Electric Dragon 80.000 V

A 55-minute hyperkinetic descent into electro-charged madness, Electric Dragon 80.000 V is a virtually plotless, overly-extended music video playing like a punk rock shock to the brain. Championing kinetic anarchy and raw aggression, the film's underground visual style with its high contrast black and white cinematography and bizarre imagery set to an overwhelming eardrum-shattering industrial noise soundtrack will certainly have its fans. I can't deny that the film is a wildly unique piece of eye candy, often with fast-cutting sequences filled with flashes of electricity and surging power within our characters, not to mention the wild guitar-playing sequences. Having that high contrast crisp monochrome look, Electric Dragon plays like a manga come to its fullest realisation, a visual and aural marvel, shot and edited with boundless energy and style, and yet I'm still left wanting more.

This would be the perfect companion piece for Tetsuo the Iron Man. Sharp, over the top, and rather fierce lil' film that'll have you bugged out all the way till its conclusion. Though its only an hour long, the director packed in so much detail(including a gangster with a finger spinning phone/gun, missing lizard posters, an electric mattress, a supercharged guitar and more), humor and backstory that it seems as if the film is much longer but this certainly isn't a bad thing at all. One hour is more than enough and the filmmakers knew this instead of taking two hours to set everything up. This film is like an electrical surge to the senses. Like watching a car wreck but in slow motion. Hard, pounding music, crazy narration, sharp cinematography and an excellent use of the black, grey, silver, and white color tones only adds to the furious pace of the film. Not to mention some very funny performances by our two leads/challengers- a violence prone, guitar shredding lizard detective(imagine a Japanese Ace Ventura), and an electronic peeping tom/hitman/technogadget geek with split personalites(and half a metal mask). But, what makes these characters very cool- A shared love of electricity and an ability to conduct and harness it to use as they wish. This film is like a slow burn with two very volatile opponents slowly but surely heading on a crash course with each other. A very very very fun, funny and entertaining film. Highly recommended. 10/10

This is an aggressive Tour de Force in the vein of the early works of Shinya Tsukamoto, while nor sharing the intense body horror of those films or the extreme stand toward sexuality. Two electrified superheros battle for domination in this short (55 min) b/w feature film by Sogo Ishii. Electric Dragon Eye who was superempowered by an accident is capable of communicating with reptiles and releases his amphetamine stridden electronic energy by playing electric guitar on the streets. He is provoked by another stud the Thunderbold Buddha that is wearing a split mask over his head. Superfast cut Comic action combined with the sound of Ishiis own band Mach.167 culminates in a furious battle on the rooftop of a japanese megalopolis. Its Cyberpunk and definitely related to digital hardcore music or Alec Empire.

Rating: 9/10

Cyberpunk is long since dead. The movement was founded in the early 80s, and represented rather an attitude, instead of content. Cyberpunk was raw, gritty, industrial and had an unhealthy technology fetish. The prime example of the whole cyberpunk movement in the film industry was the Japanese film Tetsuo (The Iron Man), which brought international fame to director Shinya Tsukamoto. Before that, director Sogo Ishii had already dabbled in the realms of cyberpunk, with varying success. His films never reached the heights of Tsukamoto's, and soon, it was just considered a phase he had to go through.

People lost interest, and soon only a weak remainder of the whole cyberpunk mentality was left. Some films are obviously still influenced by it, but the core has died since then, and only those small influences remain. Ten years later, Ishii was asked by his producer to take a trip back, and to make another punk film. Ishii happily took the challenge upon him, and set out to revive a way of thought that was buried a good ten years ago.

The story is an extremely simple one, like a comic book. Two electric mutants exist in Tokyo. The first one, Dragon Eye Morrison, a violent kid who got infused with electricity due to an overdose of electric shock therapy. He changed his ways, and captures amphibians for a living. The only way to discharge himself from the ever-rising electric currents in his body is to play the electric guitar. The second one, his adversary, is called Thunderbolt Buddha. Fried while climbing a pylon as a kid, his entire right side is cast in iron to conduct the electricity from his body. Obviously, Tokyo isn't big enough for the two of them, so one needs to go.

Sounds silly? Good, it should. Electric Dragon is mostly silent, and whatever dialogue there is, is often accompanied with violent calligraphic pieces. The film isn't all that concerned with plot holes, or with the plot itself it seems. It is meant to entertain, and that it does. I must admit that I even lost track of what was going on for the middle part of the film, not that it mattered to me, since the outcome of the film could be predicted after the first few minutes. For the lead roles, Ishii was able to get Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase, two big names in Japanese cinema, who play their parts with extreme vigor and passion, and with total disregard to their fandom status. Asano was also the one who did the calligraphy for the film.

Not only that, but the score of the film was also made by Asano. Together with Ishii, he forms an industrial punk band called Mach 1.67, who provided most of the songs for Electric Dragon. The film has without a doubt the most ear-shattering soundtrack ever, with wailing guitars, distorted samples, distorted voices and a hellish tempo. It's more than just a part of the film, as it defines the film, and gels everything together. The sound design is excellent too. In many scenes some sizzling electricity samples are added, just to add another layer of density. It's probably not to everybody's taste, and personally, I've heard harder, denser, and grittier songs, but as a soundtrack, it works wonders.

Visually, Electric Dragon is shot in lush black & white, with an eye for detail. There is some added CGI, which blend in nicely, although it must be said it's greatly benefiting from the black & white and comic book setting. The only small remark I have is that the visuals can't measure up to the soundtrack on some occasions, and, in comparison, can even be considered rather plain. Not the shots themselves, which are great, but the editing is sometimes a bit tame, and could've used some extra attention. Luckily, the latter half of the film totally makes up for this, with zany effects and extremely messy camera work.

With the first half of the film dedicating itself to shape the characters, the latter half is all about the battle. There's even time for a little subplot with a mobile-wielding Yakuza. After some planning and setting up traps, they finally meet for the big showdown, both planning to crush their adversary. The ending really brings out the potential of the film, and leaves you behind, dazed and confused, wondering if it wasn't all just a wild dream. Not that you have much time for catching your breath, as the end credits are set to the same deafening soundtrack the rest of the film features.

It's easy to see that Electric Dragon only focused on one thing. Fun. Shot in only a week, with a very low budget, it's an all-out attack on the senses. Going with that, it blends in a great comic book story that's as insane as the rest of the film. Ishii handles everything with a good dose of humor, illustrated by the character names, dialogues and the sound effects of munching lizards. The characters gave their all, and the film ends with a bang. The only thing that prevents this from becoming an ultimate masterpiece, is some uninspiring editing in the middle, and the fact that Tetsuo did everything just a tad bit better. Note that this isn't a film that will be appreciated by most people. You need a healthy dose of relativation, and should be interested in cinema that pushes the boundaries of audiovisual blending. I can only recommend this film though, as it is a fine continuation of the cyberpunk spirit, true to its original spirit.

Tadanobu Asano's middle name is COOL.

This one's a visual treat. If you've seen Tetsuo: Iron Man, you'll be familiar with the breakneck cuts, but there's less of the "biting down on aluminum foil" effect you get from Tetsuo. Asano just flows into his character who's has one of the best morning routines I've ever seen. I don't even want to describe his scenes, but they're a hoot to watch. The black and white definitely gives the movie a more gritty, almost kinetic feel. Effects are great without overkill and there's so much style onscreen giving ED8V its unique energy. Just watch the quick dialogue flashes and you feel the adrenaline laced coaster ride.

ED8V definitely flows and the movie pretty much keeps you glued throughout. Definitely rewatchable as there's a lot to pick up on that you have missed the first time.