<div dir="ltr">Dear Alex,<div>Thank you for this extra information - very very interesting. I saw Venus Tear Diamond years ago in Hawaii. I should look for it again. That was Inoue Umetsugu I think. I remember Lily Ho is in it and the Korean actress Park Ji-hyeon. I had no idea Shin Sang-ok had been involved.</div><div>best</div><div>ej<br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Earl Jackson P</div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><div>Professor</div><div>Chair, Foreign Languages and Literatures</div><div>National Chiao Tung University</div></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Associate Professor, Emeritus</div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">University of California, Santa Cruz</div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Co-Director<br></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Trans-Asia Screen Cultures Institute</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Apr 24, 2019 at 8:32 PM Zahlten, Alexander via KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt">Hi Earl,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt">You are right, there are two versions of Asiapol, though only one is / was officially available on DVD as far as I know, which is the one Jasper pointed out (contact me offline and we can talk more about how
to get your hands on it). Akinori’s films are very interesting for the way they use the widescreen format – Jasper can probably tell us a lot about that aspect (Jasper, when is your book on widescreen finally coming out? I can’t wait!).<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt">Venus Tear Diamond is terrifically interesting – the Expo scenes are amazing by themselves. The expo visit by the characters ends up focusing on the Korean pavilion (built to look like a giant turtleship (!),
oars and all – talk about sticking it to Japan) because of another fascinating aspect of the film. It was partially a project initiated by Shin Sang-ok, who was heavily involved with Shaw Brothers at the time and thinking of a Korean release; this was another
reason Inoue needed to use a Chinese film for the directing credits.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt">Best,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt">Alex<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">From: </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan-bounces@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>> on behalf of Jasper Sharp via KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
<b>Reply-To: </b>Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
<b>Date: </b>Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 04:31<br>
<b>To: </b>Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
<b>Cc: </b>Jasper Sharp <<a href="mailto:jasper_sharp@hotmail.com" target="_blank">jasper_sharp@hotmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [KineJapan] Asiapol Secret Service<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">As far as I was aware, the film was a Nikkatsu-Shaw co-production and so not two different versions.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">Nikkatsu have basic details on their own website, but the film is not on any home viewing format in Japan:
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nikkatsu.com_movie_20962.html&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=p8MqXQa5EhH-TH7-2m01Gpy7IekAnqfeTbjQ5zMVAFg&e=" target="_blank">
http://www.nikkatsu.com/movie/20962.html</a> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">However, a lot of the Shaw Bros films were released on DVD about 15 years ago, including this one, although it might be hard to find at the moment: <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.badpandashop.com_products_asia-2Dpol-2D1967-2Dregion-2D3-2Ddvd-2Denglish-2Dsubtitled-2Dshaw-2Dbrothers&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=q7Sf5SuGIBBFpR25m33uLDdTa1TMeFvi4iEmi1iyVTw&e=" target="_blank">https://www.badpandashop.com/products/asia-pol-1967-region-3-dvd-english-subtitled-shaw-brothers</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:black">Akinori made quite a few films in Hong Kong. In fact, I don't think his Japanese work is particularly well known or available at the moment - I don't think I've ever seen any of it, but I do have
his Shaw Bros production Lady Professional, from 1971, which features Lily Ho as an assassin running around Hong Kong and Japan disguised in a nun's outfit. Actually, these Shaw Bros films from Japanese directors do tend to look awfully like Nikkatsu films,
Umetsugu Inoue's Venus Tears Diamond being a case in point - a great comic heist movie that even features a scene at the Osaka Expo. Would love to research these further myself had I time time and resources.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.creepinggarden.com_&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=Vb2Vyt6AqulyUiGjYBrWh4oqTISvWm7j4jzdlgmH1Pc&e=" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">The
Creeping Garden</span></b></a></span></i><i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">- A Real-Life Science-Fiction Story about Slime
Moulds and the People Who Work With them, directed by Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Available now on Dual-Format Blu-ray/DVD from </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__arrowfilms.com_product-2Ddetail_the-2Dcreeping-2Dgarden-2Ddual-2Dformat_FCD1435&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=mIrsuOJbRIiGFaCj1nT81imyrgaiVdRVc8uu4LOfsJ0&e=" title="https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/the-creeping-garden-dual-format/FCD1435
Cmd+Click or tap to follow the link" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">Arrow
Films</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">The book, <i>The Creeping Garden: Irrational Encounters with Plasmodial Slime Moulds </i>is out now from </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.alchimiapublishing.com_creeping-2Dgarden_&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=3U_sUzHhHqABnhn2IdqyR58RjCJH9oSTlF3bpvfHHWQ&e=" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">Alchimia
Publishing</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">"A surprising investigation of perception, thought and life itself", Nicolas Rapold, </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2015_09_30_movies_review-2Dthe-2Dcreeping-2Dgarden-2Don-2Dthe-2Dwonders-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dslime-2Dmold.html&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=kSciqvAx61OlS280pQBCppLbcQWwEQDUavz_NMv0Hnc&e=" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">The
New York Times</span></i></a></span><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">"An out-of-left-field nerdy delight", John DeFore, </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.hollywoodreporter.com_review_creeping-2Dgarden-2Dfantasia-2Dreview-2D724416&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=4adg_A0rhckKVTOlTlpCL1mZd4aij3Qi4LdWk9btrGQ&e=" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">Hollywood
Reporter</span></i></a></span><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">"Strange, eccentric, diverting", Peter Bradshaw, </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.theguardian.com_film_2017_mar_09_creeping-2Dgarden-2Dreview-2Dslime-2Dmould-2Dfilm&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=__ROkypPMfBMMPVia3CjGrxSJryXbwjGyfBDGhCKd68&m=8dyBkyO4roa90Q4phaATVq-qwqFevxj_EJ1E34LZy9g&s=GVGf2A8T8uiGXImuUQ0BnfKMW0S_6sb0ecHMmCH9ay4&e=" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">The
Guardian</span></i></a></span><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black">From:</span></b><span style="color:black"> KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan-bounces@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>> on behalf of Earl Jackson via KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> 24 April 2019 04:56<br>
<b>To:</b> Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Earl Jackson<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [KineJapan] Asiapol Secret Service</span> <u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Everyone <u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Apparently Matsuo Akinori directed a film in Chinese in Hong Kong called Asiapol Secret Service but also made a Japanese version concurently, starring Shichido Joe, Asaoka Ruriko, and Nitani Hideaki in 1966. Does anyone know if this has
ever become available in any medium at all?<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">earl<br clear="all">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Earl Jackson<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Professor<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Chair, Foreign Languages and Literatures<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">National Chiao Tung University<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Associate Professor, Emeritus<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">University of California, Santa Cruz<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Co-Director<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Trans-Asia Screen Cultures Institute<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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