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omercifulheaves · 4 months

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Samurai Wolf (1966)

#movies #posters #samurai wolf #hideo gosha

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ogradyfilm · 4 months

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2023: A Year in (Movie) Review(s)

Every cinephile has at least one Holy Grail. It's a common story: interest in said rare movie is piqued by a fleeting allusion in the pages of some neglected reference book or obscure magazine article. Gradually, curiosity evolves into infatuation, then obsession, manifesting as a desperate pursuit that might persist for decades, the search constantly hampered by the tragic fact that the White Whale in question remains stubbornly elusive—either out-of-print or never officially licensed or localized in the first place. And even if it is available (usually through sources of dubious legality), the image quality is always barely a step above an nth generation VHS transfer.

Well, in 2023, I managed to cross five such films off my personal “bucket list”—and despite the year’s numerous challenges (financially, in particular), I think that’s an accomplishment worth celebrating. Thus, in the interest of posterity, I’ve enumerated them below, along with brief descriptions and links to the corresponding reviews I wrote immediately after seeing them:

A Page of Madness: Of all the miraculous discoveries on this list, this one was undoubtedly the most unceremonious and anticlimactic. I randomly stumbled across this silent avant-garde masterpiece (of which I became aware way back in college) while nonchalantly browsing Amazon Prime’s digital library; suddenly, there it was, available to rent for a paltry three dollars. The movie itself was sublime, of course; after spending such a significant chunk of my life hunting it down, however, the relative ease with which I ultimately acquired it couldn’t help but feel a bit… underwhelming.

Samurai Wolf: Although Hideo Gosha’s lean, mean chanbara classic has never truly been out of reach to those “in the know,” my own research into the assorted bootlegs and unauthorized foreign imports available via various online marketplaces was… less than encouraging. Fortunately, Film Movement came to the rescue like a chivalrous ronin; the restoration on the company’s Blu-ray release is borderline pristine, enriching the director’s already bold compositions and dynamic camerawork. Nihilism and moral decay have seldom looked so beautiful.

Angel’s Egg: Home video copies of Mamoru Oshii’s surreal animated allegory tend to be obscenely, prohibitively expensive in the West, and tickets for the infrequent repertory screenings generally sell out almost instantly. Thankfully, a recent overabundance of free time afforded me the opportunity to experience the film’s haunting, hallucinatory magic under ideal circumstances—in a theater absolutely packed with fellow fans and aficionados. The Q&A with art director/character designer Yoshitaka Amano that followed the feature presentation (courtesy of Japan Society) was just icing on the cake.

Door: While Banmei Takahashi’s taut, suspenseful, claustrophobic thriller is the latest addition to this list (I learned of its existence roughly a year ago, through out-of-context clips shared between several Twitter accounts), you shouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating my enthusiasm for it—my desire to see it burned with the fiery passion of a spurned admirer. As luck would have it, my thirst was sated rather quickly compared to the previous entries on this countdown; the movie played at this year’s Brooklyn Horror Film Festival—perfectly scheduled to coincide with the Halloween season.

Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis - When I initially encountered this ambitious, extravagant, and extremely expensive special effects extravaganza, the only viable way to view it was in twelve parts on YouTube, compressed to about 240p resolution—a format that hardly does the spectacle justice. Thank goodness for the fine programmers at Japan Society; the big screen really smooths out the movie’s minor flaws and superficial blemishes, and Kyusaku Shimada’s magnificent performance as the nefarious Yasunori Kato certainly benefits from a more expansive frame. Guess I can finally stop requesting the film in the feedback section of literally every post-screening survey…

And that essentially sums up my 2023; the satisfaction of enjoying so many films that had been taunting and tantalizing my imagination definitely took the sting out of the whole "prolonged unemployment" situation. With that said, I’d like to wish everybody a very Happy New Year! Hopefully, my adventures in cinema will continue in 2024. (For God’s sake, will some distributor please show Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Sweet Home the love it so richly deserves?!)

