Category Archives: Japanese

Danger Pays (1962) Review

June 27, 2016 Kelly Warner

AKA: Danger Paws Director: Ko Nakahira Cast: Joe Shishido, Ruriko Asaoka, Hiroyuki Nagato, Arihiro Fujimura, Eiji Go, Bokuzen Hidari, Kojiro Kusanagi, Torahiko Hamada, Daizaburo Hirata, Toyoko Takechi, Zenji Yamada Running Time: 82 min. By Kyle Warner Danger Pays is an odd little movie. It shifts from wacky comedy to violent action at the drop of a hat. You wouldn’t know it at first, but the opening credits theme song is … Continue reading →

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Tokyo Mighty Guy (1960) Review

June 20, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Tokyo Mighty Guy" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Buichi Saito Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Arihiro Fujimura, Hiroshi Kondo, Shoichi Ozawa, Toranosuke Ogawa, Shin Morikawa, Hisao Toake, Masao Mishima, Kyosuke Aihara, Yoko Kosono, Fudeko Tanaka Running Time: 79 min. By Kelly Warner I don’t know about you, but when I think about Nikkatsu, I immediately think of their action movies (if your first thought is of Nikkatsu’s Roman Pornos, then you and I have very different … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Kill! (1969) Review

June 9, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Kill!" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 6 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Eiji Go, Kenji Imai, Goro Mutsumi, Koji Wada, Hiroshi Kondo, Fujio Suga Running Time: 85 min. By Kelly Warner “I don’t get involved in yakuza feuds,” says Goro Fujikawa, the Outlaw antihero who seriously gets involved in a new yakuza feud practically every time he hops off the train. Goro’s not fooling anybody, least of all the audience. … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Black Dagger (1968) Review

May 29, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Black Dagger" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 5 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Kunie Tanaka, Sanae Kitabayashi, Kaku Takashina, Yoshiro Aoki Running Time: 86 min. By Kelly Warner Outlaw: Black Dagger begins the way most the other Outlaw films end: a bloody knife fight, tragedy, and a love story interrupted. This opening sequence is actually the film’s finest moment, giving us drama and action with no shortage of style. During the … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Goro the Assassin (1968) Review

May 16, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Goro the Assassin" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 4 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Asao Koike, Jiro Okazaki, Kei Sato, Tatsuya Fuji, Shoki Fukae Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner The Outlaw series dabbles in many genres over the span of its six films. They’re yakuza thrillers, romantic dramas, and action movies with noirish antiheroes. Hell, director Toshio Masuda views the original Gangster VIP as a youth picture. The fourth film, … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Heartless (1968) Review

May 7, 2016 Kelly Warner

AKA: Gangster VIP 3 Director: Mio Ezaki Producer: Kaneo Iwaib Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Ryohei Uchida, Koji Wada, Hiroshi Nawa, Isao Tamagawa, Eiji Go, Ryoji Hayama, Fumio Watanabe, Kaku Takashina, Asao Uchida Running Time: 92 min. Kelly Warner For me, Outlaw: Heartless is a difficult film to figure out. Viewed purely on its own terms, it’s an entertaining crime pic with a cool antihero leading a cast of interesting … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 (1968) Review

May 1, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Izumi Ashikawa, Eimei Esumi, Jukei Fujioka, Shoki Fukae, Joji Hidehara, Seishiro Iwate, Meiko Kaji, Hatsuko Kawahara, Ichiro Kijima, Toshizo Kudo, Kayo Matsuo, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 97 min. By Kelly Warner Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 catches up with our gangster protagonist Goro Fujikawa (Tetsuya Watari) as he rides a train out of Tokyo to reunite with the woman he sent away at … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Gangster VIP (1968) Review

April 27, 2016 Kelly Warner

Director: Toshio Masuda Writer: Kaneo Ikegami, Reiji Kubota Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Mitsuo Hamada, Tamio Kawaji, Kyosuke Machida, Kayo Matsuo Running Time: 93 min. By Kelly Warner There are a huge number of classic Japanese films that most the world hasn’t seen yet. So it’s always great when a home video distributor like Arrow, Criterion, Eureka, and others rediscover some forgotten gem and show it to the world. And … Continue reading →

