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Synapse Films

Last Updated: 10/8/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 42
Sign: Cancer

City: Novi
State: MICHIGAN
Country: US
Signup Date: 12/4/2005

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It's 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOLUME 4!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

RETURN TO 42^nd STREET AND RELIVE THE DAYS OF THE DIRTY DEUCE

THE MOST AWESOME MOVIE TRAILER COLLECTION OF ALL TIME CONTINUES WITH ITS FOURTH SPECTACULAR VOLUME!

Get ready for the fourth volume of classic exploitation, horror and just plain cool trailers in Synapse Films’ best-selling compilation series, 42^ND STREET FOREVER. This time we’ve got alien horrors, schizoid psychos, ridiculous comedies, raw vengeance—and maybe a naked woman or two—all transferred in high-definition! Chill out in front of your television and relive some of the greatest coming attractions of all time, all remastered in
high-definition and guaranteed to transport you back to the days of the Deuce! ....

Featured trailers include:....

THE SYNDICATE: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
GOLDENGIRl

COMBAT COPS IT CAME WITHOUT WARNING....

NO
BLADE OF GRASS YOR:
THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE....

SIMON – KING OF THE WITCHES THE PSYCHIC....

SCHIZOID TENDER FLESH....

DIE SISTER, DIE EMBRYO SILENT SCREAM....

NEW YEAR’S EVIL RITUALS MORTUARY....

HUMONGOUS THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN....

THE BOOGEYMAN THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK....

GRAY EAGLE SHADOW OF THE HAWK ....

AMERICATHON CAN I DO IT… ‘TIL I NEED GLASSES?....

UNDERCOVERS HERO IN GOD WE TRUST....

DIE LAUGHING THE JEZEBELS FIGHTING MAD ....

MOVING VIOLATION BONNIE’S
KIDS BLACKOUT ....

WALKING TALL PART 2
THE KLANSMAN THE SOLDIER ....

MONKEY HUSTLE MARCH OR
DIE SHOUT AT THE DEVIL....

HOG WILD COACH THE HARD HEADS....

THE CHICKEN CHRONICLES BEST FRIENDS....

OUR
WINNING SEASON …AND MORE!....

Synapse Films’ 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOLUME 4 DVD Special Features Include:....

• Full Running Audio Commentary from Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold, Film Historian Chris Poggiali and the editor of AV Maniacs.com ....

Bonus Vintage Television Spots..

Look for Synapse Films’ Special Edition DVD of 42ndSTREET FOREVER, VOLUME 4 in
stores on January 27, 2009, at a retail price of $19.95. ....

Currently watching:
42nd Street Forever Vol. 4
Release date: 2009-01-27

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Monday, September 15, 2008

Announcing The Minoru Kawasaki Collection!

Three Serious Satires From

Japan's Top Cult Comedy Director

Debut On DVD This November

SYNAPSE FILMS PRESENTS THE U.S. PREMIERE OF

THREE HILARIOUS SPOOFS FROM MINORU KAWASAKI

When it comes to mocking Japanese cinema, music, politicians, television shows, popular culture, and even monster movies, nobody does it better than director and self-confessed cult movie enthusiast Minoru Kawasaki (director of the recent Venice Film Festival entry MONSTER X STRIKES BACK). Synapse first brought Kawasaki to U.S. audiences as part of the interview featurette included on our HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN DVD (released in 2007 and still available for purchase). Kawasaki gushed over his love for the film, and the same enthusiasm can be found in these three titles from his own filmography, making their American debut this November as special features-packed DVDs from Synapse Films. From psychological thrillers featuring human-sized koalas and rabbits, to a spot-on satire of classic 1970's cop shows, to a disaster movie comedy that pokes fun at politicians and big-budget effects movies alike, nothing is sacred in Kawasaki's comedy world, which the Sydney Morning Herald rightly called "Japanese arthouse cinema at its most surreal."

EXECUTIVE KOALA (2005)

Tamura is an average Japanese salaryman working in the offices of a pickle distribution company. He is well-liked in the office, hard-working, polite, wears a suit and tie, and also happens to be a six-foot tall koala bear. But when his girlfriend Yoko turns up dead one day and Tamura is the chief suspect, he is forced to enlist the help of his boss (a white rabbit) and a friendly convenience store attendant (a frog) in order to prove his innocence. A psychological thriller wrapped up in the packaging of a nonsense comedy—with giant animals—EXECUTIVE KOALA is like nothing America has ever produced…which is why it was made in Japan!

