Episode 310 – Serpent’s Path: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Men of Rage (1994) & Yakuza Taxi (1994)

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Check out the Serpent’s Path archive right here.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is coming off a rough patch after controversies around SWEET HOME in 1989 and the financial failure of THE GUARD FROM UNDERGROUND in 1992, but after retreating into television work he’s about to be given a new lifeline in the 90s: V-CINEMA! This straight-to-VHS trend focusing on genre fare ended up being a training ground for a number of favorite directors and Kurosawa dives right in, first with the extremely silly (but quite fun) crime-comedy YAKUZA TAXI, and continuing with the cycling drama (adapted from a Yasuhito Yamamoto manga) MEN OF RAGE. On this episode of SERPENT’S PATH we look at everything Kurosawa was up to, how he ended up on these two films, and detail some of our own frustrations watching them. ENJOY!

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Episode 309 – You Don’t Know Dick – The Trip (1967)

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We’re going GUESTLESS and UNTETHERED on this episode of YOU DON’T KNOW DICK, and what a long, strange trip it is! We’re checking out the Roger Corman-directed 1967 film THE TRIP starring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper – and written by Jack Nicholson – and it’s full of surreal visuals, mind-expanding dialogue and hippy nonsense! Roger Corman went on an LSD trip as prep for the film, and he imbues it with plenty of independent energy (helped by Fonda and Hopper filming guerilla style on the streets of LA), but is it consciousness expanding weirdness or boring nonsense? Let’s find out!

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Episode 308 – How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? – The Impostors (1998)

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Steve Buscemi.. the CROONER? It happened! In this episode of HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS? we’re checking out Stanley Tucci’s throwback comedy THE IMPOSTORS from 1998 where Tucci teams with Oliver Platt as a pair of struggling actors/con-artists who find themselves in the middle of MANY plots when they accidentally stowaway on an ocean liner. I’m laughing already! And you’ll be laughing(?) alongside an all-star cast that includes Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Hope Davis, Lili Taylor, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, and – of course – Steve Buscemi as “Happy” Franks. Also Woody Allen shows up. Anyway, all that and the latest Buscemi news. Stop reading this and start listening!

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Episode 307 – Do You Otaku? – Dandadan (Season 1)

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Cinema Smorgasbord host Liam O’Donnell is an anime/manga-loving man in his 40s while his Cinema Smorgasbord co-host Doug Tilley is an anime skeptic (and grumpy old man). On DO YOU OTAKU? Liam is going to force Doug to watch popular anime TV shows and movies and RECORD THE RESULTS. On this PREMIERE episode Liam makes Doug watch the 12-episode first season of the comedy/romance/sci-fi/horror anime DANDADAN, where two high school students encounter monsters, aliens and maybe – just maybe – learn a bit about love. It’s better than that sounds. Always curious about anime but have no idea where to start? START RIGHT HERE, BOZO.

You can watch the first season of DANDADAN on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime or.. heck.. just look for it.

 

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