Sogo Ishii - August in the Water, Labyrinth of Dreams etc.

[Midori no Saru]

This evening I've been leafing through old issues of the now defunct and sadly missed Manga Max In between features on Evangelion and Otenki Oneesan, they have some interesting reviews of films and DVD, and in this case, two theatrical releases that sound fascinating.

Here is the review for August in the Water


Summer term in a heatwave-smitten Kyushu and high school student Ukiya (Masaki Takarai) falls for school high diving champ Izumi (Rena Komine), then discovers a dangerous date on her horoscope coincides with a big diving contest. Plunging towards the pool from the top board, time freezes for Izumi as the water turns momentarily into rock inscribed with mystic symbols: seconds later, she crashes clumsily into the water. When the hospitalised girl recovers, her personality has changed. Now she goes for walks in the hillside forest where a UFO is rumoured to have been sighted. Then, at full moon, she disappears and a meteorite is stolen from a research lab. Meanwhile, all over the city, an unexplained epidemic named Stone disease - in which people collapse as their internal organs petrify - claims more and more victims.

Loosely recalling The Big Blue, this follow-up / companion piece to director Ishii's equally masterful Angel Dust proves similarly compelling. The most memorable sequences - unexpected collapses in the streets, schoolgirl divers plunging purposefully through air towards water, couples found lying together on a huge boulder in the forest - linger unforgettably in the mind, while slow pacing effectively helps convey a sense of ever-worsening urban drought.


Sorry to reproduce the whole review, but Manga Max is no longer available, and I'eve typed it in myself here - if that's any excuse. This film gets 5 stars here, which is rare for the extremely picky Manga Max reviewers. This sounds fascinating, and I for one am going to add this to my "must get at all costs" list.

Labyrinth of Dreams sounds equally fascinating, and i will be typing in the review for that later - if that's all right?

Oh, yes - there'a also a full length feature on a film adaptation of a Kazuo Umezu story called Baptism of blood... and it's a weirdy! :)

[Vertigo]

Labyrinth of Dreams sounds equally fascinating, and i will be typing in the review for that later - if that's all right?


Fine by me. As you say the original source is now defunct so it would be the only way for forum members to have access to the info.

And if it is half as interesting as the 'August in the Water' info you have kindly provided, it will be well worth reading.

[Yani]

Let's make this a Sogo Ishii thread? Anyway, I'm having high expectations on his newest film Dead End Run. See it here http://www.deadendrun.com/ Nice trailer there too.

[Midori no Saru]

Hi Yani, yes, I did intend for this to be the Sogo Ishii topic. I've only just heard about him myself, so if you have any other information then please tell us! Thanks for the link, too.


Labyrinth of Dreams {four stars}

Ishii's most recent offering departs from the urban science fiction of Angel Dust and August in the Water, opting instead for a rural period ghost story shot in stylish black and white The period is pre WW2, the milieu that of Japanese rural bus employees. August in the Water's Rena Komine plays Tomiko, a young bus guide whose best friend dies in an inexplicable nighttime bus accident involving a train following her engagement to bus driver Mr. Niikata (Tadanobu Asano of Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl). A local legend details the murders of female bus guides engaged to a particular bus driver who may or may not be Mr. Niikata. Tomiko wants to avenge her friend but finds herself inexplicably drawn to Niikata.

As its English title so perfectly suggests, this operates on a near-subliminal, nightmarish level. Komine's edgy performance and Ishii's stylish mise en scene invest the piece with an incredible sense of dread. If it's ultimately a less impressive achievement than Ishii's two prior works, the director certainly can't be accused of repeating himself and remains very much his own man.

Although this looks a bit like a cross between Kakashi and On the Buses, it sounds like a very intelligent and effective thriller, with atmosphere. If it turns out to have an ending that is similar to a good Japanese ghost story, this will also go on my wish list. I'll do more research.

Edit: oooops, silly me. I was wondering where I remembered the name from, so i looked at the main Snowblood Apple site and yes, he directed Electric Dragon 80000 Volts! How could I have forgotten that?

[Alex Apple]

Not to mention this:

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0090558/ - a 1986 documentary on German noise-terrorists Einsturzende Neubauten (collapsing new buildings).

Interesting...

and I need to have a look, but I think I've got a DivX copy of Angel Dust floating around here somewhere, unwatched.

EDIT: Yep, found it. Will watch tomorrow and report back!

[Judge Rage]

Why can't we have an Electric Dragon 80,000V and a Sogi Ishii thread. E.D.80,000V doesn't sound like it's something I'd be interested in, but these movies sound great. Whatever system we can have to have open discussion sounds good to me.

