Tough Miike

Once upon a time, prolific Japanese auteur Takashi Miike was barely represented on Region 1 DVD shelves. Now, thanks to companies like Arts Magic DVD, more and more of his prodigious output is coming to light.

OSAKA TOUGH GUYS

"Regarded as a milestone in cult maestro Takashi Miike’s career, Osaka Tough Guys (Naniwa Yuukyôden) is the bridge between his work as an apprentice director and as an auteur. It also displays the two distinct themes that he would explore in later work. Here, bonded together for the one and only time is an affectionate look at late youth that he would later develop (Young Thugs) together with the magic realist dive into yakuza life and rituals (Full Metal Yakuza, Fudoh) for which he is best known. When two street punks, Makoto and Eiji, run out of drinking money, it seems they have no choice but to look for work. But when they find an extremely well-paid job that requires no experience, they don’t realize that they’re about to be conscripted into the yakuza!"

Here's a review by Twitch's Todd Brown in which he concludes: "In the grand scheme of things Osaka Tough Guys stands as a relatively minor film in Miike’s canon, it is however a mightily entertaining one."

The disk includes two Japanese-language audio tracks (DD 5.1 and 2.0), English subtitles, an interview with Miike, and an audio commentary by Tom Mes (Midnight Eye).

It hits the street today and should be available at better Region 1 retailers.

Atragon (1963)

The Mu Empire ruled the Earth twelve centuries ago before sinking below the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Now it is ready to rise again and regain its rightful position, subjugating the nations of the world to slavery, but first it demands that Japan turn over the mighty submarine Atragon.

Filled with a fair number of scale-model explosions, a colorful pagan tribe, and a renegade military group, ATRAGON should be more fun than it is. Sadly, due to a tepid tone and the inability of director Ishiro Honda (GODZILLA, THE MYSTERIANS, ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE) to build momentum or sustain tension, the film simply plods along, accumulating scenes.

From a distance of more than 40 years, however, it is the military sub-plot that holds the greatest fascination. Captain Jinguji (Jun Tazaki) revolted at the end of World War II, refusing to accept Japan's surrender, and disappeared with a submarine and his crew. Former Admiral Kosumi (Ken Uehara) approved of his actions and helped him cover up by going along with the cover story that Jinguji was killed in action.

When the action picks up, Kosumi is working in Corporate Japan with his old friend's daughter, Makoto (Yoko Fujiyama). The Mu Empire makes its threats known; somehow they know that Jinguji is alive and is building a powerful new submarine, called Atragon.

Initially, Kosumi doesn't want to cooperate with the authorities; eventually, after the cities of Venice and Hong Kong are destroyed, he recognizes the greater good that can be accomplished, yet still must convince Jinguji that the interests of humanity must come ahead of nationalistic concerns.

Those themes must have resonated strongly in post-war Japan, and they lend a degreee of poignance to the often silly, if soberly related, story.

Production credits were likely state of the art for their time. Giant sea snake Manda is not impressive, but the cool-looking submarine Atragon has plenty of funky working details. Akira Ifukube's stately musical score is a definite bonus.

DVD Comments

Media Blasters has produced a very fine edition for Region 1 viewers.

Video: The enhance anamorphic picture looks very clean; the colors appear a bit soft, so nothing will zap you in the eye with brilliance, but appear to have been rendered accurately. That makes for a pleasant viewing experience. The film appears to be presented in its original aspect ratio (2.35:1).

Audio: Multiple audio tracks are provided -- English Mono and DD 5.1, Japanese Mono and DD 5.1. I listened to the Japanese Mono version, which is perfectly adequate. Note: currently I have no means to test the newly-created DD 5.1 tracks.

Subtitles: The removable yellow English subtitles are large, easy to read, and well timed, with no noticeable glitches or misspellings. However, they are positioned near the bottom of the picture and spill over below the frame; that should not pose a problem for owners of 4:3 display devices, but 16:9 owners (such as, newly, myself) may be grumpy.

Features: An audio commentary with assistant director Koji Kajita is included. The original theatrical trailer is also provided.

Credits and Details

Originally released by Toho Company.
Japan. 1963. 96 minutes.
Directed by Ishiro Honda.
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa; original story by Shunro Oshikawa.
With Jun Tazaki, Ken Uehara, Yoko Fujiyama, Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara.

Released on DVD by Media Blasters.
Region 1. NTSC. 2006.

Slow News Day

No new releases this week. Takashi Miike's OSAKA TOUGH GUYS is due from Arts Magic next Tuesday, so get your pre-orders in now.

Chilling and Bizarre

Minor health problems have plagued me for the past month, salvaged by a mostly enjoyable week-long working vacation. Back to the DVD salt mines!

MAREBITO
Out on R1 DVD today is the latest from the director of JU-ON. Here's the description from distributor Tartan Films USA.

"Masuoka (cult filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo), a solitary cameraman obsessed with the desire to understand fear, watches grisly footage of a man committing suicide in the subway. Desperate to understand the madman's intentions, Masuoka returns to the scene, inadvertently opening a door into a bizarre and horrifying underworld. Here among the ghosts and creatures he finds a strange and beautiful mute girl. After kidnapping her, Masuoka discovers evidence of a chillingly inhuman nature and realizes he has discovered a truth too frightening to be real."

Frankly, after reading that I have no idea what the movie's "about," though Tim Lucas raved , which means it's worth a look in my book.

The DVD is said to include original Japanese audio (DD 5.1 and DTS), English and Spanish subtitles, and interviews with the director, producer, Shinya Tsukamoto, and the original theatrical trailer.