DVD Review: Okinawa: The Afterburn

Okinawa: The Afterburn is an interesting and at times horrifying and heartbreaking documentary about the island of Okinawa, and the lasting U.S. presence there after World War II. For those who are not familiar with Okinawa, a title card at the beginning tells us, “Just one-third the size of Long Island in New York, Okinawa is occupied by 32 American military bases.” In 1945, after a long and bloody battle, the U.S. military claimed Okinawa, and though the island has since been returned to Japan (in 1972), the U.S. military has not left.

One of the bases there is considered the most dangerous military base in the world, located in a densely populated area. The footage at the beginning is incredible; seeing it, you’ll ask yourself how planes could possibly land or take off safely without hitting the surrounding buildings. Well, sure enough, we learn that a military helicopter crashed into a building at the nearby university. And that is all in the film’s opening sequence.

The documentary is divided into four sections, the first of which is about the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, during which one fourth of the island’s population was killed. What’s particularly intriguing is that this film includes interviews with people who were soldiers from both sides. The film is narrated, but the narration is kept to a minimum, and those interviewed are allowed to tell the story. A former Japanese soldier says: “People who survived the Battle of Okinawa say the war never ended. That’s certainly true for me.” There is also footage of the U.S. forces landing, as well as U.S. news reels about the battle and some great still photographs.

The second section is about the U.S. occupation of Okinawa, and how its citizens were moved to detention camps. This section also contains news reels, and there is footage of a village being uprooted so that a U.S. base could be built. Okinawa was used as a staging area for wars in Korea and Vietnam. Again, we hear from U.S. soldiers stationed there as well as from Japanese locals in order to get a fuller picture of what life was like there during this time. This section deals also with the question of identity among the population of a place that was occupied by another nation’s forces.

The third section is titled “The Afterburn,” and deals with some of the horrific events that happened after the U.S. forces landed there, such as the group suicides which didn’t come to light until decades later. The film takes us into the caves where people and lived and died, and the story of the teenage girl who begged her mother to kill her is particularly unsettling. This section also gets into some of the crimes committed by U.S. soldiers, such as the abduction, rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in 1955, and the abduction and rape of a twelve-year-old girl by three soldiers in 1995 (one of those soldiers is interviewed in the film).

The final section is the shortest, and is about the future of Okinawa, and about the plans for a new base which would endanger the coral and sea life in the bay.

Special Features

The DVD includes four bonus scenes, which total approximately twenty-one minutes. One features a former Japanese soldier describing the experience of facing flamethrowers, and includes footage of U.S. soldiers setting fires. In the second, a woman describes how she worked in a mess hall for no pay. The third is about a photographer who took photos of the helicopter crash. And in the fourth scene, former U.S. marine Douglas Lummis talks about the occupation mentality of the U.S. marines.

The DVD also includes a booklet with a map of Okinawa and a list of key points in its history.

Okinawa: The Afterburn was directed by John Junkerman, who also provides the narration. It was released on DVD on October 25, 2016 through First Run Features.

DVD Review: Sneakerheadz

If you think women are the only ones obsessed with shoe shopping, think again. There is an entire subculture, mostly men, collecting sneakers. Sneakerheadz documents these folks obsessed with athletic footwear. And no, they aren’t fetishists; at least, that word is never uttered in the film. If they do derive any sexual satisfaction from their peculiar hobby, they don’t mention it here. They are collectors; it’s just that their choice of item to collect might seem odd to the rest of us.

The film provides the briefest of histories of the word “sneaker” and of sneaker companies, before getting into the confessions, thoughts and boasts of the sneaker collectors. There is a bit of footage of Run-D.M.C. performing “My Adidas” while fans hold up their shoes. Yes, it’s weird. That song and its accompanying video are basically advertisements for Adidas sneakers, but I guess fans of that group not only didn’t care about them selling out, but actually embraced and celebrated it. It’s kind of sad. But that is not what this documentary is about.

