as a spectacular fan-made film that actually has a decent cast, rather than expecting a monster movie with a big enough budget.

There are some familiar faces in the cast, Susumu Kurobe (the original Ultraman himself) and Taiyo Sugiara (Ultraman Cosmos himself). Plus the always-welcome Yukijiro Hotaru from the Gamera trilogy, Giant Robo Mikazuki and many other cult movies.

Sci-Fi Japan have a very extensive look at the making of the film, the production history and many publicity shots.

The official Reigo vs Yamato website is in English is here.

There's also the trailer on YouTube here.

Dread Central has recently broken the news (and a trailer) for a modern-day Reigo sequel from the same director, with the monster walking around on land. It'll be ready by the end of the year, confusingly called Deep Sea Monster Raiga. Again this looks perfect for it's intended audience at giant monster movie festivals, especially since it appears to be aiming for homage/comedy.

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD (1969) - Gregory Peck meets THE CHAIRMAN

THE CHAIRMAN
a.k.a. THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD
(1969, USA)

First saw this when it was first released in England, under the title The Most Dangerous Man In The World. As a pre-teen, I wasn't interested in talky spy-thrillers, but the countdown clock climax and Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack made an impression. I thought that the film had disappeared, only recently aware of the original US title change.


Gregory Peck (Moby Dick, Arabesque, The Omen) plays Hathaway, a scientist sent to China on a secret mission. He's to get hold of a formula that could allow the growth of food in inhospitable climates. As an expert in the field, and able to read Chinese, he travels there under the pretence of seeing a former colleague (Keye Luke).

As he says goodbye to his girlfriend (Anne Heywood), there's a sense that he won't be coming back. He has a one-way radio transmitter implanted in his skull to send any information back undetected, not realising that military intelligence have packed the device with explosive, in case they need to prevent him from talking.

Travelling through Hong Kong then China, to his friend's laboratory, Chairman Mao himself asks to meet him, and suddenly America has the opportunity to eliminate the communist leader with the oblivious walking bomb...


This is an intelligent, if gimmicky, spy thriller, with the suspense ramped up by frantic cross-cutting between Peck and his eavesdroppers, with their collective finger on the button.

Seeing it in 2.35 widescreen for the first time in 40 years, it still has much to offer. With China once again at the forefront of the world's economic stage, and the current threat of an insular Communist leader in North Korea, this story could almost play unchanged today.


I was impressed by the extent of the location filming. While the interiors and a huge compound were built at Pinewood Studios in London, there are some great scenes in 1960s' Hong Kong. I couldn't say for sure whether anything was actually shot in China. It would have been rare to film there at the time, though I've heard actress Zienia Merton talking about when she visited with Gregory Peck, and had to leave in a hurry when the Chinese heard about script being about assassinating their beloved leader!

The scenes of the huge temple and paddy fields could easily have been shot around Hong Kong. While the climax was apparently shot in the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia.


I always thought of this as shot in the US, but recognising many British actors throughout. Burt Kwouk, Mai Ling, Zienia Merton (a regular on Space 1999) plus Oli Levy (the same year he was in Moon Zero Two) again playing a Russian. The only American actors that needed to be ferried over are Gregory Peck, Keye Luke and Arthur Hiller (The Andromeda Strain, Futureworld). Director J. Lee Thompson (Happy Birthday To Me, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) wrings as much excitement out of the story as possible.

Even now, I'm unsure if The Most Dangerous Man In The World is supposed to refer to Gregory Peck's character, or Mao Tse Tung...


The DVD (artwork at top) is presented 2.35 anamorphic widescreen. There is a commentary track, two alternate scenes with extra nudity, some trailers and a 'mini-movie' of alternate takes. The trailer and the nude scenes are the most interesting items.

Talking of nude scenes, actress Zienia Merton is still in the acting game, and has recently written her autobiography, available from her website.

The title sequence is on YouTube, a powerful photo-montage of communist China as was...

