Yasuharu Hasebe: Pink, Rape, Art.
The name Yasuharu Hasebe is one that may not be all that familiar to some of you who are reading this. He is a filmmaker...
The Professional: Golgo 13 (Japan, 1983)
Director Osamu Dezaki’s action-packed anime The Professional: Golgo 13 concerns the dangerous career of Duke Togo – otherwise known as Golgo 13 – an exceptionally...
Episode 16: Barking Dogs Never Bite
We take a little break away from our participation in this year’s Japanese Film Blogathon to sneak in a little South Korean coverage. In this...
Viva Chiba! Part Two: The Bodyguard (1976)
The Bodyguard (U.S. version, 1976) Before the movie even starts, a humorously modified version of the biblical passage Ezekiel 25:17, now famously lifted used by...
Label Conscious: Japanese Cinema through the Third Window
How important is a label when purchasing DVDs? If the amount of status updates and comments in my Facebook network regarding the recent Criterion Collection...
Music Review: （秘）色情めす市場 The World of Nikkatsu Roman Porno Original Soundtrack Collection
For those not familiar with roman porno (short for romantic porno – classy eh?), the term came from Nikkatsu Studio’s classification of its pinku line...
The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief (Japan, 2006)
Lines are practiced, hair is teased, there’s primping and preening, and the very fine details of wardrobe are contemplated – better the hanging belt and...
Blackmail Is My Life (Japan, 1968)
Apathy in youth is a well-worn dramatic cliché not just in the realm of cinema, but also in literature, music, theatre, and the visual arts....
One Million Yen Girl (Japan, 2008)
After finding festival success with the independent features Moon & Cherry (2005) and Ain’t no Tomorrows (2008), director Yuki Tanada takes a step into the...
Sword of Desperation (Japan, 2010)
I can remember the first time I saw a Kurosawa Akira film: it was a cold winter here in Chicago and my asthma started to...