Yasuzo Masumura's Black Test Car (1962)

"In 1996, 84-year-old Michelangelo Antonioni left his sick bed to attend the 10-day retrospective of Masumura’s films in Rome. Antonioni told reporters that Masumura had always been one of his personal favorites among world-class directors." (from the Fantoma DVD bio).

If you're a film buff, you should have heard of Yasuzo Masumura by now. If you're a Criterion Collection fan, you should have heard of Fantoma DVD.

Fantoma DVD presents films with a level of quality and care (and extras) that consistently match Criterion's.

Yasuzo Masumura is a Japanese director from the same era as Seijun Suzuki and has in common his personal artistic approach to genre pictures. While Criterion (and their cousin Home Vision Entertainment) have championed Seijun Suzuki's films, releasing many on DVD, it is Fantoma that has championed the equally deserving Yasuzo Masumura, lavishing as much care on the releases of his films as Criterion has on Suzuki's.

Already a big fan of Masumura, I was excited to find a new Fantoma release of yet another Yasuzo Masumura film, Black Test Car (1962). Happily it's on Netflix, and I've already queued it up. So far I had seen all of Fantoma's Masumura films. I think Afraid to Die (1960) is the place to start, and if I haven't enticed you on Masumura, it features a lead-role performance by Yukio Mishima!

For me Red Angel (1966) would be up next, an incredible World War II film. After that I like Manji (1964), Giants & Toys (1958) (not quite as amazing as its fantastic premise, but still well worth watching) and finally Blind Beast (1969).

For the uninitiated, I highly recommend taking the Masumura/Fantoma leap now and rushing to watch Black Test Car with me, or start with one of the others! You can't go wrong.

Yasuzo Masumura's Black Test Car (1962)

"In 1996, 84-year-old Michelangelo Antonioni left his sick bed to attend the 10-day retrospective of Masumura’s films in Rome. Antonioni told reporters that Masumura had always been one of his personal favorites among world-class directors." (from the Fantoma DVD bio).

If you're a film buff, you should have heard of Yasuzo Masumura by now. If you're a Criterion Collection fan, you should have heard of Fantoma DVD.

Fantoma DVD presents films with a level of quality and care (and extras) that consistently match Criterion's.

Yasuzo Masumura is a Japanese director from the same era as Seijun Suzuki and has in common his personal artistic approach to genre pictures. While Criterion (and their cousin Home Vision Entertainment) have championed Seijun Suzuki's films, releasing many on DVD, it is Fantoma that has championed the equally deserving Yasuzo Masumura, lavishing as much care on the releases of his films as Criterion has on Suzuki's.

Already a big fan of Masumura, I was excited to find a new Fantoma release of yet another Yasuzo Masumura film, Black Test Car (1962). Happily it's on Netflix, and I've already queued it up. So far I had seen all of Fantoma's Masumura films. I think Afraid to Die (1960) is the place to start, and if I haven't enticed you on Masumura, it features a lead-role performance by Yukio Mishima!

For me Red Angel (1966) would be up next, an incredible World War II film. After that I like Manji (1964), Giants & Toys (1958) (not quite as amazing as its fantastic premise, but still well worth watching) and finally Blind Beast (1969).

For the uninitiated, I highly recommend taking the Masumura/Fantoma leap now and rushing to watch Black Test Car with me, or start with one of the others! You can't go wrong.

Who is Louis de Funès?

If you've ever found yourself wondering, "Who is Louis de Funès?", watching this video will answer the question pretty definitively:

(No subtitles, but he's pretty mesmerizing even if you don't know a word of French!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZzgEwzYWfM

Who is Louis de Funès?

If you've ever found yourself wondering, "Who is Louis de Funès?", watching this video will answer the question pretty definitively:

(No subtitles, but he's pretty mesmerizing even if you don't know a word of French!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZzgEwzYWfM

Merry Xmas from Seijun Suzuki and Jo Shishido!

The trailer for Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards
(1963, Seijun Suzuki).
Sorry there are no subtitles.



The Xmas tie-in may be flimsy, but it's always a good time to post a Seijun Suzuki trailer, especially from a film with a title this fantastic!

Merry Xmas all!

Merry Xmas from Seijun Suzuki and Jo Shishido!

The trailer for Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards
(1963, Seijun Suzuki).
Sorry there are no subtitles.



The Xmas tie-in may be flimsy, but it's always a good time to post a Seijun Suzuki trailer, especially from a film with a title this fantastic!

Merry Xmas all!

World Premiere Movie!

My latest short film, "Slap," will have its world premiere on Dennis Cozzalio's Web site:

Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule
http://sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com/

It will premiere at exactly noon (Pacific time) on Monday Dec. 17th.

Please watch it there and leave a comment!

Official announcement on his site here.

A big thanks to Dennis Cozzalio for doing this, and also a big thanks to him for his influence on this site's approach and design (use of pictures, etc.)! I learned a lot about how to write about film on the Internet from watching his blog grow from its infancy.

World Premiere Movie!

My latest short film, "Slap," will have its world premiere on Dennis Cozzalio's Web site:

Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule
http://sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com/

It will premiere at exactly noon (Pacific time) on Monday Dec. 17th.

Please watch it there and leave a comment!

Official announcement on his site here.

A big thanks to Dennis Cozzalio for doing this, and also a big thanks to him for his influence on this site's approach and design (use of pictures, etc.)! I learned a lot about how to write about film on the Internet from watching his blog grow from its infancy.