38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

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perkizitore
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#51 Post by perkizitore » Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:18 am

Peacock wrote:How does the region 2 Yume dvd compare to the Criterion... any better?

edit: ok i should have read further up the page.. so i take it the answer is no.
They have better extras and are significantly cheaper.

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Minkin
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#52 Post by Minkin » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:42 am

This recently came onto Netflix via the wave of new watch instantly titles. It has the new Criterion logo and transfer. Interesting.

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Le Samouraï
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#53 Post by Le Samouraï » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:48 pm

Nice. Hope this means they will upgrade them soon. An upgrade of the old Suzukis and Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR has been on my wishlist for very long now (I know they promised the two early fuller releases would be taken care of, but frankly it has been quite a while now.)

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Peacock
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#54 Post by Peacock » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:55 pm

So are there no reviews about the Madman disk of Branded to Kill? I know a guy on here said he had it but couldn't post caps; is that really the best we can do? I don't know how much longer I can hold out waiting for a Criterion

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Napier
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#55 Post by Napier » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:46 pm

Criterion will = (much better).

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tajmahal
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#56 Post by tajmahal » Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:02 pm

Peacock wrote:So are there no reviews about the Madman disk of Branded to Kill? I know a guy on here said he had it but couldn't post caps; is that really the best we can do? I don't know how much longer I can hold out waiting for a Criterion
I have the Madman somewhere. if I can dig it out, I'll post some caps over the weekend.

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eljacko
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#57 Post by eljacko » Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:57 pm

Minkin wrote:This recently came onto Netflix via the wave of new watch instantly titles. It has the new Criterion logo and transfer. Interesting.
I watched the first few minutes of this film and it looks really, really nice. Well, as nice as an internet download can look. I am very excited since this hopefully means the DVD release is soon, since Suzuki is one of my favorite directors and I've been holding off on buying this and Tokyo Drifter (due to the picture quality).

I do wonder, could this film be a candidate for Blu-ray?

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tajmahal
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#58 Post by tajmahal » Sun Dec 06, 2009 3:47 am

Peacock wrote:So are there no reviews about the Madman disk of Branded to Kill? I know a guy on here said he had it but couldn't post caps; is that really the best we can do? I don't know how much longer I can hold out waiting for a Criterion
Here's some screencaps from the Madman 'Branded to Kill' dvd.

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viewtiful alan
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#59 Post by viewtiful alan » Wed Dec 23, 2009 2:18 pm

eljacko wrote:
Minkin wrote:This recently came onto Netflix via the wave of new watch instantly titles. It has the new Criterion logo and transfer. Interesting.
I watched the first few minutes of this film and it looks really, really nice. Well, as nice as an internet download can look. I am very excited since this hopefully means the DVD release is soon, since Suzuki is one of my favorite directors and I've been holding off on buying this and Tokyo Drifter (due to the picture quality).

I do wonder, could this film be a candidate for Blu-ray?
I doubt it. I think they are trying to stick to films with more commercial possibility for early Blu-Ray releases.

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cysiam
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#60 Post by cysiam » Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:03 am

Tokyo Drifter is on Netflix Instant with the wacky C new logo. The transfer looks pretty nice but the whites are all blown out. Can anybody confirm if it's intended to be like that?

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Svevan
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#61 Post by Svevan » Tue Mar 23, 2010 3:55 am

In answer to your question, the whites were blown out on the old transfer, as evidenced by this DVDBeaver page. The B&W portion only lasts for a few minutes (as every stylized segment does in Tokyo Drifter).

To answer this guy's question, I went and had a look at the Netflix insta-version of this movie. I don't think it was emphasized enough earlier how incredibly improved this flick looks - Netflix has provided us a preview of Criterion's upcoming re-release, a new precedent, and we didn't say much. Too bad cause even on Netflix this looks great! I disagree with the previous poster re: Blu - this is very likely a Blu release. Suzuki's color films are too vibrant to be skipped over for Blu treatment. I've included a bunch of caps from Netflix to be compared to the DVDBeaver page. Really, this looks great!

