DREAM STORY: Sakamoto, Shimomura, And Tanigaki Take The Helm For Yasuaki Kurata’s New Anthology Celebrating A Life Of Action
Crowdfunding is underway ahead of a summer screening slate.
yuji shimomura
GOLDEN KAMUY Takes You Behind The Scenes With Kento Yamazaki As A Soldier In Training
I haven’t seen Shigeaki Kubo’s new movie Golden Kamuy as it’s only just released in Japan theaters last month. Still, the distributors over there were kind enough to release a behind-the-scenes featurette showing lead actor Kento Yamazaki training for the lead role of a legendary late-Meiji era soldier. That meant reteaming with the ever accountable Yuji Shimomura, longstanding in the field of Japanese stunts and action on film and having collaborated with Yamazaki already on Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom franchise and Netflix series “Alice In Borderland”. Serving as action director on Golden Kamuy, clearly it’s a partnership that provides both with plenty of experience with each other in the rigorous training, prep and teamwork to make the on-screen action possible. And not for nothing either. A reel like this is especially worth checking out as exemplary for the kind of rehearsals committed actors like Yamazaki are readily engaged in, especially with […]
Well Go USA’s CRAZY SAMURAI: 400 vs. 1 Trailer Teases The Deadly Odds
Yup. You read it correctly. You’re looking at the new title of Death Trance and Re:Born director Yuji Shimomura’s latest thriller from Well Go USA. Joined once again by cult favorite Tak Sakaguchi, the one-take period slasher is now poised for a Hi-YAH! premiere on February 12 ahead of a release on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital from March 2. When a master samurai arrives to duel the disgraced Yoshioka dojo, he walks into an ambush. In the world’s first 77-minute, one-take action film sequence, Miyamoto Musashi (Tak Sakaguchi) fights for his life against 400 warriors, earning a place in history as the CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI. Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 also stars Kento Yamazaki (Alice In Borderland) and late actor Yosuke Saito (High & Low: Final Mission). Click here for my review from last year’s Fantasia premiere!
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI Lands At Well Go USA For North American Release
Third in line since debut directing Death Trance and the recent Shudder release of Re:Born, dynamic action duo Tak Sakaguchi and Yuji Shimomura will be bringing the crazy to North America with their latest feat, Crazy Samurai Musashi. Well Go USA has acquired the rights to the ambitious period sword thriller, marking Sakaguchi’s first time back to the label since 2011 with the U.S. release of several Japanese genre titles, namely Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon and Deadball. In Crazy Samurai Musashi, Sakaguchi stars as the 17th century samurai of legend, Miyamoto Musashi, who battles more than four hundred warriors in a deadly challenge against the Yoshioka Ryu. Actors Kento Yamazaki, Yosuke Saito, Ben Hiura and Arata Yamanaka also star in the film which is now being sold internationally for this year’s virtual market at the Toronto International Film Festival by sales agent, Princ Films. Crazy Samurai Musashi has […]
Fantasia XXIV Review: Yuji Shimomura’s CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI Is An Audacious Jidaigeki Experiment That Stands The Test Of Time
Just over ten years ago, fan favorite Tak Sakaguchi made headlines with director Sion Sono for an ambitious “super genre” action project which, for some reason or another, took on an entirely different identity than intially intended. Much of that project was shot in the space of seventy-five minutes in a single afternoon, only to be shelved for the next several years until it fell into the prospective hands of longtime friend and film cohort, Yuji Shimomura, back in 2018. Together with executive producer Takayuki Ota, the race to finish what would become ultimately known as Crazy Samurai Musashi, is one that definitely required a strong blitz. The addition of actor Kento Yamazaki, one of the biggest film actor in Japan today, and the lead actor of one of Sakaguchi’s most recent credits, Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom, is exactly what the doctor ordered to help get this film back on radar. […]
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI Kills And Kills Again And Again In The Newest Trailer