Anamorphic (1.85:1) Widescreen Transfer
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Newly-Translated, Removable English Subtitles
"Making Of" Featurette
Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot

THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN (2006)

It's 2011, and due to global warming and the shifting of tectonic plates, most of the Earth's land mass has sunk beneath the surface of the ocean. Only Japan remains, and refugees from all nations have tried to incorporate themselves into Japanese society: famous American actors do TV costume samurai dramas, white women serve as French maids for middle-class families, the former leaders of China and South Korea act as lapdogs for the Prime Minster, and foreigners who don't sufficiently blend in are arrested! Yet geologists have begun to detect signs of another looming global catastrophe, one that threatens to destroy the last piece of earth remaining. Based on a satirical novella published in the 1970's, THE WORLD EXCEPT JAPAN SINKS turns sci-fi on its head to create a surreal alternate universe that's alternately hilarious and heartfelt, and where nothing is sacred as long as it's funny!

Anamorphic (1.85:1) Widescreen Transfer
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Newly-Translated, Removable English Subtitles
Audio Commentary with Director Minoru Kawasaki and Actor Takenori Murano
"Making Of" Featurette
Introductions from Cast and Director
Theatrical Trailer

THE RUG COP (2006)

A spot-on, hilarious spoof of 1970's Japanese TV cop shows, THE RUG COP follows chrome-domed officer Genda as he transfers to a new precinct just as a group of radical terrorists hijack a shipment of uranium and deliver a ransom demand of five billion yen. Genda and his crack team of detectives must solve the case using their peculiar abilities: champion eater Detective Fatty, abnormally endowed Detective Big Dick, speedy weightlifter Detective Shorty, and ladies' man Mr. Handsome. But most dangerous of all is the Rug Cop, whose projectile toupee proves lethal to wrongdoers! Kawasaki's unique comic genius and his love of vintage cop shows combine to produce a silly masterpiece that will have viewers truly believing in "Rug Power!"

Anamorphic (1.85:1) Widescreen Transfer
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Newly-Translated, Removable English Subtitles
"Making Of" Featurette
Japanese Press Conference Footage
Introductions from Cast and Director
Theatrical Trailer

Look for Synapse Films' DVD Special Editions of EXECUTIVE KOALA, THE RUG COP, and THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN in stores on November 18, 2008 at a retail price of $24.95 each. Discs are only available separately.

Currently watching:
Home Sick
Release date: 2008-08-26

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Important Announcement Regarding SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 3: WHAT PARENTS FIND UNTHINKABLE
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 3: "WHAT PARENTS FIND UNTHINKABLE"

NOW AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH ONLINE RETAILER XPLOITED CINEMA!

SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 3: "WHAT PARENTS FIND UNTHINKABLE"—a DVD release from Impulse Pictures, a sub-label distributed through Synapse Films—originally scheduled for general release on February 26th, will now be exclusively distributed by Xploited Cinema, an online DVD retailer specializing in import, cult and genre titles.

This late development is due to a decision by the North American distributor of Synapse and Impulse DVDs to drop the title due to its controversial content. Because of an error made in the release of the first SCHOOLGIRL REPORT DVD—Impulse Pictures was mistakenly given an edited master by the overseas licensor for the film—our technicians made sure to request fully uncut masters of all the remaining titles in the popular series. The mastering and replication of SGR3 had already been completed when the news about SGR1 was brought to our attention, and requesting, then replacing the existing master with a fully uncut one was done at great expense. But since pleasing the fans is of paramount importance to both Synapse and Impulse, we were happy to put in the effort and expense, in order to bring audiences the longest, most complete, and fully uncut version of SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 3 presented on DVD anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately, this dedication on the part of Impulse and Synapse has brought about the unfortunate result that our regular distributor has refused to bring the DVD to market, due to the sexual situations presented in the film being too extreme for their taste. Since this sudden and unexpected decision came less than two weeks before the disc was due to street, we were in a quandary about how to release the title. Thankfully, our long-time friends at Xploited Cinema came to our rescue, and we have made arrangements with them to bring in our entire inventory and become the exclusive distributor for SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 3: "WHAT PARENTS FIND UNTHINKABLE".

At this point, we are not sure how any existing orders are going to be handled, but our distributor has already removed all references to the title from their website. So if you are looking to purchase this title, we ask that you head on over to www.xploitedcinema.com and order it from them. Even though the title is still listed at Amazon.com and other online retailers, they will not be receiving any inventory at this point. Because of this, dealer inquiries for the title are also welcome at Xploited Cinema.

