Animeigo Will Be Releasing Sleepy Eyes of Death on DVD

[kungfusamurai]

I was browsing Animeigo's website, in the hopes they would announce releasing some Blu Rays, when I saw they're planning on releasing the first four Nemuri Kyoshiro/Sleepy Eyes of Death films on DVD as a set! I hope this means we'll get finally get to see all 12 films with Raizo Ichikawa on DVD.

KFS

[dionbrother]

Awesome. Do hope they actually get to the later films in the series. Great, underrated chambara.

[Nakadai]

About time someone did it, and i'm stoked it going to be by AnimEgo! Part 4 is my favorite so i'm especially excited to see this one is coming out earlier than I expected. Awesomeness all around.

Be sure to support these releases and BUY BUY BUY!!!

[KUNG FU BOB]

Yes, please let's support this company's legit releases!

When the video store I used to work at part-time finally closed, I bought the Sleepy Eyes of Death films used on VHS for $2.00 a piece. It's kinda funny, because I was the guy always bugging the manager to order more Asian films, and the reason that the store even got these. They rented pretty well- especially with a high profile recommendation from yours truly! XD

I now have DVD-Rs of these great films, but will immediately buy Animiego's official releases of them. I urge other fans too do the same. This company has done a lot for us, with their outstanding releases of the Lone Wolf and Cub, Zatoichi, Hanzo the Razor, and many other chanbara classics.

Please show your support and buy their DVDs.

[daisho2004]

This is Great News! I have most of this series remastered on DVD-R. I will definitely buy these, one of my favorite series. I just hope that they put out the entire series that would be Great! XD

[venom10463]

Great news indeed! I will definitely help support Animeigo and here's hoping their release the other titles as well.

[GwaiLoMoFo]

Sounds good .... I guess. Ive seen most of the films, never really impressed by any of them. And never been a big fan of Raizo. He's a good enough actor, but Ive always found him to be extremely weak in the action dept. Not a very convincing swordsman imo. Nowhere near the same league as say Nakadai, Wakayama, Mifune, Chiba, ect... That said Im always glad to see a legit company putting out films from the genre.

[vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Sounds good .... I guess. Ive seen most of the films, never really impressed by any of them. And never been a big fan of Raizo. He's a good enough actor, but Ive always found him to be extremely weak in the action dept. Not a very convincing swordsman imo. Nowhere near the same league as say Nakadai, Wakayama, Mifune, Chiba, ect... That said Im always glad to see a legit company putting out films from the genre.

YOOOOU are so dead GwailoMoFo. LOL

Actually this really is fantastic news for Sleepy/Raizo fans. Long over due.

[daisho2004]

Hey GLMO: I have to agree with Vengeance your really wrong about Raizo Ichikawa and his Sword Skills he was great his this role!

[kungfusamurai]

I agree with the sentiment on Ichikawa's sword skills. Out of all of the chambara/sword play lead actors, his fighting seemed to be the weakest. But he had some pretty good moments. For me, it's more about the character and telling of the stories in these Sleepy Eyes of Death films that make me interested in it. Other than that, I really haven't sought out anything with Ichikawa as the lead. I'm more of a Katsu/Wakayama man!

KFS

[Nakadai]

I agree with the sentiment on Ichikawa's sword skills. Out of all of the chambara/sword play lead actors, his fighting seemed to be the weakest.

KFS

No one is going to compete with Wakayama, nor would I place Ichikawa or Nakadai as great swordsman. Yet I wouldn't necessarily completely write them off either, for those doubting Ichikawa just check out the end of The Betrayal for conformation of his awesomeness.

[KUNG FU BOB]

No one is going to compete with Wakayama, nor would I place Ichikawa or Nakadai as great swordsman. Yet I wouldn't necessarily completely write them off either, for those doubting Ichikawa just check out the end of The Betrayal for conformation of his awesomeness.

OH? I haven't seen THE BETRAYAL, thanks for the recommendation.

As someone who's trained in iaido and kendo, I've often wondered how these guys could move so fast. I had assumed that they were using un-sharpened metal katanas, which have a decent weight to them. But my sensei told me their "fighting swords" for the films are made of foil-covered bamboo, which is why they're able to manipulate their weapons so quickly. Still, I'm certain Katsu and Wakayama (among other chanbara film fighters) would have proved formidable opponents in real life!

[Nakadai]

But my sensei told me their "fighting swords" for the films are made of foil-covered bamboo, which is why they're able to manipulate their weapons so quickly. Still, I'm certain Katsu and Wakayama (among other chanbara film fighters) would have proved formidable opponents in real life!

Reminds me of a story about Nakadai having to fight on screen with real swords, and being scared shitless as he wasn't really much of a swordsman. I can't for the life of me remember what film it was though.....

There's no doubt in my mind of Katsu and Wakayama's skill. You just can't accomplish the things they did on screen with the level of accuracy, smoothness and speed without some level of proficiency. Real blades or otherwise. Watching them both in something like Zatoichi 2 is mesmerizing, and I really wish I had a clip of when Wakayama twirls his sword into its scabbard. While i've seen the move emulated in film several times, never has it been done with anywhere near his fluidity and speed.