This film is basically a celebration of sneakers and those people who collect them, as well as those who design them. The only person voicing an outside opinion on the subject is Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, who asks, “How do we distinguish normal collecting from hoarding disorder?” The film doesn’t provide an answer to that question, nor does it really delve into the psychology of collecting. It’s more about culture and identity. Skateboarder Rob Dyrdek says: “There’s a handful of things that can define who you are without saying a word, and your shoes are one of them.” Yes, talk about superficial. I’d like to think I am a bit more complicated than whatever shoes I happen to be wearing.

These people have really bought into the commercial culture. Another guy admits that it’s all about the brand, that even if a shoe looks great, if it’s from an uncool brand, it just won’t work. These people are true consumers. These are the folks at whom advertising is aimed. I’ve collected a lot of things over the years myself (Star Wars toys, baseball cards, records), and it’s interesting to me that some of the behavior is the same regardless of the object collected. For example, some of these guys buy more than one pair – one to wear, one to keep in the box. I used to do something similar with Star Wars action figures, buying one to open and one to keep in the packaging, with the goal of someday displaying the entire collection.

They are certainly dedicated to their hobby. Some of these guys would travel to different cities, even different countries, to purchase sneakers. Others have made money from their passion. One man from Japan travels to the United States, buys sneakers, and then sells them back in Japan for a much higher price.

For me, the most interesting material in this documentary comes toward the end, with the news footage of people being trampled by other customers eager to purchase a limited edition sneaker, and the interview with a mother of a guy who was shot for his sneakers. She created an organization called Life Over Fashion. I would have liked a bit more about that. There is also some cool stuff near the end about children designing sneakers. And I always appreciate shots of Fenway Park.

Sneakerheadz was directed by David T. Friendly and Mick Partridge, and was released on DVD on November 22, 2016 through Filmrise. The DVD contains no special features.

DVD Review: The Innocents

The Innocents is an engaging and quietly powerful film based on an incredible true story in Poland at the end of World War II, when Russian soldiers invaded a convent and raped the nuns living there, impregnating many of them. It was directed by Anne Fontaine (who also directed Nathalie… and Coco Before Chanel), and stars Lou de Laâge as Mathilde, a French Red Cross worker who ends up helping the nuns.

The film opens with the nuns singing, before one of them suddenly rushes outside into the woods. That’s a gorgeous shot, by the way, the black of the trees and white of the snow on the ground matching the nun’s white and black clothing. At a nearby town, children lead her to a hospital, after demanding money from her for the service. The hospital is full and we learn it is running low on penicillin. And they cannot help the nun. The Red Cross is there only to help French citizens, not the Polish people. But after Mathilde sees the nun knelt down in the snow, silently praying, she becomes determined to help.

The nun leads her back to the convent, where we hear the wails of the patient before seeing her, just as Mathilde experiences it. The film, though it tells the story of these nuns and deals with questions of faith, is really delivered through Mathilde’s eyes, and it is her story as much as it is theirs. And this perspective is established in early scenes like this one. When she learns the nun is in an advanced state of pregnancy, she quickly determines it is a breech baby and that she will have to operate. Before this, we’ve only seen her assist another doctor, but now she must act on her own.

The nuns accept Mathilde’s help, but need to keep their condition secret, for fear that their convent will otherwise be shut down and they will all be shamed. Mathilde too needs to keep her work secret, for by helping these Polish women, she is going against her orders. She feels she can’t even tell the doctor with whom she is having relations, a Jewish man who at one point says the Poles got what they deserved with the Germans and Russians. She also faces other physical dangers in traveling alone to the convent, and a terrifying encounter with Russian soldiers on the road one night brings her closer to the nuns. Lou de Laâge is particularly good in that scene, so real in fact that is difficult to watch. This is a film that is going to stay with me for a long time.

Special Features

The DVD contains a few special features, including a behind-the-scenes featurette, in which the director and some members of the cast offer their thoughts on the film while we see footage of the production. This is approximately eighteen minutes. The special features also include an interview with Anne Fontaine, in which she talks about the story and characters of the film, and the casting. The interview is in English, and is approximately eleven minutes. There is also a Q&A with Anne Fontaine, with Agnieszka Holland, filmed in Los Angeles in April of this year. It is approximately fifteen minutes. The theatrical trailer is also included.