Synapse Films and Impulse Pictures apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause, but we are committed to presenting this film in the most complete version possible and we appreciate Xploited Cinema's willingness to work with us, and their commitment to our product and its fans.

SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 1: "WHAT PARENTS DON'T THINK IS POSSIBLE" and SCHOOLGIRL REPORT 2: "WHAT KEEPS PARENTS AWAKE AT NIGHT" remain available from our regular distributor and from fine retailers everywhere.

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

KARAOKE TERROR and PARTY 7 Coming April 2008!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

SYNAPSE FILMS PRESENTS A PAIR OF

EDGY CONTEMPORARY FEATURES FROM

TWO OF THE MOST EXCITING FILMMAKERS IN JAPAN

PARTY 7 AND KARAOKE TERROR

SET TO MAKE AMERICAN DVD DEBUTS

AS PART OF THE ASIAN CULT CINEMA COLLECTION

Following up their successful release last year of a quintet of classic exploitation films from the golden age of Toei Studios, Synapse Films now presents a pair of modern classics that are bound to titillate and horrify American audiences.

From cult filmmaker and popular commercial director Katsuhito Ishii (The Taste of Tea and Shark Skin Man and Peach-Hip Girl) comes PARTY 7, the wild and action-filled story of seven of the strangest characters you'll ever meet. In a film that Variety calls "Japanese designer-cool to its fingertips," popular actor Masatoshi Nagase stars as yakuza punk Miki, who checks into the remote Hotel New Mexico to hide out after stealing a case of gang loot. Soon after, Miki's old flame Kana shows up, with geeky new boyfriend Todohira in tow. And before long, Miki's gang brother Sonoda arrives, looking for the stolen money. Meanwhile, a shy peeping tom (Japanese mega-star Tadanobu Asano) hides out in an adjacent, secret room watching the action, along with the mysterious, costumed Captain Banana. And chasing them all is oddball mob assassin Wakagashira! Throw all these personalities together in the same small hotel room and you've got a surefire recipe for a party of mistaken identities, sexy comedy and comic book violence. Mixing the spirit of Quentin Tarantino with Japan-cool aesthetics, including an eye-poppingly gorgeous production design, PARTY 7 is an unforgettable portrait of seven weirdos trapped in a cycle of craziness.

And in the style of the violent and satirical Battle Royale comes KARAOKE TERROR, the darkly humorous tale of two groups of outsiders who make war on each other, set to a soundtrack of retro karaoke hits. Based on the novel by writer Ryu Murakami (Audition), and also known as THE COMPLETE JAPANESE SHOWA SONGBOOK, the film follows a gang of young slacker guys who idle away their time taking pleasure in nothing except elaborate karaoke recreations of their favorite Showa-era songs, oldies from the 1940s to the 80s. Across town, a group of thirtysomething divorced women do much the same thing, until one of the guys kills one of the women after he's rejected trying to pick her up. The ladies retaliate, and the absurdist battle of revenge is on, with weapons escalating from knives to guns and beyond. This pitch-black comedy of violence that the Japan Times called "the best black comedy of the year" is filled with rage at the status quo and a seething impatience for the ordinary, capturing the spiritual restlessness of two very different generations, both seeking payback from society with apocalyptic results.

Special Features Include:

PARTY 7

• 16:9 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio

• 20-minute making-of featurette

• Video interview with director Katsuhito Ishii

• Alternate ending

• Storyboard version of film

• Newly-translated, removable English subtitles

KARAOKE TERROR

• 16:9 anamorphic widescreen transfer

• 20-minute making of featurette including director and cast interviews

• Original trailer and TV spots

• Liner notes by Midnight Eye writer Nicholas Rucka and a written guide to

karaoke and enka music by film scholar Christine Yano

• Newly-translated, removable English subtitles

Look for Synapse Films' Special Edition DVDs of PARTY 7 and KARAOKE TERROR in stores on April 29, 2008, at a retail price of $24.95 each.

Currently watching:
Anita : Nymphomaniac (Special Edition)

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Monday, January 28, 2008

Review for 42nd STREET FOREVER: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

All you 42nd STREET FOREVER fans, the wait is over! Synapse's 42nd STREET FOREVER: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION is available in stores tomorrow (even Best Buy!) and it's getting reviews just as good as the others in this series. Here's the first batch, but keep checking this post as even more reviews come in and don't forget to buy 42nd STREET FOREVER: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION!