What year did these movie come out, and are they availble on DVD yet? At least August in the Water sounds interesting, even though I beleive I wasn't a fan of Angel Dust (but now the story escapes me)...

[Midori no Saru]

Ha ha! I've seen that Einsturzende Neubauten video! A couple of friends had it. He uses the band setting up and preparing their performance as part of the footage, and that is a visually interesting part of the performance as well. For example, the sound engineer marking up his mixing console. The equipment is all part of the aesthetic. I can see where he got some of his ideas for Electric Dragon 80000 Volts now. It's shot in Black and White, and there are some ghostly looking Japanese dancers taking part in the performance.

[Midori no Saru]

Why can't we have an Electric Dragon 80,000V and a Sogi Ishii thread. E.D.80,000V doesn't sound like it's something I'd be interested in, but these movies sound great. Whatever system we can have to have open discussion sounds good to me.

What year did these movie come out, and are they availble on DVD yet? At least August in the Water sounds interesting, even though I beleive I wasn't a fan of Angel Dust (but now the story escapes me)...

Hi Judge! Alex has advised me it's best to keep this thread as is, and I agree, so you have your wish! There is a filmography linked to the ED 80000 Volts review on the main Snowblood Apple site, so that will give you the years. As for DVDs, I'll be doing some research on that over the next couple of days...

[Alex Apple]

A quick bit of research shows amazon.de have 1/2 Mensch (the Einsturzende Neubauten film) for 25 Euros in PAL, and amazon.com have it $22 for NTSC, both sadly on VHS, and only 58 minutes long, but still.

If I'm feeling flush, maybe...

[Midori no Saru]

If you are into Industrial music, it's a good un!

[Mandi Apple]

It just sounds ACE - Einsturzende + Sogo Ishii = 8O and the reviews looked great :lol:

I've also being trying (without any luck whatsoever) to track down a subbed copy of Crazy Thunder Road for about eight months or so, but it appears to be as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poop (along with Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Sweet Home - simply unfindable) - if anyone knows of anywhere where a girl could get her sticky paws on these, we would be most grateful :D

Certainly this is a director whose back catalogue none of us seem to have explored in any great detail, so I'm very grateful to Midori for posting the thread - thank you! :D

[Midori no Saru]

Here are some Sogo Ishii links I found. I'll post more if and when I find them.

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~sagara/august/index_e.html
http://www.japan-101.com/art/ishii_sogo_japanese_film_director.htm
http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/augustw.shtml
http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/sogo_ishii.shtml

[Judge Rage]

Those are some good links! Thanks, Midori!

[Mr_Shiba]

Hi guys, you definately have to chek out Sogo Ishii's "Gojoe"a beautifully shot , action packed samurai epic, with both Tadanobu Asano and masatoshi Nagase, who sparred in ED 80000 Volts

[Mr_Shiba]

Hmmm :roll: nobody inhere seen "Gojoe"!?!

[Alex Apple]

give it a little while, Mr_Shiba, people probably haven't seen your post yet.

:roll:

[Del Demoni]

Hmmm :roll: nobody inhere seen "Gojoe"!?!

I have seen 'Gojoe' and it is one of my favorite films. It is incredibly beautiful and the music is plain amazing. The other Sogo Ishii films I have are 'Electric Dragon 80,000V' (excellent) & 'Angel Dust' (very good). I really want to find all his other films as the 3 I have seen were all quite distinct and interesting.

[Yani]

Hmmm :roll: nobody inhere seen "Gojoe"!?!

I have seen 'Gojoe' and it is one of my favorite films. It is incredibly beautiful and the music is plain amazing. The other Sogo Ishii films I have are 'Electric Dragon 80,000V' (excellent) & 'Angel Dust' (very good). I really want to find all his other films as the 3 I have seen were all quite distinct and interesting.

Yeah, Gojoe interests me a lot! Me want too see it :P

[Mr_Shiba]

I have been meaning to see Angel Dust for a while now, what's your take on it???

[Del Demoni]

'Angel Dust' is slower moving than the other Ishii films I have seen. It looked very nice and the music was good, but I really need to see it again (I usually watch sub-titled films 2-3 times before I carve my comments in stone) to get the full gist. It kind of reminded me of an Argento film but without all of the ultra-violence.

[Mr_Shiba]

BIG argento fan so i will be seeking it out!!
Thanks! :D

[Del Demoni]

BIG argento fan so i will be seeking it out!!
Thanks! :D

No problem. Always willing to help out a fellow Argento fan.

