Tag: Takeru Satoh

Samurai Marathon US Bluray

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Director Bernard Rose‘s Samurai Marathon is now available on DVD (region 1) and Bluray (region A) in the USA. The movie is truly entertaining and offers a well-balanced mix of action and drama with a good dose of humor. Based on actual historical facts it also has elements of modernity, in this respect the film is a fine tribute to the Samurai Cinema genre.

With Jeremy Thomas (Oscar Winner for The Last Emperor) as a producer and a Japanese stellar cast, Samurai Marathon is also a journey through the magnificent landscapes of rural Japan. Young thespians such as Takeru Satoh, Mirai Moriyama and Nana Komatsu* deliver outstanding performances. American movie goers will also enjoy Danny Huston‘s impersonation of Commander Perry.

*Actress and Chanel Ambassador Komatsu Nana was the recipient of the Rising Star Award at the New York Asian Film Festival in June 2019.

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Samurai Marathon Bonus

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The Bluray and DVD collector’s editions for Samurai Marathon include a bonus disc which is really worth the extra money: superb making of documentary, premiere event report and various interviews. (Amazon Japan – CD Japan)

The atmosphere of involvement, complicity and good humor from the cast, which pervades the Making of Documentary, can also be felt in the 3SHOT Interview with Takeru Satou, Mirai Moriyama and Nana Komatsu.

The actors are asked about difficult scenes, things they had to care or worry about and if Bernard Rose, being a foreign director, was different from Japanese directors. We get the impression that the shooting was exciting and enjoyable but rather demanding both physically and mentally. For instance, Mirai Moriyama recalls the water he had to swim in was awfully cold.

Takeru Satou had no problem running with others but he was asked to deliver extra speed when he was on his own. Nana Komatsu was a bit worried about her kimono (a very valuable and unique piece) not getting dirty or wet, quite an issue when one considers weather conditions in Japan (end of summer, early fall). The three actors portray director Bernard Rose as a nice and benevolent man who relies a lot on his actors’ ability to be spontaneous.

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Samurai Marathon DVD

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Bernard Rose‘s movie DVD was released in Japan on Wednesday 24 July. It is available as a standard edition or deluxe edition either on DVD or Blu-ray: Amazon Japan – CD Japan. Below you’ll find selected excerpts from film reviews -with links to the original articles- illustrated with selected screen caps of Nana Komatsu as Yuki Hime.

“Our opener was a big hit, and one of our biggest opening films since Bad Genius[in 2017]. This is quite possibly the best “chambara” / samurai film I’ve seen since Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins; it’s a bit of a paradox that an Englishman directed it, but maybe a sign that cinema can truly be without borders sometimes.” Samuel Jamier, director of the New York Asian Film Festival (source)

Eastern Kicks: “Samurai Marathon is a wonderful narrative about a less known historical fact – the first Japanese marathon. While this historical event had no true effect in the unfolding of history, Samurai Marathon succeeds, by intermingling various narrative threads into an effective narrative structure and allowing dramatic musical pieces support its unfolding, in turning this event into an exciting jidaigeki narrative. Rose might have created a somewhat atypically packaged jidaigeki, but it provides everything one should expect of a contemporary mainstream example of the genre.”

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Samurai Marathon US 2020

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It’s official, Samurai Marathon will be released in US theaters in 2020. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Bernard Rose’s film.

“Samurai Marathon is such an engrossing, often moving film — there were times it was difficult to catch a breath,” Doris Pfardrescher, president and CEO of Well Go, said Tuesday in a statement. “Staying true to tradition while finding a place in the quickly modernizing and progressing world is a rather timely [theme], and we feel audiences in North America will connect to this story.”

Original article: Hollywood Reporter – Other sources: Bernard Rose

Yuki Hime

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Nana Komatsu is Yuki Hime in Samurai Marathon, she is the rebellious daughter of feudal lord Katsuakira Itakura (Hiroki Hasegawa)

European Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Screenings on June 25 and 26, director Bernard Rose will attend both.

US Premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival on June 28. There will be a Q&A session with Bernard Rose and the actress who will be honoured with a Rising Star Award.

Stills released by director Bernard Rose

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