New sounds from old movies - Pogo remixes ALICE IN WONDERLAND

When I'm not watching films, I'm always listening to music old and new. I was delighted to hear this artist who combines the old with the new. Pogo remixes and samples movie soundtracks to a modern chill-out vibe. It's a little off-topic, but most of his music is film-related and there are also tightly-edited, cut-up videos made from film clips.

Pogo's most popular work includes four tracks reworking Disney's psychedelic animated musical Alice In Wonderland (1951). Fans of the original can be reassured that this is an affectionate update rather than any sort of blasphemy. The familiar aural atmosphere is preserved but re-edited into a whole new song - the remaining lyrics of Alice (above) are now nonsensical, using only parts of words.

Other tracks are based on Harry Potter, Carry On films, Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963), The King and I (1956) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). This week, I was listening to music on the train to work while reading a biography of the late Richard Harris (Hellraisers by Robert Sellers). I was a little spooked when I realised I was also listening to his voice, as Dumbledore in Pogo's Harry Potter track.

The young musician also wants to make movies, according to this interview. He's already made a short film Out With It, which shows incredible promise - also on YouTube.

All his music videos are also here on YouTube, under the band's original name of Faggottron. 15 tracks by Pogo can heard and legally downloaded for free from LastFM.

A huge thanks to Frankie F. for leading me to these.

BRAIN DAMAGE (1988) - Henenlotter's most cerebral outing

BRAIN DAMAGE

(1988, USA)

Grindhouse pre-cursor to Requiem for a Dream

Funny, horrifying, tightly-plotted, unique. I love Brain Damage, but it's probably the director's least well-known film.

After enjoying Frank Henenlotter's first two Basket Case movies (reviewed here and here) and Frankenhooker, I was further rewarded by his next film, Brain Damage, which proved to be his best film in many respects. It actually has a meaning behind all the mauling. In fact, there's an awful lot of subtext going on here, but here's the story so far...


Brian is having trouble getting up one morning. He feels drained and dizzy and finds blood on his bedsheets. He discovers a weird-looking parasite has attached itself to his body. It looks like a turd, or maybe a large penis, and it talks! It persuades him to place it on his neck and injects a blue liquid into his brain, giving him powerful and colourful dreams. What Brian doesn't realise is that while he's dreaming, the parasite uses his body to carry him to its next meal... brains...


This would be grim material for a horror film, but Hennenlotter and his team use a large amount of humour, especially with the parasite glibly talking back to its host. The fairly basic special effects look a wacky as well, with Elmer the parasite looking a little like a cartoon character, especially the eyes. We get to see inside Brian's brain as the needle delivers its hallucinogenic load! I'd say that this is also the goriest of all his films and easily contains the most powerful shock moment, all in the same scene.

With Brian unable to resist further injections and his health and reliability rapidly declining, it's easy to see the parallel with drug addiction, but there's no preachy message, just a horrifying glimpse of a downward spiral, suitably portrayed against the backdrop of Manhattan.


The other subtext is more complex, as my 'gaydar' goes off the scale with this film. The two well-built brothers are always wearing tight white underwear. The parasite often looks and acts like a penis and even gets confusingly pulled into sexual activity. Brian appears to enjoy his drug like an orgasm, while his neck is being penetrated from behind (ahem). There's more male nudity than female (usually Hennenlotter balances the two) and while there are no explicitly gay characters, there are several possibles, and even a fantasy threesome. Again, like the drug parallel, this subtext isn't part of the story and there's no explicit message - quite an achievement considering AIDS hysteria was everywhere at the time.


Like his other films, the low budget means that the quality of acting is variable, which is a shame during the more maniacal moments. The limber parasite puppet, together with Zacharle's melodious voice, proves to be one of the best performances in the film. Though Rick Hearst does an incredible and difficult job in the lead as Brian.

My Synapse DVD (cover art pictured at top) restores the censored scenes that were missing from the UK and US versions of the film. It's presented in widescreen, which looks accurately framed, but the DVD is non-anamorphic (the black letterboxing is part of the picture). The extras are a trailer and a commentary track from Frank Hennenlotter. I'd guess that the more recent UK and US DVDs are anamorphic widescreen.

