With memorable and unsettling opening credits and exceptional performances and direction Armchair Thriller became a massive hit for Thames Television in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With its trademark ghoulish razor-sharp cliff hangers and iconic theme tune (by Roxy Music's Andy Mackay) this haunting anthology series was an immediate success its eerie disturbing and downright scary tales regularly attracting over 15 million viewers. Each of its ten stories is a gripping exercise in compelling television showing ordinary people plunged into extraordinary situations. For many this series remains a high-watermark of dramatic television and its many frightening and spooky moments are remembered by viewers nearly thirty years after its original transmission. The complete collection of each spooky episode!
Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) gave the world Japan's answer to The Godfather with this violent yakuza saga, influencing filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) to Takashi Miike (Graveyard of Honor, Audition). Made within just two years, the five-film series brought a new kind of realism and ferocity to the crime genre in Japan, revitalising the industry and leading to unprecedented commercial and critical success.Literally exploding on screen with a mushroom cloud, and ending with Hiroshima's A-bomb Dome, the epic story of Battles Without Honour and Humanity follows over 100 characters through twenty years of gang wars, alliances, betrayals, and assassinations, in an exciting exploration of criminal power and politics in Japan. In the opening episode, ex-soldier Shôzô Hirono escapes from the post-war black markets to become a key member of the Yamamori gang, but soon finds himself disillusioned by the selfish duplicity of his bosses. Hiroshima Death Match focuses on a demobilised kamikaze pilot drifting through the early 1950s, whose suicidal impulses find good use as a mob assassin. Proxy War and Police Tactics form a labyrinthine, two-part story of ambition and betrayal set against Japan's rapid economic growth of the 1960s, with Shôzô caught between warring factions. Final Episode concludes the series in the 1970s as the former Yamamori gang transforms itself into an economic conglomerate called the Tensei Group, in a bid for mainstream respectability.Fukasaku and his team broke with the longstanding studio tradition of casting marquee idols as honourable, kimono-clad heroes, defending their gang bosses against unscrupulous villains, and instead adapted true accounts torn from the headlines, shot in a documentary-like style, and with few clear-cut heroes or villains. The vibrancy and dynamism of the filmmaking, plus its shocking violence, Shakespearean plotlines, and wide tapestry of characters, launched a revolutionary new genre, establishing the series as one of the great masterpieces of world crime cinema.Special Features:High Definition Blu-ray⢠(1080p) presentation of all five original filmsOriginal Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)Optional English subtitles for all five filmsReversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard KleistDisc 1: Battles Without Honor and HumanityAudio commentary by critic and author Stuart Galbraith IVYakuza Graveyard an interview with Takashi Miike about Kinji Fukasaku and the yakuza film genreOriginal trailers for all five filmsDisc 2: Hiroshima Death MatchMan of Action an interview with series fight choreographer RyūzŠUenoOriginal TrailerDisc 3: Proxy WarSecrets of the Piranha Army a documentary about the troupe of supporting actors who appeared throughout the series, featuring interviews with original Piranha members Masaru Shiga and Takashi Noguchi, plus second-generation Piranha, Takashi Nishina and Akira MurotaTales of a Bit Player an interview with supporting actor and stuntman Seizô FukumotoOriginal TrailerDisc 4: Police TacticsRemembering Kinji a featurette about director Kinji Fukasaku and his work, featuring interviews with Kenta Fukasaku and film critic and Fukasaku biographer Sadao YamaneFukasaku Family an interview with Proxy War and Police Tactics assistant director Tôru Dobashi Original TrailerDisc 5: Final EpisodeLast Days of the Boss an interview with Final Episode screenwriter Kôji Takada Original poster gallery for the seriesOriginal Trailer
Street Fighter Alpha is an animated film aimed less at admirers of the comic strip from which it derives than aficionados of the arcade computer game which is the best known embodiment of the material; as such, the narrative line is mostly an excuse for balletic fights in which eyes glare and sides of buildings fall off. Ryu is a brilliant young fighter worried that his technique may yet corrupt him into monstrousness; the boy Shun appears, claiming to be his brother and already well on the way to corruption by the technique known as the Dark Hadou. When Shun is kidnapped by an evil scientist, Ryu goes after him in spite of the possible cost to his own moral status; his friend Ken and Interpol agent Chen go along to help him, and if necessary to kill him to prevent his corruption. This is largely by-the-numbers martial arts anime, but at times exciting or beautiful for all of that; devotees of the game will love it. On the DVD: The DVD is generously stacked with English and Japanese soundtracks and English subtitles. There are interviews with the artists, creators and voice actors, a making-of documentary and various trailers and previews. --Roz Kaveney
This nihilistic chronicle of the gang-wars that ravaged Hiroshima in post-war Japan centres on the character Sugawara. Based on the prison diary of a yakuza involved in the wars (Kozo Mino) Sugawara is distinguished through extreme callous brutality. The villainous godfather Yamamoru initiates him into his ruthless gang which inevitably wins the power struggle through titanic gruesome battles. Once more with 'The Yakuza Papers' director Kinji Fukasaku elevates brutality and abrup
Yakuza Papers: This nihilistic chronicle of the gang-wars that ravaged Hiroshima in post-war Japan centres on the character Sugawara. Based on the prison diary of a yakuza involved in the wars (Kozo Mino) Sugawara is distinguihed through extreme callous brutality. The villainous godfather Yamamoru initiates him into his ruthless gang which inevitably wins the power struggle through titanic gruesome battles. Once more with 'The Yakuza Papers' director Kinji Fukasaku elevate
The third film in the popular WITCHOUSE horror film series DEMON FIRE tells the story of Annie a woman whose constant physical abuse by her boyfriend causes her to flee to the home of 2 friends. When these friends tell Annie that they are filming a documentary on witchcraft she agrees to join them in enacting a seance for the camera. Meant as a staging for the camera the seance accidently unleashes a dangerous presence into the house leaving the trio fighting for their lives!
A box set containing some of the best horror and fantasy films ever produced in Japan! Portrait Of Hell Created by premier Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa (creator of Roshomon) 'Portrait of Hell' is a mesmerising look into humans creating hell on earth in their own unique ways. Must be seen to be believed! Illusion Of Blood From Shiro Toyoda director of the nightmarish 'Portrait Of Hell' comes a chilling story of love betrayal and vengeance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as the selfish samurai Iyemon who after the loss of his lord has been left impoverished. He become outraged that his father-in-law intends to sell his two daughter's into prostitution. It is not love but respectability that Iyemon desires... Tokyo The Last Megalopolis When Masakado was executed for crimes against humanity over a thousand years ago his malevolent spirit refused to die with him merely becoming dormant and waiting for the chance to rise again. To disturb it is to awaken a terrible vengeance on the city of Tokyo. The demonic psychic Kato attempts to revive the slumbering evil and use its energy to plunge the city into a hell on Earth. It is up to a lone spiritual warrior Keiko a descendant of Masakado to stop the maniacal Kato before the spirit is released and the ancient curse is unleashed upon the world. Princess From The Moon Toshiro Mifune stars in this enchanting film based on the traditional Japanese fairytale 'Kaguya' as the male half of a country couple who find a baby girl in the bamboo and raise her as their own until the truth is revealed when she is taken back...
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