Member AlbertV Posted March 17, 2011 Member Share Posted March 17, 2011 From the director of ROBO-GEISHA and THE MACHINE GIRL comes this action-packed tale of a police officer and a robot created by his father. The robot, known as Zaborgar, is an expert in martial arts and has the ability to transform into a motorcycle. Twitch released the plot and click on the link for the international trailer. " PART MOTORCYCLE, PART KARATE EXPERT, ALL ROBOT! WHEN THE SAFETY OF THE WORLD IS AT STAKE, ZABORGAR WILL SAVE THE DAY! Following the death of his scientist father, secret police officer Yutaka Daimon inherits a mighty robot warrior named "Zaborgar." Equipped with an array of super weapons, an expertise in karate, and the power to transform into a motorcycle, Zaborgar assists Daimon in his fight against Sigma, the evil organization responsible for his father's death. After uncovering a plot by Sigma to steal the DNA of Japanese politicians and use it in a giant robot weapon, Daimon faces off against Miss Borg, a beautiful female robot under the control of Dr. Akunomiya, the twisted leader of Sigma. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, Daimon and Miss Borg fall in love--a development that spells an end to the once inseparable crime-fighting team of Daimon and Zaborgar. Twenty-five years later, the now-disgraced Daimon has been reduced to working as a chauffeur for corrupt Prime Minister Wakasugi. But Sigma, having at last finished its giant robot, is now preparing to unleash it upon the world. With no one left to oppose them, a worn, middle-aged Daimon is forced out of retirement and into service as a crime-fighter one last time. But will Zaborgar forgive and forget, and aid Daimon in his quest to maintain righteousness and save the world from total destruction? From director Noboru Iguchi, creator of the international hits THE MACHINE GIRL and ROBO-GEISHA, comes a hilariously over-the-top tribute to the transforming robots of 1970's Japanese television, and an exciting action/comedy that will stir the heart of anyone who longs for justice dispensed at the short end of a swift robot karate kick!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JimPV Posted March 17, 2011 Member Share Posted March 17, 2011 THIS... could be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mpm74 Posted March 18, 2011 Member Share Posted March 18, 2011 That actually looks really good. You know, I haven't seen any of his other films (or related... Robogeisha, etc). Lost interest without giving it a try, just not into those extremely over-the-top sex 'n violence string of Japanese films. Just not my thing. AS for this trailer, looks interesting, as I'm a big fan of japanese robots, particularly Macross. But love them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 18, 2011 Member Share Posted March 18, 2011 Iguchi's career is taking an interesting turn. Not so many porn directors become successful with family films but Iguchi's trying just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted March 18, 2011 Member Share Posted March 18, 2011 I'd be down to see this. I'd like to see a trailer with some MA in it to see if the choreography is any good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted May 3, 2011 Member Share Posted May 3, 2011 ok, short version Sukeban Boy: Terrible The Machine Girl: Average Robo-Geisha: Poor Karate Robo Zaborgar: Fuckin' A. Better than Iguchi's other movies combined. long version. At my blog, some day, when I have time to write. Oh, and btw, Iguchi's an awesome guy live. Very polite and fun, even though my Japanese skills went down by 3 years as I was trying to make some sense in front of him His next movie will be, according to his own words "an erotic zombie ass horror movie" EDIT: oh, right, Iguchi also mentined that the Japanese cut of Karate Robo will be extended by 15 min, including a sex scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted May 4, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 4, 2011 The guys at Twitch gave this a thumbs up as well - http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2011/04/hoff-2011-karate-robo-zaborgar-review.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted May 4, 2011 Member Share Posted May 4, 2011 I'd still like to know....... I'm intrigued by the grade you gave it, Takuma, and I enjoyed the link to the Twitch review, OAB. But no one is saying anything about the choreography. As "Karate" is in the title of this film, does it have any decent MA in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted May 4, 2011 Member Share Posted May 4, 2011 It's not a film to watch for martial arts choreography. The original was made in the time when Bruce Lee was the latest craze, so they wanted to take the tokusatsu concept and throw in some (fashionable) martial arts. But the real selling point was the transforming robot. The movie is somewhat in the same alley. There's martial arts, and the choreography is not that bad, but even in the action scenes the main attraction is always humor, robots, soundtrack, strange villains, etc. Figting is merely one ingeredient in the soup, played simultaneously with others, rather than as the main course. Kinda like gunplay in Bond films. Cameo (skip if you want to save the surprise): Yoshihiro Nishimura plays karate instructor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted May 5, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 5, 2011 But no one is saying anything about the choreography. As "Karate" is in the title of this film, does it have any decent MA in it? Yeah I think Takuma pretty much summed up the attitude which should be taken when watching this. Despite the title featuring `karate`, I`d say nobody who goes to wach something with the `Sushi Typhoon` stamp on it (or most anything that comes out of Japan these days) is looking for quality martial arts choreography. Usually it`s for the wacky / gore / splatter / `out there` factor that their movies mostly aim to be described as. Hopefully things may change with Tak Sakaguchi`s involvement with `Yakuza Weapon`, but then again looking at the trailer for that movie it looks like it could just be more of the same... Still, `Karate Robo Zaborgar` looks to be a fun ride for what it is, a throwback to the transforming robot TV shows of 70`s Japan, and definitely not a finely choreographed piece of MA cinema. