easternkicks.com » Akira Kurosawa

Cinema: Rashomon

Andrew Heskins — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:50:35 +0000

Akira Kurosawa’s classic Rashomon is released at the BFI Southbank and key cities around the UK from 18 June.

On DVD and Blu-ray from today: Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:00:40 +0000

Ping Pong director Fumihiko Sori’s enjoyable, if a little long, take on the Zatoichi character get’s released on DVD and Blu-ray today by Manga Enertainment.

»You can read our full review here…

At selected UK cinemas today: Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:00:50 +0000

On release today at selected cinemas around the UK, Fumihiko Sori’s enteraining revamp of blind swordsman Zatoichi, Ichi, starring Haruka Ayase…

» Read our full review of Ichi here…

Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:30:14 +0000

Novelist Kan Shimozawa’s famous blind swordsman Zatoichi, recently brought to the screen by Beat Takeshi, gets a feminine makeover courtesy Fumihiko Sori, director of Ping Pong and the Anime Vexille…

Ichi, played by Haruka Ayase (Cyborg She, Hero – ahem, not that one!) is a ‘goze’ – a blind musician – travelling the countryside in search of her father. Constantly having to deal with those who’s take advantage of her disability, there’s one thing they should beware of – Ichi also happens to be a master swordsman (should that be swordswoman, or is that non-PC?). A fact made clear when fellow traveller Toma (Takao Osawa, All About Lily Chou-Chou, Midnight Eagle, Goemon, Sky High) tries to protect her from bandits, only to find he needs her protection.

The pair soon find themselves entangled in a battle for a village between the ruling family and a vicious gang of bandits led by Banki (Shido Nakamura, Red Cliff, Letters From Iwo Jima), who intimates he may know the location of Ichi’s father (who also happens to be a master swordsman). Toma gains the acclaim of Ichi’s work, but soon becomes besotted with her.

Not unlike the situation in Kurosawa’s Yojimbo or Leone’s adaption A Fistful Of Dollars, if you will, (except without the swordsman’s manipulation of the two parties) it’s clear that Ichi’s prowess could turn the tide – if only they’ll believe she’s really capable…

For a director well known for his CGI sequences, such as those that made the fantastical Ping Pong sequences so exciting (I mean, that is NOT easy!), and even more for getting involved in Anime, producing Appleseed and directing Vexille, Ichi is surprising low key in it’s use of computer effects. (That’s not to say they’re not there, but are deliberately underplayed.) In fact, if anything the whole film feels somewhat old fashioned – it’s definitely not revolutionary in the way that Beat Takeshi’s take Zatoichi was – and that’s by no means a criticism.

In many senses that seems almost deliberate. The films fight choreographer Hiroshi Kuze, is the second-generation master of Kuzeshichiyoukai, a sword-fighting school founded by Ryu Kuze, the choreographer of Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. Hiroshi took over the school in the 80s, working with Kurosawa himself on Ran and Madadayo. He also worked with Yoji Yamada on Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade.

If Sori’s intent is to dispel the myths of exaggerated swordplay – the wire-fu and self-conscious ridiculousness of films like Hero (that one!) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – then like Hirokazu Kore-eda’s underrated Hana (aka Hanayori mo Naho), it oddly actually puts him on the same page as Kurosawa, who no doubt was reacting to the martial art novels of the day and the classic Chinese stories that inspired them. Kurosawa’s heroes were often hardly the bold, invincible warriors they built themselves up to be – take the main protagonist in Rashômon, for instance.

Which seems a bit odd considering the directors previous work, and that the producer Toshiaki Nakazawa was inspired to recast Zatoichi with a female lead due to the success of Kill Bill. In fact, the film is combination of both the Zatoichi franchise, and a lesser-known blind swordswoman character from a rival 60s studio, ‘Blind O-Ichi’ from the Crimson Bat series¹. Known only as Ichi, Sori’s film playfully mixes the two franchises into one, with hints that Ichi’s father may well be the original Zatoichi (or was that just my take?).

