Lucky Post 111: More on Yoen Dokufu-Den on DVD!

(Note: This couldn't be posted yesterday due to some Blogger snafu...)

My pal Marc Walkow (aka. Mr. Outcast Cinema) is finally back home in NYC after traipsing all over the world in support of his cinema addiction. When he's not watching movies, he's trying to figure out ways to get YOU to watch movies. How? By producing brutally cool DVD titles for Synapse Films (update your site guys!), for example.

I've previously posted about the upcoming release of the Yoen Dokufu-Den series (aka. Legends of the Poisonous Seductress series) and at Marc's request he's asked me to not steal his thunder and re-post everything that he's got on his site.

So, head on over to the OUTCAST CINEMA blog and read for yourself the exciting info he has about the series. Revel in the awesome film stills and scratch your eyes in amazement after watching the three blistering trailers that he's embedded.

Having seen the first film of the series, I can promise you that these Pinky Violence quickies are just what your dysfunction needs to heal.

Link.

Outcast Cinema and Synapse Films Unveil Some 1960s Toei Treats!

Marc Walkow, whom I've mentioned many a time on this blog, is OUTCAST CINEMA.

Taking his vast knowledge of Japanese cinema and large network of people he knows both within the home video world and the Japanese film world, he has started (or should I more correctly say, he's continuing) to produce unique supplementary materials for DVD releases. It turns out that his recent work has been for the boutique home video company SYNAPSE FILMS will have SIX new Toei titles being released over the next NINE months.

On OUTCAST CINEMA's poorly updated blog (sorry Marc, it's the truth) he has just posted a great write-up about the upcoming releases including an exclusive first look at the cover art for the upcoming LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS (aka. Yoen Doku-fu Den). Check out this link for the skinny.

My lady and I have assisted (in a very small manner) with some Japanese translation and so I have already received our copies of Ishii Teruo's legendary HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN (aka. Kyofu Kikei Ningen) and Nakagawa Nobuo's SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE (aka. Kaidan Hebi Onna).

I just watched the wonderful DVD of HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN and will post a review soon. Suffice to say, it's a mind-bender of a movie that deserves a watch by anyone who is remotely serious about Japanese film.

(One of the coolest things about this release is the fact that it has a NO REGION ENCODING. This is a wonderful gift by Synapse Films to film fans around the world-- including those in Japan where this film has been unavailable on video and has been limited to the rare midnight screening!)

OUTCAST CINEMA's blog.

LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS: More from Synapse Films and Outcast Cinema

As a follow-up to my post from the other day, today I received a press release from SYNAPSE FILMS announcing all of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS (aka. Yoen Doku-fu Den) films that they're putting out on DVD.

Because I'm a shill for the 'man', I'm just copying and pasting some info from their release. (In reality, it's late and I'm tired.)

Snip:

EPISODE 1: FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU A quiet actress named Ohyaku is wrongly sent to prison, then pushed by her tormentors to the point of no return. With a demon tattoo splayed across her back and a sword in her hand, she embarks on a crusade of vengeance against all those who have wronged her, laying waste to man and woman alike in her quest for bloody retribution. A gruesome Pinky Violence classic, the film’s merciless parade of action, beheadings, tattooing and torture proved highly influential on later series of sexy action films from Toei Studios in the 1970s.

EPISODE 2: QUICK-DRAW OKATSU The daughter of a swordplay instructor takes on a power-hungry magistrate in the second entry of the series, joined this time by Rui, a wild young swordswoman (Reiko Oshida). The two sexy avengers embark on a blood-soaked quest for revenge after Okatsu is raped and her father slaughtered by one of his assistants. From fencing schools to small-town brothels to the imperial city of Edo, Okatsu and Rui slash their way through dozens of evil men in order to settle the score with those who wronged them, in this swordplay classic which features some of the best fight scenes of the series.

EPISODE 3: OKATSU THE FUGITIVE In the final episode of the series, the legendary beautiful swordswoman Okatsu is on the hunt for Judayu, a corrupt merchant responsible for the death of her parents. Betrayed by her fiancé, she finds herself aided in her quest by a handsome stranger (longtime yakuza movie star Tatsuo Umemiya) – who happens to be as handy with a sword as she is! What is the reason for his kindness, and will Okatsu be able to prevail against her nemesis, now a powerful businessman with scores of allies in high places? Whatever the end may be, the restless spirits of her murdered parents drive Okatsu along her crimson-colored road of vengeance.

Other Japanese film nerd info about the films:

Episode 1 directed by Yoshihiro Ishikawa (GHOST CAT OF OTAMA POND). Episodes 2 & 3 directed by legendary filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (SNAKE WOMAN’S CURSE, JIGOKU).

The series features an all-star cast of famous faces from the best of Japanese genre cinema, including lead actress Junko Miyazono (ELEVEN SAMURAI, SAMURAI WOLF 2), two-time series co-star Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF & CUB, BLACK RAIN), Tatsuo Umemiya (GRAVEYARD OF HONOR, WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY), Kunio Murai (SNAKE WOMAN’S CURSE), Ko Nishimura (SNAKE WOMAN’S CURSE, HANZO THE RAZOR), Reiko Oshida (DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS), Yukie Kagawa (HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN, FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION – JAILHOUSE 41), and Yoichi Numata (JIGOKU).

And lastly, but most importantly, the awesome covers: (Yay! Pictures!!)