Katô’s first yakuza film, Blood of Revenge (Japanese: Meiji kyokyakuden - sandaime shumei, 1965), takes place at the turn of the previous century, well before the yakuza’s post-WWII peak, offering a contrast to the rough-and-tumble, modern-set Japanese gangster films Kinji Fukasaku made during the 1970s. The result is a jidaigeki style gangster tale with an industrial revolution twist. It’s not an entirely unique fusion of narrative conventions, as there are plenty of other J

SPLIT PERSONALITIES! BURIED TRAUMA! DEMANDING CAREERS! SHITTY BOYFRIENDS! COLD-BLOODED MURDER! IT’S HARD OUT HERE FOR A WOMAN!! We’ve already talked about the giallo movies released during the genre’s peak year of 1971 with Patrick and covered several of the American films found in the pages of Kier-La Janisse’s House of Psychotic Women with Bill, so why not join Gabe and first-time guest host Sharon Gissy for a look at the female-centric gialli  also found in Janisse’s autob

During the 1990s, a string of international hits brought the Hong Kong New Wave to the attention of Hollywood and several top tier filmmakers, including Jackie Chan, John Woo, Yuen Woo-ping, Ronny Yu, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark, were given deals making English-language films. Like previous attempts to import Hong Kong style action to America, most of these films – especially the ones not involving Chan, Woo, or Yuen – were modestly budgeted and either went straight-to-video or

Eloy de la Iglesia was a vital Spanish filmmaker in the waning days of General Franco’s regime. He was especially renowned for his groundbreaking quinqui (delinquent crime) features, queer-themed dramas, and erotic thrillers, all of which pushed the boundaries of the country’s fascist censorship standards. He also made a number of films in the giallo tradition, including straight-forward, Hitchcockian productions, like The Glass Ceiling (Spanish: El techo de cristal, 1971) an