Cinema is Dope

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Monday, August 25, 2008

Full production notes and cast and crew info follow…

Over at Ryuganji (view here), Don has a great post on the upcoming US release of Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django along with commentary on its strange US poster and the interview from its production notes. The US poster works fine as a character poster for Yusuke Iseya who plays the leader of the white clad Genji gang, Yoshitsune Minamoto. As an overall poster for the film itself it certainly falls short of what it could have been. This US release seems like it will be a blink and it’s gone type affair so be sure to check and double check your local listings, especially if you live in New York and LA where it kicks off its US run.

Related Coverage:
::: Midnight Madness SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO Intro with Special Message From Miike
::: Review by Todd - Twitch

Japanese Cinema:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO - PRODUCTION NOTES:
An integration of the Western and the Japanese Tales of Heike…

It can be said that Westerns are the roots of Hollywood films while samurai dramas are the roots of Japanese films. That Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai inspired John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven, one of the all-time great Hollywood westerns, is well known. It is also widely known that Kurosawa’s The Bodyguard became the basis for director Sergio Leone’s Italian film Per un pugno di dollari (Fistful of Dollars). The Made-in-Italy-westerns, dubbed “macaroni westerns” in Japan, and “spaghetti westerns” in the U.S, became a worldwide phenomenon from 1960’s to early 70’s.

The man infusing fresh blood into the genre today is Takashi Miike. While paying the homage to spaghetti westerns, Miike has created a unique and stylish action film in this never-before-seen “sukiyaki” world.

Gun smoke drifts in the air and the haunting sound of melodic whistling echoes as you step into a world that transcends time and space, a world where the Japanese shukuba-machi (post station) and western saloons co-exist. From the familiar scenes of spaghetti westerns, to elements from Tales of The Heike, the War of the Roses and the legendary goddess of murder “The Bloody Benten,” anything goes in the Miike world. The climactic scene even extends a nod to the world of the classic western film, Shane (1953). However, this film is by no means a parody. What emerges from the sukiyaki pot, in which all of these ingredients simmer together, is Miike’s magnificent view of the world.

Music…

The word “spaghetti western” immediately brings to mind the melodies of Ennio Morricone. In Sukiyaki Western Django, Koji Endo has created a melancholic score that combines trumpets, ocarinas and whistling. The original theme song for Django (1966), one of the best spaghetti westerns ever made, has been arranged into a new theme tune for Miike’s film. With newly written Japanese lyrics, a haunting new version is sung by Saburo Kitajima, the veteran enka (Japanese blues) singer, known for his powerful kobushi (a vibrato-like vocal technique).

What’s the connection between the renowned blues singer and Miike? In 1996, Miike directed a made-for-video movie Jingi naki Yabou at the Toei Uzumasa Studio. Saburo Kitajima, who was already major star, had been cast as the gambler. For the film, Miike had unsparingly splashed the great singer/actor with artificial blood. Kitajima had mumbled, “I’ve been acting for some twenty, thirty years and I never knew that artificial blood felt so cold!” Miike’s unconventional techniques left a strong impression on the blood soaked Kitajima.

Behind the Scenes…

A red and white rose blooming in the wilderness. Inside the sukiyaki pot live love and death.

Sukiyaki Western Django was filmed on a specially built outdoor set in Ishikura, Yamagata, deep in the mountains of Tsukiyama. A surreal set combining both a western theme and “Jidai-geki” (Japanese period dramas) suddenly emerged in the midst of Tsukiyama’s magnificent mountain scenery.

The logistical difficulties of the shoot made the production a constant struggle primarily due to the extreme weather conditions. The freezing Fall nights of Tsukiyama were severe enough to freeze the food on the plates of the cast and crew. To make matters worse, it rained for a whole month, turning the ground into mud and when the production needed snow, however, an unusually warm winter resulted in almost no snowfall.

For the scene shot at sunrise in the caves of Zao, the crew had to hit the trail on foot at 2 a.m. in the morning in order to arrive at the location by 4 p.m., allowing enough time to make up the actors. Walking in the darkness with only the lights of the lighting department to rely on, more than a few crew members were nearly lost in the mountains.

For one shot, forty horses, brought to the set from the Tohoku area, were required to gallop away at full speed, a stunt rarely seen in recent Japanese productions. Working with such a large number of extras and coordinating the complex gunfights was also challenge. As a result, Miike found the usual calls of “Ready!” and “Action!” were not adequate and he resorted to donning a ten-gallon hat, taking out a Smith & Wesson and firing a blank in the air instead! The unexpected sound of gunshot surprised the extras whose reactions were expertly captured on film by cinematographer Toyomichi Kurita. One could say that the ultimate thrill of the production was the “face-off in the wilderness of Shonai territory” between Miike, shooting his Smith & Wesson, and Kurita, shooting with his Arriflex ST&LT!

