Eros + Massacre

Clara from Angura Research Center [https://anguraresearchcenter.wordpress.com/] was kind enough to join me for this episode on one of cinema’s greatest surrealists, Shuji Terayama. Poet, writer, master of underground theater (known as angura in Japanese) and experimental cinema, and so much more, Terayama had an incredibly rich, prolific career in many art forms, which blend together influences from classical Japanese theater, pop culture, folklore, deeply personal elements of biography, etc. Consider this episode more of an introduction to Terayama: we break down why he is so important and mainly discuss one of his more accessible films, the beautiful Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974). We also talk about his influential experimental theater troupe, Tenjo Sajiki, and some of his short films, namely Laura (1974), The Trial (1975) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqGg1S20_A], The Cage (1964) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHgGGYEF7_w], and Grass Labyrinth (1979) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-VzK0eBK2g], among a few other titles. I strongly recommend checking out the Angura Research Center [https://anguraresearchcenter.wordpress.com/] if you want to explore more about Terayama and Tenjo Sajiki. Clara has been doing really important work translating filmed versions of his plays, which you can watch on her YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@AnguraResearchCenter], and writing essays on her site that give some really helpful cultural and historical context. The books we mention in the episode are from Carol Sorgenfrei [https://www.amazon.com/Unspeakable-Acts-Carol-F-Sorgenfrei/dp/0824827961] and Steven Ridgely [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0816667535/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1]. All the music in the episode is from Terayama’s lifelong collaborator, JA Seazer, and his score to Pastoral [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkno-yYuGA]. (And if you do a little digging, you can find the majority of Terayama’s short films [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa89xTsbQPg] on YouTube, all scored by Seazer, though beware that the YouTube version of The Trial that I linked to has some other music included.) The post Eros + Massacre Episode 19: Shuji Terayama’s Pastoral with Angura Research Center [https://cinepunx.com/eros-massacre-episode-19-shuji-terayamas-pastoral-with-angura-research-center/] appeared first on Cinepunx [https://cinepunx.com].

Ditch class, rev your engines, sharpen your switchblades, and roll up some reefer! Extremely patient friend of the show Byron Lueders joined me for this episode that we recorded four score and seven years ago (or at least that’s how long it feels), all about American teenage girl gang films in the 1950s and ’60s. In the episode, we focus primarily on Girl Gang (1954), Teenage Crime Wave (1955), One Way Ticket to Hell (1955), The Violent Years (1956), Teenage Doll (1957), The Delinquents (1957), Live Fast, Die Young (1958), and Teenage Gang Debs (1966). We discuss: the rise of “teenager” culture in postwar America and how many of these films suggest that the America dream is toxic garbage; class warfare; the horrors of the Hays Code; teen partying and drug use on screen; proto-exploitation cinema; directors like Robert Altman, Roger Corman, and Paul Henreid (?!); and of course we have a lot of say about eyeliner, custom biker jackets, and 1950s hairstyles. Follow Byron on Instagram at @byronlueders [https://www.instagram.com/byronlueders/#] and check out his new bootleg shirt shop here [http://byronofchicago.com/]! The post Eros + Massacre Episode 18: Teen Delinquent Hell with Byron Lueders [https://cinepunx.com/eros-massacre-episode-18-teen-delinquent-hell-with-byron-lueders/] appeared first on Cinepunx [https://cinepunx.com].

