A Trip to the Death Match Factory

One film I haven't managed to get out my head the last week is Gakuryu Ishii's Crazy Thunder Road. As the name suggests it's Bruce Springsteen on acid. I can't stop thinking about it. At first, I was telling myself, don't get too excited, easy to overrate something like this and get lost in the ecstasy of it. A fun hangout movie that wins you over from the outset with non stop music and fighting. Turns out its so much more than that. This is not a movie but a way of life. Either you take the Crazy Thunder Road or you don't. Personally, my life's been so much better since I hit the highway. No regrets!

Found this whilst watching a few films in his catalogue. His most known and most decorated film is August in Water Released in 1995. Imagine Free Willy but given the shoegazey new age ambient touch. Has all these existential dabblings inspired by JG Ballard and Phillip K. Dick but inside this coming of age movie. The literary influences getting me on board and the teenage twee elements making it a Letterboxd favourite. Much of it reminded me of Takeshii Kitano's Kid's Return and A Scene at Sea except as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally stirring. If it sounds like Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin, that's because it is a whole like that but the images are slo mo'd as though directed by Wong Kar Wai. Deserves the same kind of praise as Alphaville for making a science fiction movie with a low budget. Taking advantage of architecture, atmosphere and editing. All the tools available for those technically gifted. Effortlessly, it suggests a future in which the apocalypse nears due to water shortages, disease, aliens and meteorites.

As a lover of police procedurals and thrillers in the same vein as Seven and Silence of the Lambs, his 1994 highly regarded piece Angel Dust certainly appealed. You can't pigeon hole this Ishii guy. We've all seen a few procedurals that don't play by the rules and diverge in to character studies and observations of the towns affected. Memories of Murder , Zodiac and L'Humanite have all been discussed in previous issues of Funeralopolis. Angel Dust makes a habit of going even further in to the unpredictable in a manner you've not seen before.

There is still the nods to Alphaville and Blade Runner with the art direction, except on this occasion, you witness some of the more ill disciplined aspects of Ishii's punk era. Yes, before all this cleaner respectable stuff, this man had a wild period in the early '80s, which would later earn him the title of 'The Godfather of Japanese Cyberpunk cinema". So if you're looking for something as outrageous as Tetsuo; The Iron Man to sink your teeth in to, I've found you your guy. Angel Dust retains some of those punk filmmaking sensibilities inside a more high arty package. There's all the weighty topics from August in Water such as the intoxicating relationship between the self, partner and environment. However, the musical explosions of big beat and trip hop will keep you on your toes. It’s a rare situation of a director in full control. Knows his genre inside out and then at any moment he chooses, decides to apply his own personal touch.

Industrial advocates may actually have heard of this nutjob because he directed the Einsturzende Neubauten film Halber Mensch. Another film obsessed with architecture, featuring the band in the ruins of old ironworks scheduled for demolition and clattering all and any objects they can find. Mr Ishii is exactly the point at which film, music and literature interact with environment. Considering the similarities with Tetsuo though, it was inevitably that his circles would cross with a few musicians in the industrial scene.

Blew my head off to read that at one point he was supposed to adapt a William Gibson project that was to be titled 'Cyber Cowboys' and star Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave and Peter Murphy. Why didn't we allow this to happen? Don’t think I'm alone in saying that would be the best movie of all time. In my head, there is a vision of Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire but a rougher industrial cut. Aroused at the very thought such a film.

With each new story I've read about this Ishii character my appreciation for his work has only grown. He could be the most outrageous guerrilla filmmaker I've come across since Jim Van Bebber (Deadbeat at Dawn, The Manson Family). Funeralopolis approves, adores and endorses all guerrilla filmmakers. Here's one for you about the conditions under which Crazy Thunder Road were made back in 1980. It was made as his thesis during his time at Nihon University. However, they soon kicked him out when it became clear that this King had asbolutely no intentions of actually graduating. Van Bebber and Ishii, brothers in arms when it comes to stealing university equipment. The manifesto has always been make your movie by any means possible. We respect those that follow the code and take to the streets, especially in this economy. This is how we lock the big boys in their studios.

Alright so what is Crazy Thunder Road about? The story is simple. A biker gang leader gives in to a case of the romance and steps down from his position. Thus, leading them exposed to rival right wing gangs and potentially being crushed. Meaning we spend the next 90 minutes just watching dudes meeting up on bikes and in cars to have massive scraps with fascists. Combat zone locations include: 'Battle Royale Square' and 'The Death Match Factory. Ladies and gentlemen, we've found it, the coolest film of all time.

Plot isn't really the point of this movie. It's all culture and attitude. Biker film fans, naturally you're going to warm to this. Has Mad Max's raw power with the musical worship and desire to explore contemporary movements evident in Quadrophenia, Easy Rider and Scorpio Rising. Take note though, our soundtrack has no doo wop or American Rock'n'roll. Instead, we get what we've never heard before. Japanese proto punk. Ever since hearing this stuff, I've been seeking more of it out. It’s that kind of movie where you do that. Doesn't end with the movie. Leads you into all new places. Love movies like that! Although, these song titles are hard to find, some absolute chieftain has compiled a few of them as a playlist on Spotify. Honestly, it's changed my life. If I had to describe these Japanese artists output it's like a mixture of Orange Juice, Talking Heads and Bruce Springsteen. Funky, punk and powerful.

Preferred this film to his more lauded works like Angel Dust and August in Water. They may be technically superior with greater quality craftsmanship but there's something about Crazy Thunder Road. It's got heart! Where it lacks skill, it’s got will. That's what we turn up for. We all know Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas rank among Scorsese's best works, yet you can't help but keep coming back to Mean Streets. The same is true here. Ishii may have gone on to make better movies but you can't get past these strange and unexplainable feelings you have for the flawed early material.

It's the same for me with Wong Kar Wai's As Tears Go By. Never encountered anyone who shares the same passion I have for that movie. These are the low budget imperfect films that really inspire you to do the same, just pick up a camera, cast caution to the wind and go for it. No care in the world for the consequences. Being won over that way always gets me excited in a manner no studio big budget film can. The flaws are irrelevant. Alternatively, they may even improve the film with regards to the whole context. I tried to not rush in to giving this film a perfect score because the effect of a good hangout film like this is that it's meant to leave you on cloud 9. Therefore, you shouldn't rush to rate it. It's an emotional response. It’s pure feeling. Which is not to say that type of movie should be ignored from serious conversations. Only that you need to let that sink in and see if it was a quick fix or if you're still thinking about it weeks later. Well here I am and reading about it further and how it went on to inspire so many Japanese directors to get into filmmaking, who still include it in their top ten lists when asked, has only made me fall for it more. Do yourself a favour, take the Crazy Thunder Road. End destination may be unclear but any film which puts people on the road to rapture like this deserves infinite respect. I can give it nothing other than 5 stars.

Bonus Points:

A film in which Japanese proto punk plays constantly and a biker gang beats up fascists. Do I need to say anymore? Overall Score: