turn off the lights…light a candle…
ohhhhhh yeah, i can’t wait to settle in with these babies.
ana — programming guru at work — generously loaned them to me. awhile back during the sugimoto exhibitions, sugimoto himself “curated” a mini film series that had ties with contemporary japanese visual art movements. we screened the two flicks above and face of another (also on my list). sadly, i was unable to make it to any of the showings, but now i can finally watch.
my only nikkatsu studios experience thus far was seeing gangster VIP at yerba buena’s 60s era yakuza films program. that was a lot of fun. it had basic eye candy appeal, but managed to balance b-movie-esque, over-the-top cheesy hamminess that would give MST3K a field day, with poignant, delicate memorable moments. i’m thinking tokyo drifter might be similar, if not just a visual hammer over the head. as for the world of geisha, well…soft-core is always nice.
PS – advance screening of hellboy FAIL. the line snaked up to the upper level of the metreon. suffice it to say, despite the fact that i had “won” tickets (bastards!), i didn’t get in. however, i ran into jing and talked about the dark knight a lot.
