suggestions

i loved versus and battle royale

im not familar with japanese movies, any recomendations based on these likes?

[dwatts]

I do not have a lot of experience. But Audition and Freezer are both great films.

Check out Takashi Miike's Dead or Alive and Fudoh:The Next Generation. A nice healthy dose of insanity.

first whcih version of audi tion shoudl i buy?

i can play any region ant format.

second teh rest of the movies you names.. where can i buy them??

[DVD Connoisseur]

If you can play R3 releases, this Audition disc is inexpensive and quite watchable.

You should definitly go with the r1 release of Audition if you decide to get it. A prestine transfer and high quality sound. A nice interview with Miike on that one as well. You should be able to find this one at your local dvd shops.

As for Dead or Alive the only available release with subtitles is the r2 PAL release by tartan. The picture quality isn't so great but it's watchable. I'd suggest getting this one from www.bensonsworld.com They've got great service and free shipping internationally.

Fudoh:The Next Generation was released by Tokyo Shock here in the U.S. You should be able to find this one in most places but if not it shouldn't be too hard to order.

Check out www.kfccinema.com
If you're interested in asian cinema this site is the way to go. They've also got a great forum and an extensive reviews section which is constantly updated.

[mcchrist]

You know, I was expecting more from Audition. Not so much in a sense of shock or whatever, there's plenty of it. I was expecting more of what people call a "masterpiece", but it didn't transcend its material. I think it needed a stronger script, I found the first two acts decent, but there was no strong material here, no solid foundation for act three (and don't think I'm wishing for more violence, I liked the story here, but it wasn't strong enough). In the end, if I ever watch this film I watch it the same way I watch the movie Snuff (1976), I just watch the last 15 minutes or so. I had high hopes for Audition, but it just turned out to be a cheap shocker.

Originally posted by mcchrist
You know, I was expecting more from Audition. Not so much in a sense of shock or whatever, there's plenty of it. I was expecting more of what people call a "masterpiece", but it didn't transcend its material. I think it needed a stronger script, I found the first two acts decent, but there was no strong material here, no solid foundation for act three (and don't think I'm wishing for more violence, I liked the story here, but it wasn't strong enough). In the end, if I ever watch this film I watch it the same way I watch the movie Snuff (1976), I just watch the last 15 minutes or so. I had high hopes for Audition, but it just turned out to be a cheap shocker.

I'd have to agree. I liked the film, but it was just that. It was no masterpiece in any sense of the word. And seeing people compare it to Cronenberg... Sigh. The last 20 minutes were pretty good - I'm not talking the violence, more the descent and disasociation(?) that seemed to be taking place. But the whole start of the film could have just led into a soap. A film like Organ on the other hand was bizarre from the start...

[Azathoth]

Originally posted by mcchrist
You know, I was expecting more from Audition.

I expected more from Dead or Alive. Some reviews made it out to be the most over-the-top, balls to the wall flick that would rock your socks off. It has possibly the greatest 10 minute opening segment I've ever seen in a movie, but then it just goes downhill for me. Cop drama ..zzzzzzzzz

I tried watching DOA2 but fell asleep after about the first 25 minutes.

Guess I'll have to pop Hard Boiled back in.

The other three movies in the recent crop of Japanese zombie flicks - Junk, Wild Zero & Stacy have all been either released or picked up for distribution outside Japan with english subtitles. They differ greatly from one another, so don't go in expecting anything like Versus should you decide to pick them up.

I'll second the recommendations for Takashi Ishii's Freeze Me (Freezer = shitty UK retitle) and Miike's DOA & Fudoh.

Fudoh gets my highest recommendation, a very enjoyable manga adaption filled with all kinds of weird shit. There is a lot of fun to be had watching Miho Nomoto fire darts from you-know-where, Riki Takeuchi putting out a cigarette on old rocker Mickey Curtis' severed head, the affects of an acid-laced drink and much, much more.

Sticking with Miike, I've seen about 16 of his movies and would recommend the lot. However, most aren't available with subtitles. Still, there are a couple in particular that you may like....

Visitor Q - out in Germany with german/english subs, coming out in the US later in the year.

Ichi The Killer - Avoid the heavily edited HK DVD, wait for the Dutch (Jan. 2003) or US DVDs.

Toshiharu Ikeda's euro-horror homage (or rip-off) Evil Dead Trap is a terrific movie. Gruesome kills, cool Goblin-esque music, decent cast and if you buy the DVD, one of the wackiest commentary tracks ever.

Evil Dead Trap 2 is pretty good. Takes a different approach than the original, I didn't like this first time around but it's grown on me since then.

All Night Long isn't as violent as it's cracked up to be, and the pacing is all over the place but it's still a good little flick. ANL 2 & 3 on the other hand, are nasty pieces of work.

That'll do, at least for the time being...

I always recommend, though not Japanese (Korean I think, though not 100% sure), THE UNTOLD STORY and THE UNTOLD STORY 2. The first is the best, IMO, but if you like it you should like the second one. They are very good, disturbing serial killer flicks.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, you should try RIKI-OH: STORY OF RICKY (HK?). It's great, over the top, fun!

Originally posted by McBride_01
I always recommend, though not Japanese (Korean I think, though not 100% sure)

Untold Story 1&2 are from HK. And you're right about Ricky, that was made in HK too (though based on a manga, incidentally).

Should you consider branching out from Japan to other Asian regions, the Korean thriller Tell Me Something is excellent, and HK have pumped out plenty of stuff worth seeing.

McBride mentioned Untold Story & Story Of Ricky, but there are loads more: Dr Lamb, Run & Kill, Red To Kill, Intruder to name but a few.

While I'm at it, I'll throw another Japanese recommendation your way: Uzumaki. Set for a R1 release at some stage, but currently available on a cheap R3 HK DVD w/english subs, it's a *really* good movie.

i know teh HK movies very well.. ive been wathcign them since the 70 with kung fu moveis..
japanese moveis are jsut impossible to learn about cuz all the pages are in japanese and most of the titles arent subtitled ..

thakns for the recomendations!!

[KillerCannabis]

Originally posted by McBride_01
Also, if you haven't seen it yet, you should try RIKI-OH: STORY OF RICKY (HK?). It's great, over the top, fun!

Exellent call. Riki-Oh kicks ass on many levels. It can be a hard disc to find, but if you do, grab it by any means. I've still got a lot of Asian flicks to get, but my collection is getting off to a good start. Tops for me is BR, but I also loved Ring, Ring 2, Audition, and Versus. Hopefully more of these gems get a R1 release soon.

[BloodMan]

Check out -
Ichi The Killer (try to find the uncut 128 minute version)
Bullet Ballet (awesome!!)
Musa (not horror, but bloody battles and damn emotional ending)
Ring
Dead or Alive
Wild Zero
Uzumaki

cheers!!!