[Mr_Shiba]

A tech question how are you guys making the grey quote box?? :oops:

[Vertigo]

A tech question how are you guys making the grey quote box?? :oops:

Instead of hitting POST REPLY, use the box at the top right of the post which says QUOTE. Then you edit to your heart's content....

[Mr_Shiba]

Instead of hitting POST REPLY, use the box at the top right of the post which says QUOTE. Then you edit to your heart's content....

thanks a bunch!

[Alex Apple]

http://www.superhappyfun.com/page1.cfm?orderme=product_id&whatme=director_name& whereme=Ishii
...may be of interest to some of you... :D

[Mr_Shiba]

Wow...would i like to see that badass biker film"Crazy Thunder Road"
Yesss indeed!!! :twisted:

[mikekitchell]

along with Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Sweet Home - simply unfindable)

I know you're generally against the downloading of movies, but I found an AVI with english subs of Sweet Home on xxxxxxxxx...not the best copy but watchable...

[Alex Apple]

Sorry mikekitchell, I've had to edit your post a bit to reflect our downloads policy.

Thanks for the tip though - much appreciated.

[taco]

Hmmm :roll: nobody inhere seen "Gojoe"!?!

i just bought it yesterday!

[jim harper]

I've just ordered a copy of Gojo from eBay, and I shall try to get hold of Electric Dragon (perhaps if Unearthed release their version quickly), and Angel Dust is readily available too. I'm very interested to see Burst City and Crazy Thunder Road but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of subtitled copies.

[ghevans]

im not sure if this is correct but i think Artsmagic have picked up the rights for Crazy Thunder Road (im sure i read this somewhere) sorry i cant remember the link.

[jim harper]

This link mentions BRII, Chaos, The Eye 2 as well as Crazy Thunder Road:

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/index.php?Show=30&Template=newsfull

[Bug-Eyed Earl]

Hi Yani, yes, I did intend for this to be the Sogo Ishii topic. I've only just heard about him myself, so if you have any other information then please tell us! Thanks for the link, too.


Labyrinth of Dreams {four stars}

Ishii's most recent offering departs from the urban science fiction of Angel Dust and August in the Water, opting instead for a rural period ghost story shot in stylish black and white The period is pre WW2, the milieu that of Japanese rural bus employees. August in the Water's Rena Komine plays Tomiko, a young bus guide whose best friend dies in an inexplicable nighttime bus accident involving a train following her engagement to bus driver Mr. Niikata (Tadanobu Asano of Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl). A local legend details the murders of female bus guides engaged to a particular bus driver who may or may not be Mr. Niikata. Tomiko wants to avenge her friend but finds herself inexplicably drawn to Niikata.

As its English title so perfectly suggests, this operates on a near-subliminal, nightmarish level. Komine's edgy performance and Ishii's stylish mise en scene invest the piece with an incredible sense of dread. If it's ultimately a less impressive achievement than Ishii's two prior works, the director certainly can't be accused of repeating himself and remains very much his own man.

Although this looks a bit like a cross between Kakashi and On the Buses, it sounds like a very intelligent and effective thriller, with atmosphere. If it turns out to have an ending that is similar to a good Japanese ghost story, this will also go on my wish list. I'll do more research.

Edit: oooops, silly me. I was wondering where I remembered the name from, so i looked at the main Snowblood Apple site and yes, he directed Electric Dragon 80000 Volts! How could I have forgotten that?

So we have a movie with Tadanobu Asano as someone who may or may not be a guy who seduces and then murders women?

I'll keep an eye out for this.

[Mandi Apple]

I was just cruising http://www.cdjapan.co.jp and I got this from their current front page:

"Cult filmmaker Sogo Ishii's follow-up to his spectacular "Electric Dragon 80,000 V" is "Dead End Run" which consists of three short films. Continuing on the road he had taken, Ishii throws every trick in the book at us; rapid cuts, bouncing cameras, fast close-ups, wacky angles, vibrating zooms, and quick dissolves turn out a triumphant display of knockout visuals."

