Crazy Thunder Road — Crazy Thunder Road(Blu Ray)

Crazy Thunder Road is an early 80’s Japanese biker gang movie, which blends a 50’s rocker vibe with low-grade Mad Max like touches. It’s a film that switches between manically filmed fights/ chases, punked drama, and rather dangerous looking action set-ups- all topped with a sonic blend of punk, new wave & seared synth scaping. Here from the folks at Third Widow Films, is the first-ever outside of Japan release of the film- with the Blu Ray featuring a new directors' approved print, and extras- including a commentary track from Japanese film expert Tom Mes- who always offers great and informative content.

Crazy Thunder Road, original title Kuruizaki Sanda Rodo appeared in the year 1980. It was written & directed by Hakata, Fukuoka Gakuryû Ishii(as Sogo Ishii )- who to date has nineteen feature-length credits to his name. These go from high school spree kill drama/thriller Panic in High School(1978), wacky ‘n’ offbeat comedy The Crazy Family( 1984), Serial killer thriller Angel Dust(1994), and manic cyberpunk Electric Dragon 80.000 V(2001). Crazy Thunder Road was his third feature-length, and while it has a few issues, some scene pacing, and at times confusing story flow- it’s one hell of a ride.

The film kicks off in a wonderful jarring/ disconcerting manner- as we get a blend of monochrome underwater footage, a crashed bike in a desert ditch with wheels still spinning, and brooding blooming volcano- all soundtracked by seared, at points moving towards noise synth scaping. As we get into the film we find tried of the biker gang rush Ken(Kôji Nanjô) giving up the helm of gang leader, to spend time with his barmaid girlfriend. Stepping into the job is spikily impassioned Jin (Tatsuo Yamada)- whose willing to battle to his last breath for his gang.

As the film unfolds, we get neon licked barroom/ gang hang-out drama and anger, manically & creatively filmed character interaction and action, and a strutting blend of punk and 50’s rocker postering. With touches of Mad Max like visuals- which get amped up towards the second half of the film.

Along the way we get some really eye-catching/ memorable scenes- there’s a dartingly filmed and firework edged gang fight. We have a shacky and trailing headlight motorbike ride, building up speed spinning round in a circle meeting, and a rocket launcher/ shotgun blistering fight- with the participants dressed like Mad Max extras. Sure, at times, the flow/ narrative of the whole thing is a little confused, and some of the 50’s rocker tropes are a tad contrived- but on the whole Crazy Thunder Road certainly lives up to its title & it’s promise.

 

Moving onto this new region B Blu Ray release- and the new scan looks very good, really bringing the film to life even more- with the neon popping, and the dizzying/ clever use of the camera. Moving onto the extras- and first off, we get the commentary track from Tom Mes- who as always is great here, giving a great balance of film background, interesting observations, and other recommended films to check out. He starts off by discussing how this was a student film, which got picked up by Toei Central- going on to become a huge hit in Japan- and how it very much opened up indie film in the country. As he goes on, he talks about the director's two distinct periods- punk and psychedelic, and points out names notable names in the film's credits. He discusses the formation of the Director's Company- which came about after the film’s success, the people involved in it & notable other work. He gives actor bios, and discusses in-depth Toei Central- which was set up to distribute indie genre films. He talks about the director's pioneer use of camera, rapid filming/ editing. Later on, he chats about why the film has not seen a release sooner, and its release history. He discusses the more surreal/ dreamy feel the film takes later on, and much more. All in all another great track from Mes, but make sure you have a pen & paper to hand- to write down recommendations! We get a thirty-eight-minute onscreen interview with Gakuryû Ishii. And lastly, there is All The Right Moves- which sees British Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp talking about Jishu Eiga- “self-made,” “autonomously-produced” films- this runs just shy of the twenty-six-minute mark.

 

It's great to see Crazy Thunder Road finally getting a release after all these years. With Third Widow Films presenting us with a wonderful scan, and some great extras. If you are interested in gang/ biker films, and/ or edgily creative films with a punky edge-this really is a release you’ve got to pick up!.