Film Review: Ryūzō And The Seven Henchmen (Ryūzō to Shichinin no Kobuntachi)

A fast paced and quick witted comedy!

Produced by Office Kitano and released in Japan on 25^th April 2015 the film stars the 74 year old Tatsuya Fuji as Ryūzō, whose performance is the mainstay of the film’s success, and is directed by the critically acclaimed Beat Takeshi (aka Takeshi Kitano). The film is a delightful and, in places, very funny romp into the twilight existence of a group of Yakuza headed up by the

DVD/Blu-ray Review: Branded To Kill – A Film By Seijun Suzuki

Packed with wild ideas incorporating some of the most imaginative killings you’ll ever see on celluloid!

Delirious, violent and bizarre, the perverse 1967 cult crime thriller Branded to Kill is widely regarded as being director Seijun Suzuki’s magnum opus, influencing major filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, John Woo and Martin Scorsese. It stands out as being both a nonsensical and exceptional piece of film art that has to be seen to be believed.

Jo Shishido plays professional hitman Goro Hanada aka No 3 Killer, the third best killer on the best killers list, who gets sexually aroused whenever he smells and eats freshly cooked rice – a fetish hated by his

‘Terracotta Film Club’ Presents Samurai Masterpiece Lady Snowblood

Venue: Prince Charles Cinema London

Date: Wednesday 24 April

‘Terracotta Film Club’ will present a Japanese classic from legendary director Toshiya Fujita for its 4^th edition.

This blood-splattered Samurai masterpiece from the golden age of Japanese cult cinema is credited as the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL series. LADY SNOWBLOOD is a 1973 Japanese film based on a manga and set in

FREE Prizes: WIN Lady Snowblood 1 & 2 Blu-ray Limited Edition Steelbook – 2 Copies To Giveaway – NOW CLOSED!

Competition is now closed!

Arrow Films is pleased to announce that Monday September 24th will see the hugely influential Lady Snowblood films lovingly restored and released on Blu-ray (Region 2) for the very first time, anywhere in the world and will be available as both a Limited Edition Blu-ray SteelBook™ and a 3-disc Blu-ray & DVD Dual Format Set.

Limited Edition Steelbook: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snowblood-Limited-Edition-SteelBook-Blu-Ray/dp/B007XRX88E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348227792&sr=8-1

3-disc Blu-ray & DVD Dual Format Set: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Snowblood-Format-Edition-Blu-Ray/dp/B007XRX9AG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348227792&sr=8-2

DVD Review: Black Lagoon Season 1 & 2 Collection

A well constructed violent black comedy anime!

Black Lagoon is an interesting series, based on the manga by Rei Hiroe and produced by Madhouse. This DVD set consists of the first and second series “The Second Barrage” and contains no extra content. The series itself comprises of 2-3 mini adventure episode with no overall plot to follow. Instead these stories are used to explore the characters of shipping company Lagoon in this fast paced black comedy.

The Black Lagoon of the title is a World War II American torpedo boat that is very fast and maneuverable, and is used by the

Interview: Actor Denden – Uzumaki, Cold Fish, Himizu

“I found it really difficult. It was really hard because it was so real!” (Denden on filming Himizu)

Between 13 – 15 April 2012, actor Denden attended the Terracotta Far East Film Festival in London to promote the theatrical release of Himizu, a hard-hitting film by maverick film director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Guilty of Romance) set soon after the 3/11 Japan earthquake/tsunami in which Denden plays a brute money lender, a character-type he is best known for to Western audiences. But in reality he is a very warm, funny, friendly man, which is a

DVD/Blu-ray Review: Himizu – A Film By Sion Sono

A boy and a girl struggle to survive a harsh and unsympathetic world!