The newest trailer is online for Yuji Shimomura’s new film, Crazy Samurai Musashi, starring the one and only Tak Sakaguchi and Kento Yamazaki. For both actors, the film will also mark their latest return to Fantasia Festival next month since appearing in last year’s striking premiere of Shinsuke Sato’s riveting hit manga adaptation, Kingdom. NON-STOP ACTION AWAITS IN CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI! Martial artist Tak Sakaguchi (VERSUS, WHY DON’T YOU PLAY IN HELL, YAKUZA WEAPON) is back in the spotlight with CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI – a long-in-the-making, unique take on swordsman Musashi Miyamoto’s most fabled battle, shot here as a single 77-minute action sequence by director Yûji Shimomura (DEATH TRANCE, RE:BORN). It’s Tak, 588 foes, and no room for error! Canadian Premiere. A Japan release will follow suit with a date set for August 21, 2020. In the meantime, Sakaguchi’s other pairing with Death Trance helmer Shimomura in Re:Born is now […]
RE:BORN Is Finally Slashing Its Way On Blu-Ray Next Week From Shudder
Tak Sakaguchi, for all intents and purposes, is a national treasure to anyone who has watched his films and partaken in Asian film fandom in the last twenty years. Talk of retirement in 2013 which ultimately proceeded what was thought to be his final screen bow in Yuji Shimomura‘s hit movie, Re:Born, certainly more than contributed to the uncertainty of his presence in today’s field, and so with appearances thereafter in films like Takahiro Ishihara’s Red Blade, Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom and Yuki Kobayashi’s Rise Of The Machine Girls, fan appreciation never wanes. It’s especially with a film like Re:Born that the ceremony with Tak’s current run is more than deserved. Among his stops, he toured the film with friend and partner Ota Takayuki while in Austin, Texas for the Iron Dragon TV Action Film Festival in 2017, with DVD and Blu-Ray releases well underway at home in Japan, as well […]
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI Lands An August Release, And A New Poster With Kento Yamazaki!
Actor and action star Tak Sakaguchi’s proliferation continues no less than Thursday’s unveiling of an official poster for Crazy Samurai Musashi. The official release date in Japan will be on August 21, whereby fans of the action star can undoubtedly expect to hear more on the film’s progression in the international circuit through 2021. Next to rejoining long time colleagues Sakaguchi and filmmaker/stunt maestro Yuji Shimomura, the film also signals a few more cast additions, namely the prospective billing of Sakaguchi’s Kingdom protagonist, actor Kento Yamazaki. An international trailer also began making the rounds as well through an extended intro video by way of the Wiiber YouTube channel last month. This film, taken around the time of “Out and Deluxe,” consists of the most famous battle of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. In this 77-minute, one-scene, no-cut action sequence, Miyamoto (TAK∴) defeats 588 enemies, one after the other. There is no […]
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI International Trailer: Butterflies Fly And Body Parts Fall
You could say of the production and essential completion of action star Tak Sakaguchi‘s new period thriller, Crazy Samurai Musashi, that it’s been, in a word, challenging. Considering it’s been close to a decade since the start of it’s evolution, “challenging” might be understating things a bit. Needless to say, if you know the history and/or otherwise love Tak’s work, then a film like Crazy Samurai Musashi, now in the hands of stunt maestro and filmmaker Yuji Shimomura and producer Ota Takayuki, surely falls within your filmgoing purview. The film still awaits release date and further acquisition news going forward, but the star has since unveiled an international trailer via Wiiber in a fifteen minute video discussing the project (the trailer starts at the 00:25 mark). Save for the trailer itself, the rest of the video doesn’t have subtitles for Tak at the moment, but to give you a bit […]
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI: Tak Sakaguchi Is A One Man Army In The Latest Sales Art Visual
It’s been the longest time coming for Tak Sakaguchi’s recent pairing with Yuji Shimomura, the now internationally titled Crazy Samurai Musashi. Production has seen more than its ample share of behind-the-scenes drama that have thankfully borne little affect on the carefully-played hand Sakaguchi dealt in the years since then. With extensive shoots and post-production in its wake along with a teaser last summer, Crazy Samurai Musashi now dons its first official world sales poster which you can view below. Plot details are nil though the teaser still pretty much speaks for itself as does the tagline in the artwork: 400 vs. 1 IN A SINGLE TAKE Yeah, I’m keen. My Theater D.D., Inc. is repping sales for the film, which is about all the info I can gather at the moment. In the meantime, check out the artwork below, along with last year’s teaser just beneath.