Currently watching:
42nd Street Forever Vol. 3: Exploitation Explosion
Release date: 29 January, 2008

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Reviews for the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS Series!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Last month we released three brand new titles in our Pinky Violence collaboration with Panic House, the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series, three sexy and violent films from Japan that have never been made available on DVD anywhere in the world! We're pleased to say we've received some terrific reviews and we'd like to pass them around for you to check out!

Reviews of all three films

Reviews for FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU

Reviews for QUICK DRAW OKATSU

Reviews for OKATSU THE FUGITIVE

Bloodtype Online

DVD Maniacs

DVD Talk

There are more reviews to come, so keep watching this space!

All three of the LEGENDS OF THE POINSONOUS SEDUCTRESS films are available now. Order yours today!

Currently watching:
Legends of the Poisonous Seductress 2: Quick Draw Okatsu
Release date: 13 November, 2007

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Coming January 2008 - 42nd Street Forever Volume 3!!!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

SYNAPSE FILMS IS PROUD TO PRESENT

ANOTHER EXPLOSIVE VOLUME OF ITS

42nd STREET FOREVER TRAILER COMPILATION SERIES

Synapse Films is bursting out of the grindhouse to present 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOL. 3: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION, another mind-numbing volume in their best-selling series of classic exploitation trailer compilation DVDs! This ball-busting, fist-punching and horror-filled collection from the bygone days of New York City's classic 42nd Street hardtop movie palaces will transport you back to the Deuce, where for a couple of bucks, you could spend an entire afternoon watching the best and sleaziest exploitation films ever made. Hold tight to your greasy popcorn and watered-down soda, because you will have a "blast" watching these amazing film trailers! This explosive collection, transferred in high-definition, will blow you through the back of your home theatre!

Featured trailers include:

SUDDEN DEATH

GORP

THE ONE-ARMED EXECUTIONER

KING FRAT

JAGUAR LIVES!

PRISON GIRLS

ENTER THE NINJA

1000 CONVICTS AND A WOMAN

LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH

CHAIN GANG WOMEN

FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH

THE PENTHOUSE

THE STRANGER & THE GUNFIGHTER

THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE

BEYOND THE DOOR

NIGHT CALL NURSES

DEMONOID

THE YOUNG NURSES

THE NIGHT CHILD

CANDY STRIPE NURSES

DEVIL TIMES FIVE

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF XAVIERA HOLLANDER

PATRICK

HAPPY HOOKER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

JENNIFER

SURVIVE

PHASE IV

GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED

THE UNCANNY

SEVEN

THE PACK

SCORCHY

ALLIGATOR

SAVAGE STREETS

KILLER FISH

HIGH BALLIN'

SHARK'S TREASURE

FROM NOON TILL THREE

BLOOD BEACH

LIES

HOT T-SHIRTS

TATTOO

CHEERLEADERS WILD WEEKEND

SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS

…AND MORE!

The Synapse Films' 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOLUME 3: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION DVD Special Features Include:

• Full Running Audio Commentary from Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold, Film Historian Chris Poggiali and AV Maniacs Editor Edwin Samuelson

• Bonus Vintage Television Spots

Look for Synapse Films' Special Edition DVD of 42ndSTREET FOREVER, VOL. 3: EXPLOITATION EXPLOSION in stores on January 29, 2008, at a retail price of $19.95.

And keep your eyes wide open for the exclusive Best Buy belly-banded two-pack of 42nd STREET FOREVER, VOL. 1 and VOL. 2, available together for the first time, and at a special low price!

Currently watching:
42nd Street Forever Vol. 3: Exploitation Explosion
Release date: 29 January, 2008

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Monday, November 05, 2007

Synapse Presents the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS Trilogy!!!

This November, Synapse Films goes Pinky – Pinky Violence, that is – and proudly unveils the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS female swordplay series

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THE THREE-VOLUME SAGA OF A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG

SWORDSWOMAN ON A BLOODY TRAIL OF SAVAGE REVENGE

ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT REVENGE TRILOGIES EVER MADE!

THE BLOOD-SOAKED MODEL FOR THE PINKY

VIOLENCE EXPLOSION OF THE 1970s!

Connected only by their theme of a beautiful young swordswoman who's wronged, then seeks bloody revenge on her oppressors, the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series was produced at Toei Studios in the late 1960s, only a few years before the studio revolutionized the Japanese film industry with their "true-life" yakuza films, girl-gang sagas and modern-day violent thrillers. Set during the samurai days, when ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, the POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series stars the beautiful Junko Miyazono, first as Ohyaku, then as Okatsu, women who endured humiliation and injustice for as long as they could…until they had to strike back with violence!

