Celluloid Wunderkammer: Call Me Tonight (1986)

From http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i386/jgespi/caratulas/CallMeTonightRedux-1.jpg

Dir. Tatsuya Okamoto

Contrary to the provocative image that I've included at the beginning, this short piece of obscure anime flips the expectations for hentai into how perverse the concept of tentacle erotica is. I've been lucky to discover these fascinating obscurities released straight to video, mainly thanks to the Anime News Network article series Buried Treasure - found here - and thankfully these works that have never been released on DVD even in their home country have been discovered by Western fans, subtitled by said fans, and made available online. I admit to haven't even see key anime works like Cowboy Bebop (1998) yet seen the likes of Call Me Tonight, my habit for digging deep into the depths of my favourite things sending me to material like this, made back when money was plenty enough for a subversion of anime sexuality, when anime hentai was only birthed within the same decade, to be made. If this material was made available on DVD, when pigs fly, they would be fascinating curiosities for anyone to see.

Review Link - http://www.videotapeswapshop.co.uk/19348/celluloid-wunderkammer-call-me-tonight-1986-director-tatsuya-okamoto/

From http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/call-me-tonight/w448/call-me-tonight.jpg

Celluloid Wunderkammer Review: The Phantom Empire (1935)

From http://wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/posters-p/phantom_empire_poster_03.jpg

Dirs. Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason

Dare you go into the underground world of Murania? Can a cowboy defeat a death ray? Can country singer Gene Autry save Radio Ranch, and what did I actually think of this American film serial? All of this may be answered if you follow the link here. A film serial was cover before, but not combining cowboys and robots.

From http://markdavidwelsh.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/phantom-empire1.jpg

Celluloid Wunderkammer: A Broad Bellflower (1987)

From http://redkorea.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/e311.jpg

Dir. Kyun Soon Jo

I cannot wonder, thinking back on this review, what the original reactions to this film were in North Korea itself. What is the context of its existence? Frankly, considering the controversies surrounding the country, what did the normal public actually think of this film? In their own homes away from public officials? Without a lot of information on the country's cinema, its difficult to gauge these questions fully. The film itself in the context of the new Celluloid Wunderkammer series I started on Videotape Swapshop? The point of the series is that even if a film is forgettable, the context of its existence at least should leave a lasting impression, an opening one even, for a new area of cinema or at least more detail on it. Something interesting to look at if anything. It's almost cliche to say viewing this has made me want to see more of the cinema of the Great Leader's nation, but it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of the films you can find to see and learn from what the nation gives to its own people and to us. And I'm not even talking about Pulgasari (1985) yet.

Review Link - http://www.videotapeswapshop.co.uk/18389/celluloid-wunderkammer-a-broad-bellflower-1987-director-kyun-soon-jo/

From http://redkorea.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/df5607broad-bellflower.jpg