is a Japanese
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
punk rock musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
/
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
. Released in 1982, the film was directed by
Gakuryū Ishii
, formerly known as , is a Japanese filmmaker known for his stylistic punk films, which helped spark the cyberpunk movement in Japan. A number of contemporary filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino have cited Ishii's films as an influence.
Earl ...
. Primarily a showcase for various specific punk rock bands of the time such as
The Roosters
are a Japanese rock band formed in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1979. Their music has mixed rock and roll, punk rock, British blues, ska, and new wave. Originally active from 1979 to 1988, they performed at the 2004 Fuji Rock Festival before restar ...
,
The Rockers
The Rockers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty who teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for NWA Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestli ...
, and
The Stalin
were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo.
After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made vid ...
, the film is also purely demonstrative of the culture and attitude of the punk rock community of Japan in the mid-to-late 1970s and the early 1980s, and is considered a defining film of that subculture.
Plot
The plot is not very complex, as much of the action and drama of the film relies on musical interludes, character interactions, and commentary on the
class system
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, incom ...
in the film's fictional universe. What plot there is follows two different threads.
In the first thread, residents in a
dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
future attempt to rebel against the construction of a nuclear power plant in their part of Tokyo. They race cars, party, and brawl to the music of The Rockers and The Stalin. In the second, a small mute and his hard-core friend ride their bikes around the city, hunting down the person who murdered the mute's brother. The two are
vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
s.
The two threads combine when the bikers meet the power plant construction workers and discover that the oppressive businessman who runs the power plant is the same man which they have been searching for. The bikers, workers, and punks all band together to take on the businessman and his
yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...
buddies. The "battle police" arrive, and everything erupts into violence.
Production
Ishii created ''Burst City'' right in the middle of the punk movement in Japan, and many contemporary punk musicians took on leading acting roles in the film, as well as performing songs in the film. Ishii wanted to feature musicians from all three of the major punk hubs in Japan:
The Stalin
were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo.
After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made vid ...
were from
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Machizo Machida was from
Kansai
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...
, and The Roosters and the Rockers were from
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
.
The cast and crew lived on the post-apocalyptic set that they built for the duration of the shoot.
[Brown, Todd (28 August 2006)]
"''Burst City''/''Electric Dragon 80000V'' Review"
ScreenAnarchy
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films ...
. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
To give the film a fresh, revolutionary feel, Ishii experimented with a lot of different techniques. The editing style is extremely fast and chaotic, and some scenes combine a mix of
undercranked shots and regular speed shots with striking results. Musical numbers and scenes of performers getting ready backstage are shot in a documentary style.
The backgrounds are populated with thousands of extras in eccentric costumes and hairstyles, all captured in grainy 16mm film.
[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.
Release
The film was distributed by the
Toei studio. It was later released on
Region 1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
by
Discotek
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in June 2006, and then on Blu-ray in January 2016 by Toei.
It was released on Blu-Ray on Region 1 by
Arrow Video
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...
in November 2020.
Reception
The film is highly regarded among critics and audiences alike. Its hyperkinetic, unrelentingly high energy style was wildly different from other films of the period and extremely innovative. The film is also regarded for being purely inspired from music, and the way the punk aesthetic, culture, and music exerts its influence over every element, scene, and character in the film. It has been called one of the "starting points in contemporary Japanese cinema", along with Ishii's own ''
Shuffle
Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.
__TOC__
Techniques
Over ...
'', ''
Panic in High School
, also known as ''High School Big Panic'' and ''Panic in High School'', is a 1978 Japanese youth suspense action film directed by Gakuryū Ishii and . The film is a remake of a film of the same name released the year before and also directed by Is ...
'', and ''
Crazy Thunder Road
is a 1980 Japanese punk-action-biker film written and directed by Gakuryū Ishii
, formerly known as , is a Japanese filmmaker known for his stylistic punk films, which helped spark the cyberpunk movement in Japan. A number of contemporary fi ...
''.
It is debatable whether the cinematic innovations of yesterday translate to viewers today. Todd Brown of
ScreenAnarchy
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films ...
argued that "while ''Burst City'' is clearly a watershed film, it stands up better as a cultural document than as a film, per se,"
but Simon Abrams wrote on
RogerEbert.com that the director "perfectly captures his subjects' prickly, defiant attitude, making ''Burst City'' a defiant (and still-relevant) reaction to nuclear proliferation."
Soundtrack
The ''Burst City'' original soundtrack was released by SEE SAW on March 5, 1982.
Releases
Tracklist
See also
*
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
*
Japanese cyberpunk
*
Punk film
The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Sōgo Ishii
1982 films
Punk films
1980s musical films
1980s science fiction action films
1980s vigilante films
1980s Japanese-language films
Films directed by Sōgo Ishii
Japanese science fiction action films
Cyberpunk films
Discotek Media
Films about social class
Films set in the future
Films set in Tokyo
1980s dystopian films
Japanese films about revenge
Japanese vigilante films
Japanese musical films
Yakuza films
1980s Japanese films