Member Takuma Posted March 5, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 5, 2013 Finished my review: An old fashioned fighting movie to delight genre fans - http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/bushido-man/ From Yubari: Masanori Mimoto, Takanori Tsujimoto, Mitsuki Koga and Kensuke Sonomura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted March 5, 2013 Member Share Posted March 5, 2013 Excellent review! Loved it. Now I'm stoked to see this! I am especially encouraged by these statements in your review. In Bushido Man Tsujimoto tones down the violence in favor of martial arts. The concept is like an amusing variation of the Shaw Brothers film Heroes of the East. The protagonist (Mitsuki Koga) pilgrims around Japan looking for masters of martial arts to challenge. In each fight he has to adapt a new fighting style or weapon. The opponents are kung fu master, stick fighter, nunchaku expert, blind samurai, knife specialist, revolver man, and a woman with special weapon. A lot has been invested in the amount of fights. Well over half of the running time is spent fighting. The fighting spirit of the first half suffers a bit, and action choreography takes a few steps back with more emphasis on firearms. Even then, the final fight reaches such levels of pure, again 80’s Hong Kong style, madness, that entertainment is guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 6, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 6, 2013 Finished my review: An old fashioned fighting movie to delight genre fans - http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/bushido-man/ Japan’s most famous active screen fighter Tak Sakaguchi would better come up with new tricks as Koga just stole the game! "Tak Sakaguchi announces retirement from films" - https://twitter.com/moviefan55/status/309264833159778304 I should be more careful with what I write Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 6, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 6, 2013 wow, I really should be careful with what I write 02-29-2012 i wish kazuki tsujimoto would be announced next! 05-31-2012 bushido man cast: Kazuki tsujimoto as blind samurai 11-26-2012 completed! Fingers crossed for yubari opening. 01-16-2013 world premiere at yubari next month 03-05-2013 japan’s most famous active screen fighter tak sakaguchi would better come up with new tricks as koga just stole the game! 03-06-2013 tak sakaguchi announces retirement from films Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted March 6, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 6, 2013 After reading your review I am super excited to check this out. Thanks for writing about the film. It sounds like exactly what we need. I tried leaving a comment there, but I was asked to reply via this or that, blah blah blah... I'm not into all these different computer dealios. When I see "Leave a comment" I just want to leave a comment. Not become affiliated with Twitter or anything else. Anyway, that's crazy about Tak! I was just telling One-Armed Boxer that I admire his commitment, but other than VERSUS I feel like he does a poor job of selling power behind his strikes. So I don't enjoy his films that much. I wonder what he's going to do for a living now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 7, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 7, 2013 I tried leaving a comment there, but I was asked to reply via this or that, blah blah blah... I'm not into all these different computer dealios. When I see "Leave a comment" I just want to leave a comment. Not become affiliated with Twitter or anything else. Sorry about that. The twitter & facebook logos are there (on default) just in case you wish to link your comment to your existing profile on twitter or facebook, I think. If not, just email adress and nickname should be enough. It doesn't make you affliated with the sites. Anyway, that's crazy about Tak! I was just telling One-Armed Boxer that I admire his commitment, but other than VERSUS I feel like he does a poor job of selling power behind his strikes. So I don't enjoy his films that much. I wonder what he's going to do for a living now? I agree with you, though Death Trance is fantastic, too. An excellent fighting movie with fascinating forest-punk-fantasy world. Yakuza Weapon, on the other hand, is a CGI mess of a pseudo-genre movie. Even worse than Expendables 2. One of the better ones is Snake of Violence, with Tak as a mute assassin. A solid yakuza drama with a brutal karate duel at the end. I hope Kenkichi is still coming. I believe they actually wrapped filming last year (maybe), but no updates in a long time. Sion Sono + Tak Sakaguchi sounds pretty promising. But it's a bit strange that almost no news at all despite Sono's popularity. Might have been a mainly Sakaguchi project with some participation by Sono... I don't know. Let's see if it ever comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted March 7, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 7, 2013 Sorry about that. The twitter & facebook logos are there (on default) just in case you wish to link your comment to your existing profile on twitter or facebook, I think. If not, just email adress and nickname should be enough. It doesn't make you affliated with the sites. Oh, hey brother, I wasn't aiming my complaint at you personally. I was just blowing off steam. Tough day. So my apologies if I came off obnoxious. But yeah, I still remember the first time I tried to comment on one of Mark's reviews on the front page, and suddenly there was this