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted May 5, 2011 Member Share Posted May 5, 2011 Booooooooo-gus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted May 5, 2011 Member Share Posted May 5, 2011 ok, here's the full story Sushi Typhoon – Part 7: Karate-Robo Zaborgar http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/sushi-typhoon-part-7-karate-robo-zaborgar/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member 66 Mantis Posted May 6, 2011 Member Share Posted May 6, 2011 I'm a big fan of the original series starring Akira Yamaguchi. This film seems like it could be fun as a spoof, but it'll probably just make me want to watch some of the original episodes again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted June 1, 2011 Member Share Posted June 1, 2011 Iguchi and Nishimura shooting Karate-Robo spin off short movie. Keeping in mind the fest cut is also the Int. cut (missing 20 min, including a sex scene) there will, once again, be a lot to look forward on DVD / BD. - via Sushi twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted June 15, 2011 Member Share Posted June 15, 2011 There will be a R2J re-release of the original Denjin Zaborgar (Karate-Robo Zaborgar) Box Set. The Set will include the original 1974 and 1975 TV shows just like the old box set did. The price is now more affordable. The old set was 39 800 (although it's now OOP and going for much higher prices), the new one is 25,800. R2J 2011/09/07 King Records KIBF-90926 7 Discs / 52 episodes / 1307 min 16 page booklet and 10 post cards (no subs of course) Here's a picture of the old set - http://www.mandarake.co.jp/information/2009/11/06/12nkn01/index.html If you've got the old one, today's your chance to get rich! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member inframan Posted June 15, 2011 Member Share Posted June 15, 2011 I noticed that they also released Maga Tashi on DVD, same production company as Denjin Zaboga. I haven's seen denjin zaboga but it looks pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted July 24, 2011 Member Share Posted July 24, 2011 JP Poster: I suppose the Japanese trailer wasn't linked before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted October 25, 2011 Moderator Share Posted October 25, 2011 I got through watching this in the cinema at the weekend. Unusually for a Sushi Typhoon movie, a large portion of the audience was actually father and son combo's....a telling sign of what market these type of movies still appeal to in Japan. Of course, the otaku's where also there in force, making for some interesting seating arrangements. Much like the average Japanese salaryman acts when inebriating himself with a bottle of sake, for the first hour 'Karate Robo Zaborgar' is a lot of fun and moves along at a rapid pace, throwing random crazyness over the screen with a certain amount of innocent charm, and nailing the 70's feel it was going for right on the head. There is even a muay thai visual gag that made me laugh out loud. However, around the one hour mark there's an important confrontation, which is essentially the finale of the storyline we've been watching so far, and it actually manages to end on a dramatic note....well, dramatic for a movie where the main character's feelings are torn between a righteous robot and a villanous but sexy cyborg. That should have been it....everyone leaves satisfied, and there is plenty of potential for a sequel. Unfortunately, it's also at this point that I realized there is still 1 hour to go. 'Karate Robo Zaborgar' is actually a 2 hour movie in it's Japanese form, I believe Takuma who reviewed the movie previously saw the international print which has been trimmed by 15 minutes, and even he stated it drags a little in the second half. The movie skips forward by 25 years, it's no longer the 70's, and the tone shifts to Daimon, Zaborgar's human partner, who's become a washed up shadow of his former self. Just like the average salary man, at this point the movie falls flat on it's face, and doesn't get back up. All the fun that has come before is quickly forgotten as we're subjected to a plodding tale of redemption and stupidity that really goes nowhere, even the fun rubber monster suits from the first half are replaced with the usual Sushi Typhoon standard CGI, which is to say, it's not very good. What started off strongly as a fun homage to the original TV series, ends up limping towards the end of its bloated running time, and ultimately it's hard to really recommend. Perhaps with an extra 45 minutes worth of trimming the movie could work, but in it's current state it's simply over-long and uninteresting, perhaps worth a watch strictly for fans of the original series. On the plus side, after the movie finished Noburo Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, and Sushi Typhoon regular actresses Asami & Cay Izumi (who came out in the costumes they wore in the movie, which wasn't a bad thing at all, and sent several of the father / son pairs running for the exit!) did a nice question and answer session,,,,which made me feel a little better, as I decided to attend this instead of going to see Jackie Chan & Milla Jovovich who where just a few stations away, attending the opening of the Tokyo Film Festival. You can't have everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted October 25, 2011 Member Share Posted October 25, 2011 How was the sex scene? In Frankfurt Iguchi said there would be one in the JP version? Also cool to hear about the audience... my prediction was correct it’s a movie with notable mainstream success potential among Japanese kids and fathers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted October 25, 2011 Moderator Share Posted October 25, 2011 How was the sex scene? In Frankfurt Iguchi said there would be one in the JP version? Ah, the much touted Japanese version sex scene....well, I wouldn't actually refer to it as a sex scene per se. It is basically the sexy cyborgs seduction of Daimon inside a cave, and contains zero nudity. Basically they go to kiss each other, and a small worm like monster comes out of the cyborgs mouth and slaps Daimon around the face for a little longer than is actually funny....then she opens her metal bra and a bunch of tentacles come out (think the end of 'Hard Revenge Milly' but with rubber tubing instead of machinery), which, you guessed it, slap him around the face for a few seconds. Skip to the next scene....she's pregnant. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted October 25, 2011 Member Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hah, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted January 14, 2012 Member Share Posted January 14, 2012 Zaborgar Japanese Blu-Ray and DVD editions coming 2012/3/28 Standard Edition (BD-25) - Film (114 min Japanese Theatrical Version *) + Trailers Special Edition (BD-50) - Film (114 min Japanese Theatrical Version *) + Audio Commentary + Making of + Spin off movie: Ganbare Zaborgar + Trailer + Original Soundtrack CD + Booklet + Digipack Same contents on DVD. The SE DVD is a 2 Disc release. Costs a fortune (even by Japanese standards... 6800/7140 for the SE releases in both formats...) - http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/zaborgar/ * The film festival version is the International Version, missing some scenes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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