Kayo Matsuo

  • Yasuzô Masumura – Tsumiki no hako AKA The House of Wooden Blocks (1968)

    1961-1970DramaJapanYasuzô Masumura

    Synopsis:
    Masumura’s 40th film, for which he collaborated on the script, shows plot irrationality perhaps due to the newspaper serial original, perhaps to the adolescent behavior he portrays. The extremes of self-sacrifice in some of the characters such as Hisayo and Sugiura contrast too sharply with the animal brutality of Sasabayashi and Namie, and the result is more caricature than realism. The harsh selfishness of Ichiro¯ and the abrupt techniques used to present his interior thoughts (double exposure of a naked Yuri as he undresses her with his eyes) prevent him in the end from winning audience sympathy. Part of a late sixties trend toward adolescent sexuality subject matter.Read More »

  • Kenji Misumi – Sakura no Daimon AKA Internal Sleuth (1973)

    Kenji Misumi1971-1980AsianCrimeJapan

    When 150 guns are lost from the Iwakuni base and two police officers are shot dead, a detective tries to find out the truth.

    Review by kagetsuhisoka:
    Kenji Misumi’s nihilistic cop movie has finally been subbed. This is an amazing (and in my opinion) superior companion piece to Shintaro Katsu’s The Big Boss, which I uploaded not long ago. dimax9 provided me with a copy of the movie. Subs were timed and commissioned by me (thanks TheCatacomb as always). chapaev patched the DVD.Read More »

  • Kenji Misumi – Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma AKA Lone Wolf and Cub II: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)

    1971-1980ActionAsianJapanKenji Misumi

    Synopsis:
    Based on the best-selling manga series, the six intensely kinetic Lone Wolf and Cub films elevated chanbara to bloody new heights. The shogun’s executioner, Itto Ogami (Tomisaburo Wakayama), takes to wandering the countryside as an assassin—along with his infant son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) and a seemingly infinitely weaponized perambulator—helping those he encounters while seeking vengeance for his murdered wife. Delivering stylish thrills and a body count that defies belief, Lone Wolf and Cub is beloved for its brilliantly choreographed action sequences as well as its tender depiction of the bonds between a parent and a child.Read More »

  • Kazuo Ikehiro – Mushukunin Mikogami no Jôkichi: Kiba wa hikisaita AKA Mikogami Trilogy I: The Trail of Blood (1972)

    1971-1980ActionAsianJapanKazuo Ikehiro



    SUMMARY
    Can a sinful man change and find peace? It’s unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father’s craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge.
    jhailey on IMDbRead More »

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