Fist of the North Star: The Movie (1986)

Fist of the North Star: The Movie (1986)


May 12th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

Fist of the North Star has achieved something of a legendary status among the first wave of more adult themed Japanese animation that hit the United States in the 1980’s and perhaps more so in the UK where the feature film was among one of the first anime videos commercially sold. It has a strange, psychedelic and ultra-violent aesthetic. Through television series, manga, original video animations and a feature film, the franchise continues to grow. Beginning in 1983, the manga created the basic story and tone all other installments would come to follow. In the year 199X nuclear war destroys most of humanity, among the survivors is a man called Kenshiro, the heir to an unbeatable martial art that can explode the insides of its victims with the slightest touch.

This film is more or less a retelling of the first story arc of the manga and anime. Kenshiro is betrayed and maimed by a former friend. Left for dead, he survives and goes on a quest to get his kidnapped girlfriend back. The mostly silent protagonist hooks up with two children who live troubled lives and come to rely on him. But knowing the premise is nothing towards understanding what makes Fist of the North Star tick.

One answer to this is that it takes a lot of cues from the 152 episode anime. Because of budgetary constraints, the anime had to resort to some unusual means in creating its visual effects. These included filming through a fish tank and slamming ink violently between two sheets of paper among many others. Before long it had acquired an incredibly distinctive look. Perspectives were also frequently played around with. Characters could go from normal to giant in comparison to other characters’, frequently mirroring power relationships such as events seen from the eyes of the children were darker and more monstrous. The film also acquired an environmentalist message that is sometimes lost in its narrative insanity.

Outside of Japan, Fist of the North Star has always attracted attention including American and South Korean live action versions. But it is the cathartic simplicity of a world of madness where might is the only right and events take on a dream like quality that brings viewers back again and again.

Japan, Director Toyoo Ashida, Cast Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Mie Suzuki, Kenji Utsumi and Toshio Furukawa, 110 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Cops and Robbers (1979)

Cops and Robbers (1979)


May 5th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

The last few years of the 1970's marked the beginning of what would come to be known as the Hong Kong New Wave, an era of unparalleled originality. This film is arguably one of the most accomplished examples of that wave made by one of its greatest visionary directors. The story is deceptively simple, it follows the activities of a group of police officers and a rather pathetic wannabe criminal gang as they liver their lives before eventually colliding in a disturbing cinematic tornado.
Alex Cheung Kwok-Ming, the films director, was one of the few excremental film makers when he was only in his teens. Winning a series of student awards and competing against other young film makers including John Woo, Cheung became an accomplished director, screen writer and cinematographer eventually going into television commercials before directing this, his first feature at the age of twenty-eight. This disturbing tale had a gritty, raw feel that was highly unusual in Hong Kong cinema of this era.
You could, in all seriousness, favorably compare Cops and Robbers to the best films of Martin Scorsese as they are both similar in tone and the level of genius demonstrated. But Cheung was also able to include that strange, whimsically unbalanced and highly original quality of Hong Kong cinema. He would later go on to direct a diverse range of films including the late era Shaw Brothers science fiction comedy Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (1983.)
Hong Kong, Director Cheung Kwok Ming, Cast Wong Chung, Gam Hing Yin, Cheung Kwok Keung and Hui Bing Sam, 92 minutes, in Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles

An Unattached Unit (1993)

An Unattached Unit (1993)

April 28th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


There are many issues when attempting to look into North Korean cinema. On the practical side, they do not believe in providing any kind of credits, or even the year. The government does have something of a registry listing films that they deem important, but even then the basic information provided about a given film is far from certain except in a very few cases.
Setting aside the practicalities, North Korean cinema is a non commercial, highly controlled medium in which the tone can shift from bluntly overt to surprisingly subtle in the span of a moment. This particular film is set in 1951 and tells the story of a group of soldiers who are being replaced in the front line after serving their rotation. But on the way home they find enemy troops are about to make a breakthrough and it is up to them to pull together to save the country.
North Korea, Director Kang Jung Mo, Cast Choe Pong Sik, Pyon Mi Hyang and Choe Tae Hyon, 80 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles.

Princess Iron Fan (1966)

Princess Iron Fan (1966)

April 21st, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

In this second installment in the Shaw Brothers live action adaptation of the novel A Journey to the West, the Tang monk is still on his quest to retrieve original Buddhist scriptures from India. The Monkey King, protector to the monk, is faced with the obstacle of an eternally burning mountain. Now only a magical fan can allow the travelers to pass but to get it they must trick or battle the Bull King and his wife.
With the success of the original, this followup is noticeably grander in conception, incorporating even more Opera and adventure sequences.
Hong Kong, Director Ho Meng Hua, Cast Ting Hung, Cheng Pei Pei, Lily Ho Li Li, Ho Fan and Yueh Hua, 93 minutes, in Mandarin with English subtitles

Death Note L: Change the World (2008)

Death Note L: Change the World (2008)

April 14th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

Kenichi Matsuyama reprises his role of Detective L in this third Death Note film, which turns its attentions away from the main storyline of the series and is something of a joint sequel/prequel as it is set between the first and second films.
The basic plot of the Death Note series involves the discovery of a notebook which claims that if a persons name is written in it they will soon die. This sequel sees the character of L living through the consequences of this initial encounter.
Originating as a Manga, Death Note has gone on to include three feature films and an animated series.
Japan, Director Hideo Nakata, Cast Kenichi Matsuyama and Youki Kudoh, 129 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles.

Action Replayy (2010)

Action Replayy (2010)

April 7th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

It’s hard to be a good son when your father is a nerd and constantly under the thumb of his domineering wife. But when things take a turn for the worse it seems as if his parents are on the road for divorce. Luckily the young man (Aditya Roy Kapoor) has an inventor for a Grandfather who has just created the world’s first time machine. Now he is going back to the 1970’s to try and sort out his parent’s future.

Action Replayy attempts to create a nostalgic look back at Bollywood’s past while simultaneously satirizing it. Like most Indian film, a major goal seems to be the construction of spectacle and the film can be readily enjoyed on that level, even by those with no knowledge of earlier Indian cinema. It also boasts a relatively short running time of slightly over two hours compared to the traditional norm of over three.

India, Director Vipul Shah, Cast Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Neha Dhupia and Aditya Roy Kapoor, 129 minutes, in Hindi with English subtitles