Author Topic: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 561567 times)

pixote

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #840 on: September 21, 2009, 03:15:00 AM »

Is there a Risky Business homage in progress there?

pixote
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jbissell

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #841 on: September 21, 2009, 10:22:38 AM »

Is there a Risky Business homage in progress there?

pixote

I wish - probably would've bumped up my score by at least .5.

Verite

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #842 on: September 21, 2009, 12:42:14 PM »
Center Stage

What was the running time of the one you watched?

It was the director's cut, around 2:35ish.

The ~2 hour cut must be a mess.
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jbissell

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #843 on: September 21, 2009, 01:05:55 PM »
Center Stage

What was the running time of the one you watched?

It was the director's cut, around 2:35ish.

The ~2 hour cut must be a mess.

I'm curious as to what was cut.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #844 on: September 30, 2009, 08:25:20 AM »
Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi (Yellow Fangs, 1990)

Before I get into the specifics of Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi, yes, I do know that it is based on a true story. Although in this case I’m more likely to believe it is based on a popular myth as opposed to a true story. That’s the only way I am able to justify the idea of a super smart bear who specifically targets women. Think about that idea for a few seconds, a bear who specifically targets women! That right there is a concept ripe for a horror film or Uwe Boll style cheese. Someone should have told Sonny Chiba this, because he clearly had other ideas.

Instead of going somewhere interesting with the idea presented above, Chiba bases his film in unrelenting melodrama. Maybe that would have been okay if he had stuck with any sort of strong narrative, melodrama doesn’t automatically equal a bad movie after all. Instead Chiba crafts a film that is part romantic melodrama, part revenge movie and bits and pieces of cheese. Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi is mainly a romantic melodrama though and thus the other elements feel out of place.

For unknown reasons Chiba jumps his picture throughout a timeline, ruining any chance at narrative momentum. He doesn’t do it in the style of say, Quentin Tarantino, instead he jumps to and fro with no regard for how this affects the narrative flow. He has flashbacks in the middle of flashbacks and one flashback lasts for the entire middle of the picture. The flashback drags on and on until it is no longer a flashback, but the main thrust of the story delving into flashbacks of its own, then without warning the film returns to where it started. I was never able to get my footing during Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi, I was never able to feel like where I was at in the movie at any given time was where I should be.

There are moments in Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi that did pull me in somewhat. Mainly flourishes with Chiba’s camera as well as the end action scene. Although I’m quite confident that the reason I liked the final showdown, it’s complete cheesiness, is not the reasons that Chiba wanted me to like that part of the film. I found what good I could and there was enough for me to not view Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki Yuusha-tachi as a waste of time or anything like that. It isn’t however a movie that is worth going out of your way to see, and based on the fact that I am only the tenth person to vote for it on IMDB people are already on board with that line of thought.

Vs.

Ôdishon (Audition, 1999)

I figured it would be a good idea to kick off horror month here at the blog with a horror film that I have often heard about but have never seen myself. When I was given the chance to watch Ôdishon for the Filmspotting ’90’s Far East Bracket I jumped at the opportunity. Nothing, not a single word, that I heard over the years could have prepared me for Ôdishon. I don’t mean that in the way you think I mean, at least I don’t think that I mean that in the way that you think I, oh, never mind! What I’m getting at is that I expected another Hostel, another brainless torture porn film masquerading as a horror film, but Ôdishon is the exact opposite.

There are many different types of horror films, but more often than not the best horror films share a single essential element, suspense. Ôdishon is dripping with suspense, it literally spends the first hour and a half building and building an atmosphere of suspense. Takashi Miike understands that what he will show us in the final fifteen minutes can’t exist on its own. Those final horrific acts have to have some sort of meaning and thanks to the brilliant job Miike does in creating atmosphere for the finale those final minutes do have meaning.

At a certain point the viewer should realize that something is up, but Miike refuses to cave, he won’t just give you the horrific acts. He stays with his delicate and interesting tale, keeping up the hope in the viewer that maybe Asami is normal, or that hope beyond hope things will turn out they way we want in this romantic film. By playing with our expectations and occasionally referencing back to the horror elements of the film Miike creates a sort of suspense so intense that it burns within you. With each passing second your dread builds, then it is assuaged, only to build again.

