Japan Society Screening More Swordplay Flicks

 

On the 14th May, 2010, The Japan Society in New York will be screening Kazuo Ikehiro’s 'The Lone Stalker' and Kenji Misumi’s 'The Devil’s Temple'. Both films are considered to be extremely rare and offer fans the chance to experience the unique talents of Raizo Ichikawa and Shintaro Katsu.

The Lone Stalker

The epitome of the matatabi (samurai gambler) movie, Lone Wolf Isazo ranks as one of Raizo Ichikawa’s most spectacular performances. Employing flashbacks within flashbacks and a brooding romantic style poised somewhere between Budd Boetticher and early Sergio Leone, director Kazuo Ikehiro charts Isazo’s descent from chivalrous naïf to vengeance-obsessed cynical wanderer, giving a definitive chronicle of the loneliness of the long-distance wanderer.

 

 

The Devil's Temple

In this little known Misumi masterpiece, an abandoned temple nestled in the mountains is the scene of a fateful encounter between a Buddhist monk, two women in love with the same man, and a fallen samurai (Katsu, at his most ferocious). As destinies collide: it appears that not just the lives of the quartet are at stake, but their very souls. Hell awaits!

For full details and to book tickets, check out the official website.