Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism - 5-9-17
The work of Kiju Yoshida is one of Japanese cinema's obscure pleasures. A contemporary of Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses) and Masahiro Shinoda (Pale Flower, Assassination), Yoshida started out as an assistant to Keisuke Kinoshita before making his directorial debut at age 27. In the decades that followed he produced more than 20 features and documentaries, yet each and every one has proven difficult to see in the English-speaking world. This collection brings together three works from the late sixties and early seventies, a loose trilogy united by their radical politics and an even more radical shooting style. Eros + Massacre, presented here in both its 169-minute theatrical version and the full-length 220-minute director's cut, tells the parallel stories of early 20th-century anarchist (and free love advocate) Sakae Osugi and a pair of student activists. Their stories interact and intertwine, resulting in a complex, rewarding work that is arguably Yoshida's masterpiece. Heroic Purgatory pushes the dazzling cinematic language of Eros + Massacre even further, presenting a bleak but dreamlike investigation into the political discourses taking place in early seventies Japan. Coup d'état returns to the past for a biopic of Ikki Kita, the right-wing extremist who sought to overthrow the government in 1936. Yoshida considered the film to be the culmination of his work, promptly retiring from feature filmmaking following its completion.
Bonus Features:
- Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (3,000 copies)
- High definition digital transfers supervised by Kiju Yoshida
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations for all films
- Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio on all films
- New translated English subtitles on all films
- Yoshida ...or: The Explosion of the Story - a 30-minute documentary on Eros + Massacre with contributions from Yoshida and film critics Mathieu Capel and Jean Douchet
- Introductions to Heroic Purgatory and Coup d'etat by Yoshida
- Newly-filmed discussions of Eros + Massacre, Heroic Purgatory and Coup d'etat by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave, recorded exclusively for this release
- Scene-select commentaries by David Desser on all three films
- Heroic Purgatory theatrical trailer
- Coup d'etat theatrical trailer
- Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm
- Illustrated 80-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the films by David Desser, Isolde Standish (author of Politics, Porn and Protest: Japanese Avant-Garde Cinema in the 1960s and 1970s) and Dick Stegewerns (author of Kiju Yoshida: 50 Years of
The Climber - 5-16-17
After shooting cult favourites Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula in Europe, Joe Dallesandro spent much of the seventies making movies on the continent. In France he worked with auteurs like Louis Malle and Walerian Borowczyk, and in Italy he starred in all manner of genre fare from poliziotteschi (Savage Three, Season for Assassins) to nunsploitation (Killer Nun). The Climber follows in the tradition of gangster classics such as The Public Enemy and Scarface as it charts the rise and inevitable fall of small-time smuggler Aldo (Dallesandro). Beaten and abandoned by the local gang boss after he tries to skim off some profits for himself, Aldo forms his own group of misfits in order to exact revenge... Written and directed by Pasquale Squitieri (Gang War in Naples, I Am the Law), The Climber is a prime example of Italian crime cinema - a high-octane action-thriller full of brawls, fistfights, shootouts and explosions!
Bonus Features:
- Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Italian soundtrack in uncompressed PCM mono with optional newly-translated English subtitles
- Alternative English-language soundtrack with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Little Joe's Adventures in Europe, a brand-new interview with Joe Dallesandro on his numerous European film appearances during the 1970s and early 1980s
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Roberto Curti, author of Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980
Jacques Rivette Collection - 5-23-17
Bonus Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of all three films from brand new 2K restorations of the films
- Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)
- Optional newly-translated English subtitles for all films
- Scenes from a Parallel Life: Jacques Rivette Remembers – archive interview with the director, in which he discusses Duelle (une quarantaine), Noroît (une vengeance) and Merry-Go-Round
- Remembering Duelle – Bulle Ogier and Hermine Karagheuz recollect their work on the 1976 feature
- Interview with critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, who reported from the sets of both Duelle (une quarantaine) and Noroît (une vengeance)
- Exclusive perfect-bound book containing writing on the films by Mary M. Wiles, Brad Stevens and Nick Pinkerton plus a reprint of four on-set reports from Duelle (une quarantaine) and Noroît (une vengeance)
- Reversible sleeves with original and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick
Wolf Guy - 5-23-17
Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba is a martial arts "manimal" in the ultra-70's, 100% bizarre mixture of horror, action and sci-fi that is Wolf Guy, one of the rarest and most sought-after cult films produced by Japan's Toei Studio. Based on a manga by Kazumasa Hirai (creator of 8 Man), and never before released outside of Japan, it's a genre film classic waiting to be discovered and a completely unclassifiable trip into phantasmagoric funk. Chiba stars as Akira Inugami, the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers! At the same time, Inugami also discovers the truth behind his family heritage, and that he may not be the last of his kind. Directed by B-movie genius Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Sister Streetfighter, Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Karate Bear Fighter), Wolf Guy truly is one-of-a-kind, with Chiba in full effect as the part-man, part-wolf, all-karate action hero and a collection of familiar 1970's Toei actors in support. Violence, action, nudity, real surgical footage, and a psychedelic musical score all work together to create an unforgettable trip to the heights of Japanese cinematic weirdness.
Bonus Features:
- High Definition digital transfer
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original uncompressed mono audio
- New optional English subtitle translation
- New video interview with actor Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba
- New video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
- New video interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida
- Trailer?
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Patrick Macias and a history of Japanese monster movie mashups by Jasper Sharp
Spotlight On A Murderer - 5-30-17
When the terminally ill Count Hervé de Kerloquen (Pierre Brasseur, Goto, Isle of Love) vanishes without trace, his heirs are told that they have to wait five years before he can be declared legally dead, forcing them to devise ways of paying for the upkeep of the vast family château in the meantime. While they set about transforming the place into an elaborate son et lumière tourist attraction, they are beset by a series of tragic accidents - if that's really what they are... The little-known third feature by the great French maverick Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face, Judex) is a delightfully playful romp through Agatha Christie territory, whose script (written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac of Les Diaboliques and Vertigo fame) is mischievously aware of the hoariest old murder-mystery clichés and gleefully exploits as many of them as possible. They're equally aware of the detective story's antecedents in the Gothic novel, a connection that Franju is only too happy to emphasise visually at every opportunity thanks to his magnificent main location. A young Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Conformist, Amour) is amongst the Kerloquen heirs.
Bonus Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the feature, restored by Gaumont
- Uncompressed French Mono 1.0 PCM Audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Vintage production featurette from 1960, shot on location and including interviews with Georges Franju and actors Pascale Audret, Pierre Brasseur, Marianne Koch, Dany Saval and Jean-Louis Trintignant
- Original theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Chris Fujiwara
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