The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE
The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE
Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE
This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill, Tokyo Drifter, Youth of the Beast, etc.) shot Gate of Flesh for the Japanese Nikkatsu studios at the time as an “adult film” which would later be called “Roman Porno” a.k.a. pink movies, but in usual Suzuki style the great director makes it much more than just a standard adult film. Like many Japanese filmmakers and actors from the same era, Suzuki had survived WW2 and as a soldier he had experienced firsthand the devastation that the war had brought to Japan. The director brilliantly uses his own anti-American sentiments at the time, as well as his obvious resentment against his own country in Gate of Flesh, to tell a a haunting story about damaged people and missed opportunities.


Also worth a mention is the wonderful soundtrack by Naozumi Yamamoto that makes great use of authentic Japanese instruments and driving rhythms. Yamamoto’s music really helps to evoke a mood of stifling doom throughout the entire movie.



(Originally written Aug. 2005)
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tdc says; May 22, 2006 @ 6:24 am
Excuse me. “Gate of Flesh” wasn’t a Roman Poruno film. In fact, Nikkatsu studio had produced Roman Poruno films from Nov. 1971 to 1988. (Nikkatsu produced more than 1000 films)
By the way, those Nikkatsu Roman Poruno
films were rated as above 18 years-old and released limitedly in the special theaters for adults only.
However, “Gate of Flesh” was not rated, and released widely.
Anyway, today in Japan, sometimes Arthouse cinemas have screenings both of Nikkatsu Roman Poruno and Genru films .
And, “Gate of Flesh” was based on very popular novel published in 1947. In 1948, The story was very popular so adapt to satage play and fist adapt to film directed by Masahiro Makino for Shintoho studio.
Of course, I agree that Seijun Suzuki made this story as his own way.
cinebeats says; May 22, 2006 @ 7:11 am
Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I appreciate your input tdc. I guess my wording was a bit off, but I was trying to imply above that Gate of Flesh was “like” a “roman porno” instead of a true film from the genre. Hopefully that clear.
In the interview with Seijun Suzuki that is included on the Gate of Flesh Criterion DVD he clearly says the following:
“.. this movie was a so-called adult release. The film was not so much a blue movie, but rather more like what would later be called the Nikkatsu Roman Porno movies.”
I knew Gate of Flesh was based on a novel, but I didn’t know that it had been filmed earlier and made into a stage play. Thanks for sharing that information.
tdc says; May 22, 2006 @ 8:30 am
Hi! It was my pleasure. Just because I’m a Japanese and have learned background information naturally. Moreover I’m very thankful to your deep attention to Japanese Films.
And thanks for your visit to my blog. Shall we link each other?
cinebeats says; May 22, 2006 @ 8:55 am
You have a great blog about Asian cinema tdc! I have just added it to my links.