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Cinema Adrift

Film 'Zine (+Site) for Film Freaks
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December 8, 2016
Blu-Review: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) - Criterion Collection
December 8, 2016

Criterion gives this late masterpiece a superb edition with over four hours of special features including a behind the scenes film by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

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December 8, 2016
November 7, 2016
Introducing Oribu Anime: Two Films by Yeon Sang-ho
November 7, 2016

Olive Films adds another sub-label to its belt: Oribu Anime, dedicated to releasing boundary pushing animated works from around the world.

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November 7, 2016
October 15, 2016
Blu-Review: A Scene at the Sea (Takeshi Kitano, 1991) - Third Window Films
October 15, 2016

The fourth Kitano release from Third Window Films this year is his moving tale of self-fulfillment which still remains unique in Kitano's career now over twenty years old.

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October 15, 2016
October 14, 2016
Blu-Review: Dark Water (Hideo Nakata, 2002) - Arrow Video
October 14, 2016

Just in time for October, Arrow Video gives this understated J-horror film the care it deserves.

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October 14, 2016
October 3, 2016
Essential Assemblage: The Taste of Tea Guttokuro Box Limited Edition
October 3, 2016

In this new feature we take a look at special edition releases of films and highlight the love and care put into the packaging and presentation. 

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October 3, 2016
September 26, 2016
Blu-Review: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1939) - Criterion Collection
September 26, 2016

Criterion bring the new restoration of Mizoguchi's masterpiece to the US in the form of this barely non-bare-bones presentation.

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September 26, 2016
August 23, 2016
Blu-Review: Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) - Criterion Collection
August 23, 2016

Criterion brings this Sisyphean classic to high definition along with accompanying short films and essays.

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August 23, 2016
August 9, 2016
Blu-Review: Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection (Arrow Video)
August 9, 2016

Arrow Video give Meiko Kaji's greatest and most iconic of her outlaw film endeavors a grand treatment, making it one of the must have releases of the year.

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August 9, 2016
June 14, 2016
DVD-Review: Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (Robert Mugge, 1980) - Mug-Shot Productions
June 14, 2016

Mugge's definitive documentary portrait of jazz visionary Sun Ra has been brought back into print.

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June 14, 2016
June 8, 2016
Blu-Review: Der Fan (Eckhart Schmidt, 1982) - Mondo Macabro
June 8, 2016

The Fan is a twisted coming of age story that slowly burns to a fetishistic denouement. 

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June 8, 2016
June 2, 2016
Blu-Review: Burroughs: The Movie (Howard Brookner, 1983) - Criterion Collection
June 2, 2016

The best documentary on William S. Burroughs arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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June 2, 2016
December 21, 2015
Blu-Review: Jellyfish Eyes (Takashi Murakami, 2013) - Criterion Collection
December 21, 2015

Instead of bringing more Naruse to the West, Criterion gives us what we really need despite not wanting ever.

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December 21, 2015
November 24, 2015
Blu-Review: Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa) - Criterion Collection
November 24, 2015

Another welcome high-definition upgrade to an essential Kurosawa film.

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November 24, 2015
November 23, 2015
DVD-Review: Makeup Room (Kei Morikawa) - Third Window Films
November 23, 2015

In the vein of Koki Mitani's films, Makeup Room is a film adaptation of a play with a lot of heart and an unexpected sweetness.

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November 23, 2015
October 19, 2015
Blu-Review: Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi, 1964) - Criterion Collection
October 19, 2015

Produced by the Ninjin Club, a production group established by the three actresses Keiko Kishi (who appears in the film as the Yuki-onna), Yoshiko Kuga, and Ineko Arima, Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan was a major undertaking. At three hours in length, Kobayashi presents four kaidan, strange period tales involving ghosts.

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October 19, 2015
October 13, 2015
Blu-Review: The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) - Criterion Collection
October 13, 2015

Criterion tackles Cronenberg's pre-Scanners film and have us hungering for more Oliver Reed.

