Punk Samurai (Pankiu-zamurai, kirarete sôrô) first published by Little White Lies, as entry 172 in my Cinema Psychotronicum column Punks are that bit of rough on the edges of clean society – the disruptors and agitators who, like the ancient Cynics, flout rules, defy convention and wave their arses in the face of respectability. Perhaps their…
Crazy Thunder Road (Kuruizaki sanda rodo) first published by Little White Lies, as entry 147 in my Cinema Psychotronicum column Sogo Ishii‘s Crazy Thunder Road (Kuruizaki sanda rodo) begins with a smoking volcano, and a fallen motorbike. These opening images in fact come from the film’s chronological end, and between them one can discern the…
Gojoe (Gojoe Reisenki) first published by Film4 Summary: In Sogo Ishii’s Gojoe, Daisuke Ryu and Tadanobu Asano play two legendary Japanese heroes who must become more than men to change history and fulfil their cosmic destiny. Review: Yoshitsune and Benkei are amongst Japan’s best known folk heroes. Yoshitsune was a twelfth-century prince of the Genji Clan who,…