Best know for his last cult films, BATTLE ROYALE and BATTLE ROYALE 2, Kinji Fukasaku was one of Japan’s genre-juggling directors, covering horror (The Green Slime) crime drama (Yakuza Graveyard) and war (the Japanese segment to Tora! Tora! Tora!). Tartan now release a triple dose of delirious entertainment.
BLACK MAIL IS MY LIFE (1968)
A group of young daredevils feel excluded from society, so they decide to exploit the economic boom through blackmail. However, when they are playing the yakuza ganglords off against government officials, they know they’re treading a very careful line. Tightly paced with a thumping soundtrack, it’s a bloody wake-up call for Japan’s youth that reaches its climax in Battle Royale.
BLACK ROSE MANSION (1969)
Wealthy Kyohei hires singer Black Rose to perform at his exclusive men’s club, but she also proves to be a magnet for homicidal past lovers. Even worse, his own son falls for her fatal charms too. Soon the place is awash with blood and lust in a manic swirl of cinematic effects. Considered a camp classic that plays like a more melodramatic oriental cousin to John Walters and Divine, it’s a feverishly perverse tale featuring renowned drag artist Akihiro Maruyama (who as Akirhiro Miwa adds voices to anime classics Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle).
IF YOU WERE YOUNG (1970)
Despite a booming economy, a group of disenfranchised young men just can’t get jobs, so they take the entrepreneurial spirit, buy a dump truck and become their own bosses. However, that only causes another set of problems where their dreams decay into unfulfilled and ruined lives. Another outburst for frustrated youth, highlighting the emerging generation gap in Japan’s post-war economic boom. A stylistic blend of Nouvelle Vague and Film Noir, grounded with the grittiness of Scorsese’s Mean Streets.
FUKASAKU COLLECTION is released on retail DVD only (rrp £19.99). Release date: 23 JUNE.