Himizu is an adaptation of a manga by Furuya Minoruset that takes place soon after the earthquake/tsunami that devastated Japan in March 2011. It tells the story of a 14-year-old boy, Yuichi Sumida (Shota Sometani), who wants nothing more than to live a ‘mundane’ life, hence the title of the film which means “mole”. Although his parents have abandon him, his father, whom wishes him dead, returns every so often to give him a beating and take what little money he has. Yuichi’s only friends are a group of destitute survivors and

DVD Review: Crows Zero II – A Sequel By Takashi Miike

A very different beast from its predecessor!

Takashi Miike returns to the Suzuran High School for Boys for a second slice of all-action fighting in this sequel to his 2007 hit Crows Zero. Having fought their way to the top of the tree in the first film, Genji (Shun Oguri) and his GPS alliance struggle to hold the school together in the face of an all-out attack by the students of the Hosen Academy, the ‘Army of Killers’. There is a long-lived hatred between the two schools, but also an uneasy truce.  However, in his desire to rule Suzuran completely, Genji mistakenly breaks the truce and has to prepare for all-out war between the two schools.  Meanwhile,

DVD Review: Deadball (Deddoboru) – A Film By Yudai Yamaguchi

Full of unique ways of presenting us with outlandish gore! 

Baseball prodigy Jubeh Yakyu (Tak Sakaguchi) is the most feared and dangerous juvenile delinquent in all of Japan. After accidentally causing the death of his father with a super-powered, deadly fireball pitch, Jubeh swore off baseball and became a criminal and now, at 17, has been sent to the Pterodactyl Juvenile Reformatory for hardened criminals. Headmistress Ishihara, the granddaughter of a World War II Nazi collaborator, runs the institution with an iron fist and the enthusiastic help of her sadistic assistant, Ilsa. After arriving at

DVD/Blu-ray Review: Yakuza Weapon – A film By Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi

Full of exciting gory action sequences and striking visuals!

Yakuza Weapon is a recent blood drenched offering from everyone’s favourite gore flick company Sushi Typhoon (released on DVD/Blu-ray by Bounty Films and distributed in the UK by Eureka! Entertainment). Based on the manga created by Ken Ishikawa, it is written and directed by Tak Sakaguchi (Versus) and Yudai Yamaguchi (Deadball).

The film starts mid-battle and we are introduced to our ‘hero’ Shozo Iwaki (Sakaguchi) taking down the bad guys whilst not,

NEO Magazine Launches New Profile Series Kicking Off With Action Idol Nao Nagasawa

NEO magazine issue 97 OUT NOW!

In the latest issue, Neo magazine introduces a new profile series starting off with actress/idol Nao Nagasawa. The monthly series is written by Diverse Japan creator and administrator, Spencer Lloyd Peet, who interviewed Miss. Nagasawa in January 2012, and focuses on individual Japanese talent/personalities within the entertainment business. Also

Toshiyuki Nishida To Lead Cast Of Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage Beyond

Outrage sequel will also star director/writer/editor Kitano.

The cast and release date for actor-director Takeshi Kitano’s sequel to successful yakuza drama Outrage were announced today.

Entitled Outrage Beyond, the lineup of new faces will be led by veteran film actor Toshiyuki Nishida. He is joined by Yutaka Matsushige, Katsunori Takahashi, Hirofumi Arai, Shiomi Sansei, Akira Nakao and

DVD Review: Crows Zero – A Film By Takashi Miike

The J-Rock soundtrack is as hard-hitting as the fight scenes!

Based on the bestselling manga by Hiroshi Takahashi (screenwriter of the original Japanese Ring movies), Crows Zero, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer), became a box office hit in Japan and spawned an equally successful sequel.

The notorious Suzuran Senior High School for Boys is Japan’s lowest achieving and most violent school, nicknamed “The School of Crows” after its students’ tendency to band together in

Press Release: “Yakuza Weapon” A Film By Yudai Yamaguchi And Tak Sakaguchi

Made in Japan, kicking ass worldwide!

Tough as nails, armed to the teeth, p*ssed-off and looking for a fight, Shozo the YAKUZA WEAPON is coming to kick your ass!

SYNOPSIS: 

Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years, Shozo discovers that his father’s number-one man, Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi), has