Right, now to track down Bad Biology, Frank's first film in years...

Not on DVD: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1967) - animated fun in 2D

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
(1968, USA, TV)

Filmation Studios' animated movie spin-offs

In the sixties, a TV series that had me hooked was this Filmation cartoon. One image, that haunted me ever since, was the intrepid bunch surrounded by eerie giant moving slabs of stone. How were they going to get out of that one? Being really young, I was genuinely concerned that they would one day escape the bowels of the earth and return to the surface. According to this Wikipedia entry, I finally learnt that they never did!

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967) is another series that I've wanted to revisit out of nostalgia, that hasn't been released on VHS or DVD. Unsurprisingly, I guess, I'm finding more and more rare items are easier to find on YouTube, Google Video, VEOH etc. Only a few moments after remembering something I've not seen in decades, I can watch it online.

Now that my memory has been refreshed, I was surprised that the cartoon series of 17 episodes was a follow-on from the colourful, epic movie from 1959. The linking character being Gertrude the Duck! I'd like to know how she survived the film. She's trapped under the earth along with Professor Lindenbrook, two kids and a guide who are being chased by an evil-doer and his sidekick. They meet a lot of giant monsters and a multitude of subterranean civilisations, mostly hostile!

With exciting cliffhangers before each ad break, this is still fun, if you can get used to Filmation's 'limited animation' techniques. These similar the cost-saving devices used in anime, but at the time, it looked like a step backward from the dynamic action of Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry and of course Disney. But a weekly half-hour of TV animation had a far lower budget.

Here's a few more Filmation productions that I remember playing on TV here in the UK. Fantastic Voyage (1968) extended the 1966 movie into regular missions of the Combined Miniature Defence Force. The traitor among them has been wisely weeded out and replaced with a Spock-like Indian psychic. The memorably catchy soundtrack is the main reason I'd like to see these again. Here's the zingy theme tune on YouTube with the incredibly shouty voiceover...

The animated Star Trek (1973) series even made peak-time Saturday night on the BBC, as an alternative to the endless re-runs of the classic live-action show. Having most of the original cast doing the voices really helped. This site about animated Star Trek includes a guide to the other Filmation shows on DVD.


Filmation also made two animated Batman series in 1968 and 1977. The 1968 version is much more watchable, despite not having Adam West's voice. Mainly because the annoying Bat-Mite (Batman's very own Scrappy Doo) was added to the 1977 series. Annoyingly, this is the series available on DVD. The earlier show is immediately notable for it's epilepsy-unfriendly title sequence that uses the same flashing colours that triggered the infamous Pokemon mass-fainting phenomenon in Japan. Dozens of these short 1968 episodes (segments of The Batman/Superman Hour) are on YouTube. Love the Bat-ejector seats in the Batmobile!

I think Filmation's Flash Gordon (1979) was also widely seen, especially when the series was condensed into an animated feature-length version. The first 16 episodes roughly follow Flash's first adventures on the planet Mongo, just pre-dating the famous Dino De Laurentiis movie of 1980.

I'd recommend the wonderful Saturday Morning Blog - a treasure trove of cartoon episodes from this era, that are viewable online.

If you want to know more, Wikipedia has a long, thorough entry on the short, prolific life of Filmation productions.

RED SHADOW (2001) - from the director of SAMURAI FICTION

RED SHADOW

(2001, Japan, Akakage)

Tragi-comedy ninja action in this homage to the beloved Toei series

I only started watching samurai movies relatively recently. After overdosing on Asian horror, I dipped my toe into a few other genres. I tried some Akira Kurosawa classics, like The Seven Samurai, but struggled to appreciate them. I found the more recent, realistic dramas The Hidden Blade and The Twilight Samurai more accessible and impressive. I loved the sword-swinging action hits Princess Blade and Azumi. Hong Kong's House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower are full of truly impossible feats, and tremendous eye candy, but I don't feel the need to catch every epic. The same goes for the huge backlog of samurai and Chinese martial arts films through the decades. I'm looking for the more offbeat movies. The same way I prefer the westerns of Sergio Leone over John Ford. So I was very pleased to stumble upon Red Shadow.

