Burst City

A pivotal release in Sogo (currently Gakuryu) Ishii's career. It's the mother of all Japanese punk films, a feature that would go on to inspire a small but impactful niche. It's not quite as cyber as many of its offspring though, more rooted in punk rock culture, which is exactly why I didn't quite love it as much the second time around.

In a futuristic Tokyo, chaos reigns. Underground anti-establishment groups clash with punk bands and their admirers. Meanwhile, the police are trying to get a grip on the conflicts sprouting up left and right, but their involvement only seems to make matters worse. There's only one possible outcome for this insane pressure cooker.

The cinematography is lively, the plot is chaotic but works wonders for the type of material we're dealing with here, and the performances are extremely energetic. It's just the score that wasn't quite harsh enough and left me wanting a little. The ending does go full-out, it just takes the film a little too long to get there.