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oneofusnet · 9 months

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Digital Noise Episode 235: It's Not About Sphere, It's About Ferocious Wolf DIGITAL NOISE EPISODE 235: IT’S NOT ABOUT SPHERE, IT’S ABOUT FEROCIOUS WOLF Chris and Wright get a show in with pretty much all good (or variables of ‘good’) films and some real surprises and hidden gems. From a bloody and awesome samurai two-punch classic, to a film DN calls “Oceans Zero”. From Florence Pugh’s latest… Read More »Digital Noise Episode 235: It’s Not About Sphere, It’s About Ferocious Wolf read more on One of Us

#4k #A Good Person #Blu-Ray #Digital Noise #home release #Joy House #Juggernaut #Kamikaze #movie review #podcast #Sakra #Samurai Wolf #The Great Train Robbery #Blu-ray #film #Home releases #Movie Review

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mushi-shield · 4 months

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people on tumblr really is sleeping on those great anime

wolf rain

Blue gender

Monster

Now and Then, Here and There

Big O

s-CRY-ed

Witch Hunter Robin

Paranoia Agent

Samurai 7

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Trinity Blood

Blood+

Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit

Ristorante Paradiso

#anime #Ristorante Paradiso #Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit #blood+#trinity blood #Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo #samurai 7 #paranoia agent #witch hunter robin #s-CRY-ed #big o #Now and Then here and there #monster #blue gender #wolf rain

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cybernightart · 5 months

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i would like to suggest a fnaf sb au

that is all, thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

#glamrock freddy #fnaf #fnaf sb #glamrock monty #glamrock chica #glamrock bonnie #glamrock roxy #roxanne wolf #montgomery gator #security breach #fnaf au #power rangers #power rangers samurai

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chunlo · 1 year

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35% off everything in the store for the weekend https://chunlo.threadless.com/

#death #Puss in Boots #wolf #astronaut #japanese #samurai #tattoos #snake #oni #mask #demon #anime #manga #neo tokyo #neojapan #Chun Lo

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fulcrum-art-fox · 3 months

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Kinda obsessed with the way the blurb for the first episode describes her as “lone-wolf warrior Mizu” and she gets to lone wolf it all of what, one scene? before Ringo attaches himself to her and from there she barely manages to get five minutes alone at a time for the entirety of the rest of the show. some lone wolf. just, the way she attracts people despite desperately trying not to is amazing. most of episode one she spends trying to ditch Ringo and failing. episode three she has Ringo and now Taigen following her around and being bitchy. by four Akemi’s caught up to her. episode six is the first time she’s really lone wolfed it since episode one and even then she picks up Taigen in the dungeons so the lone wolfing doesn’t even last an episode. episode seven is the go home to Sword Father and include all the people who touched me in my totally lone wolf travels in my reforging episode. Just, the way Sword Father says “perhaps the people you collected” but really, who collected who?

#blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai spoilers #the way it feeds into her characterisation and journey and self hatred and revenge and community and attachment issues #She might want be a lone wolf but her pack is coalescing around her whether she will or no #idk I just thought it was fun and neat

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incorrectsmashbrosquotes · 1 year

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Samus: Did you get high and watch Samurai movies again?

Link, crying: Yes.

Samus: ...Did he die because he was burdened by the very code he lived for again-

Link, sobbing: YES!

*meanwhile*

Isabelle: Did you get high and watch cowboy movies again?

Wolf, crying: Yeah.

Isabelle: ...Did he die because civilization is consuming a once wild but free way of life-

Wolf, sobbing: YES!

#incorrect super smash bros #super smash bros #incorrect quotes #smash bros #Samus #Link #Isabelle #Wolf #Wolf O'Donnell #Metroid #Legend of Zelda #Animal Crossing #Star Fox #Samurai #Cowboy #source: Twitter

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my-beautiful-monsters · 28 days

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🩸Two color commission of a female Lone Wolf and Cub - Cadmium Red, Prussian Blue and Black watercolor, Copic multiliner pens with some slight digital edits.

