Eclipse.Series.17.Nikkatsu.Noir.5DiSC.D1.I.Am.Waiting.1957.DVD5.CRiTERiON.nfo
ECLIPSE SERIES 17: NIKKATSU NOIR
complete 5-disc boxset
http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/655
http://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-17-Nikkatsu-Criterion-Collection/dp/B002AFX53W
Studio: Criterion
DVD RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 25, 2009
ABOUT THE BOXSET:
From the late 1950s through the sixties, wild, idiosyncratic crime movies were the brutal and boisterous business of Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan. In an effort to attract youthful audiences growing increasingly accustomed to American and French big-screen imports, Nikkatsu began producing action potboilers (mukokuseki akushun, or 'borderless action') that incorporated elements of the western, comedy, gangster, and teen-rebel genres. This bruised and bloody collection represents a standout cross section of what Nikkatsu had to offer, from such prominent, stylistically daring directors as Seijun Suzuki, Toshio Masuda, and Takashi Nomura.
CONTENTS OF THE BOXSET:
I Am Waiting (Koreyoshi Kurahara; 1957, 91 min.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1248984/
Rusty Knife (Toshio Masuda; 1958, 90 min.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360946/
Take Aim at the Police Van (Seijun Suzuki; 1960, 84 min.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054325/
Cruel Gun Story (Takumi Furukawa; 1964, 91 min.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446089/
A Colt Is My Passport (Takashi Nomura; 1967, 84 min.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330536/
Format: NTSC
DVD Size: 3.99 + 3.56 + 3.56 + 3.58 + 3.61 GB - Exact Untouched Copy
Time (total): 442 minutes
Type: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: various
Sound (main features): Japanese
Subtitles: English
DISC DETAILS
=========================
DISC ONE.
I AM WAITING
http://www.criterion.com/films/2955
In Koreyoshi Kurahara's directorial debut, rebel matinee idol Yujiro Ishihara (fresh off the sensational Crazed Fruit) stars as a restaurant manager and former boxer who saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess (Mie Kitahara) trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer. Featuring expressionist lighting and bold camera work, this was one of Nikkatsu's early successes.
Japan
1957
91 minutes
Black and White
1.33:1
-------------------------
DISC TWO.
RUSTY KNIFE
http://www.criterion.com/films/2956
Rusty Knife was the first smash for director Toshio Masuda, who would go on to become one of Japanese cinema's major hit makers. In the film, Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime, but their past comes back to haunt them when the authorities seek them out as murder witnesses.
Japan
1958
90 minutes
Black and White
2.35:1
-------------------------
DISC THREE.
TAKE AIM AT THE POLICE VAN
http://www.criterion.com/films/2957
Japan
1960
84 minutes
Black and White
2.45:1
-------------------------
DISC FOUR.
CRUEL GUN STORY
http://www.criterion.com/films/2958
Japan
1964
91 minutes
Black and White
2.45:1
-------------------------
DISC FIVE.
A COLT IS MY PASSPORT
One of Japanese cinema's supreme emulations of American noir, Takashi Nomura's A Colt Is My Passport is a down-and-dirty but gorgeously photographed yakuza film starring Joe Shishido as a hard-boiled hit man caught between rival gangs. Featuring an incredible, spaghetti-western-style soundtrack and brimming with formal experimentation, this is Nikkatsu at its finest.
Japan
1967
84 minutes
Black and White
2.35:1
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Posted in: a.b.dvd.criterion
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