Arrow Video takes aim at V-CINEMA: BULLETS AND BETRAYAL (review)

As the theatrical market shrunk and the video market boomed in the 1980s, studio Toei responded to the need for new product with a low budget video line of action and exploitation cinema called "V-Cinema" and this set includes a nine film overview of the line's action output.  In CRIME HUNTER: BULLETS OF RAGE, a cop is out to avenge his gunned-down partner.  In NEO CHINPARA: ZOOM GOES THE BULLET, a low-level yakuza member questions his choices when he is selected to take out a hitman.  In STRANGER, a young woman who embezzled money at her bank for her lover becomes the target of a stalker when she takes a job as a night time taxi driver.  In CARLOS, a Brazilian/Japanese gangster kills a rival and takes advantage of the ensuing war between two gangs to seize power.  In BURNING DOG, a paroled bank robber gets pulled into the plans of an old friend to rob a U.S. Army base.  In FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: DEATH THREAT, a female assassin infiltrates a women's prison to take out the legendary "Scorpion" only to realize that she must become the Scorpion to get out and avenge her own betrayal at the hands of her yakuza lover and a corrupt political hopeful.  In THE HITMAN: BLOOD SMELLS LIKE ROSES, a former police academy student avenges his murdered fiancee by starting a war between two gangs.  In DANGER POINT: THE ROAD TO HELL, a pair of hitmen become entangled in the intrigues around a horde of stolen money and decide to cash in themselves.  Finally, in XX: BEAUTIFUL HUNTER, a female assassin raised to kill since her childhood in a Catholic orphanage is caught between duty and love when she falls for her latest target.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (US/UK) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

V-CINEMA ESSENTIALS - BULLETS AND BETRAYAL Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Loose Cannon" interview with director Shundo Okawa
• "Crime Hunter and the Dawn of V-Cinema" video essay by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Zooming Out" interview with writer/director Banmei Takahashi
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two:
• Stranger:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Stranger than Fiction" interview with writer/director Shunichi Nagasaki 
• Carlos:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "From Manga to Movies" interview with writer/director Kazuhiro Kiuchi
• "An Extra Round in the Chamber" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Jonathan Clements
• Disc Three:
• Burning Dog:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Fire and Ice" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Mark Schilling
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "Toshiharu Ikeda's Beautiful Monster of Vengeance" video essay by film historian Samm Deighan
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Four:
• The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Versatility of Teruo Ishii" video essay by Japanese cinema expert Frankie Balboa
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Danger Point: The Road to Hell:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Road to V-Cinema" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert James Balmont
• Disc Five:
• XX: Beautiful Hunter:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka
• "The Sacred and the Profane" interview with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi
• "They Brought Back the Sleaze" video essay by critic and Japanese cinema expert Patrick Macias
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• Five keep cases in a slipcase with reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon and a collector's booklet featuring new writing by Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley Scanlon.
  

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