Young, Violent Dangerous (1976) Blu-ray Review

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I’ve probably said this before, but one of the many things I love about the state of home video these days is that there are so many boutique labels putting out so many wonderful, obscure movies. Movies I’d never even know existed if it weren’t for these releases. There are entire genres I wouldn’t even know about if it weren’t for boutique labels. Poliziotteschi, for one.

That Italian crime subgenre was completely unknown to me until I started reviewing some of those films, and now it is one of my favorite genres (as you can see from my reviews). Young, Violent, Dangerous is kind of a subgenre of Poliziotteschi, which, like the title implies, involves young men who have come to a life of crime more or less out of boredom.

It isn’t a great film, but I love that we not only have access to this type of film but we can own it in restored HD. I call that a win-win. You can read my full review over at Cinema Sentries.

Now Watching: Drug War (2012)

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Drug War (2012)
Directed by Johnnie To
Starring: Louis Koo, Honglei Sun, and Huang Yi

Synopsis: A drug cartel boss who is arrested in a raid is coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.

Rating: 8/10

This is the type of film that will keep bringing me back to Johnnie To. The plot is convoluted and a little crazy, but also endlessly interesting with cops, informants, and bad guys switching allegiances and sides like a roulette table. The action is fierce, chaotic, and meticulously staged.

There is a scene late in the film where a cop handcuffs himself to a guy’s leg. Then the cop gets killed, so the bad guy has to run around dragging the cop’s corpse along with him. If that doesn’t make you want to watch this film, I don’t know what will.

Foreign Film February: Hokuriku Proxy War (1977)

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I continue to sing Radiance Films praises. They are carving out a nice little niche market in the larger Boutique Blu-ray landscape. Their focus seems to be on foreign language arthouse films that are lesser known. The type of film that would be skipped by Criterion but are generally still quite good.

Hokuriku Proxy War is a fun little Japanese Crime Drama that is a bit confusing in the story department but more than makes up for it in its action. You can read my full review here.