Sori seems to have a deft touch for getting the best out of his actors, and allowing them the room to make the characters their own. The performances of the leads Haruka and Takao are great – particularly Takao, who makes the faintly ridiculous situation of a samurai who can’t actually unsheathe his sword due to a childhood accident (almost) believable. The unlikely burgeoning romance between the pair is touchingly and credibly played out, meaning you far more readily buy into any upcoming tragedy. (That’s not giving too much away, is it?)

It’s helps there’s a strong ensemble cast at Sori’s disposal, with wonderfully hammy performances by Shido Nakamura (who gave such solid support as Gan Xing in Red Cliff) and Riki Takeuchi as Izo (best known for his turns in Takeshi Miike’s Dead Or Alive series and Yo-Yo Girl Cop) cast as the bad guys. (One could even argue that’s exactly how they might have been, as perceptions of their power would have been made by such public displays of bravado.)

What ultimately let’s Ichi down is simply a protracted conclusion that stops and starts, rather than builds momentum. The film is simply too long for it’s own good – which is a shame for what is otherwise superbly entertaining movie.

Ichi can be seen as part of the ICA’s Cult Japan season in London from today, and in selected cinemas around the UK from Friday, 10 July. A UK DVD release will follow later in the year.

1 Reference Ichi: Justice Is Blind by Jonathan Clements

DVD/BLU-RAY: Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:46:49 +0000

From Fumihiko Sori, the director of Vexille and Ping Pong, comes the period martial arts action saga, ICHI, a bold, gender-bending reimagining of the classic Zatoichi series of films and TV shows. Originally created by novelist Kan Shimozawa, the eponymous hero – a blind masseur and master swordsman – has traditionally been a male character (previously played by stars such as Shintaro Katsu, Takeshi Kitano and, in Blind Fury, by Rutger Hauer). In a refreshing break from tradition that adds an intriguing twist to the story, Sori’s ICHI stars actress Haruka Ayase (Hero) in the title role playing a young and beautiful blind musician who also happens to be an adept swordswoman.

Travelling the country in search of the blind swordsman who raised her as a child and passed on his fighting skills to her before mysteriously leaving her life, Ichi is constantly struggling to deal with those eager to take advantage of her disability. During her quest she encounters and is threatened by a brutal gang of bandits. Another passing wanderer, Toma (Takao Osawa), steps in to rescue Ichi but finds he is the one being saved when she reveals a samurai sword hidden inside her walking stick and effortlessly despatches their attackers. The slaying of the bandits brings the wrath of their leader, Banki (Shido Nakamura), down upon Ichi and Toma and they reluctantly become embroiled in a battle for control of a village between Banki’s gang and the local yakuza. However, Ichi’s initial feelings about her involvement changes when she discovers Banki may know the whereabouts of the man she is seeking.

Co-starring Shido Nakamura (Red Cliff; Letters From Iwo Jima), Yosuke Kubozuka (Ping Pong) and Takao Osawa (Sky High), and with fight choreography by Hiroshi Kuze (responsible for the amazing sword fights in many of Akira Kurosawa’s epics, including Ran) and a superb musical score by award winning composer Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator), ICHI is a sublime and welcome addition to the Zatoichi movie canon.

ICHI (cert. 15 tbc) is released on DVD by Manga Entertainment on 24 August 2009.

Coming soon: Fumihiko Sori’s Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:03 +0000

Here’s a clip from the new Fumihiko Sori (director of Ping Pong and Vexille) reimaging of the infamous Zatoichi character, this time as a female blind musician who also happens to be a master swordsman. Haruka Ayase (Hero) stars in the title role, with support from Shido Nakamura (Red Cliff; Letters From Iwo Jima), Yosuke Kubozuka (Ping Pong) and Takao Osawa (Sky High). Fight choreography is by Hiroshi Kuze, resonsible swords fights on many of Akira Kurosawa’s later films, including Ran, so expect some old school action.

