.Source: FUNimation Entertainment Special Thanks to Manny Alcala North American theatrical and home video distributor FUNimation Entertainment recently acquired rights to a number of Asian live action films. The following titles will be released on home entertainment in 2011.
Promotional art for the juvenile delinquent tale DROP. © 2009 Drop Film Partners.DROP (2009) A teenage delinquent action film written and directed by actor/comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa of the comedy team "Shinagawa Shoki". Set in the 1980s, the movie is based on Shinagawa`s 2006 autobiographical novel which was also adapted as a 2007 manga by artist Dai Suzuki. Inspired by the manga Be-Bop Highschool, student Hiroshi Shinanogawa (Hiroki Narimiya, AZUMI) drops out of private school and transfers to a public middle school. Shinanogawa`s dyed red hair catches the the attention of gang of juvenile delinquents. After a fight with gang leader Tatsuya Iguchi (Hiro Mizushima, MASKED RIDER KABUTO), Shinanogawa becomes a member of the gang and enjoys a time of lead pipes, smoking, drinking, and violence with his new friends. THE TREASURE HUNTER (Ci Ling, 2010) Taiwanese director Chu Yen-ping (KUNG FU DUNK) attempts an Indiana Jones-style action adventure. The Company, an international criminal cartel, hunts for a map in the possession of Ciao Fei (Jay Chou, THE GREEN HORNET). The map reportedly reveals the location of a centuries-old treasure buried in the northwestern desert of Taiwan. To save the life of Lan Ting (Lin Chi-Ling), the daughter of his former mentor, Ciao Fei is forced to surrender the map to the Company. He teams up with Lan and renowned archeologist Hua Ding Bang (Chen Daoming, HERO) to recover the map and stop the villains from finding the treasure. HIGANJIMA - ESCAPE FROM VAMPIRE ISLAND (Higanjima, 2010) A Japanese/Korean horror adventure from VOLCANO HIGH director Kim Tae-gyun and DEATH NOTE movie screenwriter Tetsuya Oishi.
Two years after his older brother, Atsushi (Dai Watanabe, PRIDE), goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Akira Miyamoto (Hideo Ishiguro, GOKUSEN THE MOVIE) meets a beautiful young woman, Rei Aoyama (Asami Mizukawa, MONKEY MAGIC), who is in possession of Atsushi’s ID card and claims he is still alive and can be found on the remote, uncharted Japanese island of Higanjima. Desperate to see his brother once again and to solve the riddle of his disappearance, Akira talks several of his friends into joining him on a trip to the island in search of Atsushi. Arriving in Higanjima on a small boat piloted by Rei, the friends are shocked to learn that they have been lured there as fodder for the island’s inhabitants, a race of extremely bloodthirsty vampires ruled by their ancient but well-preserved leader, Masa (Koji Yamamoto, TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS). As the vampires begin to descend upon their newly arrived prey, Akira and his friends must fight for the lives. TAJOMARU (2009) Director Hiroyuki Nakano`s samurai drama uses characters and situations from In a Grove (Yabu no Naka), one of two short stories by author Ryunosuke Akutogawa that was adapted by Akira Kurosawa for his masterpiece RASHOMON (1950). In the late Muromachi period, Nobutsuna Hatakeyama (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO) suspects his younger brother Naomitsu Hatakeyama (Shun Oguri, CROWS ZERO) plans to usurp his place as head of the Hatakeyama family. But Naomitsu is only interested in his lifelong friend and love, the beautiful Princess Ako (Yuki Shibamoto, I WANT TO BE A SHELLFISH). When Nobutsuna announces plans to marry Ako and add her wealth and status to the family, Naomitsu takes the princess and flees into the mountains. But as the young couple ventures along the wooded paths they encounter the highway bandit Tajomaru (Hiroki Matsukata, 13 ASSASSINS)...
Goemon Ishikawa goes to war. Photo courtesy of The Associates. © 2009 “Goemon” Film Partners.GOEMON (2009) An over the top action epic from CASSHERN director Kazuaki Kiriya and legendary producer Takashige Ichise (THE RING), GOEMON takes place in 1582 and tells the tale of the chivalrous thief Goemon Ishikawa (Yosuke Eguchi, SHAOLIN GIRL) who has a propensity for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Goemon’s latest haul, stolen from one of his arch-enemies, includes a small wooden box of Western origin which that holds a deep secret coveted and sought by Japan’s most powerful and deadly warlords. Goemon attempts to keep the box from falling into the wrong hands. But its existence has also attracted the interests of a legendary swordsman Matahachi (Tetsuji Tamayama, HAGETAKA), the legendary ninja Hattori Hanzo (Susumu Terajima, GAMERA THE BRAVE), and Goemon’s fearsome former friend and current rival, Saizo Kirigakure (Takao Osawa, ICHI). With such a prize at stake, the stage is set for a series of bloody frays between Japan’s most skilled and deadly ninjas and swordsmen in a conflict that will have a profound effect on the country’s future. GOEMON is scheduled for release on Blu-ray and Region 1 DVD on February 22, 2011.
Moo-myeong fights for the woman he loves. © 2009 Showbox.THE SWORD WITH NO NAME (Bulkkotcheoreom Nabicheoreom, 2009) A Korean martial arts romance by director Kim Young-kun (THE RED SHOES). Moo-myeong (Cho Seung-woo, GO GO 70s) is a Joseon dynasty headhunter who tracks down fugitives and lives off the reward. One day, he encounters a beautiful noble lady named Ja-yeong (Su-ae, SUNNY) and falls in love with her. Ja-young enters the royal palace as a next queen of Joseon, Empress Myseongseong. Lovesick Moo-myeong becomes a personal guard of the queen in order to be closer to her and protect her from harm. When Ja-yeong`s father-in-law Dae Won-kun (Cheon Ho-jin) conspires with Russia and Japan in their attempts to colonize Korea, the young queen stands against him. Dae Won-kun gives permission for the Japanese to assassinate Ja-yeong, and Moo-myeong does everything in his power to protect the woman he loves from threats foreign and domestic...
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