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Delicious. Ready for that re-release, Criterion.

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cysiam
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#62 Post by cysiam » Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:59 am

Thanks.

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Finch
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#63 Post by Finch » Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:13 pm

Tokyo Drifter reissue on Blu? Please let that be true [-o<

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jbeall
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#64 Post by jbeall » Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:16 pm

Jesus, Tokyo Drifter is such a blast! I liked Branded to Kill well enough, but Drifter just ratchets up the crazy! I was in stitches at the character of Tatsuzo the Viper, who plays it like he's a suave hitman, but as he chases Tetsu, he increasingly becomes a twisted combination of Wile E. Coyote and the disintegrating waiter from Playtime to Tetsu's (more laconic) roadrunner. And the colors are so vibrant--if any of the CC's early releases are screaming for blu treatment, this title's gotta be at or near the top of the list.


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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#66 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:31 am

With the inevitable re-release of these films fast approaching (I'm assuming) I thought I'd suggest some possible supplements that might be nice to see among the doubtlessly double disc digipak sets (I'm guessing).

What got me thinking about this is the bonus feature films Criterion's been doling out, especially recently. With Nikkatsu releasing everything in double or triple features at the time, it might be fun to see these include their corresponding double features. (For example, Tony Rayns mentioned in a Criterion essay that Kanto Wanderer was paired with Imamura's The Insect Woman and Story of a Prostitute with Intentions of Murder.) Branded to Kill was evidently paired with Shōgorō Nishimura's Burning Nature (Hana o kū mushi, aka A Bug That Eats Flowers)--I'm assuming Suzuki's was the B feature, which played afterwards in Japan. I have no idea what the Burning Nature is like but it'd at the very least be interesting and Criterion doesn't seem to have any trouble acquiring Nikkatsu films. Nishimura seems to have been a hit-and-miss director who started at Nikkatsu the same time as Suzuki and stayed on after they switched into pink films, which included his 1977 remake of Gate of Flesh.

I haven't been able to find any sources which indicate what played with Tokyo Drifter. However, according to various databases (including Nikkatsu's) they only released one other film on the same date as Tokyo Drifter (same goes for Branded to Kill and Burning Nature's release date) and it fares better, being by another known quantity, Toshio Masuda's Tales of Japanese Chivalry: Invitation to a Bloodbath (Nihon ninkyōden: Chimatsuri kenkajō, aka The Bloodstained Challange). Criterion should be able to confirm this more easily than myself. Masuda being the prolific hitmaker responsible for Rusty Knife in the Nikkatsu Noir set. It's a Meiji Era actioner.

Since Criterion was already into reissues in 2005 when they did those four Suzuki films I wouldn't be surprised if they'd also recorded some footage concerning Branded and Drifter. With their go-tos, Suzuki, Rayns, Tadao Sato and Joe Shishido, it's no problem either way but it'd be great if they had something on file from Takeo Kimura, who is no longer with us. Aside from them, there's a metric ton of writers, directors and musicians who get pretty enthusiastic about these films. And maybe Donald Richie as the rare voice who's acknowledged the films but didn't actually care for them all that much. Plus all of the leads are still knocking around.

Two things I'd especially like to see documentaries on would be Suzkui's firing and his writing group. In the current Branded disc's interview, Suzuki glosses over his firing and, while in 1968 it wasn't hard to get students to protest stuff, it was kind of a big deal at the time. Nagisa Oshima and Masahiro Shinoda were involved in the protest and Suzuki's two and a half year lawsuit against the Nikkatsu. (Also, Suzuki was working on a television project when he was officially fired, I don't know what happened to that but I wouldn't mind seeing it if it could be found.) The most famous members of Suzuki's writing group, Hachiro Guryu, are dead, so it might be nice to get a hold of Suzuki and anyone else they can find. Branded is the only film officially attributed to the group but he's been working with them ever since they gravitated to him in the 60s and it'd be nice to know who worked on what, as not everyone participated on every project. There's almost nothing written about the group in English. And, obviously, the film's influence is another ripe subject--I believe Suzuki talks about that in an interview on the Yume Pictures DVD but I haven't seen that. Besides Jarmusch and Taratino, he was rather big in Japan, I hear.