Ichi will be released by Manga Entertainment and opens at ICA London from 7 July, and selected UK cinemas on 10th July 2009.

Cinema: Ichi

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:30:23 +0000

ICHI (cert. 15 tbc) is released by Manga Entertainment and opens at ICA London from 7 July, and selected UK cinemas on 10 July 2009.

King Boxer

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:00:01 +0000

Better known under its deliriously exploitative US title Five Fingers Of Death, another kung fu bona fide classic finally makes its way onto UK DVD – bring it on…!

But King Boxer is notable for more than just a campy pseudonym: dubbed into English by Warner Brothers for a US release it actually kick-started the kung fu phenomenon, even predating Bruce Lee’s Fist Of Fury. And rarely has such an honour been so richly deserved…

Lo Lieh (Golden Swallow, The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Killer Clans) stars as Chao Chih-Hao, a principled martial artist who lacks ambition to fulfil his potential until his master convinces him to join another school. Finding his skills lacking, his new Master, Sun Hsin-Pei (Fang Mian), confines Chao to kitchen duty, but is soon so impressed by his determination and willingness to learn.

The local martial arts schools are to compete against each other to run the local province. Unfortunately one school master, Meng Tung-Shun (Tien Feng, Trail of the Broken Blade, The Magnificent Trio, The Assassin) and his corrupt wide-boy son Tien-hsiung (Tung Lam, The Water Margin, Oily Maniac) plan win the competition and attain even greater control of the area – even if it means employing Japanese mercenaries and making sure none of the other schools can even contend. (And let me make it clear, that’s exactly what it means!)

Meanwhile Chao has impressed his new master so much that he gives his the manual for the all powerful Iron Palm style, which other than great strength involves a glowing from the palms and the sound of the siren intro to Quincy Jones Ironside theme to play when in use. However, he’s also made an enemy of Meng and his various cronies, including the balding, head-banging Chen Lang (Chi Chu Chin, Hand Of Death, The Thunderbolt Fist), who decide to corner him and smash his hands so he can no longer fight.

But will even that stop our hero and his quest for justice? Well, what do you think?

Okay, so far this may all sound like a pretty standard Shaw Brother kung fu epic of the time – it even has the usual ensemble cast that would circulate through hundreds of their films from the mid-60s until the early 80s – yet it’s the quality with which it’s undertaken that lifts this movie way above expectations.

Korean-born director Chang-hwa Jeong, also known as Cheng Chang-Ho – who extensively reworked the script – embodies the characters with such empathy to lift this way above peers like Zhang Che (whose ‘yang gang’ machismo and ‘extreme close-up’ style by that time was already becoming something of a parody of itself). The clarity of the narrative is definitely more Western (and Akira Kurosawa) influenced than other Shaw Brother directors, and reminiscent of early King Hu. In fact, it owes much to Che’s earlier One-Armed Swordsman, and not just because of the hand-disabling scene – it’s the leading man’s reluctance to become the hero, as well as the sympathetic portrayal of all the characters. Here Jeong’s Korean background stands him in good stead, being a lot more genuinely interested in Chinese culture, novels and history than his peers were by this stage.

Despite filling the screen with over a dozen main characters, including variously idiosyncratic villains from the aforementioned Japanese mercenaries and head-banger, to a Mongol wrestler and even a girl singer, he never muddles the plot. Beautifully played out by the cast, the themes of brotherhood and betrayal come to the fore, as heroes become tainted and jealous and villains become ashamed of their actions.

Of course, the cast are great, particularly Lo Lieh, making a convincing and sympathetic romantic lead – though we’re more used to seeing him as the delicious sadistic villain or self-possessed hero. But a special mention needs to go to Tung Lam, wonderfully unpleasant as Meng’s repugnant son.