#lone wolf and cub #art nouveau #illustration #fan art #samurai #genderbend #watercolor #lone wolf

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ercticisms · 3 months

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i'm high.. but this has to make a little sense

#european gun wielders with their evil japanese counterparts?#idk im actually so fucking stoned #this NEEDS to make sense #they both border on hate love #gay people even???? caressing each other??????#fowdo #yumikel #blue eye samurai #hellsing #hellsing ultimate #bes #yumie takagi #heinkel wolfe #abijah fowler #heiji shindo

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comic-art-showcase · 3 months

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Lone Wolf and Cub by Sanford Greene

#sanford greene #lone wolf and cub #ittou ogami #daigorou ogami #seinen #samurai #manga

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2justpolls2 · 9 months

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#anime poll #poll #vote #anime gif #gifs #witch hunter robin #wolf's rain #the big o #s-CRY-ed #oban star racers #samurai 7 #reign: the conqueror #moribito- the guardian spirit #kyo kara maoh #shinzo #blue gender #blood+

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ogradyfilm · 9 months

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Recently Viewed: Samurai Wolf

In Samurai Wolf, director Hideo Gosha shaves his already minimalistic chanbara formula all the way down to the bone. Although conspiracies, intrigue, conflicting loyalties, and double identities abound, these recurring tropes merely provide narrative context rather than serving as central themes. The setting is likewise quite modest compared to the lavish, densely populated feudal cities and quaint, fertile farms that tend to define the jidaigeki genre; the story instead unfolds in a remote ghost town nestled amidst an imposing mountain range, where the ramshackle buildings and dusty, desolate roads evoke an almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Even the heroic ronin du jour lacks his archetype’s trademark tragic origin, swaggering onto the screen pretty much fully formed, with only the clothes on his back (his frequent shirtlessness notwithstanding).

The simple, straightforward, no-frills plot allows Gosha to focus his creative energies on what truly matters: the style. Every image is a beautifully crafted work of art. The action is, of course, exquisitely choreographed, making excellent use of slow motion, precise editing, and dynamic framing (including claustrophobic closeups, sprawling wides, and disorienting Dutch angles) to add variety to the intentionally chaotic battles. Expository dialogue is filmed with equal care and attention to detail. In one early scene, for example, our protagonist negotiates with a prospective employer while casually trimming his beard, using his sword as a makeshift mirror; thus, both characters remain visible in each shot/reverse shot via the reflective surface of the blade, lending visual flair to the otherwise basic compositions.

Samurai Wolf isn’t Gosha’s best movie (that title rightfully belongs to either Three Outlaw Samurai or Hunter in the Dark, despite my personal preference for Sword of the Beast), but it certainly ranks among his most effortlessly entertaining. Running a lean, breezy seventy-five minutes without sacrificing any of its emotional resonance, it proves the old adage, “Sometimes, less is more.”

#Samurai Wolf #Hideo Gosha #Film Movement #Japanese cinema #Japanese film #jidaigeki #jidai-geki #chanbara #chambara #samurai movie #film #writing #movie review

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chernobog13 · 3 months

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Kinnosuke Nakamura as Ogami Ittō, and Katzutaka Nishikawa as his son, Daigoro, in the first Lone Wolf and Cub television series (1973-1976). Nishikawa-kun played Daigoro for the first two seasons of the show and presumably aged out of the role; he was replaced by Takumi Satô for the third and final season.

This series was produced by a Kazuo Koike's production company. Koike-san, the author of the original manga the series was based on, wanted to emphasize the relationship between father and son. Because of time and story constraints, the six feature films (1972-1974) starring Tomasiburo Wakayama had only been able to briefly touch upon this aspect of the story.

#Lone Wolf and Cub #Kozure Ōkami #Ogami Ittō #Kinnosuke Nakamura #Daigoro #Katzutaka Nishikawa #chambara #jidaigeki #samurai #ronin #assassin

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pleuvoire · 4 months

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