The Quirky and fun director who gave
us very entertaining films as "Shark Skin Man
and Peach Hip Girl" and "Party 7" presented here in a
3 disc blu-ray edition.
Disc 1 - Shark Skin Man &
Peach Hip Girl (Samehada otoko & momojiri onna) 1998
One of the first japanese wild crime action films of
the Miike style that I ever saw
some 24 years ago. The New japanese golden era with influences from
Miike, David
Lynch and Quentin Tarantino. Also, it was one of the first films I sold
in my then
newly started DVD store "Strange Things". But at first in
a VCD version (see below)

VCD, Video Compact Disc, compared with a VHS in picture
quality, featured 2 discs
to fit a films playtime and was a popular media in asia around late
1990's and the early
2000's, in the gap between VHS and DVD. Also it was cheap and you could
play it
in your computer. I liked it because VCD often had english subtitles
and often were
the only edition one had (in the early 2000's. The boxes were kinda
cool too.
Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl
is a fun, quirky and at moments even David
Lynchian surreal crime action about yakuzas chasing a yakuza. This film
was Ishii's
first feature length film after making a short in 1995 (Promise of August).
The film starts with a postoffice/bank robbery and one of the gangsters,
Tanuki
Samehada (Tadanobu Asano) takes refuge in a mountain resort cabin and
plans to
run with the money. At the same time Toshiko (Sie Kohinata) works at
her creepy
uncle's hotel, the Symphony Hotel, and she wants to run too.
Chased by his yakuza "friends" Tanuki jumps into Toshiko's
car and now both of
them are running from the gangsters .... and, from Toshiko's mad perverted
uncle.
The pervert uncle (Yohachi Shimada) has hired a psychopath,
Yamada (Tatsuya
Gashuin) to kill them both and Yamada is the funniest character.
He's great.
The film is presented in widescreen and with japanese
audio 2.0 / 5.1 DTS-HD with
english subtitles. Extras: Interview with director Katsuhito Ishii (50
minutes),
audio commentary with director, video essay: The World of Katsuhito
Ishii
Disc 1 - Promise of August
1995 (Short, 50 minutes)
Three girls are running around in the countryside using
a map they're looking
for hidden Marijuana in the forest. They meet a miserable man who's
about to
commit suicide and then some bikers.
Film in 4:3 fullscreen japanese audio DTS-HD MA 2.0
with english subtitles

Disc 2 - Party 7
(2000)
Delightfully weird and funny and with a lovely ending
credits scene.
The film takes place at the Hotel New Mexico. A man arrives who wants
to live at an unpopular and unknown hotel situated far from the city.
The Hotel bellhop is weird, and the hotel itself is weird as two Yakuzas
have built a secret room from where they can peep on their guests.
They're Peeping Toms.
Tatsuya Gashuin, the psycho assassin in SSM&PHG
shows up as a
weird yakuza.
Film in widescreen with japanese audio DTS-HD MA 5.1
and english
subtitles. Extras: Interview with Katsuhito Ishii (17 minutes), Making
Of (20 minutes), audio commentary with Arne Venema & Mike Leeder
Storyboard version, alternate ending, original trailer and teaser
Disc 3 - Sorasoi (2008)
Direction, script, cinematography
A girl, Yuri, is considering committing suicide at a
vacation resort
Disc 3 - Hello! Junichi
(Haro! Junichi, 2014)
A cute and charming family movie where a couple of kids
decides to
start a band and play for one of the mothers on her birthday.
I loved the kids and it somewhat resembled "School of Rock"
Disc 3 - Norioka Workshop
(Short, 30 minutes, 2011)
Actor Norioka (Ryu Morioka) has a workshop for actors,
and two
beautiful but strange women arrives. They're Nami (Yuka Harada)
and Mari (Saki Taniuchi) and they're fresh out of jail.
Minimalistic but I liked it. Direction and script Katsuhito Ishii