Crazy Thunder Road (1980) [Film Review]

Crazy Thunder Road; or, Falling Down
     I founded the Maboroshi group eight years ago. Now I'm one of its seniors. You should know I'm on your side. I'm right behind you guys who want to raise hell on your bikes. You beat the pseudo grown-ups any day. But listen, Jin... This way you'll end up wasting your energy.
When it comes to punk-charged aesthetics accompanied by outstanding cinematography and a strong critical comment on modern society, Gakuryu Ishii (also known as Sogo Ishii) is the go-to director. In this review, I am taking a look at his university “senior thesis” project called Crazy Thunder Road, a biker-gang classic that is about to be released for the first time in the West by Third Window Films

Release Info

Directed by: Gakuryu (Sogo) Ishii Starring: Tatsuyo Yamada, Koji Nanjo, Michiko Kitahara

Language: Japanese Original Title: 狂い咲きサンダーロード Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis
Ken (Koji Nanjo) is the leader of a Maboroshi biker group. He calls it quits because he wants to have a quiet life with his girlfriend Noriko (Michiko Kitahara). However, Jin (Tatsuyo Yamada) opposes the idea to merge the gang with another organisation, so he takes over the leadership. In order to preserve his individuality, Jin will have to fight against yakuza kingpins and ultra-nationalist militants.

Seize the Day and Set it on Fire
Even though Gakuryu Ishii was already known in Japan for the Panic High School (1978) movie he co-directed, Crazy Thunder Road got him into the showbiz of Japanese Cinema. The Toei executives were so impressed with the young filmmaker’s punk feature, which was made because, allegedly, he wanted to continue using university equipment, they have upscaled the original 16mm negative into a 35mm presentation and gave the movie a nationwide release.

In my opinion, Crazy Thunder Road has to be seen twice in order to be understood. You just don’t know what to expect from Gakuryu Ishii, the visionary who gave us The Crazy Family (1984), Angel Dust (1994), and August in the Water (1995). Crazy Thunder Road is a low-budget introduction into the cyberpunk genre made in Japan. That is to say, we have bosozoku characters but their manic attitude, especially Jin’s, is cranked up to the max. The nihilistic and industrialised atmosphere of the film gives off the feeling as if society is on the brink of destruction. Indeed, Jin himself is torn between chaos and order as we see him meandering between right-wing crazies and yakuza nutjobs. All in all, the only way out for the main hero is to oppose every kind of authority.

In many reviews, you can find Crazy Thunder Road being compared to Mad Max (1979) and The Warriors (1979). I believe that Midnight Eye team was spot on with their own analysis of the film when saying that Ishii’s feature, in terms of its basic yet efficient resourcefulness resembles Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981): “Both films are dazzling showcases of ostentatious film school experimentation coupled with an undeniably accomplished technical proficiency and razor-sharp editing” (source).

Personally, I would add that if it had not been for Crazy Thunder Road, there would not have been Akira (1988) in its present form. After watching Ishii’s bikes-and-guns epic, it becomes obvious that the film had an influence on Katsuhiro Otomo. The two even collaborated together on the adaptation of Otomo’s manga Run in 1981. What is more, the action-packed finale of Crazy Thunder Road predates the showdown between Deckard and Roy Batty in Blade Runner by two years!

In terms of disadvantages, the erratic pacing has to be addressed. Perhaps this is only my own reflection, but it seems as if a lot of the footage was, in fact, cut out in the editing process. At times, there is a strong prevalence that a certain scene is just missing as we see the characters jump from one location to another. Still, this uncanny feeling is compensated by the exhaustively dynamic performance of the late Tatsuyo Yamada as Jin.

Recommendations
If you seek for an unusual, anti-establishment motion picture from the hallmarks of film history, I recommend Gakuryu Ishii’s Crazy Thunder Road. It’s a 42-year-old university project that keeps on giving to this day. The Third Window Blu-ray release comes out on the 21st of February. Their edition includes a new master of the film approved by Gakuryu Ishii, new interview with the director, audio commentary by Tom Mes, and a video essay by Jasper Sharp on Jishu Eiga.Overall score: 7/10

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