RE:BORN: Shudder To Premiere Tak Sakaguchi Action Thriller In North America November 7
Yuji Shimomura-directed thriller, Re:Born, has been the talk of many a fan for the longest time now, but the word is now that the film will stream on horror platform, Shudder, beginning November 7. Shimomura’s sophomore debut reunites the stunt performer, action director and coordinator with cult action star Tak Sakaguchi as both paved the way with many notable directors in the last twenty years for Japanese cult action cinema. Sakaguchi stars as Toshiro, an idyllic countryside store clerk whose past life as a clandestined special forces operative comes back to haunt him and the young girl in his care. What ensues is a rampaging tale of action-packed close quarters retribution with Toshiro laying waste as a one-man army against his old commander and his gorilla kill-squad. The film made the rounds on DVD and Blu-Ray in some form or another in Japan and the UK, and grew wider appeal […]
CRAZY MUSASHI: Tak Sakaguchi Unleashes The Crazy In A First Teaser
A year and change since director and action stylist Yuji Shimomura teased a first look at longtime friend and cult film star Tak Sakaguchi’s character in Crazy Musashi, a first teaser has finally arrived online. Crazy Musashi marks the latest pairing between Sakaguchi and Shimomura, and producer Ota Takayuki who now launches the project via his newly established WiiBER production banner, thanks in large part to the aid of up to 1000 crowdfunding donors last year. Sakaguchi leads the project, billed as a 77-minute single-take actioner, which sought its long-endured development through a series of changing hands and the actor’s own career troubles with management which nearly led to an early retirement in 2013. Thankfully that language saw a prospective turnabout with Sakaguchi then appearing subsequently in Yuji Shimomura’s CQC thriller, Re:Born, Takahiro Ishihara’s Red Blade and Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom which graces an event U.S. screening in August. As for […]
The New Teaser Poster For RE:BORN Is Armed And Ready!
It’s 2016, and that means it’s only a matter of time before we’re fully immersed into the world of hurt ready to be displayed in director Shimomura Yuji’s newest, Re:Born. A teaser was unveiled last month finally cluing us in on what’s-what in footage, and it is nothing short of exciting in many ways. The film is set to be action star Sakaguchi Tak’s last following more than fifteen years of putting out some of the best independent Japanese cult action slashers to date, including Versus and Death Trance. We still have a ways to go, but it’s safe to say that the ball is rolling. Alas, leer over to the latest teaser poster that says all you need to know about Shimomura’s latest nod to close-quarters combat fight choreography – as indicated clearly by the camouflage gear and sizable knife on the right. Yes, damage shall be done in […]
Sakaguchi Tak Is Faster Than A Speeding Bullet In The First Teaser For RE:BORN
It’s been a glorious era for fans of Japanese action star and actor Sakaguchi Tak who has all but earned his cult-acclaim in a variety of independent, low budget jidaigeki and action horror features, several of them award-winning in the process. The most noted of them all is director Kitamura Ryuhei’s hit film, Versus, which drew its high profile standing with Sakaguchi and the stylings of action director and stuntman Shimomura Yuji who also has a few directorial credits of his own, including Sakaguchi’s 2005 hit, Death Trance. Alas, things now come full-circle in lieu of Sakaguchi’s retirement with the latest teaser for Re:Born, biproduct of stunt and film production companies Worsal and U’den Flame Works. There’s no plot or story yet available except for what’s being hinted within various images on the official Facebook page for the film itself. Nevertheless, Sakaguchi makes his final bow in what looks to […]
Sakaguchi Tak's Last Action Film, RE:BORN Wraps Principal Photography!
Well, as far as memories go, one certainly hopes that cult action star Sakaguchi Tak has made his time on the set of his final movie, Re:Born, worthwhile. Production kicked off for the film roughly two-and-a-half weeks ago with longtime friend and cohort, Shimomura Yuji directing and close-quarters combat expert Inagawa Yoshitaka coordinating, and thankfully, we’ve been graced with a fair bit of imagery via the film’s official website and Facebook page. It was sad as much as it was expected with Sakaguchi‘s own proclaimations of retirement from the industry in the last few years long after staking his claim in the throes of cult film fandom and the film festival circuit at large. Alas, fifteen years after making his feature debut in Kitamura Ryuhei’s cult chambara action horror, Versus, sixteen months after announcing Re:Born and two-and-a-half weeks after rolling cameras, Sakaguchi‘s final theatrical bow has wrapped production with a new […]
Sakaguchi's Final Film, RE:BORN, Starts Filming Tomorrow!
