Jidaigeki meets punk director Gakuryu Ishii by way of an “unfilmable” novel called Punk Samurai Slash Down by Kou Machida. All sounds a little glorious and a little bananas. Well thats what some in the critical world said. Oft ”unfilmable” films are considered so, as those creating them need some level of madness to deliver. Most fail to do so, but die trying. A few get clear of it and make the thing their own. What you get with PUNK SAMURAI is choatic, clever and at times, laugh out loud funny. The story follows Junoshin Kake (Go Ayano), a ronin samurai with ambitions to be a part of the celebrated Kuroae clan. The issue is hes a bit of a rogue and needs employment to ease his burden. A permanent position in the clan appears in sight when he tells them of a religious cult called the ‘Belly shakers’ rampaging around the country, eliciting manic reactions aplenty. Handled with perverse glee, this all leads us to a place that has large font text onscreen, fights and blood smatter sand and stone. Like many other Jidaigeki riffs of today, from Japan at least, it is all excess and absurdity in equal measure.

Its a film that requires watching, least of all to see how a director like Ishii throws everything at it and much of it sticks. Though it leaves you a little empty on conclusion, it is not without something. A something that is gleefully relished by me to be honest but its not for everyone. There is a sense that PUNK SAMURAI stands up to its source material and embraces enough of it, to reward the fan. For the neutral its erratic and earnest sense of lavish exhuberance jars. This is not helped by a BLU RAY set with little to offer. The added extras are very little and to warm in tone. They service the newly introduced but will not delight those with a passing interest in the film, genre, Japanese cinema or cult sensibilities. Finishing up, like the resurrection at the mid point of the film, likely getting everyone off their seats and turning off in sheer perplexity.

Special Features

• Making Of (66 mins)
• Go Ayano interview (6 mins)
• Premiere Stage Greetings (16 mins)
• Trailer
• Slipcase with artwork from Gokaiju
• Reversible Sleeve featuring original Japanese artwork
• Slipcase edition limited to 1000 copies

https://www.arrowfilms.com/blu-ray/punk-samurai/14234090.html