[kungfusamurai]

I guess you do have to suspend some belief when watching the use of a katana on screen versus what would be done in real life. I don't doubt that what Katsu and Wakayama used wouldn't have been sharp, and I imagine they'd be lighter than real swords, and they would have the benefit of redoing a shot in multiple takes if that was required. But just looking at the cleanliness of their technique, and the control they had when they spun their swords and re-sheathed them, you can see they had a higher level of skill than their contemporaries like Nakadai and Mifune. And Wakayama wasn't just taking down guys who were swinging swords too slowly, and with fast edits. Some of his best works show him taking on 4 or 5 guys in one shot, with him blocking attacks as well within those. I don't know if the one-handed quick sword draw and slice Wakayama and Katsu used on the screen would be lethal in real life, but I'm guessing they invested a lot more energy into learning iaido than most movie actors who played swordsmen. They move so fast, I swear, even watching their movements in slow motion on DVD, it's hard to see their swords.

Here are a couple of clips showing Wakayama doing his thing (he was in his early 40s in the first clip, early 50s in the second clip).

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KFS

[KUNG FU BOB]

I don't know if the one-handed quick sword draw and slice Wakayama and Katsu used on the screen would be lethal in real life, but I'm guessing they invested a lot more energy into learning iaido than most movie actors who played swordsmen.

These moves in real life are absolutely 100% lethal. They are no joke. These two brothers could probably have taken on ten average swordsmen in a real-life battle.

As for the ability to do multiple takes and such- this is true. But I just watched a 1978 documentary on Katsu doing Zatoichi, and they show him choreographing a fight scene against three oponents. He was just as fast planning it out, as he was when he knew it was going to be commited to the screen. So as both MadManDragula and Kungfusamurai said- these two actors were capable of some truly amazing work. I know that they both had a bit of the true samurai spirit boiling in their blood to accomplish what they did.

We're both lucky, and unlucky to have witnessed their proficiency. Lucky for obvious reasons. Unlucky because everytime I see some pop star or half-assed actor/actress swinging a sword now, it usually looks so lame. I was very let down by SAMURAI FICTION, AZUMI, and a lot of other stuff that everyone else seems to enjoy.

Oh well. I'll just pull a Zatoichi or Lone Wolf off the shelf!

[HAZ]

I don't know if Sleepy Eyes is good or not. I'm just happy to hear that someone is putting something out, rather than going out of business. Kudos Animeigo!

[daisho2004]

HAZ: Sleepy Eyes of Death is a Great series! To me its right up there with LW&C as far as a great series goes.

[Tosh]

OH? I haven't seen THE BETRAYAL, thanks for the recommendation.

KFBob, the Betrayal is a great movie, highly recommended.

I think what Raizo lacked in sword skills he made up with charisma and acting skills, he was as great as any leading man that came out of Japan in the golden age.

I've seen the first 4 movies in this series and loved them, I'd love to see the rest of it, hopefully they release the entire series.

[Guest maskedavenger]

It's kind of a waste because they've all been fansubbed.

I also wouldn't count on Animeigo releasing the series in its entirety because they bailed on the series back in the laserdisc days when the movies failed to generate decent sales. This was due to Animeigo's piss poor promotion which hyped the movies as bloodfests like Lone Wolf movies. I think they stopped releasing them after the sixth or seventh movie.

[daisho2004]

Well not to start a big debate but Merlin over at SamuraiDVD.com did subtitle the entire series and is releasing the middle (3) in the series 4,5,6. They have all been remastered and in Wide screen format. This is before he found out that AnimEigo was re-releasing them. But he also has the last 2 movies in the series that were without Raizo Ichikawa, and they were great as well. I'm glad AnimEigo is finally re-releasing them again and I will definitely support them! But I'm also glad for Guys like Merlin who put the time into subbing these movies for us Fans who may never see a legit company release these Great Samurai Classic Movies.

XD

[Nakadai]

It's kind of a waste because they've all been fansubbed.

So? This is a great series that deserves the region 1 treatment, and with a legitimate revival hopefully it will find a broader audience. Merlin's fan subs are awesome, and I know I personally bought several of his Nemuri releases myself but it just isn't the same as having that factory pressed disc. It's just unfortunate for Merlin that twice now AnimEigo has announced releases that he had recently sunk a ton of resources into.

The potential for it not being finished is definitely there I agree, and with some of the better installments toward the very end I really hope these do well. I loved the whole series really, aside from probably the 7th and 8th which I felt were the weakest of the series.

[daisho2004]

MadManDragula: I agree with you there about Merlin, but lets hope that AnimEigo releases the entire series.

[vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

If they (AnimEigo) release any of the Sleepy Eyes Of Death series I will surely be picking them up. I sincerely hope they release the entire series.

[kungfusamurai]

It's kind of a waste because they've all been fansubbed.

I also wouldn't count on Animeigo releasing the series in its entirety because they bailed on the series back in the laserdisc days when the movies failed to generate decent sales. This was due to Animeigo's piss poor promotion which hyped the movies as bloodfests like Lone Wolf movies. I think they stopped releasing them after the sixth or seventh movie.

Yeah, anything compared to Lone Wolf & Cub pales in comparison. But I'm hoping that since a lot of time has passed since those LD and VHS days and people are more aware of the classic samurai flicks (thanks to Criterion numerous releases), that there will be enough interest generated that the series will sell reasonably well. I think the fact their putting out 4 in a set shows they are concerned about getting them out in an accelerated manner compared to the LW&C and Zatoichi flicks, rather than putting one out every 4 months.

KFS

[Nakadai]

I think the fact their putting out 4 in a set shows they are concerned about getting them out in an accelerated manner compared to the LW&C and Zatoichi flicks, rather than putting one out every 4 months.

KFS

I think it's a refreshing strategy and one I hope will help reel in some initial interest and support, cementing its following. Ichikawa was a tremendous talent and i'm so excited to see him finally get some solid English friendly DVD releases.