It's a modern spin on a ninja hero. Based on a popular TV and film series produced by Toei Studios, who celebrated their 50th anniversary with this irreverent homage. The ninja heroes' ultra-athletic abilities are sent up with light, but not slapstick, comedy. While die-hard Red Shadow fans might not welcome this, there's also plenty of action and drama. The approach is much the same as director Hiroyuki Nakano's acclaimed Samurai Fiction (1998), also a modern update of the samurai genre.

Red Shadow focuses on three young ninja students who are part of a secret movement who use their special abilities to prevent civil war and unnecessary bloodshed. They can camouflage themselves in darkness, scale impossible walls, and defend themselves from any weapon. Red Shadow, Blue Shadow and female ninja buddy Asuka are given a mission to keep two clans from going to war. The three friends are in constant peril, and in danger of falling into a love triangle, in defiance of their ninja code.


If you liked Samurai Fiction, this is most definitely for you. Red Shadow is all-round entertaining and accessible. Jarringly, the soundtrack is techno music (which works for me), a technique Nakano also used in Samurai Fiction.

Composer/actor/pop star Hotei Tomoyasu makes an early cameo appearance and provides the magnificent electric guitar solo over the closing credits. I wish Tomoyasu was as famous in the west as his music - he wrote and performed one of the most famous tracks in Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol 1.

I watched a blurry DVD from Hong Kong, which lost a lot of detail in the many night scenes, but there must be a better Japanese or US DVD edition out there for me to upgrade to for my next viewing.

For a taste of the action, here's a French trailer for Red Shadow on YouTube...

Also check out this promo for the 1960s Toei TV series, it has giant monsters!

OTAKUS IN LOVE (2004) - a manga maniacs rom-com

OTAKUS IN LOVE

(2004, Japan, Koi no mon)

First faltering romance for a pair of anime/manga/cosplay geeks

I'm not big on romantic comedies, but here's one devoid of cliches. It's in the world of anime geeks (or otaku), where fictional characters and their inventors attract an obsessive fandom of Star Trekian proportions. But while anime and manga are widely seen to be all giant robots and schoolgirls, in Japan they're about absolutely anything (tennis, cats, cooking) with just as many female fans.

Koino (Wakana Sakai) loves singing along with anime theme tunes, collecting manga, and dressing up as her favourite characters. Mon (Ryuhei Matsuda) is an aspiring manga artist with a radical take on the artform. The two meet by accident. Well. In an accident. Both twenty-something, lonely virgins, with something in common. A love of manga. She's particularly impressed that he's a manga artist. That is, until she sees his work...

The scenario is set for a bizarre courtship involving cosplay dating, ani-singers, and manga conventions... Mon stumbles into a manga bar and even the owner, Marimoda, gets tangled up in the budding relationship... The embarrassments of early sexual connections pale into comparison with their respective obsessions.


This is the first film directed by Suzuki Matsuo, an experienced actor who also stars as the deadpan bar manager. He's adept at handling this quickfire comedy with a sharp sense of visuals. Matsuo has also rallied an extensive set of cameos. Among the real-life manga artists and anime singers, there are also movie directors. I didn't get all the in-jokes (though the humour doesn't rely heavily on them), but I wasn't expecting to see Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo, Nightmare Detective) and Takashi Miike in all the chaos.

Acclaimed, cult actor Ryuhei Matsuda (the star of Nightmare Detective 1 and 2, and Gohatto) proves adept at deadpan comedy. He's also unafraid to flash his leopardskin bulge, though this is still very tame for a sex comedy. The less well-known Wakana Sakai proves to be his match for comic timing as well as drama.

I'd assumed that, by now, Otakus in Love would have been released on DVD in the UK or US, but no. With the widespread cosplay and anime conventions, I thought that this film could be an easy sell.