That is all.

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agnamaracs
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#67 Post by agnamaracs » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:03 am

You need a job at Criterion. Immediately.

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Cold Bishop
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#68 Post by Cold Bishop » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:36 am

Doctor Sunshine wrote:(Also, Suzuki was working on a television project when he was officially fired, I don't know what happened to that but I wouldn't mind seeing it if it could be found.)
More than likely, it's Good Evening Dear Husband: A Duel, which is not only extant, but available in a good-looking copy in the back-channels of the internet. No subs, but it's purportedly as unhinged as much of his studio work; despite expectations, television didn't water him down.

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Peacock
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#69 Post by Peacock » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:41 am

Great post Sunshine, if you'd like to know more about the firing and protest, I think the long interview between Rayns and Suzuki on the UK disk of Tokyo Drifter goes into more detail...

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#70 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Wed Aug 17, 2011 4:27 pm

agnamaracs wrote:You need a job at Criterion. Immediately.
Oh yeah, and one more: I'd like to see a fan commentary done by me. Guaranteed selling point!
Cold Bishop wrote:More than likely, it's Good Evening Dear Husband: A Duel, which is not only extant, but available in a good-looking copy in the back-channels of the internet. No subs, but it's purportedly as unhinged as much of his studio work; despite expectations, television didn't water him down.
I think you're right. I had second thoughts seeing it attributed to TBS but probably it was made at Nikkatsu and produced and/or broadcast by TBS. I have actually seen the bootleg and it definitely lives up to your description, even without knowing what they're saying. A light half hour melodrama with these creatively bizarre visual and aural touches that really make it a treat. I wouldn't say it pushes any further than Branded to Kill but it's definitely on par.
Peacock wrote:Great post Sunshine, if you'd like to know more about the firing and protest, I think the long interview between Rayns and Suzuki on the UK disk of Tokyo Drifter goes into more detail...
I've definitely been tempted, especially since finding out VLC player has no problem playing R2 discs, yet the lousy transfer and my patients prevail, so far anyway. If anyone hasn't seen it there's a short but detailed account of the firing, protest and lawsuit by Kohshi Ueno available online on page 8 here. (You can enlarge by clicking on the article however many times.)

One more thing, it's Nikkatsu's 100th anniversary next year, so it seems as good a time as any to redo these.

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movielocke
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#71 Post by movielocke » Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:00 am

I figure these are probably happening in January, like last year's Fuller releases...

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swo17
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#72 Post by swo17 » Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:32 pm


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zedz
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#73 Post by zedz » Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:44 pm

Only a minor improvement in the extras department, but these were badly in need of a visual upgrade, so these re-releases are most welcome.

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#74 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:26 pm

The video pieces should be pretty solid. Suzuki's always a good interview subject. And, while he wasn't part of the original eight, Masami Kuzuu is associated with Suzuki's writing group (at least according to Kinema Junpo's database). It was basically Suzuki, Takeo Kimura and the all the assistant directors that gravitated to him from 1963 onward. Suzuki recorded six commentary tracks for the first of two Nikkatsu box sets in 2006 and Kuzuu joined him for two of them (Eight Hours of Fear (1957) and Branded to Kill, with Annu Mari also joining them on the latter) so I'd wager he's got a few stories to tell. The Tokyo Drifter commentary was with Tamio Kawachi, so it's a shame Criterion didn't get an interview with him, especially in light of his star turns in The Warped Ones, Black Sun and the Hulu exclusive Everything Went Wrong. Joe Shishido's always fun though. And Tony Rayns is probably the man most responsible for getting the word out about Suzuki in the first place so I'm glad he's got an essay on there.

But, yes, having seen what a giant leap Branded to Kill is, even streaming in standard definition, I cannot wait for the blu-rays. And I'm sure Tokyo Drifter will be nothing short of a revelation.

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Napier
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#75 Post by Napier » Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:50 pm

Indeed, a long time coming. I'm over the moon.

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