4 Star

Assassin Lovers Delight

Arrow Video knows we love a tale about the man with a cover story, while also doubling up as a deadly assassin, well here they are. Two assassin films directed by ‎ Kazuo Mori (Vendetta for a Samurai, Fighting Fire Fighter) famous for his jidaigeki (Period Drama’s) films, but here he gives us two dark and brooding features that let the action do the talking. A great Blu-ray release for the fans of the dark, mysterious man, with deadly skills.

A Certain killer

Our first instalment is a film that flits back and forth through time, It sees sushi chef Shiozawa (Band of Assassins, Conflagration) sharpening his knife ready for slicing his fish at the Kikunoya restaurant. We also see him wandering the desolate wasteland near the industrial coastline. He finds the tatty Harumi Villa that has vacancy’s, he rents the upstairs room that has a vacant room below and to the side. So he is set up for whatever he has planned, with his roll filled with revolvers.

Flashback, some time, and Shiozawa is in a café having some breakfast, when the owner is having trouble with a young woman who has no money, she is Keiko (Yumiko Nogawa, Three She-Cats, Shinsengumi). To save everybody some stress, he offers to pay for her meal and when she sees what is in his wallet she sees an opportunity to get some of that cash.

She worms her way into his restaurant, much to the chagrin of waitress Midori (Yukiko Kobayashi, Destroy All Monsters, Space Amoeba). At this time, Shiozawa is contacted by Maeda (Mikio Narita, Message from Space, Samurai Reincarnation) for the Kimura clan, as they are being squeezed out of business by their rival Owada (Tatsuo Matsushita, Submersion of Japan, Take Aim at the Police Van). The task is simple, to remove the Kimura family’s problem permanently.

But as with all assassin film  there is the deed to be done, the price to be paid, the doublecross, (as who wants to pay a huge sum of money once the deed is done) and survive to work another day.

Come rain, come wind, I’m not changing the plan!

A Killer’s Key

This time we see Raizô Ichikawa as a traditional dance instructor, who has a geisha student who is always looking for a sponsor, and she sees her teacher as a very good opportunity. But he also has an alter ego as a silent killer.

His brief is that there is an owner of a construction company which owes billions in tax evasion and there is a long paper trail that would implicate a lot of other influential people, and they want him out of the way, before he spills the beans.

With the same problems as the first film, this is a great addition to this killer of a Blu-ray release.

A Certain Killer and A Killer’s Key will be available to stream on ARROW and on Blu-ray from 10th February.

Subscriptions are available for £4.99 monthly or £49.99 annually

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both films
Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio for both films
Optional newly translated English subtitles
Brand-new audio commentary for both films by critic and Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns
The Definite Murderer, a brand new 30-minute introduction to the films by Japanese film scholar Mark Roberts
Original theatrical trailers for both films
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Tony Stella
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Jasper Sharp and Earl Jackson