Well, all of the past eleven months or so have been building up to this point. Cult action star and actor Sakaguchi Tak is well on the way to returning to what he’s heavily stated would be the last film of his career now in the form of Re:Born, which has led the way with a slow and steady stream of but just a few video updates so far. For this, we also get to see his last outing in film with longtime cohort and friend, action veteran and director Shimomura Yuji in his continuing career in stunts and Japanese action cinema which also includes having directed Sakaguchi‘s 2005 action blast, Death Trance. Japanese stunt company, Worsal is pairing with U’den Flame Works in an effort to make certain that Re:Born marks the accomplishment Sakaguchi is striving for amid his exit from the field, as well as assure a memorable […]
Zeze Takahisa's STRAYER'S CHRONICLE Spawns A Full Trailer!
Award-winning director Zeze Takahisa‘s forthcoming thriller, Strayer’s Chronicle is gearing up to release on June 27 from Warner Bros. Japan with an exciting look attrributed to Honda Takayoshi’s 2012 novel. Akko-Chan: The Movie and Confessions star, actor Okada Masaki takes the lead for this epic tale of young kids battling it out with the supernatural alongside Tokyo Tribe co-star, award-winning actor Sometani Shota from a script by Zeze and co-scribe Kiyasu Kohei and action design by Shimomura Yuji (Versus, Re:Born). SYNOPSIS: “Can humans control their own evolution?” In the early 1990’s, a top secret organization conducted an experiment to test that theory. Two methods were selected. One stimulated the secretion of abnormal hormones by subjecting the brains of expectant mothers to tremendous stress. The resulting mutations engendered children with extraordinary powers beyond the limits of normal human abilities. The other method involved genetic manipulation and implantation using animal and insect […]
Sakaguchi Tak Celebrates His Birthday Ahead Of Next Month's Filming For RE:BORN
It’s been a while since we last heard much of anything about director Shimomura Yuji‘s latest action production, Re:Born, following a small batch of pre-production videos with longtime friend, lead actor and action star Sakaguchi Tak in training. The film is setting up to be Sakaguchi‘s final feature film after spending the last few years stating the possibility of his retirement since his eclectic career in Japanese action cinema took off at the top of the new millenium having worked on quite a few films with Shimomura on such titles as Versus, Aragami and Death Trance. That said, it was Sakaguchi‘s 40th birthday on Sunday, and specifically among other things, it also meant receiving his own copy of the script, according to a Facebook post on Sunday in which Shimomura also included the art you now see on this page – one of two pieces of early promo art for […]
A CASE FOR BETTER ACTION MOVIES – Character Study: Prisoner KSC2-303 From VERSUS
The following is a version of a segment to a compilation article to which I contributed with other writers over at The Action Elite prior to its publication on February 9, 2015. CLICK HERE to read the article in its entirety. My college experience wasn’t a lot of fun, though I did have some good memories. I was a member of a cult genre club that followed sci-fi, games and anime, and it was through my membership there about fifteen years ago that one of ours bought a VHS tape of a little-known Japanese flick called Versus, directed by Kitamura Ryuhei. I saw a snippet of it in passing but it never quite caught onto me until I came upon a point in my life where I needed an outlet to deal with personal hardship and heartbreak. So, cult Asian movies on DVD became my thing and so did my […]
Sakaguchi Tak Goes Commando In A New RE:BORN Featurette!
With all the talk of Japanese action star Sakaguchi Tak‘s abrupt retirement announcement last Spring, the possibilities for any more long-awaited films like a sequels to Kitamura Ryuhei’s Versus and longtime friend, stuntman/action coordinator Shimomura Yuji‘s 2005 directorial debut, Death Trance, appear nothing short of grim. Of course, this ultimately led to an outcry of fans within the niche who otherwise love the actor for all his contributions to the art of film and action design within the last fifteen years. And thankfully, voices were heard enough to convince Sakaguchi for one last on-screen hoorah with the upcoming action thriller, Re:Born. Soon enough, promo videos began making their way online as of this past May showcasing the actor in training for his upcoming role in the film, which to date, still doesn’t have much to go on in terms of plot. However, the production just unveiled another new training featurette […]
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