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Event
CFF: MASSACRE GUN (1967) Philadelphia Premiere
CINEDELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL presents
April 10, 2013, 10:00 PM
Unknown Japan presents
MASSACRE GUN (1967)
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe
Three brothers take on the mob in a hard-boiled, doom-laden, little-seen gangster film from the height of Nikkatsu's period of "Borderless Action" productivity. Eldest brother Ryuichi Kuroda is a hitman for the Akazawa gang who, at the whim of his stern boss, is forced to eliminate a woman he loves.
Existing doubts about remaining loyal to the gang turn to outrage when youngest brother and aspiring boxer Saburo is maimed in retaliation for trouncing the gang's ringer in a training bout. And after his club is trashed by the gang, hothead middle brother Eiji is ready to go to war. The trio begin to strong-arm boss Akazawa's other businesses, but retaliation is swift, and Ryuichi finds himself on opposite sides of the fight from his buddy Shirasaka, who still works for the gang. One brother is kidnapped, another killed, and only one of the friends will survive when Kuroda and Shirasaka meet for a duel to the death on a lonely stretch of highway outside town.
One of three monochrome hitman movies Nikkatsu B-idol Joe Shishido made in 1967 for Nikkatsu the others being Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill and the iconic proto-Western A Colt is my Passport. Alternatively known as The Slaughter Gun or Ruthless Gangster, Massacre Gun was director Hasebe's third film at Nikkatsu, and he would later do other notable gangster films, three-fifths of the Stray Cat Rock series, and some very politically incorrect Roman Pornos. But Massacre Gun finds him in full-on dark noir mode, and the heavy atmosphere of the film foreshadows many of the rough subjects he tackled in later films. Hasebe manages to enliven the gloom with a jazzy milieu and some colourful minor characters. Action scenes are relegated to the film's second half, but they more than make up for the wait, from one character's execution by headlight to the final showdown on a deserted road. Don't miss your only chance to discover a new classic of 1960s Japanese genre cinema! (MW)
Regular program curator Eric Bresler stepped aside to welcome in one-time guest curator Marc Walkow, a former Philadelphian who you may know through his work with Sushi Typhoon and the New York Asian Film Festival, to the Unknown Japan family. Marc will be in attendance to introduce the screening.
Unknown Japan is a biannual, six-week series of rare Japanese films presented by Cinedelphia.com and the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia.
http://www.unknown-japan.com
http://www.japanphilly.com
This screening is held in conjunction with the 2013 Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia.
Advance tix are $10, no refunds or exchanges.
The Cinedelphia Film Festival is a Philly-centric celebration of Philly film running from April 4-27, 2013.
http://www.cinedelphiafilmfestival.com
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LocationPhilaMOCA
531 N. 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
United States
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