Burst City
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The film showcases punk bands like The Roosters, The Rockers, and The Stalin, and is considered a defining film of Japan's punk subculture.[1]
Making and release
Ishii created "Burst City" in the middle of the Japanese punk movement, with many contemporary punk musicians taking leading acting roles.[2] The film was shot when Ishii was 25, fresh off the success of "Crazy Thunder Road"[3] Ishii experimented with different techniques to give the film a fresh, revolutionary feel.[4] Ishii aimed to include performers from Tokyo, Kansai, and Kyushu; the entire cast and crew resided on the post-apocalyptic set constructed for filming.[2]
The film's editing is notably rapid and disorderly, incorporating both undercranked footage and standard-speed scenes.[4] Documentary-style cinematography captures the musical performances and backstage preparations, with a large number of extras in unusual costumes and hairstyles appearing on grainy 16mm film.[4] Toei studio handled the film's distribution.[5] Discotek issued a Region 1 DVD in June 2006; Toei released a Blu-ray in January 2016; Arrow Video put out a Region 1 Blu-ray in November 2020.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Arrow Films US overview describes the film as a "Molotov cocktail" of dystopian sci-fi, biker wars, and performances from real-life punk bands The Stalin, The Roosters, The Rockers, and INU.[6] Todd Brown of ScreenAnarchy argued that "while Burst City is clearly a watershed film, it stands up better as a cultural document than as a film, per se"[3][7] Mes also noted that Shinya Tsukamoto borrowed from Ishii for "Tetsuo – The Iron Man" and that the film's rapid montage style later appeared in Miike's "Dead or Alive"[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ソルジャー (1984) | Junji Ikehata | 3:19 |
| 2 | セル ナンバー 8（第8病棟） (Battle Rockers) | Takanori Jinnai, Shinya Ohe | 3:53 |
| 3 | ワイルド・スーパーマーケット (Battle Rockers) | Shinya Ohe | 3:02 |
| 4 | シャープシューズでケリ上げろ! (The Rockers) | Takanori Jinnai, Tanio Tani | 1:29 |
| 5 | プア ボーイ (The Rockers) | Takanori Jinnai | 3:23 |
| 6 | ソロー (1984) | Tomio Inoue | 1:38 |
| 7 | シスターダークネス (Battle Rockers) | Shinya Ohe | 2:59 |
Track listing from the source article.
References
- Wikipedia, "Burst City" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mes, "The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film", Stone Bridge Press, 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Burst City" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mes, "The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film", Stone Bridge Press, 2005; Brown, Todd (28 August 2006). "Burst City/Electric Dragon 80000V Review". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 29 July 2018. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Brown, Todd (28 August 2006). "Burst City/Electric Dragon 80000V Review". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 29 July 2018.. facts only, no text reused. screenanarchy.com
- Wikipedia, "Burst City" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mes, "The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film", Stone Bridge Press, 2005; Ishii, Yuriko (6 November 2015). 80年代の伝説的カルト映画『爆裂都市』がブルーレイ化. Cinematoday. Retrieved 28 July 2018.; Abrams, Simon (14 July 2016). "2016 Japan Cuts Festival Preview". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Burst City" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ishii, Yuriko (6 November 2015). 80年代の伝説的カルト映画『爆裂都市』がブルーレイ化. Cinematoday. Retrieved 28 July 2018.; "Burst City", Arrow Films US (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Burst City", Arrow Films US. facts only, no text reused. arrowvideo.com
- Wikipedia, "Burst City" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brown, Todd (28 August 2006). "Burst City/Electric Dragon 80000V Review". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 29 July 2018.; Abrams, Simon (14 July 2016). "2016 Japan Cuts Festival Preview". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Mes, "Burst City", Midnight Eye, 24 July 2001. facts only, no text reused. midnighteye.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Burst City (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Burst City (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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