Wednesday 22 April 2009

Charles Bronson vs. Toshiro Mifune!



We have a soft spot for Charles Bronson, descendant of Lipka Tatars, and likewise for Toshiro Mifune, epic movie hero of the Land of the Rising Sun. In Red Sun (directed by Terence Young, France/Spain/Italy 1971) east meets west in the original sense of Rudyard Kipling's lines:

OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!


Edit (29.7.2011): Added link to better-quality video.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Not Cool Enough For Hollywood?


KevJumba's message is sadly relevant (visit his homepage - cute overload warning). It's not just an American issue. We are being denied Chirayliq potential on a global level. (Found here)
The fact remains that Hollywood productions get distributed around the world, while Asian productions - especially Central Asian, but also the more "marketable" Chinese, Korean and Japanese - frequently are limited to art house cinemas and private initiatives. For example, I wonder if we will ever get to see Goemon anywhere in Europe. (It's a fantasy spectacle based on the legend of Ishikawa Goemon, a thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and dared to defy the powerful warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.) Needless to say, Goemon is full of cool, handsome, cute, sexy and all-round awesome Asian guys and girls.
EDIT: The Trailer was too wide to embed, so you'll just have to go to YouTube by yourself.

You have to keep in mind that Japanese movie budgets are usually only a fraction of the cost of a major Hollywood production. Expect Final Fantasy, not Star Wars. The director of Goemon, Kazuaki Kiriya, is famous for Casshern, a science-fiction epic which doesn't let the special effects get in the way of a good plot and compelling characters. Here's the trailer:

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Garmunci!


Accordionist and singer at a gala concert in Kazan.
Source: intertat.ru