#125: Zatoichi in Desperation (1972)

Inspired by the indie video game of the same name, Exit 8 is a psychological drama from director Genji Kawamura and writer Kentaro Hirase about a lost man, played by actor Kazunari Ninomiya, trapped in a series of infinitely repeating subway tunnels, who, in order to find the exit, is forced to play a puzzle game that will require him to carefully examine and interrogate both his outer and inner world.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Kingdom, Saint Seiya, Tokyo Drifter, Red Sun, Tojima Wants to be Kamen Rider, The Rock [42:33] Review of Exit 8 Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

We review Zatoichi in Desperation (1972), the twenty fourth film in the long running Zatoichi franchise, and the first directed by Shintaro Katsu himself.  Despite possessing a plot not dissimilar to countless other entries in the series, the film's uncharacteristically bleak tone, quasi experimental cinematography, grimy, grind-house feel, and funky 70s soundtrack imbue the work with a bold flavor that other entries lack.  Tune in for the full review!  Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Ultra Q, Armour of God, Legend of Kamui, Tokyo Tarareba Girls, My Life in 24 Frames Per Second [41:20] Review of Zatoichi in Desperation Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

Hong Kong director Corey Yuen's tremendously enjoyable, Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982) attempts to settle the perennial schoolyard debate of the 1980s:  What's stronger, Ninjitsu or Kung Fu?   Hiroyuki Sanada, a ninja on a quest for revenge, and Conan Lee, the kung fu master bent on stopping him, square off in this much loved martial arts classic that's chock-ful of enough booby traps, smoke bombs, fake dummies, impressive acrobatics and superb martial feats to satisfy even the most skillful disciples of the genre.  Tune in to hear the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Message from Space, Tales from Earthsea, Daimajin, Millenium Actress, Ultra Q, Saint Seiya, Cutey Honey, Queen Emeraldas, Aria [1:01:05] Review of Ninja in the Dragon's Den Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

BLT Team B review one of the defining car chase movie of the 1970s, Vanishing Point.  Amped up on speed, a former vietnam vet makes a bet to deliver his dodge challenger half way across the country within fifteen hours.  Half car chase movie, half road trip movie, it's a maximum trip at maximum speed, with possibly more to say than it initially lets on.  Tune in for the full review!  Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

The Blade Licking Thieves venture into low budget, B movie territory with a review of South Korea's first giant monster movie:  Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967).  An awful film in nearly every way, Yongary sits at the head of the pantheon of "so bad, it's good" Godzilla rip offs, which is to say: it's a terrible amount of fun.  Tune in to hear the full review!  Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The films of One Piece live action, Unicorn Overlord, Angel's Egg, City Hunter manga [30:55] Review of Yongary, Monster from the Deep Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

We review Studio Ghibli's most overlooked, and arguably underestimated film, Ocean Waves, a subtle, bittersweet hymn to nineties teenage youth, centered around a love triangle between two high school friends and a pretty, new female transfer student, that perfectly evokes the nostalgia of youthful romance.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The films of Metal Gear Solid 3, Robotrix, Sketchy, Kingdom, Saint Seiya [51:55] Review:  Ocean Waves (1993) [2:26:10] Bluesky Comments Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

In 2018, Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) returned once again to the wuxia genre with the Shadow, a tale of court intrigue, starring Chao Deng, Li Sun, and Ryan Zheng, about a double forced to play the part of a commander in order to retake lost territory from a rival nation.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The Heroic Trio, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, Yan, Steel of the Celestial Shadows, Ashita no Joe, Dynasty Warriors Origins [37:45] Review: Shadow (2018) Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

BLT Team B review the cult, teen horror movie The Gate (1987) about a group of suburban kids, left alone for the weekend, who discover a large, mysterious hole in their backyard from which demons from hell begin to emerge.    Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

After an assignment goes awry, a hitman (Joe Shishido) and his partner (Jerry Fujio) are chased by rival gangs to a small seaside town where they meet a young woman (Chitose Kobayashi) who may be their only hope of escape.  Cool and stylish, Takashi Nomura's A Colt is My Passport (1967) is a smoking cocktail of influences, half spaghetti western, half hard boiled noir, with textures and flavors both familiar and unique, qualities which have earned the film a reputation in recent years as an overlooked cult classic.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Record of Ragnarok, City Hunter manga, Ultraman Omega,  [26:50] Review: A Colt is My Passport Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/

What better way to end the year than with a with a double dose of Kei and Yuri, a.k.a. the Dirty Pair!  We'll be exploring the history of the beloved space opera franchise, reviewing both the Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia OVA from 1985 and Dirty Pair: Project Eden movie from 1987, and answering listener questions.  Enjoy the show! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Ashita no Joe manga, Musou games, Ultraman Zett, Tojima Wants to be a Kamen Rider, Sentai news [36:35] Pre-Review: Dirty Pair  [1:11:57] Review: Dirty Pair Affair of Nolandia OVA [1:46:59] Review: Dirty Pair Project Eden [2:26:53] Bluesky Questions Blade Licking Thieves is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com/