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October 13, 2015
October 10, 2015
Blu-Review: Nail Gun Massacre (Terry Lofton/Billie Leslie, 1985) – 88 Films
October 10, 2015

Cheaper than a chainsaw in more ways than one.

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October 10, 2015
October 6, 2015
Blu-Review: Requiescant (Carlo Lizzani, 1967) – Arrow Video
October 6, 2015

A western with Pier Paolo Pasolini is all you need to know.

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October 6, 2015
October 5, 2015
DVD-Review: Fuku-chan of Fukufuku Flats (Yosuke Fujita, 2014) – Third Window Films
October 5, 2015

Fujita's follow up to Fine, Totally Fine is worthy of its spiritual predecessor with wonderfully human characters who try to strive past their quirks rather than relishing in them in a self-aware way. A truly feel-good story from Third Window Films.

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October 5, 2015
September 21, 2015
Blu-Review: Eaten Alive (Tobe Hooper, 1977) – Arrow Video
September 21, 2015

Fresh off The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Tobe Hooper made this “feel-bad” fun movie about the psychotic owner of a bayou motel and his pet alligator. 

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September 21, 2015
September 14, 2015
Blu-Review: The Beast (Walerian Borowczyk, 1975) – Arrow Video
September 14, 2015

From the five stories housed inside Borowczyk’s Immoral Tales, stories that feature incest and bestiality, of course he chose the most graphic and potentially upsetting to turn into a feature length film. But from there is able to create something more layered and more mesmerizing

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September 14, 2015
September 14, 2015
Blu-Review: Immoral Tales (Walerian Borowczyk, 1973) – Arrow Video
September 14, 2015

Four or five tales of debauchery depending on your ability to use a Blu-ray player's remote control.

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September 14, 2015
September 9, 2015
Blu-Review: Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960) – Masters of Cinema
September 9, 2015

Oshima's debut film is given the Masters of Cinema treatment.

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September 9, 2015
August 25, 2015
Blu-Review: The Little House (Yoji Yamada, 2014) – Twilight Time
August 25, 2015

Twilight Time give a stateside chance for another Yamada film, this time not one as established as Twilight Samurai.

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August 25, 2015
August 10, 2015
Blu-Review: La Grande Bouffe (Marco Ferreri, 1973) – Arrow Video
August 10, 2015

Salo and Leaving Las Vegas comes to mind but this film is a beast of its own as these men set out to do what they came there to do, having trucks filled with meats, vegetables, and other essential ingredients unloaded off at the property where every room is an exercise in consumerism of a grotesque exaggeration that only these bourgeois could afford.

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August 10, 2015
July 29, 2015
Blu-Review: Tokyo Tribe (Sion Sono, 2014) – Eureka!
July 29, 2015

Sono has made his Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Tokyo Tribe is colorful, its vibe informed by the music that constantly runs through its veins. The story information delivered through largely non-stop rap. 

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July 29, 2015
July 15, 2015
Blu-Review: Cemetery Without Crosses (Robert Hossein, 1969) – Arrow Video
July 15, 2015

A spaghetti western that uses silence just as much as its rousing score.

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July 15, 2015
July 7, 2015
DVD-Review: Little Miss Innocence/Teenage Seductress – Vinegar Syndrome
July 7, 2015

As part of their Drive-In Collection, Vinegar Syndrome releases two extremely enjoyable films from director Chris Warfield.

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July 7, 2015
June 15, 2015
Blu-Review: The Happiness of the Katakuris (Takashi Miike, 2001) – Arrow Video
June 15, 2015

Arrow Video release the definitive edition of Miike's musical classic. And they don't forget to give props to The Quiet Family too.

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June 15, 2015
June 14, 2015
Blu-Review: Contamination (Luigo Cozzi, 1980) – Arrow Video
June 14, 2015

What if our penchant for skepticism and rational thinking is what allows an alien invasion to begin its preparations right here on Earth? That's what this highly entertaining video nasty posits.

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June 14, 2015