SERIES
January 26-28 at the Trylon
Ishii, formerly known as Sogo Ishii, is credited with sparking the cyberpunk movement in Japanese cinema. His eccentric style is regularly copied but completely unique. Eschewing the path of his peers, filmmakers belonging to a generation that had to work within the system, Ishii chose to make 16mm films with little regard to box office. We are all the richer for it.
(2001, DCP, 55m, Japanese w/English subtitles) dir Gakuryû Ishii w/Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase, Yoshiki Arizono. Stripping away all the fat, this lean, mean, 55-minute, black-and-white, punk, superhero movie machine is everything you would dream it could be. Dragon Eye Morrison (Tadanobu) is provoked by Thunderbolt Buddha (Masatoshi) into an epic fight that could destroy everything…
Screenings: January 26 7:00, January 27 9:15, January 28 3:00
(1982, DCP, 115m, Japanese w/English subtitles) dir Gakuryû Ishii w/Michirô Endô, Kansai Eto, Kazuo “Gaira” Komizu. This sci-fi, punk rock motorcycle musical made with the involvement of the fledgling Tokyo punk scene is a turbulent, inventive film that influenced everything from anime to Tarantino. FRI 8:15 SAT 7:00 SUN 4:15
Screenings: January 26 8:15, January 27 7:00, January 28 4:15