by Chris MaGee
Any of you who have been checking our weekly Japanese box office reports know that the big screen adventures of Detectives Ukyo Sugishita and Kaoru Kameyama in “Aibou (Partners: The Movie)” has been one of the top ten money makers since its opening at the beginning of May. So much money has been made (¥4.4 billion at last count) that its producers have already figured out how to continue cashing in: a spin off!
Both Tokyograph and Ryuganji.net are reporting that supporting character, forensic analyst Mamoru Yonezawa, played by Seiji Rokkaku (above) will be getting his very own movie titled “Kanshiki: Yonezawa Mamoru no Jikenbo” where he will team up with a new detective played by Masato Hagiwara (Hideo Nakata’s “Chaos”) for a bit of “CSI”-inspired crime fighting. So, interesting enough story, right? Capitalize on a successful TV franchise by making a callous cash grab… but the real story here is who is going to be sitting in the director’s chair for this callous cash grab. Hold onto your hats, Japanese cinema fans… It’ll be none other than Yasuharu Hasebe!
Now before I slap any of you who are saying “Hasebe who?” let me explain. An apprentice to Japanese cinema Dadaist seijun Suzuki, Yasuharu Hasebe directed some of the wildest and entertaining films of the 60’s and 70’s, the most popular probably being his 1966 film “Black Tight Killers” starring Akira Kobayashi; but he also directed three of the “Stray Cat Rock” series starring Meiko Kaji as well as my second favorite yakuza film (right behind Rokuro Mochizuki’s “Another Lonely Hitman”) “Bloody Territories”. When cinema hipsters start trying to talk about exploitation films Hasebe should be the first on their list to name drop.
Hasebe has been in semi-retirement since his 1994 film “Ressun (Lesson)” so it’s great to hear he’ll be getting back behind the camera again… even if it is for a spin-off of a TV detective show.
Any of you who have been checking our weekly Japanese box office reports know that the big screen adventures of Detectives Ukyo Sugishita and Kaoru Kameyama in “Aibou (Partners: The Movie)” has been one of the top ten money makers since its opening at the beginning of May. So much money has been made (¥4.4 billion at last count) that its producers have already figured out how to continue cashing in: a spin off!
Both Tokyograph and Ryuganji.net are reporting that supporting character, forensic analyst Mamoru Yonezawa, played by Seiji Rokkaku (above) will be getting his very own movie titled “Kanshiki: Yonezawa Mamoru no Jikenbo” where he will team up with a new detective played by Masato Hagiwara (Hideo Nakata’s “Chaos”) for a bit of “CSI”-inspired crime fighting. So, interesting enough story, right? Capitalize on a successful TV franchise by making a callous cash grab… but the real story here is who is going to be sitting in the director’s chair for this callous cash grab. Hold onto your hats, Japanese cinema fans… It’ll be none other than Yasuharu Hasebe!
Now before I slap any of you who are saying “Hasebe who?” let me explain. An apprentice to Japanese cinema Dadaist seijun Suzuki, Yasuharu Hasebe directed some of the wildest and entertaining films of the 60’s and 70’s, the most popular probably being his 1966 film “Black Tight Killers” starring Akira Kobayashi; but he also directed three of the “Stray Cat Rock” series starring Meiko Kaji as well as my second favorite yakuza film (right behind Rokuro Mochizuki’s “Another Lonely Hitman”) “Bloody Territories”. When cinema hipsters start trying to talk about exploitation films Hasebe should be the first on their list to name drop.
Hasebe has been in semi-retirement since his 1994 film “Ressun (Lesson)” so it’s great to hear he’ll be getting back behind the camera again… even if it is for a spin-off of a TV detective show.
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1 comment:
Great news!
I'm glad he's not dead (I heard a rumor he died).
I'd be truly chuffed if he returned to make another violent pink in the ASSAULT JACK THE RIPPER or RAPING! tradition.
His "Scorpion" installment is a good one, too.
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