Here's a rundown of my choices for the month. Let me know what you think : have i missed anything major, or plumped for the wrong things? Firstly, I am hoping (at least) the "Yakuza Papers" Fukasaku boxset delay will have been short, and that the HK IVL discs of his "House on Fire" and "Rage of Love" are top notch.
Then i am going to plump for a couple of nice Korean discs. 'Spider Forest' (cover to the left) looks nice and has had some great reviews and it's out on the 12th, and 'R-Point' looks great too (out on the 19th : top of the preorders already). I am impressed by how solid, beatifully shot and substantial Korean cinema has proved of late.
'Aragami Duel' comes mid-month (16th) and 'Alive' which was delayed from October comes at the end (30th), so more Ryuhei Kitamura there : I hope they're good, the response has been mixed. Then there's Unearthed Films 'Black Sun : The Nanking Massacre' which i've waited for all year : out on the 16th. Finally, Takashi Miikes' 'Gozu' gets a USA release in a better disc than the 'out now' UK one on the 23rd, a week after 'Bird People in China' on the 16th.
D'oh... just saw that the Kitamura film being discussed was Alive, not Azumi. Sorry, got a little confused there.
got azumi : agreed its disappointing. alive still has had mixed responses too...
Todd and I agree that if Kitamura could cut say 30 minutes from any of his films they would be a lot better received. I don't mind him so much but his movies are way too long for what they are.
Todd and I agree that if Kitamura could cut say 30 minutes from any of his films they would be a lot better received. I don't mind him so much but his movies are way too long for what they are.
Ditto to Mack's reponse..."Versus" is fun, but easily 30 minutes too long! Same with "Alive"
I worship at the temple of Kitamura. Alive is cool, and is an incredibly accurate adaptation of the manga. Don't expect balls-to-the-wall action because there isn't a lot, but it's got atmosphere up the wazoo. Aragami is extremely visual and has a lot of good swordplay in it. The film is short (part of the Duel project), running 70 minutes or so. Masaya Kato and Takao Osawa are great in it, and I always love cameos by Tak Sakaguchi and Hideo Sakaki.