Luckily, the Japanese DVD was subtitled in English, under the title Koi no Mon. There's also a Korean special edition which has good subtitles and even subtitled extras on a second disc. Both editions are out of print, but they're out there, somewhere.


The official website for the film is still here.

For a flavour of the visual style, here's an unsubtitled trailer on YouTube...

GUARD POST / GP506 (2008) - from the director of R-POINT

GUARD POST / GP 506
(2008, South Korea)

Su-Chang Kong wrote and directed both this and R-Point (2004) - both are horror films set in the army. I was impressed and scared by R-Point and wondered if this soldier's tale was going to be similar. The strengths of both films are that you're not sure which particular horror genre you're heading into. A slasher movie? Zombies? Ghosts?

Guard Point begins at the end of a massacre, at a remote concrete complex near the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. A military investigation team arrives to discover a sole survivor drenched in blood, holding an axe. They're given 24 hours to determine what happened. Did everyone kill each other, or did one man do it all? Is he mad, or possessed?


But as the scares began, I was disappointed to see a few overly familiar horror cliches, especially after the originality of the surprises in R-Point. The plot was certainly clever, but maybe too convoluted, because I started to get lost as the story moved between timelines before and after the massacre.


When explanations finally arrived, they didn't quite answer everything, and I was left sorting out red herrings from loose ends. The narrative was hard-going and requires concentration - with many sudden flashbacks, it's not always easy to follow. Also, with a cast of four dozen characters, all soldiers, variously covered in blood and camouflage make-up, it wasn't easy to make out who's who.


But it's a handsome looking film, with a convincing cast and solid, steadily-increasing shocks. It's certainly far more eventful than R-Point, and far gorier. Maybe I'll understand it better second time around. If it was from Thailand I'd be very impressed. But from Korea, I'd expect to be more satisfied. Boy, am I hard to please sometimes.


Guard Post was released last year on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK by Cine-East.

Here's the trailer on YouTube, without subtitles though.

ENCHANTING SHADOW (1960) - inspiring A CHINESE GHOST STORY

ENCHANTING SHADOW
(1960, Hong Kong, Ching nu yu hun)

A beautiful film which inspired the internationally famous A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), which in turn revitalised the flying swords genre, as well as many more Hong Kong ghost stories. Recently restored on DVD, the 1960 Shaw Brothers version holds up as a favourable alternative to the better known Tsui Hark remake.

Based on the same source as A Chinese Ghost Story (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling, written in the 17th century) it has the same basic structure of a rent collector who can't find a place to stay in a small town, resorting to staying in a deserted temple that the locals say is haunted.


Exploring the grounds, he meets an attractive young woman in the splendid back garden, where she lives with her aunts and grandma. While she is initially annoyed at his nosiness, she starts to fall for the handsome young man. But courting has many strict rules and when she gets too amorous, he's in danger of getting into deep trouble with her family. Worse than that, there's a horrible murder at the temple, and a body has been drained of blood...

Shot completely in a studio, this early example of colour film from Hong Kong rivals its remake. It's a far more sedate version, but is as typical of the early 1960s as A Chinese Ghost Story is of the late 1980s. The characters, the lush sets and costumes, and especially the story are it's strength. There's almost no fighting and a restrained use of special effects, just enough to serve the story, but with enough shock value.


The remake now almost looks more dated, with fast cutting, wide-angle swish pans, OTT wirework, saturated blue lighting and backlit smoke. The special effects have aged too - the skeletons make Army of Darkness look good. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great martial arts comedy, with inventive routines as good as classic Jackie Chan, and the cast look perfect, Leslie Cheung almost as beautiful as Joey Wang...

But if it's a more serious ghost story you want, I'd certainly recommend Enchanting Shadow. It has a relatively slow start, but I was impressed at how gripping it became. It appears to have been influenced by Hammer Horror, that made an international impression at the end of the 1950s, enough to film in Eastman colour and use startling blood and make-up effects.


