From the Arrow press release:
On April 29, Arrow Video delivers a definitive collection of iconic Japanese crime films with V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal, a 5-disc, nine-film set on Blu-ray. Starting in 1989, the legendary Toei Studios began producing movies for VHS and other home video formats under their V-Cinema label. By avoiding the ratings board process for a cinematic release, filmmakers working in V-Cinema had creative freedom to be extreme when it came to violence, gore, and eroticism. The Limited-Edition release features nine of the best titles of the era presented in 1080p, and packed with special features – making this the perfect primer for the best genre you didn’t know.
Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage was the first V-Cinema release and introduced the studio’s new approach to films. A rogue cop looking to avenge the death of his police partner teams up with a gun-packing nun that wants the same killer for ripping off her church’s collection plate.
Shô Aikawa (Takashi Miike’s Rainy Dog) is the newest member of a yakuza family who is ordered to take part in a retaliatory hit job but is faced with a big decision when his fellow family members abandon him in
Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet. The movie also stars Joe Shishido (Gate of Flesh) as his uncle.
Stranger, directed by Shunichi Nagasaki (Shikoku), pumps up the paranoia as a female taxi driver is being followed by a stranger in an SUV during her late shift and fears it has something to do with her nefarious past.
Carlos features a Brazilian-Japanese crook under the impression that he can outsmart rival yakuza families and pit them against each other, but he doesn’t quite cover all the angles.
Burning Dog centers on a thievery ring eager to pull off a major heist on the U.S. military base on Okinawa, but the one thing they didn’t plan for was the betrayal of each other.
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat revives the hit movie series with a female assassin hired to go undercover in a prison to release the infamous Scorpion from a subterranean cell.
When his girlfriend is turned into a human shield during a yakuza shootout, a man submerges into the underground for revenge in
The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses. The film was directed by the legendary Teruo Ishii who also helmed Shogun's Joy of Torture, Orgies of Edo, and Abashiri Prison.
Danger Point: The Road to Hell stars Shô Aikawa (The Eel) and Joe Shishido (Branded To Kill) as a pair of contract killers who find their partnership in question after their most recent hit. Makiko Kuno (Mari’s Prey) has been trained by a blind priest to be a contract killer for the church, but her latest target awakens her in
XX: Beautiful Hunter.
The special features include introductions on all films by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka; newly filmed interviews with Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage director Shundo Okawa, Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet writer-director Banmei Takahashi, Stranger writer-director Shunichi Nagasaki, Carlos writer-director Kazuhiro Kiuchi; and XX: Beautiful Hunter screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi; brand new video essays; original trailers for most of the films; nine postcard-sized art cards; and an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley Scanlon.
Watch the trailer for Burning Dog here:
This is a genre that I'm totally unfamiliar with, but this looks like a solid package, including some nice extras.
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