Welcome one and all, back to the cave for episode sixty! We have a really
interesting examination of some of the films of acclaimed Japanese
auteur
Kinji Fukasaku. Beginning in the early sixties Fukasaku embarked
on a career that would go on to span four decades and see him try his
hand in nearly every genre. First up for us is 1968's
The Green Slime.
This is a gloriously action packed chunk of cinematic cheese, and I mean
that in the best possible way. Lantern-jawed heroes, smoking hot ladies
in shiny mini-dresses, awesome miniature work and a
theme song for the
ages, this has something for everyone. Then we move on to 1978's
Message From Space. Clearly an effort to capitalize on the success of Star
Wars, Fukasaku and his crew threw elements from everything that was hot
in the late seventies into the slow-cooker and came up with pretty much a
hot mess! Not without some charms, and absolutely worth a look, this
disco, Star Wars,
Dukes of Hazzard smash up will either delight or
confound you. Lastly, we look at 2000's
Battle Royale. I think it's safe
to say that if Mr. Fukasaku ever created something that could truly be
called a masterpeice, this is it. The progenitor of what has pretty much
become a genre unto itself, the "teens fighting for survival in a post
apocalyptic world" genre that has seen films like Maze Runner, Hunger Games and many others, Fukasaku's take on
this concept still seems sharper and fresher than all of the copycats
that have followed it's wake. Strap on your ear buds and hunker down
with us for some in-depth discussion of a film maker that should be on any
film-fans radar. As ever, please post comments on our
Facebook page or
email us at
flickersfrom@gmail.com or
flickersfrom@yahoo.com.
