Cinedigm and Drafthouse Films have announced the Blu-ray release of Japanese director Sion Sono's
Why Don't You Play in Hell?. The film stars Jun Kunimura, Fumi Nikaidô, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Hiroki Hasegawa and Gen Hoshino, and arrives on Blu-ray on January 27, 2015.
Official Synopsis: Ten years ago, the Kitagawa yakuza clan attacked the Muto yakuza clan at Muto's own home, only to have Muto's wife fight back. This unexpectedly left the Kitagawa clan in shambles, with their top hit man Ikegami wounded and Muto's wife in prison. Despite the carnage, the most unfortunate fallout from this attack is when Muto's beloved actress daughter, Mitsuko, has her adorable toothpaste commercial taken off the air. Now, Ikegami seeks revenge, while Muto only has one desire: to have his wife return from prison to see Mitsuko star in her first movie. Enter The F★★★ Bombers, an eager but untalented group of wannabe filmmakers whose dreams of making movies have come crashing down after 10 years of 8mm efforts. Circumstances have brought them to this fateful moment where they'll be able to film - in 35mm! - the actual climactic battle between yakuzas in an over-the-top, blood-splattering epic for the ages.
When filmmaker Sono started writing the script for this movie, it was the beginning of the digital age of filmmaking. While it's now common to shoot and show commercial and independent movies digitally, back then, 8mm film was widely used by independent film groups like The F★★★ Bombers (yes, they really existed). Therefore, to the amateurs, 35mm films became the symbol of the professional movie. By having the yakuza shoot in 35mm, Sono makes
Why Don't You Play in Hell? an homage to cinema. The film also includes specific references to the work of Kinji Fukasaku, whose scores of yakuza films, including the monumental series Battles Without Honor and Humanity, greatly influenced Sono.
Why Don't You Play in Hell? was an official selection at various 2013 festivals, including the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Independent Film Festival Boston, the Nashville Film Festival and the RiverRun International Film Festival.
Why Don't You Play in Hell? is presented in 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround. Extras and bonus content includes:
- Press conference with director Sion Sono
- 11×17-inch fold-out poster by comic artist James Callahan
- 24-page booklet
- Theatrical trailers
- Digital download