TNM Home Media News Recap for 03/09/18

Akio Jissôji created a rich and diverse body of work during his five decades in Japan’s film and television industries. For some, he is best-known for his science-fiction: the 1960s TV series Ultraman and 1998’s box-office success Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. For others, it is his 1990s adaptations of horror and mystery novelist Edogawa Rampo, such as Watcher in the Attic and Murder on D Street. And then there are his New Wave films for the Art Theatre Guild, three of which – This Transient Life, Mandara, and Poem, forming The Buddhist Trilogy – are collected here.

Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, This Transient Life is among the Art Theatre Guild’s most successful – and most controversial – productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who defy the expectations placed on them: he has little interest in further education or his father’s business, instead obsessing over Buddhist statues; she continually refuses a string of suitors and the prospect of marriage. Their closeness, and isolation gives way to an incestuous relationship which, in turn, breeds disaster.

Mandara, Jissôji’s first colour feature, maintained the controversial subject matter, focussing on a cult who recruit through rape and hope to achieve true ecstasy through sexual release. Shot, as with all of Jissôji’s Art Theatre Guild works, in a radically stylised manner, the film sits somewhere between the pinku genre and the fiercely experimental approach of his Japanese New Wave contemporaries.

The final entry in the trilogy, Poem, returns to black and white and is centred on the austere existence of a young houseboy who becomes helplessly embroiled in the schemes of two brothers. Written by Toshirô Ishidô (screenwriter of Nagisa Ôshima’s The Sun’s Burial and Shôhei Imamura’s Black Rain), who also penned This Transient Life and Mandala, Poem continues the trilogy’s exploration of faith in a post-industrial world.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of This Transient Life, Mandara, and Poem
• Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• Introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave
• Scene-select commentaries on all three films by Desser
• Theatrical trailer for Mandara
• Theatrical trailer for Poem
• Limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm
• Illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector’s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes

Dark River – A dark folk tale of family secrets set to become a modern classic of British drama. Pre-order on Blu-Ray via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2FtfMNu  Pre-order on DVD: http://bit.ly/2FvWK9n  Release date: 25 June

From Paul Wendkos, the director of The Mephisto Waltz, Cannon for Cordoba and Guns of the Magnificent Seven comes this stylish heist film starring badass Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Part II, Breaking Point) and the beautiful Cybill Shepherd (Taxi Driver, Once Upon a Crime). A gang of thieves plan a daring bank robbery, making their escape across the rooftops of Los Angeles buildings. The police are quickly called in and only one of the robbers, Murdock (Svenson), makes a clean getaway. Unfortunately, in order to do so, he is forced to dump the stolen cash into a mailbox, which he then finds is locked until midnight, forcing him to wait until the mailman makes his late-night pickup. As he waits, he discovers that his hiding place has been observed by several other people, all of whom want a share of the loot.

The stellar cast includes Tom Atkins (Halloween III: Season of the Witch), Sorrel Booke (Bank Shot), Gerrit Graham (Beware! The Blob), Michael C. Gwynn (Harry in Your Pocket), Jeff Goldblum (The Fly), Vic Tayback (Thunderbolt and Lightfoot), Robert Ito (Dimension 5), Kim Richards (Tuff Turf), Deidre Hall (TV’s Days of Our Lives), Ed Peck (Bullitt) and John Quade (Every Which Way But Loose).

•  Brand New HD Master from a 4K Scan of the Original 35mm Negative by Paramount Pictures Archives
  
•  Audio Commentary by Film Historian Lee Gambin
  
• Original Theatrical Trailer
  
• Reversible Blu-ray Art

A cartel of seven crime bosses unionize and plan to take over the state of Hawaii. Government intelligence agent Drew Sevano (William Smith, Any Which Way You Can) is hired to “handle” the situation however he sees fit. Drew enlists seven old friends to help, creating Sevano’s Seven – the Playmate (Susan Kiger, H.O.T.S.), the Black-Belt (Ed Parker, Revenge of the Pink Panther), the Dragster (Christopher Joy, Big Time), the Cowboy (Guich Koock, North Dallas Forty), the Comic (Art Metrano, Police Academy 2), the Professor (Richard LePore, Stacey!) and the Indian (Barbara Leigh, Junior Bonner). Sevano’s Seven – death is their way of life. This cult classic was co-written, co-produced and directed by Andy Sidaris (Malibu Express, Hard Ticket to 86Hawaii) and co-starred Martin Kove (Steele Justice) and Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie’s).

• Interview with Arlene Sidaris
  
• Audio commentary by Steve Mitchell, producer-director of King Cohen, and film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson
  
• Original Theatrical Trailer
  
• Reversible Blu-ray Art

Frostpunk announces its release date of April 24, 2018 with a brand new trailer, defiantly named “Serenity” in stark contrast to the game’s harsh, frigid reality. Coming to Steam, GOG.com, and Humble Store at launch, the spiritual successor to This War of Mine will land on PCs in a digital version for the price of $29.99 USD and retail version for the suggested price of $34.99 USD in the form of a special “Victorian Edition”. This special edition includes the “New London – The Art of Frostpunk” hardcover book which shows off the beautifully crafted artwork and concept images from Frostpunk’s icy interior.

Crazy Dreamz: Best Of – Dreamz Studio is announcing the upcoming launch of the first crowd-developed game, Crazy Dreamz: Best Of. The game collates and transforms the 100 best user-crafted levels made in Crazy Dreamz: MagiCats Edition into an entirely new game experience. And what’s more, those community creators will receive 50% of the game’s revenue. The team announced the news today via a brand new trailer for Crazy Dreamz: Best Of which you can see below.

Since its launch into the Steam Early Access program in September, the game’s enthusiastic community has crafted more than 20,000 levels, utilizing Crazy Dreamz‘ powerful in-game level editing and visual programming interface. Of the submitted levels, the team at Dreamz Studio selected the best hundred. Its level editing team worked with the community creators to transform their works into the glistening, inventive, and polished creations that make up Best Of – while the studio’s artists worked on a complete visual overhaul, adding new artwork and effects to bring these creations to life.

Darwin Project – Today, Scavengers Studio is excited to launch Darwin Project on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview, kicking off the next phase of development for their manhunting extravaganza. The team also released a brand new trailer offering a look at the frantic action from above.

In addition to launching into Early Access and debuting a brand new trailer, the team at Scavengers are also extending a big, Canadian “thank you” to the players who helped to shape the manhunt into what it is today. Everyone who participated in Darwin Project’s Alpha or Beta tests will receive complimentary entry to the Early Access version on Steam.

Darwin Project is available now on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview for $14.99 USD. For the latest updates, visit Scavengers Studio’s official website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Discord, Reddit and Instagram.