FYI - some good nikkatsu action dvds coming may 19th

[Alex]

Kino is releasing some pretty sweet Nikkatsu stuff in early may. Kinda pricey, but i'm a big fan of this kind of thing so I'll splurge. Suzuki, even in his early more traditional period, is always worth it to me.

FROM THE LEGENDARY DIRECTOR OF TOKYO DRIFTER AND BRANDED TO KILL

STARRING JAPANESE SUPERSTAR JO SHISHIDO (BRANDED TO KILL and A COLT IS MY PASSPORT)

Assigned a standard Yakuza film in the hardboiled vein pioneered at Japan s famed Nikkatsu Studios, director Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) and his frequent leading man Jo Shishido used 1963 s Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! to flip the Japanese gangster film genre on its ear. A rapid fire gun heist, credits with an infectious jazz pop score, and a wide-screen close-up of a burning car announce Detective Bureau 2-3 as the film that would both lampoon and redefine Asian crime films for an irreverent new decade of garish panache and ultra-violent cool. The story follows police detective Tajima (Shishido), who, tasked with tracking down stolen firearms, turns an underworld grudge into a bloodbath -- while Suzuki transforms a colorful potboiler into an on-target send-up of cultural colonialism and post-war greed. (This isn t an American TV series,) one of Tajima s doubting subordinates tells the sharkskin-suited, super suave sleuth. Anarchic, breakneck paced, darkly comic, and stylish to the extreme, Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! was a movie unlike anything audiences had ever seen. It would cement Suzuki s fervent popularity at home and heralded his imminent cult status worldwide.

1963 Japan 88 min. Color In Japanese with Optional English Subtitles Letterboxed (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

dvd review http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/36870/3-seconds-before-explosion/

STARRING JAPANESE SUPERSTAR AKIRA KOBAYASHI (BLACK TIGHT KILLERS and ROUGHNECK)

A lightning-paced 60 s crime film from Japan s Nikkatsu Studios, Three Seconds to Explosion packs enough subterfuge and action into its 84 volatile minutes to fill out a dozen pictures made anywhere else. (I like shady dealings,) purrs undercover superspy Yabuki (Akira Kobayashi The Yakuza Papers) en route to infiltrating a sadistic, trigger-happy gang of international jewel thieves. Gone renegade from the shadowy espionage bureau that honed his killer instincts to a razor s edge, the implacable Yabuki teams up with fellow mercenary crime fighter Yamawaki (Hideki Takahashi Fighting Elegy). Together, they follow a trail of stolen gems leading from the final days of WWII to a contemporary conspiracy that reaches into the highest corridors of corporate power and nefarious international villainy. A widescreen whirlwind of sharkskin thread, revenge-crazed assassins, ticking time bombs, deadly booby traps, and triple-crossing lingerie-clad femme fatales, Three Seconds to Explosion connects Nikkatsu s (mood action) yakuza gangster films of the 50 s and 60 s to the studio s subsequent kinky 70 s (pink films,) and is a primer in the tough, super-cool world of no borders exploitation cinema Nikkatsu style.

1967 Japan 84 min. Color In Japanese with Optional English Subtitles Letterboxed (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

[jiujitsu77]

you should check out suzuki's tattooed for life when you get a chance. good stuff

[Gaijin84]

It's about time they started releasing these! Hopefully more to follow...

[tdb]

The Kino site has these both on pre-order for about $21 each (probably got to pay shipping though).

[Yakuza954]

Thanks, hadn't heard about these. Looking forward to "3 Seconds before Explosion."

[Alex]

so I've watched these, unfortunately they're not as good as I hoped

both are pretty average actioners, and never really rise above that tag

3 Seconds Before Explosion is as routine as it gets. It goes through the motions, which aren't really all that exciting. Nowhere near as bad ass as others I've seen in the genre, and the connection to pink movies implied in the description is a big big stretch. Kobayashi is cool in the lead, but that's about it.

Detective Bureau is more interesting. Shishida is good as always, and the movie is more dynamic and fast paced than 3 Seconds. Suzuki's skill as a director is evident, certain parts are shot incredibly well, but it's still far and away from the style that is usually associated with the name. Overall though it's still nothing to get too excited about about unless you're specifically interested in charting the director's progress. I'm guessing an overabundance of making formulaic movies like this is what drove him to the rebellious experimentation that ultimately got him fired.