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Creepy (2016) Review

March 18, 2016 Martin Sandison
"Creepy" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Haruna Kawaguchi, Masahiro Higashide, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryoko Fujino, Masahiro Toda, Toru Baba Misaki Saisho, Takashi Sasano Running Time: 130 min. By Martin Sandison An established Japanese film company called Shochiku, which celebrated its 120th anniversary last year, has left an enduring legacy. From Yasujiro Ozu masterpieces such as Tokyo Story to more recent output such as Casshern, the diversity of movies the company … Continue reading →

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Rambling Guitarist, The (1959) Review

March 15, 2016 Kelly Warner

Director: Buichi Saito Writer: Gan Yamazaki Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Nobuo Kaneko, Jo Shishido, Misako Watanabe, Kyoji Aoyama, Mari Shiraki, Hiroshi Nihon’yanagi, Yuzo Kiura, San’emon Suzuki, Hyosuke Kanbe, Tsuneo Katagiri Running Time: 78 min. By Kyle Warner The Rambling Guitarist is a film that has very clearly taken some notes on what was popular at the time in Hollywood. What begins as an Elvis-inspired drama about a … Continue reading →

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Red Pier | aka Red Quay (1958) Review

February 12, 2016 Kelly Warner

AKA: Red Quay Director: Toshio Masuda Cast: Yujiro Ishihara, Mie Kitahara, Masumi Okada, Sanae Nakahara, Shiro Osaka, Hiroshi Hijikata, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner Dock worker Sugitaya steps off a boat to meet a man at the harbor. A crane swings low, crushes Sugitaya. Yujiro Ishihara’s gangster Jiro watches on, unimpressed. “Nasty way to go,” Jiro says. “Why can’t they be cool?” And with that, we … Continue reading →

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Voice Without a Shadow (1958) Review

January 28, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 1" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Hideaki Nitani, Yoko Minamida, Jo Shishido, Shinsuke Ashida, Kotoe Hatsui, Taketoshi Naito, Keisuke Noro, Toshio Takahara, Kaku Takashina, Kenjiro Uemura Runnning Time: 92 min. By Kelly Warner In the old days, a film studio would have its contract actors who appeared in multiple releases each year and there was very little cross-pollination of actors working on films for other studios. Of course the bigger stars headlined … Continue reading →

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Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 5: Final Episode (1974) Review

January 3, 2016 Kelly Warner

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Koji Takada Producer: Goro Kusakabe Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Kinya Kitaoji, Joe Shishido, Junkichi Orimoto, Kunie Tanaka, Shingo Yamashirom Hiroki Matsukata, Goichi Yamada, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Asao Uchida, Isao Konami Running Time: 98 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series was hugely successful when they were first released in the early 1970’s and the films remain highly regarded … Continue reading →

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Attack on Titan: Part 2 – End of the World (2015) Review

December 29, 2015 Paul Bramhall

Director: Shinji Higuchi Writer: Yusuke Watanabe, Tomohiro Machiyama Based on Manga by Hajime Isayama Cast: Haruma Miura, Hiroki Hasegawa, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongo, Takahiro Miura, Nanami Sakuraba, Satoru Matsuo, Shu Watanabe, Ayame Misaki, Rina Takeda Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall The second installment of Shinji Higuchi’s adaptation of the Attack on Titan manga reached Japanese cinema screens just a month after the first one came to the end … Continue reading →

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Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 4: Police Tactics (1974) Review

December 23, 2015 Kelly Warner

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Kazuo Kasahara Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Hideo Murota, Shingo Yamashiro, Kunie Tanaka, Shinichiro Mikami, Ichiro Ogura, Asao Koike, Asao Uchida, Harumi Sone, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 101 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series is best viewed back-to-back and never is that more true than with Proxy War and Police Tactics. … Continue reading →

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