Produced to Shaw Brothers usual high standard, the cinematography – by Wang Yung-lung– is also outstanding, with imaginative and striking composition. There’s a great (though simple) effect where fighters send up dust when they fall to the floor, indicating the force with which they’ve been sent. Director Jeong insisted on use of trampolines rather than wires for speed (as King Hu had done several years earlier).

And with action choreographed by Shaw stalwarts Lau Kar-Wing and Chan Chuen, it does not disappoint either, from hand-to-hand combat to use of samurai swords. It’s true, with the strength of the Iron Palm sending opponents through wooden columns and even brickwalls (not to mention the infamous eye gouging!) this is one kung fu film that really does have everything – without it feeling unnecessarily forced.

So whether you’re a martial arts fan or not, King Boxer should definitely be on your DVD wishlist – a genuine 70s kung fu classic!

Sukiyaki Western Django

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:00:53 +0000

Takashi Miike’s first English language film is a stylish Spaghetti Western homage with a thickly accented Japanese cast and a cameo by Quentin Tarantino – well really, what did you expect…?

You can’t help but notice something of a trend going on in cinema right now. The Western is truly back in fashion for the first time since Clint Eastwood revived the dying genre with his Oscar winning Unforgiven. But if the current crop of Hollywood films, such as The Assassination of Jessie James, seem intent on oh so serious naval gazing, Asia is also picking upon the trend – but looking instead towards Sergio Leone and the more irreverent, playful Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s and early 70s.

Only last month the London Film Festival played host to two: Shashanka Ghosh’s silly, fun Quick Gun Murugan and Kim Jee-woon’s explosive spectacle The Good, The Bad, The Weird. Takashi Miike’s film pre-dates them both and, if anything, falls between them in style. Inspired by Leone’s A Fistful Of Dollars and Sergio Corbucci’s Django, with both films obvious debt to Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, Miike has brought that influence full circle with Sukiyaki Western Django.

When a stranger Gunman (Hideaki Ido, The Princess Blade) rolls in to Yuta, a town run by two warring clans, his presence soon upsets the already uneasy balance between them.

The red clad Heike, led by Taira no Kiyomori (Koichi Sato, Starfish Hotel), and white clad Genji, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Yusuke Iseya, Casshern) have locked themselves into a stalemate while trying to uncover a fabled treasure hidden somewhere in the mountain settlement. Both want Gunman to join their ranks, but he has his won agenda. Add in Shizuka (Yoshino Kimura, Copycat Killer), a heart broken dancehall girl for the Genji’s, Ruriko (Kaori Momoi, Memoirs of a Geisha), a seemingly innocuous teahouse owner with a dangerous past, and of course Tarantino, then you can probably already guess what you’re in for.

Takashi Miike (Audition, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Ichi The Killer) latest film is a stylish Western that wears its influences very much on its sleeve. It strongly echoes the plot of Yojimbo, directly references Django with machine gun kept in a dragged coffin, and even Sam Raimi’s early 90s Leone homage The Quick And The Dead, but if anything, its Eastwood’s very Italian styled revenger High Plains Drifter that most readily springs to mind, with its red washed town and protagonist’s obvious, but unspoken, own motives at play.

There are some nice touches to Masa Nakamura’s script, whose collaborations with Miike include Big Bang Love, Juvenile A and Dead Or Alive 2, particularly when Kiyomori becomes obsessed with Shakespeare’s Henry VI and English The War Of The Roses, believing the Reds won (an inaccuracy not lost on a British audience).

However, despite the heavily stylised way in which Sukiyaki is shot, including set pieces on a soundstage, Miike’s references all rather flat, seeming to replay those old scenes almost exactly as they where in the original films, rather than play with them. Strangely, it’s irreverent – and almost humourless – way to treat the material lacks the true spirit of those Italian filmmakers. By the time we get Full Contact/Matrix style bullet time effects (which we’ve seen in Western’s before, such as Tears Of The Black Tiger), even having them pit against a samurai sword can’t lift this from feeling tired.