Each episode forms its own individual story, and will only be available for sale separately.

EPISODE 1: FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU

A quiet actress named Ohyaku is wrongly sent to prison, then pushed by her tormentors to the point of no return. With a demon tattoo splayed across her back and a sword in her hand, she embarks on a crusade of vengeance against all those who have wronged her, laying waste to man and woman alike in her quest for bloody retribution. A gruesome Pinky Violence classic, the film's merciless parade of action, beheadings, tattooing and torture proved highly influential on later series of sexy action films from Toei Studios in the 1970s.

EPISODE 2: QUICK-DRAW OKATSU

The daughter of a swordplay instructor takes on a power-hungry magistrate in the second entry of the series, joined this time by Rui, a wild young swordswoman (Reiko Oshida). The two sexy avengers embark on a blood-soaked quest for revenge after Okatsu is raped and her father slaughtered by one of his assistants. From fencing schools to small-town brothels to the imperial city of Edo, Okatsu and Rui slash their way through dozens of evil men in order to settle the score with those who wronged them, in this swordplay classic which features some of the best fight scenes of the series.

EPISODE 3: OKATSU THE FUGITIVE

In the final episode of the series, the legendary beautiful swordswoman Okatsu is on the hunt for Judayu, a corrupt merchant responsible for the death of her parents. Betrayed by her fiancé, she finds herself aided in her quest by a handsome stranger (longtime yakuza movie star Tatsuo Umemiya) – who happens to be as handy with a sword as she is! What is the reason for his kindness, and will Okatsu be able to prevail against her nemesis, now a powerful businessman with scores of allies in high places? Whatever the end may be, the restless spirits of her murdered parents drive Okatsu along her crimson-colored road of vengeance.

Episode 1 directed by Yoshihiro Ishikawa (GHOST CAT OF OTAMA POND). Episodes 2 & 3 directed by legendary filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE, JIGOKU).

The series features an all-star cast of famous faces from the best of Japanese genre cinema, including lead actress Junko Miyazono (ELEVEN SAMURAI, SAMURAI WOLF 2), two-time series co-star Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF & CUB, BLACK RAIN), Tatsuo Umemiya (GRAVEYARD OF HONOR, WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY), Kunio Murai (SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE), Ko Nishimura (SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE, HANZO THE RAZOR), Reiko Oshida (DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS), Yukie Kagawa (HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN, FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION – JAILHOUSE 41), and Yoichi Numata (JIGOKU).

Synapse Films' LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS DVD Series Include the Following Special Features:

• New, fully restored anamorphic widescreen transfers mastered in high-definition from Toei's

original vault elements

• Japanese language audio with newly-translated, removable English subtitles

• Audio commentary on FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU and QUICK-DRAW OKATSU by

Japanese film expert Chris D.

• Original Japanese theatrical trailers

• Poster galleries

• Liner notes and essays on the female swordplay genre

• Reversible covers with original Japanese poster artwork

• MORE!

Look for Synapse Films' DVD premiere Special Editions of FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU, QUICK-DRAW OKATSU, and OKATSU THE FUGITIVE in stores on November 13, 2007 at a retail price of $24.95 each. Each title is only available separately.

Currently watching:
Legends of the Poisonous Seductress 1: Female Demon Ohyaku
Release date: 13 November, 2007

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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

BLACK ROSES Reviews!!!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Last month, Synapse unleashed John Fasano's heavy metal horror classic BLACK ROSES on the marketplace and the reviews are rocking out to it big time. Check them out!

There are more to come, so keep watching this space. BLACK ROSES is in stores now!

Currently watching:
Black Roses
Release date: 25 September, 2007

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Monday, August 27, 2007

Reviews for HORRORS OF MALFORMED MAN and SNAKE WOMAN’S CURSE!
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

These great discs are now in stores and the reviews have been great so far. Check 'em out!

HORRORS OF MALFORMED MAN Reviews

Memphis Commercial Appeal

SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE Reviews

DVD Drive-In

10,000 Bullets

DVD Maniacs

Memphis Commercial Appeal

And here's The New York Times review for both!

