TWF: Two Upcoming Blu-ray Releases Detailed
HomeTWF: Two Upcoming Blu-ray Releases Detailed
Posted April 4, 2018 04:53 PM by Webmaster
British label Third Window Films has detailed two upcoming Blu-ray releases: Sion Sono's Antioporno and The Whispering Star/The Sion Sono. The two releases will be available for purchase later this month.
Antiporno
Synopsis: In the 1970s and 1980s the Nikkatsu Roman Porno genre, which allowed directors wide latitude if they included a certain number of sex scenes in their films, was the launching pad for many now-prominent Japanese filmmakers, including Yojiro Takita, director of the Oscar winner Departures
In 2016, Nikkatsu launched the "Roman Porno Reboot Project", bringing together the 5 of the most in-demand Japanese directors of today Sion Sono, Hideo Nakata (The Ring), Akihiko Shiota (Dororo), Kazuya Shiraishi (Birds Without Names) and Isao Yukisada (Go), to shoot five new Roman Porno Films.
Antiporno, Sion Sono's take on the series, sees Kyoto (Ami Tomite), a writer/artist who acts and is treated more like a spoiled pop star. A typical day full of interviews, photo shoots, TV appearances and meetings begins as she's woken by older personal assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui). She treats the latter with an abusive contempt that often spills into the realm of stock S&M fetish play, complete with "Bark like a dog!" episodes. The arrival of various fawning acolytes and mass-media enablers only heightens Kyoto's bratty excesses. At the same time, however, she has moments of panicked self-doubt, as well as presumably delusional communication with a dead sister (also Tstusui) who's in "heaven." Trapped in her celebrity, Kyoto is in another, soul-destroying place entirely, from which there's no apparent escape.
Special Features:
The Whispering Star/The Sion Sono
The Whispering Star
Synopsis: The Whispering Star is a science fiction film which brings forward the question of what it means to be human and how we cling onto the memories and the past in general, understanding the romanticism of a delivery company in a universe where instant transportation exists. Filmed with the help of Fukushima villagers, it's also a testament to their existence and their abandonment, even four years after the catastrophe. (Starring Megumi Kagurazaka / 101 mins / Black & White).
The Sion Sono
Synopsis: Directed by Arata Oshima, son of rebel filmmaker Nagisa Oshima (Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence), who had praised Sono's early work before his passing, this documentary gives insight into the man, the poet, the painter, the scriptwriter, the husband and the boy who will eventually grow up to be the Sion Sono. Lineage, history and the past meeting the present are themes in this film in which Oshima connects the dots in Sono's creative life by taking the camera to the site of his upbringing and following the production of The Whispering Star. Special Features:
Antiporno
Synopsis: In the 1970s and 1980s the Nikkatsu Roman Porno genre, which allowed directors wide latitude if they included a certain number of sex scenes in their films, was the launching pad for many now-prominent Japanese filmmakers, including Yojiro Takita, director of the Oscar winner Departures
In 2016, Nikkatsu launched the "Roman Porno Reboot Project", bringing together the 5 of the most in-demand Japanese directors of today Sion Sono, Hideo Nakata (The Ring), Akihiko Shiota (Dororo), Kazuya Shiraishi (Birds Without Names) and Isao Yukisada (Go), to shoot five new Roman Porno Films.
Antiporno, Sion Sono's take on the series, sees Kyoto (Ami Tomite), a writer/artist who acts and is treated more like a spoiled pop star. A typical day full of interviews, photo shoots, TV appearances and meetings begins as she's woken by older personal assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui). She treats the latter with an abusive contempt that often spills into the realm of stock S&M fetish play, complete with "Bark like a dog!" episodes. The arrival of various fawning acolytes and mass-media enablers only heightens Kyoto's bratty excesses. At the same time, however, she has moments of panicked self-doubt, as well as presumably delusional communication with a dead sister (also Tstusui) who's in "heaven." Trapped in her celebrity, Kyoto is in another, soul-destroying place entirely, from which there's no apparent escape.
Special Features:
- Interview with lead actress Ami Tomite
- Making of featurette
- Audio commentary by film critic Jasper Sharp
The Whispering Star/The Sion Sono
The Whispering Star
Synopsis: The Whispering Star is a science fiction film which brings forward the question of what it means to be human and how we cling onto the memories and the past in general, understanding the romanticism of a delivery company in a universe where instant transportation exists. Filmed with the help of Fukushima villagers, it's also a testament to their existence and their abandonment, even four years after the catastrophe. (Starring Megumi Kagurazaka / 101 mins / Black & White).
The Sion Sono
Synopsis: Directed by Arata Oshima, son of rebel filmmaker Nagisa Oshima (Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence), who had praised Sono's early work before his passing, this documentary gives insight into the man, the poet, the painter, the scriptwriter, the husband and the boy who will eventually grow up to be the Sion Sono. Lineage, history and the past meeting the present are themes in this film in which Oshima connects the dots in Sono's creative life by taking the camera to the site of his upbringing and following the production of The Whispering Star. Special Features:
- Reversible sleeve with posters for both films