August 6, 2005

{ Ultraviolent Movies: From Sam Peckinpah to Quentin Tarantino }

Craving a bit of the old ultraviolence? Well look no further... First off I feel compelled to mention that this book is not without flaws. My major gripe (and probably yours too) is that that most of these fims could be found at your local Blockbuster. Now, at face value that might not mean much but for those seeking to find slightly more obscure titles this could pose a problem. Other than John Woo there is nothing mentioned of ultraviolent Asian films like Shohei Imamura's Vengeance is Mine, Takeshi Kitano's Violent Cop, or Ringo Lam's Burning Paradise. Though sporadic, this includes chapters like: The Mafia and Gangs, Killer Couples, New Breed, New Blood (which is mostly about Quentin Tarantino), Revenge, Psychos, To Protect and Serve, and Flesh and Blood. There are brief descriptions, some discussions with directors, and some expanations as to why critics either hated films or loved 'em. Some films even get a section based on a particularly famous scene within. Many well known movies are discussed (Dirty Harry, Clockwork Orange), as well as some lesser-known films (Man Bites Dog, Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer, Walking Tall). The pros however far outwiegh the cons. If your'e looking to further enhance your ultraviolence experience checkout The Blood Poets by Jake Horsley. - Written by Jay, read more of his reviews at Caffeine-Headache.net.

» Buy it...

By Alan Smithee in Reading | Comments:

Comments

It's a shame that Boozereau has limited his scope, excluding the boom of well-executed Asian Violent Film. In fact, watching films like Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer", you could argue that Asian directors have not only upped the ante on American Hollywood violence, but that they've flat-out trumped all US attempts.
We're at the point where Asian cinema is directly impacting and inspiring American directors, as the cycle of influence comes full-circle.
It seems a broad oversight to ignore this work in any treatment of popular Violent Film, especially since this is the "Revised Second Edition" of UVM, and it would have been fairly easy to slip a few more chapters in covering the Asian scene.

Perhaps a second volume is in the works.....

Posted by: Adam at August 9, 2005 5:47 PM