{"id":15082,"date":"2017-05-15T18:06:03","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T01:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=15082"},"modified":"2017-05-15T18:11:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T01:11:57","slug":"review-kijuyoshida-loveandnarchism-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2017\/05\/review-kijuyoshida-loveandnarchism-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Kiju Yoshida – Love + Anarchism BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Admittedly I\u2019m really not a fan of surrealism cinema, not that the ideas go over my head (albeit some do) but often times it comes across pretentious and worse yet, outright dull. Even so, Kiju Yoshida\u2019s visuals are at least something to behold.<\/p>\n

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Kiju Yoshida: Love+Anarchism
\n\u2014 Eros+Massacre \/ Heroic Purgatory \/ Coup D’ Etat \u2014<\/span><\/span>
\n(1969\/1970\/1973)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama
\nArrow Academy | NR \u2013 215 min. \/ 164 min. \/ 110 min. \/ 118 min. \u2013 $99.95 | May 9, 2017<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 05\/15\/2017 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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MOVIE INFO (EROS+MASSACRE<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Kij\u00fb Yoshida
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Masahiro Yamada and Kiju Yoshida (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Mariko Okada, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Yuko Kusunoki<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (HEROIC PURGATORY<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Kij\u00fb Yoshida
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Masahiro Yamada and Kiju Yoshida (screenplay)|
\nCast: <\/strong>Mariko Okada, Kaizo Kamoda, Naho Kimura, Yoshiaki Makita<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (COUP D\u2019ETAT<\/em>):
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Kij\u00fb Yoshida
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Minoru Betsuyaku (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Rentaro Mikuni, Yasuyo Matsumura, Yasuo Miyake, Akiko Kurano<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Featurettes, Scene-Specific Commentaries, Introductions, Theatrical Trailer
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray, DVD
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>Japanese (PCM 2.0)
\nVideo (Eros+Massacre<\/em>): <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nVideo (Heroic Purgatory<\/em>\/Coup d\u2019Etat<\/em>): <\/strong>1080p\/Full Frame 1.33
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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ABOUT THIS RELEASE
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The work of Kij\u00fb Yoshida is one of Japanese cinema’s obscure pleasures. A contemporary of Nagisa \u00d4shima (Death by Hanging<\/em>, In the Realm of the Senses<\/em>) and Masahiro Shinoda (Pale Power: Assassination<\/em>), Yoshida started out as an assistant to Keisuke Kinoshita before making his directorial debut at age 27. In the decades that followed he produced more than 20 features and documentaries, yet each and every one has proven difficult to see in the English-speaking world.<\/p>\n

This collection brings together three works from the late sixties and early seventies, a loose trilogy united by their radical politics and an even more radical shooting style, Eros + Massacre<\/em><\/strong>, presented here in both its 164-minutes theatrical version and the full-length 215-minute director’s cut, tells the parallel stories of early 20th-century anarchist (and free love advocate) Sakae Osugi and a pair of student activists. Their stories interact and intertwine, resulting on a complex, rewarding work that is arguably Yoshida’s masterpiece.<\/p>\n

Heroic Purgatory<\/em><\/strong> pushes the dazzling cinematic language of Eros + Massacre<\/em> even further, presenting a bleak but dreamlike investigation into the political discourses taking place in early seventies Japan.<\/p>\n

Coup d’etat<\/em><\/strong> returns to the past for a biopic of Ikki Kita, the right-wing extremist who sought to overthrow the government in 1936. Yoshida considered the film to be the culmination of his work, promptly retiring from feature filmmaking following its completion.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This 7-disc set comes housed in a sturdy slip case<\/strong>. The \u201cDirector\u2019s Cut\u201d and \u201cTheatrical Version\u201d of Eros+Massacre<\/em><\/strong> comes in their own HD Keep Case while Heroic Purgatory<\/em><\/strong> and Coup d\u2019Etat<\/em><\/strong> are on the same Blu-ray disc together. Each film are accompanied with a DVD Copy<\/strong>. Inside the larger case is a very nice 80-page essay and photograph booklet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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Eros+Massacre: Director\u2019s Cut
\nIntroduction by David Desser (9:05; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 The professor of cinematic studies and author of \u201cEros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave\u201d introduces us to the 215 minute cut of Eros+Massacre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Commentaries by David Desser (TRT 51:29; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Here Desser gives insights into nine scenes from the Director\u2019s Cut. Really wish a \u201cPlay Option\u201d was available…<\/p>\n

Eros+Massacre: Theatrical Version<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yoshida Or: The Explosion of the Story (30:08; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a new and well made documentary look at filmmaker Kij\u00fb Yoshida with comments by film critics Mathieu Capel and Jean Douchet. If you have any interest in either Yoshida or Japanese filmmaking, this is well worth a watch.<\/p>\n

Introduction by David Desser (11:21; HD)<\/u><\/strong> returns to introduce the theatrical version.<\/p>\n

Commentaries by David Desser (TRT 57:09; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 is more of the same, offering thoughts on eight scenes.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (3:30; HD)
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Heroic Purgatory
\nIntroduction by <\/u><\/strong>Kij<\/u><\/strong>\u00fb<\/u><\/strong> Yoshida (6:08; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 The master Japanese filmmaker discusses his work on Heroic Purgatory<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Introduction by David Desser (9:14; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is back chatting about Heroic Purgatory<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Commentaries by David Desser (TRT 47:14; HD)<\/u><\/strong> discusses 10 scenes from the film.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (3:03; HD)
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Coup D\u2019Etat<\/strong> offers pretty much the same features:
\nIntroduction by <\/u><\/strong>Kij<\/u><\/strong>\u00fb<\/u><\/strong> Yoshida (5:22; HD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction by David Desser (8:50; HD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Commentaries by David Desser (TRT 35:57; HD)<\/u><\/strong> looks at 7 scenes.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (2:58; HD)<\/u><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Eros+Massacre<\/em><\/strong>, both the Director\u2019s Cut and Theatrical Version, are presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition culled from new digital transfers. Same goes for Heroic Purgatory<\/em><\/strong> and Coup D\u2019 Etat<\/em><\/strong> which are each shown in their original 1.33 full frame versions and also have new 1080p HD transfers. All three films are in black and white with decent dark levels though some shots, on purpose, do look washed out. Detail however does look sharp and I didn\u2019t really notice any major instances of artifacts, aliasing, dust marks or scratches.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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All three films come with Japanese language PCM Mono tracks, all of which aren\u2019t anything special, but considering the source and age of these films, more than satisfactory. Each of these provide clean dialogue levels and even ambient noises come through that center channel rather well.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Overall, admittedly I\u2019m really not a fan of surrealism cinema, not that the ideas go over my head (albeit some do) but often times it comes across pretentious and worse yet, outright dull. Even so, Kiju Yoshida\u2019s visuals are at least something to behold and this 3-film set released through Arrow Academy offers up excellent video and audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus features.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Heroic Purgatory<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Coup D’Etat<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Admittedly I\u2019m really not a fan of surrealism cinema, not that the ideas go over my head (albeit some do) but often times it comes across pretentious and worse yet, outright dull. Even so, Kiju Yoshida\u2019s visuals are at least something to behold.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,970],"tags":[3920],"class_list":["post-15082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-arrow-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15082"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15092,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15082\/revisions\/15092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}