new bullshit where I had to comment "via" something. Aggravating. I agree with you, though Death Trance is fantastic, too. An excellent fighting movie with fascinating forest-punk-fantasy world. Yakuza Weapon, on the other hand, is a CGI mess of a pseudo-genre movie. Even worse than Expendables 2. You know, I bought the steel-book release of DEATH TRANCE, but wound up letting it sit unwatched on the shelf for years. After VERSUS (such a great time) I was excited to see what Ryuhei Kitamura would do next. But it seemed like each of his films became less and less entertaining to me. The only thing I dug was ARAGAMI. After watching two different versions of ALIVE back to back for a review, I think I got a bit sick of Tak. Then BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL, which sounded like some fun garbage cinema (along the lines of THE TOXIC AVENGER or something) really soured me to newer Japanese cinema for a few years. So even though I felt compelled to purchase it, DEATH TRANCE gathered dust. My buddy Emerald Forest, who has great taste in film, told me how much he loves DEATH TRANCE, so I finally gave it a shot a few months ago. There were things about it that appealed to me, but just as much that didn't. It was split 50/50 for me. This hardly ever happens, but I never finished watching it. I watched YAKUZA WEAPON and thought it was wildly uneven. There were a few well choreographed fights, but they suffered from the lack of power in the strikes thing with Tak. Then there was a whole lot of "look-at-me... I'm trying way too hard to be a cult movie" nonsense. For the record, despite it's flaws, I enjoyed THE EXPENDABLES 2. One of the better ones is Snake of Violence, with Tak as a mute assassin. A solid yakuza drama with a brutal karate duel at the end. That sounds very interesting! Has there been an English friendly release of this? Does it have an alternate title, as I've never even heard of it? I hope Kenkichi is still coming. I believe they actually wrapped filming last year (maybe), but no updates in a long time. Sion Sono + Tak Sakaguchi sounds pretty promising. But it's a bit strange that almost no news at all despite Sono's popularity. Might have been a mainly Sakaguchi project with some participation by Sono... I don't know. Let's see if it ever comes out. Another project that sounds good. The last Sion film I saw was STRANGE CIRCUS, which I got to see in the theater. Wild ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 9, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 9, 2013 Oh, hey brother, I wasn't aiming my complaint at you personally. I was just blowing off steam. Tough day. So my apologies if I came off obnoxious. But yeah, I still remember the first time I tried to comment on one of Mark's reviews on the front page, and suddenly there was this new bullshit where I had to comment "via" something. Aggravating. heh, I know, no offence taken. That sounds very interesting! Has there been an English friendly release of this? Does it have an alternate title, as I've never even heard of it? I'm not surprised. Had world premiere in Yubari less than two weeks ago. The director (Takahiro Ishihara, the last year's Yubari main prize winner for Osaka Violence) said he's aiming for the international festivals with it, though. The Japanese title is Osaka hebi michi 大阪蛇道 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted March 9, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 9, 2013 heh, I know, no offence taken. Cool. I'm not surprised. Had world premiere in Yubari less than two weeks ago. The director (Takahiro Ishihara, the last year's Yubari main prize winner for Osaka Violence) said he's aiming for the international festivals with it, though. The Japanese title is Osaka hebi michi 大阪蛇道 Oh, I didn't realize it was a brand spanking new film! I'll cross my fingers that some English speaking territory picks this title up for home video distribution. Thanks for the info man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted March 9, 2013 Member Share Posted March 9, 2013 SNAKE OF VIOLENCE = brutal Karate end fight. Gotta remember that one when it's released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 28, 2013 Author Member Share Posted March 28, 2013 Here's my review of another Yubari premiere: Sengoku Bloody Agent: - http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/sengoku-bloody-agent/ A good example of everything that can be wrong with Japanese action cinema. In the Q&A, the only person who could think of anything to ask from the filmmakers was Bushido Man director Takanori Tsujimoto who was sitting in the audience. In other news, here's a trailer for Tak Sakaguchi farewell screening event in Tokyo. 7 movies, including Snake of Violence which premiered in Yubari earlier this year (I'll post my review later), and his final work Kyomusashi, which is a jidai geki action film shot entirely in one take (about 75 minutes). The film was directed by Isao Karawasa. Tak's English language retirement announcement actually claimed it was not completed, but it is nevetheless set to be screened.. trailer: http://youtu.be/0Xhex6sadxA site: http://taksakaguchi.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted May 4, 2013 Author Member Share Posted May 4, 2013 Bushido Man will have its international premiere at the Japan Film Fest Hamburg later this month. - http://www.jffh.de/2013/bushido-man/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted May 31, 2013 Author Member Share Posted May 31, 2013 new poster again - http://blog.livedoor.jp/t3aa/archives/52065378.