It’s officially spring, which seems like a fitting time to release the first — but certainly not last — Jess Franco episode of the show. Thanks to Patreon supporter Pat Radke for requesting a series of Jess episodes! Chicago film programmer John Dickson, from the Oscarbate podcast and film collective [https://www.instagram.com/oscarbatepod/?hl=en], joined me for a particularly wild discussion of Jess Franco’s best films featuring his recurring detective character, Al Pereira. Sometimes played by Howard Vernon, Eddie Constantine, Uncle Jess himself, and Antonio Mayans, among others, Pereira is a perverse twist on the standard sleazy private eye character from pulp fiction. This episode focuses mainly on Death Whistles the Blues (1964), Attack of the Robots (1966), Les ebranlées (1972), Downtown (1975), Night of Open Sex (1983), and Black Boots, Leather Whip (1983). Despite how specific the topic is, I do think it’s a good intro to Jess’s career, because we cover a lot of his recurring themes, his early work, how elements of his personal life appear in the films, etc. And we have a lot to say about our horny exhibitionist queen, Lina Romay. There’s romance, there’s a lot of sex, there’s a fair amount of torture, and even some Nazi gold. I think this goes without saying for most of my episodes, but this one is extremely not work safe. Wait till you get to the song about sperm. The post Eros + Massacre Episode 17: Jess Franco’s Horny Detective with John Dickson [https://cinepunx.com/eros-massacre-episode-17-jess-francos-horny-detective-with-john-dickson/] appeared first on Cinepunx [https://cinepunx.com].

It’s spring equinox and Eros + Massacre is emerging from hibernation! This first episode of 2025 is a discussion with cinema historian Tom Mes. He’s an international treasure and many of you were likely introduced to some incredible Japanese films due to his exhaustive writing and research and his site Midnight Eye [http://www.midnighteye.com/]. He just released a new book, Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video [https://www.routledge.com/Japanese-Film-and-the-Challenge-of-Video/Mes/p/book/9781032387970], and works with blu-ray companies like Arrow and Radiance as a producer on many of their Japanese cinema releases. Be sure to check out his latest lovechild with Arrow, V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal [https://www.arrowvideo.com/blu-ray/v-cinema-essentials-bullets-betrayal-limited-edition-blu-ray/16034469.html] (for which I was honored to contribute a video essay), and Radiance releases like Elegant Beast [https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/products/elegant-beast-le] and A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness [https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/products/a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-le] (immense thanks to Tom for hiring me to do the commentary!), among many more. Needless to say, this episode is all about Japanese V-cinema, a really underrated direct-to-video subgenre that emerged in Japan in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s and spanned everything from crime and horror films to romances and comedies. I wanted to list out some of the names and titles we talk about in the episode, to make them easier to find. Directors we mention: Yasuharu Hasebe, Toshiharu Ikeda, Shunichi Nagasaki, Sogo Ishii, Kazuhiro Kiuchi, Takashi Miike, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Banmei Takahashi, Rokurō Mochizuki; also actors Yūsaku Matsuda, Shô Aikawa, and Riki Takeuchi. Some key films/series mentioned: Carlos (1991), Stranger (1991), Crime Hunter (1989), Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet (1990), Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself series, The King of Minami series, The Outer Way (1998), and Yakuza Taxi (1994). The post Eros + Massacre Episode 16: Japanese V-Cinema with Tom Mes [https://cinepunx.com/eros-massacre-episode-16-japanese-v-cinema-with-tom-mes/] appeared first on Cinepunx [https://cinepunx.com].

We are still in the no man’s land between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so hopefully this second part of my two-part episode on the BBC’s original Ghost Stories for Christmas series with Will Dodson will get you through. As a reminder, in part one we discussed six M.R. James adaptations, mostly from the original series. Part two takes us through the final three episodes, The Signalman (1976), Stigma (1977), and The Ice House (1978), plus two spin off films, The Stone Tape (1972), and Schalcken the Painter (1979), and one last M.R. James television adaptation, Casting the Runes (1979) from ITV Playhouse. And if you missed Will’s info the first time around, he’s an academic focusing on film and media studies and some of you might know him from his special features work on various blu-rays with Ryan Verril (find a complete list of their work here [https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/]). He’s also edited a number of film books, namely American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper [https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477329467/]. Eros + Massacre will be back in 2025! Thank you for all the support this year and thanks always to Cinepunx! The post Eros + Massacre Episode 15: Ghost Stories for Christmas with Will Dodson, Part 2 [https://cinepunx.com/eros-massacre-episode-15-ghost-stories-for-christmas-with-will-dodson-part-2/] appeared first on Cinepunx [https://cinepunx.com].