December 2025 Film Boxset News

The year may be drawing to a close but there is always more film news, including two upcoming boxsets.

Arriving late March, Radiance are blessing us with the story of Underworld Chronicles: Three Yakuza Fables by Takashi Miike, covering a selection of his films as he moved from V-Cinema into the mainstream.

Third Window have announced a companion to their excellent Takashi Ishii 4 Tales of Nami boxset, this time covering five films based on Ishii's manga: The Angel Guts Collection.

Want to know more? Yes, we know you do. As always synopses shamelessly stolen from the distributors below:

Underworld Chronicles: Three Yakuza Fables by Takashi Miike

The late nineties and early 00s saw director Takashi Miike make the transition from his origins in direct-to-video ‘V-cinema’ to one of the most critically and commercially successful Japanese directors on the international stage. A multi-talented director who would come to work in almost every established genre, it was his often outrageous takes on the gangster genre that first brought him attention outside of Japan. Three of his most notable Yakuza films from this period are collected here, in a landmark new box set.

FUDOH: THE NEW GENERATION

Riki Fudoh (Shosuke Tanihara) is a high school student juggling academic work with a secret life operating as an underworld boss. As the leader of a group of larger than life, school-age assassins, Fudoh is waging a campaign of violence against the entire criminal underworld, as part of a revenge plot against his own father (Toru Minegishi), a high-ranking Yakuza in his own right who was forced to murder Fudoh’s brother. Originally planned for release as a direct-to-video V-cinema title, Fudoh was granted a theatrical release after producers viewed the film, leading to it becoming a festival favourite around the world, and establishing Miike on the world stage as one of film’s great provocateurs and a key figure in ‘extreme’ cinema.

AGITATOR

A yakuza (played by Miike himself in a cameo) is murdered after violently assaulting a hostess on rival turf, providing the catalyst for a gang war between a number of factions seeking a redistribution of power. In this densely-layered gangland drama , the backroom manoeuvring of the senior figures in the yakuza, overseen by Mr. Kaito (Hiroki Matsukata, Rapacious Jailbreaker), are juxtaposed against the actions of the street-level mobsters, as the two sides head towards an inevitable collision. Written by Graveyard of Honor scribe Shigenori Takechi, Miike directed Agitator in arguably the most productive year of his career in 2001, alongside Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, and The Happiness of the Katakuris. Epic in scope, the film is presented here in its original theatrical version, and in a two-part 200 minute extended version, until now only available on Japanese VHS. 

DEADLY OUTLAW: REKKA

Kunisada (played by V-cinema legend Riki Takeuchi) has his world turned upside down after learning of the death of his mentor Sanada (Yuya Uchida, founder of the Flower Travellin’ Band, who also provide the film’s hard-rocking psychedelic soundtrack). Pairing up with his best friend Shimatani (Kenichi Endo, Visitor Q), Kunisada embarks on a rampaging road trip to avenge his fallen father figure, leaving a trail of bullets, blood spatters, and bazooka fire in his wake. A  typically bizarre and extreme take on the Yakuza genre, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka is Miike at his most deliriously entertaining.

Takashi Ishii: The Angel Guts Collection

A collection of 5 films from 1979 to 1994 adapted from Takashi Ishii’s cult manga, all featuring new HD masters alongside a variety of bonus features in a limited edition digipack set with a booklet.

Disc 1:
Red Classroom 天使のはらわた  赤い教室  (1979)
Special Features: 
・New Audio Commentary by Jasper Sharp
・Frankie Balboa Video Essay
・Two Archival Interviews with Takashi Ishii
・Original Trailer

Disc 2:
Nami 天使のはらわた  名美  (1979)
Special Features:
・New Audio commentary by Jasper Sharp
・James Balmont Video Essay
・Archival Interview with Noboru Tanaka
・Original Trailer  

Disc 3:
Red Porno 天使のはらわた  赤い淫画  (1981)
Red Vertigo 天使のはらわた  赤い眩暈 (1988)
Special Features:
・Red Vertigo Audio Commentary by Tom Mes
・Red Porno Audio Commentary by Samm Deighan
・Archival Interview with Toshiharu Ikeda
・Archival Interview with Takashi Ishii
・Original Trailers

Bonus Disc:
Red Flash 天使のはらわた  赤い閃光  (1994)
Special Features:
・Audio commentary by Jasper Sharp
・Matthew Carter Video Essay
・Archival Interview with Takashi Ishii