Sukiyaki Western Django was shot entirely in English. As with his other English language film, “Masters of Horror – Imprint,” Miike created a unique atmosphere on set. The actors went through a month-long intensive language training under Nadia Venesse, the dialogue coach who has worked with many of the top Hollywood stars in features such as Chocolat and North Country, and with Christian Storms, who translated the Japanese script into English. For Venesse and Storms, Sukiyaki Western Django was their second collaboration with Miike following “Masters of Horror – Imprint.”

Japanese star Koichi Sato’s comment on the experience was: “I realize now how effortlessly I’ve been making money all these years.” The actors not only had lessons in English but were required to learn horseback riding and gun slinging. The actress Kaori Momoi also had the additional challenge of working with flying wires and trampolines as the legendary fighter “Bloody Benten.” At one point her whole body was wrapped in plastic to protect her from the cold, which made even a simple somersault a challenging feat.

Cast & Crew Notes follow…

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Nice black & white of Quentin Tarantino directing Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike in Death Proof. I don’t know what I make of all the casting rumors swirling around Tarantino’s Inglorious project other than the rumor mill seems to be going through ever actor alive in the Rolodex.

You can read my interview with Death Proof Sydney Tamiia Poitier over on Twitch (read here).

Amazon.com Link:
Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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During the time it took me to post this, there were 8,000,027 birthday cakes flushed around the world down hotel toilets.

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A lone desperado Sgt. Nicholas Angel walks down an empty street, tightly pressed lips, sunglass stare of blazing hell and fury, enough weaponry for a small army adorned from toe to ear and on the look out for cult members to mow down. Move, run and hide, as you better get out of his way… if only he can dismount from a rather odd horse with a mind of its own.

In other news, Cinematical is reporting Simon Pegg will be joining Nick Frost for a road trip movie called, Paul (more here).

Related Coverage:
::: 40th Sitges - Filmmaker Edgar Wright’s Secret Lee Marvin Pose (Blake)

Amazon.com Link:
::: Buy the Hot Fuzz (3-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD)

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Thursday, August 14, 2008

With the upcoming movie Quarantine about to come out, some out there may not realize it’s based on this film. In fact the trailer alone for Quarantine makes it look like a near shot for shot remake, except in the English language. Of the one hand held camera POV films in recent memory, this one is the most horrific, thrilling and well executed. The main difference that will mark this one is the sense of realism and the directors constant choice to go for live practical effects versus CGI. The story revolves around Angela (Manuela Velasco) who does a late night TV show. Cut to just another night where she is covering a local fire station and ventures out with them on a routine call at an apartment building. With her lone cameraman in tow and terror just around the corner… things quickly spiral into a dizzying ascent of all out hell once they reach the apartment building. Filmmakers Jaume Balaguere and Paco Plaza are crafting a new voice to be reckoned with in horror cinema and their sequel, [REC] 2, couldn’t get here soon enough.

Expect a US release of this film sometime later this year or next year, though probably on DVD/Blu-Ray and not theaters.

Related Coverage - My Interview with [REC] co-director Jaume Balaguere:
::: NIFFF 2008 - Jaume Balagueró Talks [REC] 2
::: NIFFF 2008 - Jaume Balagueró Talks [REC] Continued…
::: NIFFF 2008 - Jaume Balagueró Talks [REC] - Final Part

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Marley Shelton is one of the better actresses out there working and in Planet Terror she turns in a unhinged performance electric performance. The only upcoming film of hers that might be interesting to me is the 2009 film Women in Trouble by Sebastian Gutierrez, which at least on paper is saying it will have some Altman vibes going on.

Amazon.com Link:
Buy the Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD

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This is a highly creepy image of Belén Rueda in The Orphanage (El Orfanato). Hard to believe it has nearly been a year since this film first hit the film festival circuit. In that span it seems to have garnered a strong word of mouth and enthusiastic following.

Twitch Coverage:
::: Todd’s Review
::: Michael’s Review

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Planet Terror delivers good old fashioned fun. It may not culminate into resonating bliss, yet it soothes a void however briefly the void of great Cannon action films! For me, I just wish it had an organized climax instead of its steady jump cut heavy build to indifference.

Amazon.com Link:
Buy the Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD

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More images of Rose McGowan scorching and blowing up the screen as Cherry Darling in the Robert Rodriguez zombie film, “Planet Terror.”

You can see Rose next in Black Oasis and Red Sonja.

Amazon.com Link:
Buy the Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD

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Really rocking Japanese poster artwork for this Ryoo Seung-wan acted and directed action film, The City of Violence (Jjakpae)!

Eiga Chirashi = mini poster/flyer’s from Japan

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Manuela Velasco as Angela in [REC].

One of the most asked questions I get is when will this film be released in the US either in the theaters or on DVD. The answer is Screen Gems owns the North American rights and to date no one seems to know what they intend to do with it. Right now there focus is on the US remake, Quarantine. I can only imagine at some point they will release it on DVD, but a theatrical release does seem unlikely. I count myself lucky haven gotten to see it twice at the 40th Sitges last year.

Related Coverage:
::: [REC] French Movie Poster
::: [REC] at the 40th Sitges - Image Gallery

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