Fighting Elegy. Has anyone seen it?

[Hecker]

If so, would you recommend it or any other similar movies?

http://imdb.com/title/tt0060586/

 

[Mike Shagohod]

If so, would you recommend it or any other similar movies?

http://imdb.com/title/tt0060586/

I see you're venturing into 1960's & possibly 70's Japanese "cult" cinema and Seijun Suzuki to boot. If you liked "Fighting Elegy" then you might dig a film called Violent Classroom from 1975 with a young Yasaku Matsuda (who got to be in Onimusha 2 long after he died of cancer). Though that's more exploitation stuff with him being a reformed hoodlum boxer turned teacher who's trying to help the kids out. However, his sister's boyfriend is a real sleaze bag and all hell breaks loose later on with the school being burned down and a samurai sword fight between the young JD and Matsuda taking on some bosozoku gang. I forget who directed that one and it can be obtained through www.vsom.com, at least it could in the mid 90s on VHS with no English Subs, but it's largely universal.

For other Suzuki greats try...

Branded To Kill for a real mind fuck
Tokyo Drifter for a musical gangster opus

and if you want wacky check out his sequel of sorts to Branded To Kill made in the early 2000's called Pistol Opera. Should you want to venture into the more lurid Yakuza stuff I suggest.

Kinji Fukasaku's... Jingi Naki Tataki (Battles Without Honor & Humanity) 5 Part series available through http://www.homevision.com/users/folder.asp these guys release A LOT of Yakuza stuff as well as golden era films from Japan's illustrious 60's and 70's. Also Fukusaku's... Jingi No Hakaba (Death of Honor) is pretty much the be-all-end-all of Yakuza flicks in terms of realism with that disturbing element to them. Takashi Miike redid the film recently but it sucks in comparison.

There's lots to be had out there man.

GK

 

[Hecker]

I see you're venturing into 1960's & possibly 70's Japanese "cult" cinema and Seijun Suzuki to boot.

Yeah, I've been amazed by French New Wave movies (well I've only seen Godard and Truffaut movies so far with "Le Petit Soldat" being my favorite) and was wondering what other types of movies were released in the world at the time. Thanks for the help, my knowledge of Japanese movies only limits itself to Kurosawa films.

I've been browsing the Criterion releases at the video store and Fighting Elegy intrigued me the most. Maybe because I've been feeling the Fight Club vibe again.


You should make a movie GK. Seriously. Somehow I don't doubt that you could come up with something original.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

You should make a movie GK. Seriously. Somehow I don't doubt that you could come up with something original.

Well I want to, I really do. But not because I have illusions of grandeur and think I'll be some mega star (be it director wise or acting), but rather I'm truthfully one of those ppl who just wants to make a film here or there that's either saying something beneath the surface, or is just balls out action/exploitation. I've been working on a story for almost a decade that's been through more re-writes and title changes than probably any concept in history. The problem is getting the money to do what I envision and of course finding talanted unknowns as well as some known B talent and a stable of adult film chicks (hey the porn industry has some hot chicks why not put them in a film ya know?) and getting them to all work together towards a professional product.

I keep juggling between this Mickey Spillane meets, 70's Yakuza, meets 70's Blackploitation type deal marriaged with my own style of doing things for a movie OR... a "Barbarian" film either set in some pre-history era (meaning I'd need basic gear and lots of rubber swords and shit) or set in a post apocalypse setting. Either way what I have in mind couldn't be done for less than $20,000 and that's with more or less everyone working for free with me paying for feeding and housing everyone + travel expenses. It really is sad more ppl don't have the same artistic vibe they did in the 60's (most Spaghetti Westerns didn't have put 10 pages of script and the rest was adlibbed) or what Rodriguez did with his bro Carlos Gallardo before Rodriguez went "Hollywood".

As for films overall though, I'm big into European Cinema these days as I did the Japan, Hong Kong & Asia stuff in the 90's and early 2000. If you need help finding anything give me a shout. I know of more mail order/website exlcusive video & DVD clubs than I can even do business with myself. You may not always get A++ quailty or pre-records but it's usually the only way you can see anything outside of the mainstream crap shoved down the masses throats.

GK