ULTRAMAN`s Hiroko Sakurai stars in director Akio Jissoji`s MANDARA, one of three New Wave films included in the Akio Jissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy Limited Edition Blu-ray Collection. © 1971 ATG

Source: Arrow Video US, MVD Entertainment Group press release Special Thanks to Clint Weiler

Image courtesy of MVD Entertainment. © ATG

Originally announced for a 2018 release, Akio Jissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy Limited Edition will now be available on August 20th from Arrow Academy. Akio Jissoji created a rich and diverse body of work during his five decades in Japan`s film and television industries. For some, he is best-known for his science-fiction: the 1960s TV series ULTRAMAN (???????????????, Urutoraman K?s? Tokusatsu Shir?zu, 1966-67) and ULTRASEVEN (???????, Urutorasebun, 1967-68) and 1988`s box-office success TOKYO: THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS (????, Teito Monogatari). For others, it is his 1990s adaptations of horror and mystery novelist Edogawa Rampo, such as WATCHER IN THE ATTIC (???????, Yaneura no Sanposha, 1992) and MURDER ON D STREET (D??????, D-Zaka no Satsujin Jiken, 1998). And then there are his New Wave films for the Art Theatre Guild, three of which -- THIS TRANSIENT LIFE, MANDARA and POEM, forming The Buddhist Trilogy -- are collected here. Winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno Film Festival, THIS TRANSIENT LIFE (??, Muj?, 1970) is among the Art Theatre Guild`s most successful -- and most controversial -- productions. The film concerns a brother and sister from a rich family who defy the expectations placed on them: he has little interest in further education or his father`s business, instead obsessing over Buddhist statues; she continually refuses a string of suitors and the prospect of marriage. Their closeness, and isolation, gives way to an incestuous relationship which, in turn, breeds disaster. Starring Kotobuki Hananomoto (OPERATION: MYSTERY), Akiji Kobayashi (ULTRAMAN, GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH) and Eiji Okada (WOMAN IN THE DUNES, X FROM OUTER SPACE). MANDARA (???, 1971), Jissôji`s first color feature, maintained the controversial subject matter, focusing on a cult who recruit through rape and hope to achieve true ecstasy through sexual release. Shot, as with all of Jissôji`s Art Theatre Guild works, in a radically stylized manner, the film sits somewhere between the pinku genre and the fiercely experimental approach of his Japanese New Wave contemporaries. Starring Hiroko Sakurai (ULTRAMAN), Shin Kishida (RETURN OF ULTRAMAN, LAKE OF DRACULA, EVIL OF DRACULA, GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA) and Koji Shimizu (KAGEMUSHA). The final entry in the trilogy, POEM (?(??), Uta, 1972), returns to black and white and is centered on the austere existence of a young houseboy who becomes helplessly embroiled in the schemes of two brothers. Written by Toshirô Ishidô (screenwriter of Nagisa Ôshima`s THE SUN`S BURIAL and Shôhei Imamura`s BLACK RAIN), who also penned THIS TRANSIENT LIFE and MANDARA, POEM continues the trilogy`s exploration of faith in a post-industrial world. This set includes both the 120-minute Theatrical and 137-minute Extended versions of POEM, starring Hiroko Sakurai (ULTRAMAN), Shin Kishida (RETURN OF ULTRAMAN, LAKE OF DRACULA, EVIL OF DRACULA, GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA) and Koji Shimizu (KAGEMUSHA). The Buddhist Trilogy Limited Edition also includes a bonus Blu-ray disc with Jissôji`s 1974 feature IT WAS A FAINT DREAM (??????, Asaki Yumemishi), which continues the themes explored in the Trilogy. Format: Blu-ray SKU: AA030 UPC: 760137130789 Street Date: 08/20/19 Label: Arrow Academy Genre: Drama Run Time: 143 / 132 / 119 mins Number of Discs: 3 Audio: Mono 1.0 Language: Japanese Subtitles: English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 / 1.85:1 &/ 2.35:1 SRP: $99.95 Bonus Materials • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of THIS TRANSIENT LIFE, MANDARA and POEM • Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films • Newly translated optional English subtitles • Introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave • Scene-select commentaries on all three films in the Trilogy by Desser • Bonus Blu-ray disc with Jissôji`s 1974 feature IT WAS A FAINT DREAM • Theatrical trailers for MANDARA, POEM and IT WAS A FAINT DREAM • Limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm • Illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector’s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes

Jissoji`s controversial hit, THIS TRANSIENT LIFE. Photo courtesy of MVD Entertainment. © 1970 ATG

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