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Just found out that Facets is releasing Kazuo Hara's masterpiece The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On! Does anyone elkse have anymore information on this release? I've been waiting for this on for a while.

Not much more than that it will be released on 2/27/07 for $29.95 and include a "Cine-Notes booklet." The Facets people did say it you will be able to preorder it on 2/9.

It's been mentioned elsewhere on this forum, but I thought I would bring it up here, as more Hara films are coming from this company (I'll consider this a dedicated Hara Kazuo on Facets thread.) Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 is coming in March, and it looks like his Sayonara CP (1972), or Goodbye Cerebral Palsy is coming in April.

Just wondering if anyone here had a chance to order the japanesenewwave.com release of this title, before they closed shop? Any idea if this release will draw on the same source elements as JNW's disc?

It's Facets, so I expect it will draw on the latest in VHS technology

If any of you live in Chicago, Doc Films in Hyde Park will be screening this film sometime in the Spring with a possible appearance by Hara himself. Details forthcoming.

domino harvey wrote:It's Facets, so I expect it will draw on the latest in VHS technology

Maybe not. Although Facets has proved to be lazy, taking what they're given and not doing much (or anything) beyond that, the Japanese DVDs of Hara's work had beautiful transfers so I'm hoping for the best. I'm curious to see how (if?) they handle the various signs and placards which in many ways are as important to the film as the dialogue.

Got my disc today. The transfer looks fine, though some scratches are evident. Looks to be progressive, but I'm not exactly technically up to speed. Definitely DVD quality, not VHS, and the subtitles were fine as well.

Amazing film.

Another Hara film has popped up on FACETS' site, A Dedicated Life (1994), which won Best Film in the Mainichi, Hochi, and Kinema Jumpo awards in 1995. This release will also contain something called "About A Dedicated Life". I wonder... could this possibly be a special feature? I hope they get to his Mishima documentary (Watashi no Mishima), and the only Hara Kazuo fiction film to date, The Many Faces of Chika.

I just recieved their Extreme Private Eros: Love Song DVD the other day, but haven't had a chance to give it a look.

I just watched the "sequel" film, "Kamisama No Ui Yatsu", which shows Okazaki emerging from his 12 year prison sentence, and his first week or so out of jail.

Man, this was a terrible movie! What was he thinking, and what were the staff thinking?

The movie is shot terribly with amateur home video cameras, the movie staff (different from Hara) are totally go with anything Okazaki does, and they even get mad at people around that are in the way, bow their heads to no matter what crazy thing Okazaki might say, and yup, some fights occur too.

And what the hell? He talks about how he wanted to be in a movie and make a movie where he would be some heroic figure under "GodWorld", but the whole movie he is masturbating (everywhere), fucking call girls (for real), dressing up as a transvestite, and getting fucked in the ass by a dominatrix that again, leads to a big fight with yelling and screaming.

What was his point in all this? It wasn't just disturbing to watch, but it was utterly pointless. The man was crazy to begin with, just living in the past and being an asshole, for reasons of course.

Seriously, Hara's film made Okazaki a tortured monster with a purpose to open past wounds.
This film makes Okazaki a 77 year old sex freak that has tantrums.

Which sounds more appealing.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:The Emperor's Naked Army by Kazuo Hara is the documentary most filmmakers can only dream of. In the years after the war, former Japanese soldier Kenzo Okuzaki uses his pure rage and disgust to reveal what happened to his fellow soldiers in New Guinea at the end of the war and the Japanese attempt to cover-up their ill deeds or their downright refusal to deny some of the most atrocious acts that war can bring out (all you have to do is look at their ongoing refusal of the Nanking massacre).

Is the Facets disc of this their usual hack job or is it worth picking up?

knives wrote:

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: The Emperor's Naked Army by Kazuo Hara is the documentary most filmmakers can only dream of. In the years after the war, former Japanese soldier Kenzo Okuzaki uses his pure rage and disgust to reveal what happened to his fellow soldiers in New Guinea at the end of the war and the Japanese attempt to cover-up their ill deeds or their downright refusal to deny some of the most atrocious acts that war can bring out (all you have to do is look at their ongoing refusal of the Nanking massacre).

Is the Facets disc of this their usual hack job or is it worth picking up?

Hack job when it comes to features and picture quality, but it is worth it for the quality of the film. It comes with a booklet with a pretty good essay and booklet though.

EDIT: Holy Jesus! Why didn't I ever hear there was a sequel like this? The sequel sounds like pure exploitation instead of Hara's lunatic who is tortured by the Showa and war! Is there a subtitled version anywhere? I can only find the Japanese DVD.

Apparently, in real life, the Okuzaki was a major asshole and fought with Hara and the crew the whole time and that Hara had a hard time making a positive portrait of the man. Who knew he loved women's clothes, though?

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:The Emperor's Naked Army by Kazuo Hara is the documentary most filmmakers can only dream of. In the years after the war, former Japanese soldier Kenzo Okuzaki uses his pure rage and disgust to reveal what happened to his fellow soldiers in New Guinea at the end of the war and the Japanese attempt to cover-up their ill deeds or their downright refusal to deny some of the most atrocious acts that war can bring out (all you have to do is look at their ongoing refusal of the Nanking massacre).

I'd second this one. Okuzaki, ostensibly a nonactor, gives quite a performance as his anger knows no bounds. The interviews with survivors are good, too. It's a fascinating documentary. So much so that I'd even buy the Facets DVD, it isn't bad but it is Facets. By the way, the subtitles on the DVD are good and there's a very informative booklet. I watched this film over a month ago and it still sticks in my mind very strongly.

Can anyone comment on the quality of the other Kazuo Hara dvds from Facets? I have this one and it's certainly passable, though brilliant by Facets standards. I'd like to pick the others up but would rather not find myself with barely watchable prints.

I thought this was interesting -- but I can't say I liked it -- as I found Okuzaki pretty loathsome even within the confines of only this film.