There's a short documentary about the director Li Hanxiang included on the DVD (pictured at top), thankfully with English subtitles. As well as a trailer, which is so scratchy and faded, it's a reminder of how miraculous the restoration has been of this fifty-year old movie. The packaging states the film is 2.35 widescreen, but after watching it, that must be a typo. It's presented 4:3, which looks correct.

There's another favourable review of Enchanting Shadow here on Illuminated Lantern, and the DVD is available at HK Flix here.


Meanwhile, there are now remastered editions of all three Chinese Ghost Story films, like this Hong Kong DVD boxset available at YesAsia. Tsui Hark also remade the first film as an animation, and 24framespersecond has news that a live-action remake is now in the works.

GRIZZLY (1976) - with the emphasis on grisly

GRIZZLY
(1976, USA)

Finally, I get to see an uncut version of Grizzly. This was the first to cash in on the bloody wake of Jaws. Cinemas were then deluged by a carnival of killer animal movies, mostly aquatic (Tentacles, Orca The Killer Whale, Piranha, Alligator...), but also landlubbers (Prophecy, The Swarm...). Although Grizzly was first out of the gate, it's one of the best in the genre.

The version we saw in UK cinemas in 1976 had most of the blood (and flying limbs) censored. Despite the amount of gore that was allowed in Jaws, the censor wasn't nearly as lenient with Grizzly. The wonderful Shriek Show 30th anniversary DVD has been my first chance to see the film in its entirety. Getting a 'guilty pleasure' like this, widescreen, uncut, with a commentary track, behind-the-scenes footage, and new interviews, make the Special Edition extra special.

Campers start dying in a state national park. When I say dying, I mean 'getting torn apart'. The ranger thinks a bear is to blame, but no one believes him when he reckons an abnormally large grizzly is responsible - it's just too far south. As the hunters become the hunted, he enlists the help of a helicopter pilot and an eccentric bear expert to try and end the carnage.

Director William Girdler's background was in low-budget horror movies, and Grizzly closely resembles an early slasher film, with the emphasis on slash. The intensity of the bear attacks puts Jason Vorhees to shame, using gore and close-ups of screaming victims backing away from the camera, in a way that recalls Italian giallo. There's as much blood in the uncut version of Grizzly than many Friday the 13th movies, and there's that familiar forest ambiance too. All this and helicopter action. Hey, I happen to like helicopters. So did 1970s action cinema. Had to have a helicopter.


Part of it's continuing watchability today is due to the extensive use of a real-life, full-size grizzly bear running around. (The DVD extras mention the solitary electrified wire that separated it from the cast and crew).

If this were made today, the scriptwriter would have to work hard to avoid the bear being simply anaesthetised and lovingly relocated. But this is a monster movie made in Texas, so the only solutions considered are strictly guns and ammo.


As a bonus, the cast are very good, adding convincing drama to a simple story, but are more familiar from TV. You may have seen Christopher George (the park ranger) star in Lucio Fulci's zombie classic City of the Living Dead (1979), vigilante slasher The Exterminator (1980), or even Girdler's next nature-revenge movie Day of the Animals. Richard Jaeckel (the eccentric tracker) for me is forever the star of Kinji (Battle Royale) Fukasaku's delirious The Green Slime (1968), as a military astronaut defending a space station from, um, alien monsters from the green slime...

As a prime example of bad-taste, low-budget, exploitation cinema gone mainstream, Grizzly is hard to beat. Girdler would try and match it's success with Day of the Animals (1977), but his last film was my favourite, The Manitou (1978), which I reviewed here.


Check out more abut William Girdler's 'Texploitation' movies here.



In the UK, Grizzly topped a double-bill with Drive-In, a good-natured Texan teen comedy. It was like American Graffiti, but in 1970s Dallas. It includes a movie-within-a-movie playing at the drive-in, Disaster '76, an early satire of catastrophe movies, made before Airplane. It's not on DVD, but Drive-In can be seen in its entirety here on GoogleVideo.