The full description is here: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNBD-1039

Sounds deeeee-lish!!! :woot:

[Yani]

I remember watching a trailer of it long time ago. It looked cool! :D Though, I've heard the movie sucks.... :P

[Midori no Saru]

One of my fave review sites (apart from Snowblood Apple, of course), Bizarre Ingredients has finally got a review of Labyrinth of Dreams. Where they source their materials is a mystery to me, but much kudos to them! Anyway, here is the review -

Labyrinth of Dreams (http://www.bizarreingredients.co.uk/japan/a/labyrinth/labyrinth.html)

[Mandi Apple]

Me sorry for :offtopic:

Bizarre Ingredients (http://www.bizarreingredients.co.uk) are a great site indeed - Bazz is one of what I think of as the 'original' J-reviewers and a top bloke to boot, so do go check them out if you've not already :D

As Michelle on Big Brother would say: "No... Off... Topic.... Ness!" :knife: :snigger:

[Mandi Apple]

http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/drama/deadendrun/deadendrun.html
http://www.nixflix.com/reviews/deadendrun.htm
http://www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au/programme/programme_detail.asp?title=DEAD+END+RUN
http://www.ugccinemas.co.uk/cinematheque/Prochainement.jgi?FILM=83167&FILMPART=3808

I want to see this sooooooooooooooooo bad!

Proper copy of Dead End Run with English subs (http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003249149/did-0/code-j/section-videos/). aznfilms are listing it for $49.99 - I don't think so, somehow! :lol:

£20 doesn't seem overly bad price-wise: I know it's available on the grey market but I'd rather have a real one :D

EDIT: they have the OST too! http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002870869/did-0/code-j/section-music/

[Yani]

If you can find a trailer for it (which I didn't find anymore >.< ), check it. It's really cool if I remember right. :-D

[Mandi Apple]

Can't find one either :( but I loved ED80000V enough to want this 'un just as bad :snigger:

[Yani]

The old official homepage doesn't work anymore (well, works, but the destination is pretty far from the official site :snigger: ). Anyway, it looks visually great judging from the pics, and the movie's pretty short (59 minutes). :)

Pics
http://outnow.ch/Media/Img/2003/DeadEndRun/

Reviews
http://www.nixflix.com/reviews/deadendrun.htm
http://www.dvdtherapy.com/reviews/dead_end_run.php
http://www.heroic-cinema.com/review.php?ID=deadend
http://www.foutz.net/movies/deadendrun.shtml
http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/drama/deadendrun/deadendrun.html

Big scan from the cover 8O
http://www.cinemasie.com/fiche/video/5905/jaqHR.jpeg

[Mandi Apple]

Big scan from the cover 8O
http://www.cinemasie.com/fiche/video/5905/jaqHR.jpeg cinemasie reads that link as a hotlink, unfortunately :( So this is the page it's on instead: http://www.cinemasie.com/japon/fiche/oeuvre/deadendrun/

Thanks so much for those excellent pics Yani - Masatoshi Nagase looks cooooo-o-o-o-ol in his shiny shiny coat, reminded me a bit of Kakihara's iridescent shirt in Ichi :lol:

EDIT: actually, I apologise - that pic isn't on the page. You can copy the URL into a new browser window to get the giant boxart though! Thanks Yani! :D

[jim harper]

I received Halbe Mensch for my birthday a few weeks ago. Definitely a great-in-the-right-mood item.

More importantly, Discotek Media (http://www.discotekmedia.com) are planning an English-language release of Burst City. It's due to be transferred from the Japanese R2 release, and possibly with lots of extras. There's nothing on the website yet, but they've been circulating the news.

I'll be waiting for their release of Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla a nifty low-budget sci-fi effort that features Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It's not a classic, but it's a fun film and deserves a decent English-language release.

[gwyddon]

Wow! Burst City?! Finally!
I hope the extras include some of his shorts - there are some that does sound intriguing, such as 'Shuffle'.

[Mandi Apple]

I don't know how easy it is to come by a subtitled copy of Labyrinth of Dreams, but I just got a newsflash from superhappyfun letting me know that they're going to upgrade their currently sub-less copy to a subbed one very soon, so that may well be worth picking up - I haven't found a proper subbed release anywhere myself :dizzy:

[gwyddon]

Ooohhh.. on another Sogo Ishii note, his web site(ishiisogo.com) and blog(called SOGO ISHII'S HOT DREAMS :snigger:) seem to indicate a japanese R2JP boxset of six of his earliest works are being worked on, to be released around may. The following titles will be included:
Charge! Hooligans of Hakata (his first film)
Solitude of One Divided by 880,000
Panic in High School
Crazy Thunder Road
Shuffle
Asia Strikes Back (Burst City was made before this one, and after all the above)
+ bonus disc and booklet

Nothing being said about subtitles, so I expect it to be without.. but as the films are being restored, the chances of them showing up in our shores becomes a little bit higher. I really look towards the release of Shuffle, as that one looks very interesting to me.