The human psyche is much like Ôdishon, delicate and not quite what it seems at any given moment. Delicate is an interesting word, that’s three times I’ve used it so far. I didn’t expect to think of Ôdishon as a delicate movie, but it most certainly is. It is framed in a slight manner, the musical cues are almost non-existent, as if the usual horror bombast will break the picture in half. Every character is delicate in their own way, while the film revels in the delicate nature of the human mind by toying with the viewer from start to finish.

All of the above truly separates Ôdishon from any sort of torture porn label. There is something else that you see in Ôdishon that you will never see in an Eli Roth picture, restraint and directorial flashes. The characters are often seen far from view, or with barriers in between them and people outside of the scope of the narrative. Miike is placing them in an area where only they exist, yet their distance from the camera calls to their lack of knowledge of what is to come. The look that Miike goes for is monochromatic and staid, it is a very normal and plain looking film. Even at the very end when Asami is torturing Shigeharu this look isn’t broken from, the film remains entrenched in its normal delivery.

I have yet to get into the themes of Ôdishon, and if ever there was a film that speaks to the interpretive nature of the medium it is Ôdishon. I don’t know if this is the popular view, but I read Ôdishon as being about female revenge. Yes, Shigeharu is a pleasant character, but think about what he does for a second. He parades young women around on a fake audition merely for the chance to check them out and judge if they are girlfriend material. The women are powerless in that situation, while in its later stages the film flips the tables. The male protagonist ends up powerless, at the hands of wronged woman. That is just one of many interpretations that can be found in Ôdishon, the trippy dream sequences that exist in the finale could be a review of their own they are so full of interpretive material.

Many people have claimed Ôdishon to be similar to the ideas behind Fatal Attraction, but I don’t agree. My interpretation is that of female revenge, and while surely Asami is batshit insane, thematically her actions travel well beyond any sort of psychosis. Fatal Attraction was all about a woman being off her rocker and causing harm to those around her. Ôdishon is about a woman off her rocker who has a very specific cause in mind. It may not be pretty to watch and you may not agree with my interpretation, but I strongly feel that gender power is at the heart of Ôdishon.

The truth is that I could say plenty more about Ôdishon, not only because it is a great movie but because it is a movie that appears to need defending. If you want torture porn then go find another movie, I’m sure Eli Roth can help you out with that. However, if you are looking for a smart and suspenseful film that will wow you with its technique and skill then Ôdishon is worth a look. I’m not denying that it is gory near the end, but the gore is limited and the gore is built to through suspense. I guess what I’d most like for you to do is to watch Ôdishon with an open mind. If you are willing to do that then you will get to add another film to your pantheon of great movies.

Verdict:

This is a very easy one, no hemming and hawing needed here. Yellow Fangs could have been interesting, and it was in parts, but Audition is interesting, well made, thought provoking and nowhere near the movie most people label it as. Audition easily moves on.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2009, 09:23:22 AM by Newman!!! »

Melvil

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #845 on: September 30, 2009, 10:52:23 AM »
a super smart bear who specifically targets women.

I'm sorry, but your review was obviously not positive enough. Please try again. ;D

Nah, it does sound like a mess, which is a shame. I'm really looking forward to your Audition review, one of the higher profile movies in this bracket.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #846 on: October 01, 2009, 09:23:38 AM »
Second half of my match-up posted.

mañana

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #847 on: October 01, 2009, 10:15:35 AM »
Nice job, Bill. I haven't seen either so I'll take your word for it on both of them.
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smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #848 on: October 01, 2009, 01:14:31 PM »
I'm really curious to see how Audition does from here on. Good write up Bill.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #849 on: October 01, 2009, 03:12:48 PM »
I'm really curious to see how Audition does from here on. Good write up Bill.

I'm pretty sure it will be knocked out rather easily, depending on who gets it of course. I don't envision it as something the majority of FS land would get behind.

 

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