Tanasinn

Reviews are up at 10,000 Bullets for a pair of Japanese film DVDs I did the notes for: Never Give Up and Resurrection of Golden Wolf. Both of these are amazing movies and are due to hit stores in late April from Ventura Select / Adness.

Also, courtesy of Matt Kaufman over at Kansai Time Out magazine, here’s his recent write-up of my old-but-goodie TokyoScope.

TOKYOSCOPE: THE JAPANESE CULT FILM COMPANION
Patrick Macias (Cadence Books 2001)

Patrick Macias doesn't like to take credit for his
instrumental role in getting cult film director Miike
Takashi (_Dead or Alive_) the respect he deserved from
"serious" film critics, but believe me, there was a time
when many of the leading critics who now claim to be hip
to Miike's work wouldn't go near his films because they
were considered bottom of the video shelf trash.  (The
first mention of Miike in the New York Times was not until
2001.)  Macias, based in San Francisco has been writing
about Japanese cult films since he was eighteen years old
and trading copies of _House Party 2_ to film fans in
Tokyo in order to get the latest underground offerings. He
developed an expertise in the genre long before setting
foot in Japan.   Interest in Japanese cult cinema is at an
all-time high, especially since the release of Quentin
Tarrantino's _Kill Bill_ in 2004 and Tokyoscope: The
Japanese Cult Film Companion_ is the place to start. The
book is divided into easy to follow  chapters on Kaiju
eiga (monster movies); stomach churning horror films,
ultra violent yakuza flicks, sleazy "pink"  roman porno
sexcapades,  and big budget  disaster productions. There
are also separate sections  for aforementioned directors
Miike, Fukasaku, as well as actors Sonny Chiba (_Street
Fighter_), Takeuchi Riki (_King of Minami_) and Tanba
Tetsuro (_You Only Live Twice_) a part-time cult leader
who has appeared in over 300 films and reportedly never
turns down a role.  Macias also writes about five
"forbidden" films such as _The 99th Virgin_ which was
banned because it discriminates against the _burakumin_,
and _The Last Days of Planet Earth_, which offended
_hibakusha_, survivors of the atomic bomb. There have been
several well-written books published on the subject in the
past several years but few writers can match Macias's
unbridled enthusiasm. 

*Matt Kaufman*

Comments

[Carl Horn]

What can I say? My education on Japanese film jumped straight from BEHIND THE MASK to JAPAN EDGE and TOKYOSCOPE. And considering Ian Buruma schools you on Tora-San, it even prepared me to get the most out of Happy's gag in the latter.

[Daniel Zelter]

I actually knew about many of the films for a while, thanks to a friend you might've met when I asked you to sign my Tokyoscope. But I really enjoyed the interviews, and the background information.