The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.

CRAZY THUNDER ROAD aka KURUIZAKI THUNDER ROAD (1980)

Run Time: 1:37:00
A Film By: Gakuryū Ishii (then known as Sogo Ishii)
Key Cast: Tatsuo Yamada, Masamitsu Ohike, Kôji Nanjô

FILM MAKERS

Crazy Thunder Road is hailed as Japan’s Mad Max. Directed by Gakuryū Ishii (then known as Sogo Ishii) who is to many, the godfather of Japanese cyberpunk cinema. Sogo Ishii’s high-octane, loud-and-proud breakthrough hit was one of the country’s great success stories. Shot on 16mm and made on equipment borrowed from the university where Ishii was studying at the time, Crazy Thunder Road not only got him kicked out of school and up to his neck in debt, it also launched his professional filmmaking career when the film was bought by Toei Studios, restruck on 35mm and released nationwide. Like all of Ishii’s best films, it is as much a document of an era and its subcultures (the supporting cast are mostly real bikers and rock musicians) as a rip-roaring work of fiction.

Gakuryū Ishii’s films are notoriously hard to find, but in 2022, Third Window Films released the film on Blu-Ray, along with several other Ishii titles.. This is the first video release (in any format) outside of Japan of Sogo Ishii’s punk classic, featuring a new restoration supervised by the director alongside many new and exclusive extras! Depending on your region in the world, you can stream the film or purchase a Blu-Ray copy directly through Third Window Film’s website.

While there was no official soundtrack released for the film, it is so good that it’s worth mentioning. The majority of the chaotic, high energy score was composed and performed by Shigeru Izumiya, who also appeared as an actor playing the role of Takeshi, the leader of a right-wing, militia-style nationalist group that clashed with the film’s biker gangs.

The soundtrack is filled out with tracks by Panta & Hal, a new wave band fronted by Hal (Haruo Nakamura), a pioneer of Japanese rock and roll and co-founder and lead singer of the radical rock band Zunō Keisatsu (Brain Police). It also includes tracks by legendary Japanese punk and rock band The MODS, including the song ‘Urusai’ and several instrumental tracks. The entire soundtrack can be found pieced together online with the exception of The MODS’ instrumentals. Listen here:

Soundtrack #1: Shigeru Izumiya

Soundtrack #2: Shigeru Izumiya, Panta & Hal, The MODS

SUMMARY

Ken, a gang leader dreaming of a quiet life with his girlfriend Noriko, and Jin, Ken’s maverick successor, who isn’t about to let yakuza kingpins or right-wing nutjobs tell him what to do or whom to kill. Jin’s violent individualism in a world where even outlaws follow the bosses’ orders references the doomed anti-establishment heroes of Kinji Fukasaku, but Crazy Thunder Road points toward a new style of genre filmmaking-fast-paced, quick-witted and brilliantly stylized.

RELATED MEDIA

Select Regions: Rent Online direct from Third Window Films.

In The US: Buy the Blu-Ray direct from Third Window Films.