[Mandi Apple]

I've been wanting to see Crazy Thunder Road for so long now I'd all but forgotten about it :snigger: That just sounds... exquisite, oh I SO hope they release it with subs (but I bet they won't) :D

[gwyddon]

Discotek Media has now decided on the cover for Burst City: http://discotekmedia.com/trailers/Burstcover.jpg
Also they've released a trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmO_Igyvb2U
Seems to be mostly the beginning with some short bits of the rest of the film.

I'm now kind of wondering if it'd really suit me, looks like a bit TOO punky for me.. :-)

[Mandi Apple]

Oh, it looks fun! It looks like ED80000V Redux! :thumbs: Thanks for the heads-up gwyddon, I shall be looking forward to getting my sticky mitts on this :tiphat:

[jim harper]

Pre-dux, surely? :D

[Mandi Apple]

It'd be Redux for me, seeing them the wrong way round :lol: But you're right chronologically of course :tiphat:

[Yani]

I managed to get a hold of a fansubbed copy of Ishii's 1984 film The Crazy Family (aka Gyakufunsha kazoku). Like IMDb tells (left the last part out because I think it's a bit of a spoiler):

The Kobayashi family finally get the chance to move out of their tiny, cramped Tokyo apartment in favour of the suburban house of their dreams. But all is not well: the house is infested by termites and the family starts cracking up: Son Masaki is studying so obsessively for his exams that he's losing his mind; daughter Erika is oblivious of all but her forthcoming record company audition and grandfather Yasukuni starts getting World War II flashbacks.
I thought it was interesting. It starts as a quite light-hearted comedy but as the movie proceeds the humor gets darker and darker tones, the movie starts pointing out social problems and finally ends up almost as a drama (of some sort). Not to mention the part I like to call as the 2LDK-segment. :D It's a strange, experimental family comedy/drama. Cinematography is great and the long scenes without cuts are fun to watch. Definitely for fans of Sogo Ishii.

[Mandi Apple]

Burst City is out now :D http://www.pokerindustries.com/poker.store?page=item&sku=BURSTCITY-DVD I want this really bad - I do love Sogo Ishii :D

[gwyddon]

Found out that the second DVD box is now out in japan, called 'The psychedelic years' with uhm, quite psychedelic box art and trailer :dizzy: :lol:
Contains:
Crazy Family (yay! I've only seen an unsubtitled and really fuzzy bootleg of this one and it looked very fun)
The master of Shiatsu
Tokyo Blood (I seem to have missed this one before - never even heard of this one?? looks very interesting)
August in the Water
Kyoshin / Mirrored Mind
And a video of some concert called DUMB NUMB LIVE FRICTION 1989

Webpage: http://www.transformer.co.jp/special/ishii2.html
direct link to the Trailer (http://www.transformer.co.jp/products/trailer/video.swf?rootPath=/products/trailer/&videoFile=TMSS_075) (resize the browser window to get a more suitable video size - is meant to be displayed in a small popup window)

As the previous box indeed didn't have any subtitles, I don't expect this one to have any either. Unfortunately western companies have been rather lax in porting the films in the previous box over here - so far I know only Burst City has been "newly" released and that wasn't even included in the box... Too bad - I really had hoped to get to see Shuffle and Asia Strikes Back.

So the prospects of subtitled releases of the abovementioned films are sadly not so bright.. but there may be some fansubbers/bootleggers to at least partially remedy the situation.

[rupan777]

So the prospects of subtitled releases of the abovementioned films are sadly not so bright.. but there may be some fansubbers/bootleggers to at least partially remedy the situation.

One such site that I've listed in the marketplace has some subbed Ishii films.

[alexander]

Hello from Spain to everybody in the forum .
I´m especially interested in Sogo Ishii´s Short movie "The master of Shiatsu" or Shiatsu Oja (1989) .Where and how to find a copy , vieuwable in Europe .
Thank you .

[gwyddon]

The only way to get this would seem to be to buy the japanese DVD box I mentioned earlier in this thread, "Sogo Ishii DVD Box 2: The psychedelic years". Unfortunately it doesn't have any subtitles and is rather expensive: €120-150 plus shipping, depending on where you search.
In case you're really determined to see it, no matter how much it costs, here's an amazon.co.jp link (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B000X98X3Y?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP).

DVDs from japan are R2 discs so you will not have any problem with copy protection, but they are usually in NTSC video.. most DVD players will convert to european PAL output, so I don't think it will be a problem.