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted June 5, 2013 Author Member Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hah, the marketing team shows sense of humor! Battles: 80%! Gourmet: 15%!! Drama: 5%!!! No Stunt Double! No Wires!!! No Budget!!!! Can't wait to see this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted July 24, 2013 Author Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 Brief Bushido Man article with some interesting information on how the film was shot: http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2013/07/23/takanori-tsujimotos-bushido-man-north-american-premiere-at-fantasia-2013/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 When is this coming out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted July 26, 2013 Author Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 Probably not in a while. Since I saw it at Yubari in Feburuary, it has only played in Tokyo in one single theater. And in Europe it I think it's had two festival screening, and now Fantasia is the NA premiere. The problem is that the film was, as stated by the article before, financed from the filmmakers' own pocket, and Japanese genre filmmakers aren't exactly rich people... so stricking a good distribution deal isn't so easy, especially in Japan where no one is interested in genre films. I could imagine a Japanese dvd coming out next year, but it's hard to say for sure. As for USA, next year might also be a good quess. I'm pretty positive about some small dvd distributor picking this up as soon as they get to see the film; despite its flaws, it's easily the best martial arts film from Japan in ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HAZ Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 Bushido Man will be playing in Montreal this saturday. The director and one of the actors will be in attendance. I'm curious to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted July 30, 2013 Author Member Share Posted July 30, 2013 Twitch review: "Bushido Man will restore your faith in action cinema." - http://twitchfilm.com/2013/07/fantasia-2013-review-bushido-man-will-make-you-hungry-for-more.html Brief interview: http://www.soundonsight.org/fantasia-film-festival-2013-an-interview-with-the-directors-and-star-of-bushido-man/ and in case you missed it before, my review of the film from last February is here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted August 5, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 5, 2013 More reviews: "Some of the most impressive fight sequences in recent memory." - http://iconsoffright.com/2013/07/30/fantasia-film-festival-review-bushido-man/ "Reinvents itself from start to finish with the martial arts battles" - http://www.soundonsight.org/fantasia-film-festival-2013-bushido-man/ "Sonomura stages some epic mano-a-mano showdowns" - http://www.libertasfilmmagazine.com/lfm-reviews-bushido-man-the-2013-fantasia-international-film-festival/ "A loving celebration of martial arts films and a great martial arts film in its own right" - http://badassdigest.com/2013/08/06/fantasia-fest-review-bushido-man-is-a-near-flawless-action-comedy/?utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffera09ef&utm_medium=twitter "Savory good time" - http://www.isugoi.com/bushido-man-review/ "Full of real fighting spirit" - http://www.flixist.com/fantasia-review-bushido-man-216160.phtml "Funny, exciting and colourful" - http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/bushido-man/5058772.article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted August 8, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 R2J DVD ANNOUNCED! 2013/11/02 - http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_dvd.php?num_sid=896602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ToryK Posted August 8, 2013 Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 Ah. "But will it have English subs?" is the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted August 9, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Probably not, but I'll let you know once more info comes up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ToryK Posted August 9, 2013 Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Cool. Thanks. You think it would be easy to follow without the subs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted August 9, 2013 Author Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Relatively speaking: yes. The storyline is extremely simple. It's told in flashbacks, with the protagonist sitting in front of his master and telling him about how he has travelled around Japan challenging masters of different martial arts. Each time he manages to beat the opponent, he acquires a scroll (with some wisdoms of the martial art) that he takes back to the master. You would miss some nice dialogue, martial arts wisdoms and jokes, so certainly the film will be more enjoyable with subs. However, you would hardly be confused by the storyline. 80% of running time is taken by fights and dinners, so I have no doubt that a fan would enjoy it a great deal even without understaning a word. It's an 88 minute film and has 7 major fight scenes in it (+ one small one), so... But, let's see when more info comes out. There is a tiny chance that the R2J will have subs, although it's not likely. Also, I'm quite positive that this will eventually get a R1 release by some small company when they realize how good the film is... maybe sometime next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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