You know, Wisconsin isn't what I imagine to be a hotbed of activity for classic Japanese action films but hey ... Outcast Cinema's Marc Walkow has been organizing a traveling road show for the No Borders, No Limits retrospective of Nikkatsu action films and it's about to hit screens in Wisconsin. Titles included on this stop include The Warped Ones, Plains Wanderer, Red Handkerchief and Glass Johnny: Looks Like A Beast. These are freshly restored prints, in pristine condition, and the titles vary from stop to stop so keep checking in at the Outcast site for tour stops and titles for each stop.
The big question, of course, is whether these newly restored prints are going to result in new english friendly DVDs. Don't think I've ever seen any of the films in the series ...
Exactly. I saw the retrospective (about 15 movies) back in 2005 at the Far East in Udine and only Black Tight Killers and one movie of the Stray Cat Rock Series is availabale on dvd. But believe me, some of them a great movies like the fantastic A Colt is my passaport (Shishido Joe's best movie according to himself) and Gangster VIP, which is a nihlistic and utlragritty yakuzamovie, like the Fukasaku films. Velvet Hustler is another great picture, clearly influenced by the french new wave. These should be out there for everyone to see.