The DVD also contains a booklet, which features a printed interview with the film’s director, as well as a copy of a report written by the real Mathilde in June of 1945.

The Innocents was released on DVD on September 27, 2016 through Music Box Films.

Blu-ray Review: The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension

I was twelve years old when The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension was originally released, and of course the line that stood out for me, even then, was “Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” I often repeated it, and I know I wasn’t alone in that. In fact, I still do say it. The difference is back then only a couple of close friends knew what I was talking about, and now the majority of people know what it is I am referring to. And that’s a good thing. The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension has over the years found its audience. And earlier this year a special two-disc Collector’s Edition was released through Shout! Factory. This set is certainly a good choice of gifts for the film enthusiasts on your list. It has plenty of bonus material, including a feature-length documentary.

For those who are not familiar with the movie, it stars Peter Weller (before he was Robocop, before he played Bill Lee in Naked Lunch) as Buckaroo Banzai, a brilliant neurosurgeon who also leads a rock and roll band and is working on a vehicle that will travel through other dimensions, and inadvertently comes into contact with aliens. The incredible cast also features John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin (I think she is one of the reasons I saw the film initially – I had a crush on her from Eddie And The Cruisers), Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, Lewis Smith, Carl Lumbly (from Alias), Vince Schiavelli and Dan Hedaya. John Lithgow is particularly hilarious as Lord John Whorfin, scientist and leader of the alien forces. “Laugh while you can, monkey boy.” Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli and Dan Hedaya are all perfectly cast as aliens. This film is a total delight, and holds up well.

Disc One Special Features

The first disc includes the feature-length documentary Buckaroo Banzai Into The 8th Dimension, which features interviews with director W.D. Richter and producer Neil Canton, who provide interesting information about how the script was written. Richter tells a crazy anecdote about Buckaroo’s red glasses. And yes, he talks about the watermelon. This documentary also includes interviews with many cast members, including Peter Weller, John Lithgow (who tells a great anecdote about the accent he used in the film), Christopher Lloyd, Clancy Brown, Carl Lumbly, Pepe Serna, Billy Vera (who talks about helping Peter Weller learn to play guitar), Lewis Smith and Damon Hines. Several of them admit they didn’t fully understand the script. There are interviews with key crew members as well, including special visual effects Michael Fink, costume designer Aggie Rodgers, costumer supervisor Eddie Marks and composer Michael Boddicker. This documentary is approximately two hours eight minutes.

There are also two commentary tracks. The first is with director W.D. Richter and writer Earl Mac Rausch. Interestingly, the title was originally going to be simply Buckaroo Banzai, but the studio forced them to add to it. That’s so odd to me, because the lengthy title seems like something a studio would not appreciate. Most people refer to the film as Buckaroo Banzai anyway. Richter mentions that Peter Weller did later loop a little of singing in the band scene. The second commentary track is with Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, who are big fans of the film.

Disc Two

The second disc contains more bonus material. Interestingly, this second disc is a regular DVD, not Blu-ray. Buckaroo Banzai Declassified is a featurette centering on an interview with W.D. Richter, but also at the beginning including snippets from old interviews with Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin, Clancy Brown and John Lithgow. Richter talks about props as if they are real artifacts, and also talks about some of the visual work and the deleted opening sequence. This is mixed with old footage of some of the special effects makeup and models and so on. This featurette is approximately twenty-three minutes. That alternate opening is also included, and is done as pieces from home movies featuring Buckaroo’s parents. His mother, by the way, is played by Jamie Lee Curtis.

There are fourteen deleted and extended scenes, including more with Penny at the club, more from the press conference, and some scenes mentioning Hanoi Xan, the villain that killed Buckaroo’s wife. There is also something titled Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets & New Mysteries, which is a weird computer graphics video. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included.

This two-disc collector’s edition of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension was released on August 16, 2016 through Shout! Factory, as part of their Shout Select series.