Sushi Typhoon's latest film has been making the festival circuit for many months now, and February 7th marks the Yakuza Weapon's home video debut from Well Go USA. I first caught wind of the project when we reported on one of the many collaborations involving Japanese stunt madman Tak Sakaguchi (Death Trance, Versus, Samurai School, Etc...) and director Yudai Yamaguchi (Battlefield Baseball, Cromartie High School) and was sold on the idea immediately. I finally got a chance to check it out at last year's Fantastic Fest, where it played early in the day after a long night of horror flicks and beers, and it left me a bit cold. However, revisiting it for this review, I can easily boost this to the upper echelon of...
- 2/2/2012
- Screen Anarchy
In 2003, director Yudai Yamaguchi (Meatball Machine, Cromartie High School) and star Tak Sakaguchi joined forces to create Battlefield Baseball. A delirious, utterly out-of-its-mind affair, it cast Sakaguchi -- star of Versus and of the likewise luridly violent and goofy Yakuza Weapon, also at Fantasia this year -- as a gifted high school baseball pitcher drawn into a bizarre, post-apocalyptic baseball tournament to the death. It was bizarre, bloody, frequently hilarious and also a musical. And they had so much fun doing it, they're doing it again. Yamaguchi and Sakaguchi reunite in 2011 for Deadball, a film that is not a sequel to Battlefield Baseball but rather an entirely fresh spin on the same characters. Once again, Sakaguchi -- now 35 years old --...
- 7/16/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Tak Sakaguchi, still probably best known for his iconic performance in Ryûhei Kitamura’s classic “Versus”, returns with “Yakuza Weapon”, an all-out slice of Japanese style hyperactive, ultra-violent madness. Co-directed by Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi, who previously worked together on the likes of “Battlefield Baseball” and “Cromartie High School”, the film is another Sushi Typhoon production, which should give a pretty good idea of the kind of craziness to be expected. Based on the manga by Ken Ishikawa, of “Cutie Honey” and “Getter Robot” fame, the film also features action choreography by “Versus” and “Death Trance” veteran Yuji Shimomura and special effects by the one and only Yoshihiro Nishimura, the lunatic genius behind “Tokyo Gore Police” and his own recent outing “Helldriver”. The film kicks off with Tak Sakaguchi as Shozo Iwaki, a yakuza working as a mercenary deep in the jungles of South America, being informed of the murder...
- 5/19/2011
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Here is the new trailer for the Japanese gorefest Yakuza Weapon, starring Tak Sakaguchi (The Versus) with a machine gun arm and a rocket launcher for a leg. There was an earlier reel leaked online with unfinished effects, but this is the official trailer.
The film is co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi, who between them have created crazy, action-filled comedies like Battlefield Baseball, Cromartie High School and Be A Man! Samurai School, and featuring action direction by Yuji Shimomura (Versus, Shinobi), special makeup effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver) and based on an adult comic by Ken Ishikawa, who co-created Cutie Honey, Getter Robot and many other famous series.
Here’s the press release:
The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo...
The film is co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi, who between them have created crazy, action-filled comedies like Battlefield Baseball, Cromartie High School and Be A Man! Samurai School, and featuring action direction by Yuji Shimomura (Versus, Shinobi), special makeup effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver) and based on an adult comic by Ken Ishikawa, who co-created Cutie Honey, Getter Robot and many other famous series.
Here’s the press release:
The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo...
- 3/22/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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