Tom Mes

Yes, I will be.

Thanks. It all depends on the state of the masters. Toei has quite a lot of titles in HD or better, but in V-Cinema they've always been the exception. The Rotterdam program has several films by the company (not Toei) that owns Suit Yourself, looking forward to seeing what those look like.

Guests to be announced soon...

The full line-up for the V-Cinema focus program I curated for the International Film Festival Rotterdam is up now:
iffr.com/en/iffr/2026...
Miike, Kurosawa, Aoyama, Takashi Ishii and lots of films that have never been shown in a theater before. Plus the full Crime Hunter trilogy!

Great to be part of this set and the ongoing rediscovery of Takashi Ishii by Third Window. These are challenging but very worthwhile films, with a fine set of colleagues providing extras to boot.

Gaga made a 4K restoration of Fudoh.
The extended version of Agitator only exists in SD

And Agitator also gets a US standalone release. Both this and the box contain the 200-minute extended cut, available in its original two-part form for the first time since the 2001 Japanese VHS release

Radiance's first Miike release and a big one: three of his best films in one set. Includes new interviews with Miike on all 3 films plus much more

‘Female Teacher: Forbidden Sex’ Among Selections as Rotterdam Spotlights Japan’s V-Cinema Movement Rotterdam's 2026 Focus spotlights Japan's V-Cinema era with films by Miike Takashi, Nakata Hideo, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Aoyama Shinji.

Thanks to Variety for a headline that is sure to sell extra tickets
variety.com/2025/film/fe...

Rotterdam Film Fest Unveils Focus Program on Japanese V-Cinema Phenomenon The direct-to-video trend that emerged in the late 1980s “left a lasting mark on contemporary film culture,” organizers said. The focus program will “feature early works by now-famous auteurs, through...

The cat's out of the bag: I'm curating a V-Cinema focus program for the upcoming International Film Festival Rotterdam
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

As much of a genre game-changer as Battles Without Honour and Humanity four years earlier. Our release comes with contributions from Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, writer Koji Takada, yakuza film historian Akihiko Ito and yours truly, along with an archival interview with director Sadao Nakajima

That is indeed the idea.

Radiance's biggest release yet, co-produced by Francesco Simeoni and myself: a big box full of peak Oshima

The Haunted Realm of Daiei Gothic Our latest Substack reprints Tom Mes' introduction to the world of Daiei Gothic and Japanese Ghost Stories

Another OOP Booklet Essay has been republished on our Substack, an intro to the world of Daiei Gothic by @midnightmes.bsky.social from our first boxset (ahead of the second instalment in October)

open.substack.com/pub/radiance...

More DAIEI GOTHIC coming to get you this Halloween!

My latest production for @filmsradiance.bsky.social is this very fine 1960s chanbara, which among other delights has one of the jaw-droppingest finales the genre has to offer

Happy 20th anniversary @thirdwindowfilms.com ! You've done trailblazing work in expanding the horizons of Japanese film releasing. Here's to many more!

PRESS CONFERENCE : Fighting back against accusations of sexual impropriety by Sion Sono YouTube video by 日本外国特派員協会 オフィシャルサイトFCCJchannel

www.youtube.com/live/Y3LNt4l...

The gist of yesterday's Sion Sono press conference: "It's all lies. I'm the only victim here."
Reporter: "But a judge acknowledged your sexual improprieties as fact."
Sono: "That was just an afterword to the real verdict. It doesn't count."

Go get 'em all!

This suit was by Sono, not against him. But it's true that the verdict is not exactly in his favour.

Lots more extras geared up for this one. These next three films are at least as much fun as the original trilogy, with Raizo continuing as a different ninja character

Having him ride a scooter was inspired by Roman Holiday - plus the fact that Matsuda's didn't have a driver's license.

Off on a location shoot and saying hi to Yusaku Matsuda's iconic scooter from the Detective Story TV series, 47 years on and still in excellent condition

Whoever said 1980s Japanese cinema was dull never saw Yusaku Matsuda kill off his action hero persona by playing a nihilistic mass murderer with a thing for Chopin and Rip Van Winkle

Hard to believe I've known this man for half my life. Thanks to @arrowvideo.bsky.social for the opportunity to meet up again. Look for announcements in the near future

Just finished listening to this excellent conversation between Samm Deighan and Tom Mes on V-Cinema. I especially loved the ending, touching on the gaps that are still yet to be uncovered in Japanese cinema. Highly recommend giving this a listen.

Eros + Massacre Episode 16: Japanese V-Cinema with Tom Mes It's spring equinox and Eros + Massacre is emerging from hibernation! This first episode of 2025 is a discussion with cinema historian Tom Mes. He's an international treasure and many of you were lik

With @arrowvideo.bsky.social's box set V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal on the horizon, I sit down with Samm Deighan to talk about, of course, Japanese straight-to-video movies!
cinepunx.com/eros-massacr...

At Radiance we continue the streak of Tai Kato releases with his fabulous version of the classic Yotsuya Ghost Story

I curated this set personally, if that makes a difference.