Oliver Carter

This news has taken me by surprise.  On December 11 the outstanding Korean film Memories of Murder will be released on Blu-Ray in South Korea.  Thankfully it will have English subtitles and it will be a limited pressing so those who are fans of the film may want to get their pre-orders in early as these Korean limited pressings can sell out quickly.  For those of you who are unaware of the film it is based on the unsolved series of murders that occurred in South Korea during 1986 and 1991 which were committed by the countries first serial killer.  This well received film documents the case and features strong performances from the leading actors and many stand out moments.  This is by far my favourite Korean film, closely followed by The Chaser (Hong-jin Na, 2008).  I have just pre-ordered a copy from the reliable company Yes Asia along with the Hong Kong Blu-Ray release of Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 2002) which I have been meaning to purchase for some time now.  I cannot recommend Memories of Murder highly enough and suggest all Blu-Ray/cult cinema aficionados purchase a copy as soon as possible.  This also reminds me that I should get my rare British Quad poster of this film framed.  If only I had somewhere to hang it.

Since watching the acclaimed documentary Not Quite Hollywood (Mark Hartley, 2008) I have been on an Ozploitation binge.  Amongst others I have seen Brian Trenchard-Smith's quality actioner The Man from Hong Kong (1975), his stunt set piece follow-up Deathcheaters (1976) and the tense Road Games (Richard Franklin, 1981).  Clips from Wake in Fright (aka Outback) were shown in the documentary but the film wasn't truly brought to my attention until it was announced that this once assumed 'lost' film was being released in Australia on Blu-Ray. 

Based on Kenneth Cook's novel of the same name, Wake in Fright follows the life of teacher John Grant (little known Brit actor Gary Bond) who teaches in the very small Australian Outback town Tiboonda.  Unable to leave his job due to the contract he has committed to with the Australian government he is stuck in the middle of nowhere.  For the Christmas holiday he plans to visit his girlfriend in Sydney but first he has to travel to Bundanyabba to get the necessary flight.  Upon arriving at 'The Yabba' he becomes embroiled in the aggressively masculine way of life.  Seeing gambling as an easy way to make money to buy himself out his teaching contract he plays the Two-Up coin game with the locals.  Though successful at first he becomes too greedy and ends up losing all of his money.  Finding himself stuck in The Yabba with no money he befriends several locals, most notably the alcoholic town doctor 'Doc' (brilliantly acted by Donald Pleasance) and ends up living off the aggressive generosity of others.  The oppressive atmosphere of The Yabba ultimately takes it toll on John Grant as he descends further into hell. 

Beautifully filmed and genuinely uncomfortable, Wake in Fright is a memorable film that fits in well with many of the other downbeat films common in the early 1970s.  The 360 degree opening shot of the desert landscape is simply breathtaking in HD.  It shows the sparsity of the town of Grant teaches and introduces the viewer to his frustration; Grant has come to Australia to live the 'good life' surfing and spending time on the beach with his girlfriend, not to live in the middle of nowhere.  The Yabba is portrayed as Grant's hell.  The intense temperature and the temptations offered by the Yabba and its frighteningly over-friendly male inhabitants are as equally unbearable for the viewer as it is for Grant.  The infamous Kangeroo hunt scene which utilises actual hunt footage intercut with the actors performances adds to the uncomfortable atmosphere and is genuinely difficult to watch.  The performances are outstanding, many non-actors are used throughout the film which adds to the overall realism.  Pleasance as the alcoholic Doc really steals the film from Bond and demonstrates the level of performance he could deliver.  It is quite easy to see why the film received a nomination for the Golden Palm award in the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.

Presumed lost, the original negative was finally traced to the United States and after a long search it was found in a waste container where it was waiting to be destroyed.  Lovingly restored by the National FIlm and Sound Archive in Australia, the Australian region-free Blu-Ray release by Madman is the best way to view Wake in Fright.  The high resolution offered by high definition amplifies the oppressive atmosphere of The Yabba and highlights the sparsity of the Outback landscape at the beginning.  We are fortunate to see this film in any version at all, let alone a beautifully restored Blu-Ray disc. The sound is equally as clean and there are some interesting extra features, such as an audio commentary and interview with director Kotcheff, a documentary about the restoration of the film amongst others.  There is also an informative booklet detailing the production and restoration included. 

This is without doubt one of the best films I have seen this year and could possibly be my favourite Blu-Ray release of the year.  Due to the limited print runs of Australian DVDs I urge you to purchase a copy before the DVD and Blu-Ray become hard to find, the Blu-Ray is already showing as out of stock on the majority of Australian DVD e-tailers websites.  Copies are available on eBay at the usual inflated prices.  I purchased my copy from the ever reliable DVD Crave.  A DVD release is also available. 

Every so often I revisit films that I enjoyed when I was child. Some of the films do not hold up so well but then there are others that I still find pleasure in. The Last Ninja (1983) is one of those films. When I first saw this film I was nine and it was broadcast late one night on Central television. Being a lover of anything with the word ‘ninja’ in the title I set the video recorder and eagerly looked forward to watching the film the next day. The Last Ninja starred Michael Beck, gang leader Swan in Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1980), as Ken Sakura, an antiques dealer who is suspected by Government Agent Cosmo (John McMartin) as being a vigilante ninja waging war against evil doers. Cosmo wants to enlist the help of this ninja to help save the lives of scientists trapped in a building taken over by terrorists. Naturally Sakura denies being the ninja referred to by Cosmo but still decides to help rescue the hostages. During this hostage attempt we see Sakura flashback to his childhood and the training his received from his Japanese grandfather to see how he became the last ninja.

The ninja became a pop culture phenomenon in the early eighties thanks mainly to the release of Enter the Ninja (1981) starring Franco Nero and Sho Kosugi, the man who personified the Western image of the ninja. The huge popularity of this film led to numerous imitations and two sequels one of them being one of my favourite guilty pleasures The Revenge of the Ninja (1983), again starring Kosugi, which also bears many similarities to The Last Ninja. The Last Ninja was intended to be the pilot for a television series where the title character would use his unique skills to help stop crime. Sadly, the television series was not commissioned and all we are left with is this forgotten rarity. Sakura does not rely on the famous ninja weapons but instead uses his martial arts skills and ninja magic instead. It would have been interesting to see how the show would have developed if it made it to a series as the initial premise is sound. A ninja television show did eventually emerge the following year. The Master (also known as The Master Ninja) starred a badly miscast Lee Van Cleef as ninja master travelling with his drifter friend Max, Timothy Van Patten from Class of 1984 (1984), to find his long lost daughter. During this search they are followed by ninja assassin and former pupil of the Master, Osaka, again Sho Kosugi. The show did not last long and, despite the amusing doubles for Cleef in the action scenes, has several good episodes. The stunt work and choreography, mainly by Kosugi, makes it worth the watch.

I have been searching for The Last Ninja for years but apart from the aforementioned television broadcast it has never been released on any home video format. Thanks to the new eBay rival iOffer I was able to locate a copy of the film. The picture quality is very poor looking to have come from a well watched television recording. Viewing it on my 10” screen portable DVD player made it slightly more watchable. There is a better copy of the film available from another seller on iOffer but the asking price is almost £20 which I refuse to pay for a bootleg. Some people really are greedy. Obviously a DVD release would be most welcome. Can anyone come to the rescue?