Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
Product Description
A feverish collision of avant-garde aesthetics and grind-house shocks (not to mention a direct influence on Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange), Funeral Parade of Roses takes us on an electrifying journey into the nether-regions of the late-'60s Tokyo underworld. In Toshio Matsumoto's controversial debut feature, seemingly nothing is taboo: neither the incorporation of visual flourishes straight from the worlds of contemporary graphic-design, painting, comic-books, and animation; nor the unflinching depiction of nudity, sex, drug-use, and public-toilets. But of all the "transgressions" here on display, perhaps one in particular stands out the most: the film's groundbreaking and unapologetic portrayal of Japanese gay subculture.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Booklet, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Remastered, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: This violent dramatic bloodbath concerns a love triangle in a gay bar in Tokyo. Eddie (Peter) and the transvestite Leda (Osamu Ogasawara) both have sexual designs on bar manager and drug dealer Gonda (Yoshio Tsuchiya). Gonda fears Leda will expose him to the police if he does not give in to his/her advances. When Leda commits suicide, Eddie and Gonda are free to engage in their homosexual yearnings for each other. When Gonda discovers he is Eddie's father, he kills himself with a knife. A distraught Eddie then uses the same knife to cut his own eyes out. ...Funeral Parade of Roses ( Bara no soretsu ) ( Funeral Procession of Roses )
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By HJ
Format:DVD
Funeral Parade announces itself as: "A Parody of Oedipus Rex" - a parody played out in the transvestite subculture of late 60s Tokyo. It sticks closely to Oedipus, right down to the extremely shocking bloodthirsty finale, but of course all the gender roles are subverted/realigned (interesting to compare with Pasolini's
Oedipus from around the same time).
Like Oshima's better known Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Funeral Parade takes place amid late 60s Shinjuku bohemia, combining fictional & documentary scenes, actors & non-actors, but mixing everything up, blurring the line between what is acted and what is "real". Actors give interviews to camera about their roles. Gay youths on the streets are interviewed about their lives. Different scenes are replayed in different narrative contexts. In other words, lots of self-reflexivity & Brecht/Godard estrangement effects.
It's easy to see why this film was a sensation in 1969, why it then fell into neglect and why it is being revived now. It uses every new wave cinematic device/trick & is VERY 1960s (dope smoking parties, orgies, characters called Guevara etc). Some might still find it irritating & passé but most people now will probably find it a fascinating period piece.
Funeral Parade is extremely well-made, compared to most low budget underground movies it's very slick: beautiful black & white cinematography, clever narrative structure, committed "acting" - the transvestite cast here, including the famous Peter, clearly empathized with the ideas of parody & pastiche being played out. What makes Funeral Parade different to most 60s movies is this gay subculture setting & the fact that the movie is unsentimental & ironic towards its period concerns.... Read more ›
Oedipus from around the same time).
Like Oshima's better known Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Funeral Parade takes place amid late 60s Shinjuku bohemia, combining fictional & documentary scenes, actors & non-actors, but mixing everything up, blurring the line between what is acted and what is "real". Actors give interviews to camera about their roles. Gay youths on the streets are interviewed about their lives. Different scenes are replayed in different narrative contexts. In other words, lots of self-reflexivity & Brecht/Godard estrangement effects.
It's easy to see why this film was a sensation in 1969, why it then fell into neglect and why it is being revived now. It uses every new wave cinematic device/trick & is VERY 1960s (dope smoking parties, orgies, characters called Guevara etc). Some might still find it irritating & passé but most people now will probably find it a fascinating period piece.
Funeral Parade is extremely well-made, compared to most low budget underground movies it's very slick: beautiful black & white cinematography, clever narrative structure, committed "acting" - the transvestite cast here, including the famous Peter, clearly empathized with the ideas of parody & pastiche being played out. What makes Funeral Parade different to most 60s movies is this gay subculture setting & the fact that the movie is unsentimental & ironic towards its period concerns.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mario
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Funeral Parade of Roses is an underground film which portrays the Tokyo scene at the 60's: a world full of drugs, sex and freedom in a very funky way. Now, all this is already gone so this film stands as almost a documentary landmark of that era. The copy quality is good and the essays are very helpful in contextualizing the film, something that the "Master of Cinema" DVD collection have always been good at.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This ws just a great movie. Fun visuals and a great re-interpretation of the Oedipus tragedy. I really loved it's portrayal of drag queens as 3-dimensional, not just a silly man in a frock. A great film, good visuals and a great plot.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