September 4, 2007

Critic's Choice

New DVDs

By DAVE KEHR

HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN

Apparently too much even for the American grind houses of the 1970s, Teruo Ishii's 1969 Japanese film "Horrors of Malformed Men" is finally making its official American premiere on a well-produced disc from Synapse Films. Mr. Ishii made more than 80 features in his lengthy career, which extended from 1942, when he began as an assistant director at Toho studios, to 2001, when he released his final film, the memorably titled "Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf." (He died in 2005.)

Invariably described in terms of the three D's — Deranged! Depraved! Demented! — his lurid filmography seems to include every bizarre subgenre that the Japanese cinema, always highly imaginative in this regard, generated during his years of activity. He made goofy science fiction in the 1950s (including several episodes in the "Super Giant" series); ultraviolent action films in the '60s (the "Abashiri Prison" series with Ken Takakura); and soft-core pornography, so-called pink films, in the '70s (the "Hot Springs Geisha" series).

But Mr. Ishii's heart seemed to lie with a hybrid of pink films and horror that the Japanese call "ero-guro"(short for "erotic grotesque"), of which "Horrors of Malformed Men" remains perhaps the most notorious example. Based on a selection of stories by Edogawa Rampo, a celebrated pulp novelist who took his pseudonym from the Japanese pronunciation of "Edgar Allan Poe," "Horrors of Malformed Men" is less a lucidly plotted film than an exercise in streaming subconsciousness: a dreamlike outpouring of transgressive imagery that opens in a prison for topless madwomen and concludes with an explosion of optical effects that sends (none too plausibly) severed heads and body parts sailing through a purplish sky.

The thin connective tissue is provided by Hirosuke (Teruo Yoshida), a medical student who infiltrates an aristocratic family with a scandalous secret. But the film's center is held by the grimacing Tatsumi Hijikata, a founder of the Butoh school of avant-garde dance. Drawing on Butoh elements — body paint, frenzied movement and grotesque posturing — he portrays a visionary madman running Dr. Moreau-style experiments on a remote island, surgically transforming humans (played by members of Mr. Hijikata's troupe) into dribbling, half-naked monsters. One of the film's many indelible images is a chorus line of naked women, who rise up over the horizon like a parody of the Dance of Death in the "Seventh Seal," writhing and wailing to the cues of a cracking whip.

Surprisingly, Mr. Ishii served his apprenticeship as an assistant to the great melodramatist Mikio Naruse, whose austere, heartbreaking "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" was recently released on DVD by Criterion. Although Mr. Ishii considered Mr. Naruse to be his mentor and master, it is hard to find any trace of Mr. Naruse's concentrated, claustrophobic use of space and deliberate, ritualized movement in "Horrors of Malformed Men." In its Deranged! Depraved! Demented! way "Malformed Men" is quite open and free-spirited, a genuine late-'60s protest against constraint and conformity.

Special features on the disc include a commentary track by Mark Schilling, the critic who has done the most to bolster Mr. Ishii's reputation in the West, as well as interviews with two of the young Japanese directors, Shinya Tsukamoto ("Tetsuo") and Minoru Kawasaki ("The Calamari Wrestler"), who have found inspiration in his work. (Synapse Films, $24.95, not rated)

SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE

As a companion piece to "Malformed Men," Synapse has also released "Snake Woman's Curse," a 1968 film by Nobuo Nakagawa. Known, according to the Japanese genre Web site midnighteye.com, as the "Terence Fisher of Japan" (Mr. Fisher being the most gifted director at Hammer Films, Britain's horror movie factory), Mr. Nakagawa is best known for "Jigoku" (1960), a stylish imagining of a Buddhist hell released by Criterion last year.

On the basis of "Jigoku" and the far tamer "Snake Woman," Mr. Nakagawa seems to have been an elegant visual stylist without much flair for storytelling. Set in the transformative Meiji period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, "Snake Woman's Curse" is a fairly conventional tale of supernatural revenge in which a landowning clan gets its comeuppance at the ghostly hands of a family of tenant farmers who have been literally exploited to death.

Beautifully lighted by the cinematographer Yoshikazu Yamasawa (who also collaborated with Mr. Ishii and Kenji Fukasaku on several occasions), the movie drifts along through a series of social observations (things were bad for tenant farmers at the end of the feudal period) punctuated by mild shock scenes. The most memorable of them finds the clan's young master gripped by the hallucination that his new bride has developed some distinctly reptilian qualities. Ophidiophobes should stay away. (Synapse Films, $24.95, not rated)

There will be more reviews to come, so keep watching this space and don't forget to pick up both of these fantastic movies, in stores now!

Currently watching:
Horrors of Malformed Men
Release date: 28 August, 2007

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