Despite a solid cast, few performances escape the mangling of the English language they put us through. Those standouts include Teruyuki Kagawa as Sheriff Hoanka with his Golum-like split personalities, Koichi Sato fantastically hamming up the cowardly Kiyomori, and the real star of the film Kaori Momoi, who turns out to be the deadliest gunslinger of them all.

It is, of course, an intended indulgence of Miike’s that the production schedule didn’t allow his actors to learn their lines particularly well. And don’t get me wrong. I LOVE that Miike can do that. I LOVE that Miike can do, really, pretty much whatever he likes! But that doesn’t stop it from being rather self-indulgent. You can’t help but wonder if he’s taken on a lot more than he can possibly quality control at the moment – 2007 lists Sukiyaki amongst two (or three, depending where you look) other films and a stage play amongst his work for the year, and 2008 looks just as busy. Can this possibly be a good thing? Sukiyaki seems too rushed in concept and production to achieve a coherent whole.

It’s an entertaining enough film, but somehow it lacks that little bit extra to make a lasting impression – you know what you are getting and sadly, nothing here really surprises. It’s also unfortunate – for the UK at least – that Sukiyaki Western Django will be released at a similar time to films like Quick Gun Murugan and The Good, The Bad, The Weird – as the comparison does it no favours, lacking the former’s charm, and the latter’s inherent love of filmmaking.

Sukiyaki Western Django will be released on DVD by Contender Home Entertainment in the UK on 2nd February 2009.

The Guard Post

Andrew Heskins — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:00:33 +0000

Director Su-chang Kong re-enters R-Point territory with this impressive shocker…

When communications fall silent from a guard post in the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea, a platoon headed by Sergeant Major Seong-gyu Noh (Cheon Ho-Jin, A Dirty Carnival) is sent in to investigate. What they find is a massacre of the twenty-strong squad stationed there, the only survivor is Lieutenant Yoo Jeong Woo (Cho Hyun-Jae, Scandal), the son of a high-ranking chief in the military – making this a potential political nightmare to boot.

Noh only has until the morning to find out what really happened before his superiors order a cover-up of the whole situation, but as he begins sorting through the clues it soon becomes apparent that Yoo knows much more than he’s letting on. A events start to repeat themselves, can Noh find the truth before the same fate befalls his team?

In a relatively short body of work writer/director Su-chang Kong has built up a solid reputation for intelligent horror/thriller. His script for Tell Me Something made all the right moves, and his directorial debut R-Point was critically acclaimed and at one point rumoured to be remade in the West by Zhang Yimou (a somewhat unlikely pairing that never came to fruition). Now The Guard Post follows very much in that mould, but with a plotline revolving around remote stationed Army squad, is it a little too close to R-Point?

Never playing for cheap thrills, the film impressively builds up the paranoia of the squads’ remote location against Noh efforts to find the truth. Relying on an atmosphere of distrust and fear to build tension, rather than gore and full-blown horror. In many respects, it’s a direct cross between John Carpenter’s The Thing and Park Chan-wook’s Joint Security Area (JSA), even following a similar narrative to the latter as Noh’s investigation slowly uncovers the truth. The acting is superb, as Su-chang’s script makes real, if somewhat flawed characters out of the soldiers concerned.

Towards the last half Su-chang’s film goes awry. The solution starts to play out like one of those old episodes of The X Files where Mulder and Scully get holed up in a remote station with some odd bunch of odd characters. (It doesn’t really matter which one – they did quite a few.) Not that that in itself is necessarily a bad thing, but the continual retelling of the events from different accounts, more in the style of Usual Suspects than Kurosawa’s Rashômon, eventually starts to grate. And the conclusion, involving a paranoia driven shoot-out, seems to rob the film of some of the power it held before.

Overall this is a worthy horror, if not quite as outstanding as R-Point – I for one would just like to see Su-chang pick a very different subject matter next time.

The Guard Post is released on DVD Monday 13 October by Cine Asia.

easternkicks.com » Akira Kurosawa

Cinema: Rashomon

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