Electric Dragon 80000V

[Don Brown]

>I appreciate Don Brown's raising of Electric Dragon as a topic on the list 
(refreshing
>after all the 'can you help me find this?' postings). But I would like to 
challenge the
>implicit agreement he seeks (via his 'undoubtedly') in calling this a dumb 
film. I'd like
>to know what Don says about the 'well hidden' brain of this film; perhaps 
we aren't be in
>such disagreement.

Hi Patrick.  Yeesh, you certainly took me to task.  Well, my use of the 
words "undoubtedly" and "dumb" were in no way intended to be dismissive of 
the film.  I suppose I was clumsily trying to refer to the overwhelming 
sense of fun inherent in Electric Dragon.  The superhero elements, the 
music from Ishii's band, the sparse but hyperbolic "dialogue", Nagase and 
Asano doing overtime away from the set of Gojoe and apparently enjoying it. 
 In comparison with Ishii's other works, it doesn't have quite the 
metaphysical depth and exploration of character and instead harks back to 
the punkish energy of "Thunder Road" and his concert films, which appears 
to have been the director's intention.  In this way, I felt Electric Dragon 
was a much more accessible work than "Angel Dust" or "August In The Water", 
because of its reliance on sound and visuals.  It lacks narrative depth, 
but compensates for it with its barrage of sensory stimulation. That's a 
rather convoluted explanation of the "well-hidden brain" comment.
  I guess fundamentally we're not really in disagreement, as we both 
enjoyed the film.  I hope everyone else gets a chance to see it.  
Don Brown
p.s.The soundtrack by Mach 1.67 is available on CD in Japan.      


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