I admit this is a bit niche considering The House’s tastes, but when you come to consider everyone’s current obsession of The Wire, Westerns and crime stories, discussing the upcoming series at Asia Society (“Gamblers, Gangsters, and Other Anti-Heroes: The Japanese Yakuza Movie”) seems like the obvious choice. We delve into the topics of old-school vs. modern films, notably Jinsei Gekojo (A Tale of Two Yakuza) against Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity. In order to help Vadim and myself, who would no doubt just argue about Takashi Miike instead, we have special guests (and 2/5ths of Subway Cinema) Grady Hendrix (Kaiju Shakedown, New York Sun) and Mark Walkow (Outcast Cinema) to school us kids on the history and social aspects of “Yak” films. It’s a wonderful life, truly.
Do join us next week when our special guest will be Eric Kohn (The Reeler, New York Press, The Hollywood Daily) as we discuss…well, you’ll find out. Until then if you see Vadim or ME at the bar, buy us a drink. Please. JL
If you have trouble streaming the above podcast, click here to download it.
This article was originally published on The House Next Door.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
