V-CINEMA ESSENTIALS: BULLETS & BETRAYAL | Blu-ray | Arrow Films

JAPANESE | CRIME | DRAMA | THRILLER

Collection of nine Japanese direct-to-video crime thrillers from Toei Company. In 'Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage' (1989) Detective Joe Kawamura (Masanori Sera) joins forces with a nun called Lily (Minako Tanaka) to exact revenge on the criminal who killed Joe's partner Ahiru (Riki Takeuchi) and stole millions from Lily's church. 'Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet' (1990) follows low-level yakuza Junko (Shô Aikawa) who is called upon to avenge the murder of a high-ranking member of their family and must decide if he will act or flee and risk the consequences. In 'Stranger' (1991) Kiriko (Yûko Natori) works as a taxi driver at night and finds herself pursued relentlessly by a mysterious enemy. In 'Carlos' (1991) the eponymous Brazilian-Japanese criminal travels to Japan and becomes embroiled in the conflict between two warring yakuza families. 'Burning Dog' (1991) follows a gang of thieves who plan to rob an American military base in Okinawa but the heist ends in disaster and betrayal. In 'Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat' (1991) an elite assassin tasked with entering a women's prison and eliminating an infamous prisoner encounters more than she bargained for during the course of her mission. 'The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses' (1991) follows Yuichiro Takanashi (Hideki Saijô) who takes on the yakuza in a desperate, revenge-fuelled frenzy after his fiancée is shot and killed. In 'Danger Point: The Road to Hell' (1991) yakuza hitmen Joji (Jô Shishido) and Ken (Aikawa) embark on a mission to locate a large amount of missing money and find their partnership tested in the process. Finally, 'XX: Beautiful Hunter' (1994) follows Shion (Makiko Kuno) who was raised to be an assassin but rebels when she is tasked with killing Ito (Johnny Okura), the man she loves.

Special Features

Arrow Films Video Limited Edition Blu-ray box set (5 discs, Region B); 1080p presentations of all nine films; original lossless Japanese mono audio on Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage; original lossless Japanese stereo audio on all other films; optional newly translated English subtitles; nine postcard-sized artcards; limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves with artwork by Chris Malbon; illustrated collector's booklet with new writing by Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley Scanlon;

Disc 1 – Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage / Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet: newly filmed introductions by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka; Loose Cannon (interview with director Shundo Okawa); Zooming Out (interview with director Banmei Takahashi); Crime Hunter and the Dawn of V-Cinema (video essay by Tom Mes); original trailers;

Disc 2 – Stranger / Carlos: newly filmed introductions by Masaki Tanioka; Stranger than Fiction (interview with director Shunichi Nagasaki); From Manga to Movies (interview with director Kazuhiro Kiuchi); An Extra Round in the Chamber (video essay by Jonathan Clements);

Disc 3 – Burning Dog / Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat: newly filmed introductions by Masaki Tanioka; Fire and Ice (video essay by Mark Schilling); Toshiharu Ikeda's Beautiful Monster of Vengeance (video essay by Samm Deighan); original trailers;

Disc 4 – The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses / Danger Point: The Road to Hell: newly filmed introductions by Masaki Tanioka; The Versatility of Teruo Ishii (video essay by Frankie Balboa); The Road to V-Cinema (video essay by James Balmont); original trailer;

Disc 5 – XX: Beautiful Hunter: newly filmed introduction by Masaki Tanioka; The Sacred and the Profane (interview with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi); They Brought Back the Sleaze (video essay by Patrick Macias); original trailer

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