Received and watched the Cinelicious Blu-ray of Funeral Parade of Roses yesterday: The transfer has been criticised in some quarters, but I thought it looked fine in motion. Massive upgrade over the old MoC DVD. Looking forward to exploring the second disc of experimental shorts over the weekend.
Koji Fukada's Harmonium is searing, tragic drama. Easily one of the best movies I've seen in the past year. The ending is utterly devastating. It only got a DVD release here but it's worth tracking down. Harmonium Review - DoBlu.com
BLOOD OF REVENGE directed by Tai Kato who was one of the greatest Japanese film maker with the distinct visual style and the remarkable narrative sense. I think there’s no R1 DVD of this masterpiece. Blood of Revenge Meiji kyokyakuden - sandaime shumei (1965) - IMDb
Napping Princess from Kenji Kamiyama of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Eden Of The East is whimsical fantasy meshed with cutting-edge tech. http://doblu.com/2018/01/29/napping-princess-blu-ray-review/ It's a little childish but its heart is in the right place. Set interestingly enough during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It is the very last appearance of Setsuko Hara on big screen. from Wikipedia One of her elder sisters was dead after 5 days of Setsuko’s death at 106. Another elder sister may be still alive. She would be 100 years old now.
if you like Samurai films: Three Outlaw Samurai The Samurai Trilogy (!!!) Sword of Doom Zatoichi (Kitano version)
I finally caught Shin Godzilla. It's about 20 minutes too long, but the movie works if you are a Godzilla fan.
Recent purchases: This last title is the U.K. steelbook edition, purchased, brand-new and sealed, via eBay, for £4.99 including postage.
Pistol Opera is a delayed follow up to Suzuki’s most notorious film, Branded to Kill. His earlier work is much more in the vein of a director for hire, making generic studio teen/crime pictures. There are some stylish touches, but if you go in expecting surreal, pop-art madness then you’ll be disappointed.
No I'm pretty well versed in all things Suzuki. I do find some of his early movies to be kind of tedious (especially the Teen Idol/Angst stuff) but it's hit and miss - that's why I was wondering if there were any overlooked gems in this collection. Even his straight stuff can get pretty eccentric at times.
I have yet to go through Vol. 2. I watched the first volume, which I enjoyed, for the most part. There was only one film that I thought sub-par. Like you say, they are hit and miss, but I generally enjoy Japanese cinema of this period, even the fluffier stuff. For similar reasons, I also enjoyed Arrow’s two Nikkatsu Diamond Guys collections.