Pretty Packaging: KIJU YOSHIDA, LOVE AND ANARCHISM Boxset
Ever since UK distributor Arrow surprised friends and foes alike by thinking "Gosh, wouldn't it be fun to release an ultra-pimped edition of Battle Royale?", five years ago, it has been worth the effort to keep an eye on them. It doesn't matter whether you're a collector of killer boxsets or a lover of Asian cinema, Arrow has consistently managed to bring quality to the table with a surprising mix of obvious and not-quite-obvious choices. Any announced release now sure has my attention.
Even with that knowledge, this hit me out of left field: an expensive boxset of three experimental Japanese films from the 1960s and 70s, one of them more than three hours long. That's... so very much NOT my cup of tea that I couldn't help but be intrigued. I'll swallow my pride here and state publicly that I had never heard of any of these films, nor (gulp) their director Yoshida Kiju. So what was Arrow doing here? Why THESE titles? I tested the waters and talked about it with several people I trust with regards to Japanese cinema, and while from some I got back my very same puzzlement, others completely flipped at the news of this release. Several people have done the Internet equivalent of grabbing me by the shoulder, shaking me hard, and yelling "These are fucking brilliant!" at top volume.
So what the hell, I took the plunge and ordered the damn thing. It's severely limited (just 3000 of these boxes exist) and it allows me a look at a side of Japanese cinema I was totally unaware of.
Truth be told I haven't been able to find the time to do a proper dive-in and write a full review, but I did notice that the release sure is pretty, and the included booklet is fantastic. Time for a pretty packaging article!
Therefore, here is a gallery of shots. Click on the edge of the pictures to scroll through them, or at the center of each to see a bigger version.
Even with that knowledge, this hit me out of left field: an expensive boxset of three experimental Japanese films from the 1960s and 70s, one of them more than three hours long. That's... so very much NOT my cup of tea that I couldn't help but be intrigued. I'll swallow my pride here and state publicly that I had never heard of any of these films, nor (gulp) their director Yoshida Kiju. So what was Arrow doing here? Why THESE titles? I tested the waters and talked about it with several people I trust with regards to Japanese cinema, and while from some I got back my very same puzzlement, others completely flipped at the news of this release. Several people have done the Internet equivalent of grabbing me by the shoulder, shaking me hard, and yelling "These are fucking brilliant!" at top volume.
So what the hell, I took the plunge and ordered the damn thing. It's severely limited (just 3000 of these boxes exist) and it allows me a look at a side of Japanese cinema I was totally unaware of.
Truth be told I haven't been able to find the time to do a proper dive-in and write a full review, but I did notice that the release sure is pretty, and the included booklet is fantastic. Time for a pretty packaging article!
Therefore, here is a gallery of shots. Click on the edge of the pictures to scroll through them, or at the center of each to see a bigger version.
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