Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - Cult Classics
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Xristophoros
 Posts: 149 |
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Very nice list. I have seen them all except for Hells and Belladonna (which I had no idea of their existence). Mind Game, Redline and Dead Leaves are very special films and while they are not for everyone, you cannot help but marvel at all the creativity at work. Redline is certainly the most approachable of the bunch and the equivalent of a "blockbuster", while the other two are for more open minded folks.
There is one film I would add to this. Cat Soup. Now there is another mind bend from Yuasa that will stick with you long after you've seen it 
I would add Angel's Egg to this list but feel like it is simply too art house and experimental to even garner a cult following. I appreciate and respect it very much, but it is not something I could watch very often (if ever again) and feel like it is far too inaccessible as a form of "entertainment". |
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unitmikey
 Posts: 286 |
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How did I miss the announcement for a theatrical Belladonna? I've never seen it, but now is the time it seems (if shown close enough). That and Cleopatra are talked about so specifically as points of strangeness that I feel out of the loop having not seen them :/
And if something influenced Utena, than yeah, I have at least a little more incentive to watch it. And I still regret not forcing myself through four hours of driving to see Redline in the theater. I would have been worth it imo. But hey, If some film publisher wants to put out more weird stuff like this, than please, keep at it. |
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Joe Carpenter
 Posts: 503 |
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That's strange, I thought Dead Leaves was more well known.
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1747 |
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Thank you for mentioning Dead Leaves. I had purchased an Imaishi sketch a while ago that was from the era and I couldn't place it. Thanks to this article, I can now identify it as a sketch of Pandy.
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bemused Bohemian
Posts: 404 Location: central Mizzou (Moral Oralville) |
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I loved Dead Leaves immensely. Not only is it a hoot, it's great for clearing out a movie room, separating true believers from daisy pickers who lack imagination with adult-tinged imagery and non-existent linguistic articulation. In fact this show is such a hit in my book I've got 3 dvds of it: 1 to watch, 1 for backup, 1 to passively loan to some unsuspecting cinemaphile who might be interested in edgy anime. Sure beats wasting time watching Deadman Wonderland that takes much longer to watch with no satisfying plot or ending.
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Mr Adventure
 Posts: 1598 |
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One of my favorite weird obscure shows is Kaiba which I've never been clear if it ever had an offical sub release via streaming. It certainly never got a disc release or a dub in North America. It was a seriously surreal experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. With an art style that channels Tesuka like its never gone out of style.
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2231 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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There's an official English sub release (DVD Region 4) in Australia from Siren Visual which I happened to translate. |
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Hawkmoth
 Posts: 62 |
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I bought Dead Leaves for £3 second-hand, because...I'm not really sure why. Murmurs on the internet perhaps. And I found it fantastic: the little plot is perfect for a 50 fest of pure action. Any longer, it would be a mess but at that short length, it's excellent. As XCKD mentioned up above, this is how action movies should be done!
Also, on a side note, it features one of my favourite extras on a DVD release: most of the main staff getting drunk and talking vulgar stuff. It ends with Imaishi forgetting to thank the fans and proclaiming himself a drunkard. And the director's commentary takes place in a bar too, with the film moving too fast for them to comment on it. Extras par excellence. Mind Game + Redline both excellence too, Mind Game being one of my favourite movies. Kickstart a Bluray release please? Someone? |
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trilaan
 Posts: 1054 Location: Texas |
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Never fear, I showed Hells to my anime club recently. It IS getting exposure.
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Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
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The only other anime I'd add to this list is Angel's Egg. But yeah, like others have said it may be too arthouse to have a cult following, even for the "obscure" tastes fans. But it was artistically beautiful. I kind of have a thing for old anime films. Which is why I constantly find myself at odds with a lot of newer anime fans that claim stuff like Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion are "too old." I'd take those old looking films over some of the current mass produced sludge being churned out in the industry any day.
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thenix
 Posts: 265 |
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It's funny. The exact reason people like P&S KLK and (Falling leaves?) is the same reason I don't like them Not much substance. It's taking every cliche it can and just throwing it all at you without much sense. To each their own though, i don't expect everyone to like/dislike the same thing as me. I just usually think that maybe there is something I'm missing or that what I dislike about a show is something someone else can overlook.
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neshru
Posts: 38 |
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Unlike his TV series which are more restrained and balanced, Dead Leaves is 100% concentrated Imaishi. And when it comes to Imaishi's style, you probably either love it or you hate it. All I can say about Dead Leaves is that the first time I watched I felt exhilarated by its action animation, and that is something that doesn't happen often. There's nothing else like it, no other Imaishi work comes close to replicating its feel. |
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Swissman
Posts: 768 Location: Switzerland |
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Hells was shown in 2009 at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, coincidentally where Redline hat its world premiere. I remember having mixed feelings about this movie. The beginning was great, but then it started to drag on, and on, and on ... The theater audience started to get exhausted towards the end of the movie.
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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I felt the same way for Hells. It had a cool style and energy but then decided to go south of Oshii with respect to plot advancement and protuberance of BS. It's not energizing in the least, but probably not as room-clearing as Angel's Egg. Seems like most people agree that's something you watch alone
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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I liked Dead Leaves, but I felt it was one of Imaishi's weaker works, thougjh not because of the story but because it felt more disorganized than the stuff that would come later. Nevertheless, this was one of the most energetic movies I had ever seen, if not THE most.
Its energy would have doomed it to a niche anyway though. The live-action Speed Racer had half of Dead Leaves's energy, and it was trashed by the mainstream for being too frenetic. I wonder if the guy with the drill for a...private appendage was the inspiration for Gurren Lagann. Redline is something I should eventually get around to seeing. Why did it bomb in theaters? (I know there can only be speculation and conjecture, but I haven't seen the movie, but everyone who has seems to say it's great, so there must be an indirect reason.) |
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