Wicked City - DVD

A fragile peace treaty exists between the human world and the Black World — a parallel realm of demons who live alongside humanity unseen. The treaty is up for renewal, and an extremist faction within the Black World intends to prevent it by any means necessary. Renzaburo Taki is a member of the Black Guard, a covert organization that polices the boundary between the two worlds. He has been assigned to protect Giuseppe Mayart — an elderly man of enormous spiritual power whose participation is essential to the treaty's renewal — until the signing can be completed. His partner is Makie, a Black Guard agent who is herself a demon of exceptional ability and unsettling beauty. Together they must keep Mayart alive through a night of escalating supernatural violence as the extremists deploy increasingly monstrous assassins. What Taki does not fully account for is how much Makie has already sacrificed — and what it means that she continues to fight for a peace that would return her to a world that has little use for her.

Wicked City is an 82-minute 1987 theatrical film directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri — the director of Demon City Shinjuku, Ninja Scroll, Goku: Midnight Eye, Cyber City Oedo 808, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust — produced by Madhouse, and based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel — the same author as the Vampire Hunter D novels. It is Kawajiri's feature directorial debut and the film that established his visual vocabulary: fluid creature transformations, noir lighting, explicit sexuality and violence deployed as horror rather than titillation, and action sequences that exist on the edge of surrealism. The score was composed by Osamu Shoji. The original English dub was produced by Streamline Pictures — Carl Macek's company — and features Gregory Snegoff as Taki, Gaye Kruger as Makie, and Mike Reynolds as Giuseppe Mayart. Urban Vision Entertainment released the film on VHS in December 1999 and on DVD on November 7, 2000 — the DVD presenting the Streamline dub alongside the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, with anamorphic widescreen video and both English and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. A Tsui Hark-directed live-action Hong Kong adaptation was released in 1992.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Screenplay: Kisei Choo
Original Novel: Hideyuki Kikuchi (Wicked City, published by Asahi Sonorama; English license: Dark Horse Books)
Studio: Madhouse
Music: Osamu Shoji

Japanese Cast:
• Yusaku Yara as Renzaburo Taki
• Toshiko Fujita as Makie
• Ichiro Nagai as Giuseppe Mayart
• Mari Yokoo as Kanako / Spider Woman
• Koji Totani as Jin

English Dub Cast (Streamline Pictures - Carl Macek):
• Gregory Snegoff as Renzaburo Taki
• Gaye Kruger as Makie
• Mike Reynolds as Giuseppe Mayart
• Edie Mirman as Kanako / Spider Woman
• Michael McConnohie as Airport Demon
• Kerrigan Mahan as Jin
• Jeff Winkless as additional cast

DVD Features (Urban Vision Entertainment, November 7, 2000)

• Anamorphic Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 (Streamline dub) / Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
• English Subtitles
• Urban Vision Previews
• Note: Discotek Media Remastered Special Edition DVD (January 26, 2016) and Blu-ray (September 29, 2020) are the current definitive releases, including storyboard-to-screen segments, commentary with Mike Toole, and both the Streamline dub and the UK dub

Spoken Languages: English (Streamline dub) & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 妖獣都市 (Yoju Toshi / Wicked City)
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
DVD Release Year: 2000 (U.S. Release, November 7 - Urban Vision Entertainment); Discotek Remastered DVD January 26, 2016; Discotek Blu-ray September 29, 2020
Publisher: Urban Vision Entertainment (out of print); Discotek Media (current license holder)
Rating: Unrated (content equivalent to 17+)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Yoshiaki Kawajiri's feature directorial debut. Based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel - same author as Vampire Hunter D. Urban Vision edition out of print. Discotek releases include additional bonus features not on Urban Vision DVD.
Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction
Themes: Demons, Human-Demon Alliance, Monsters, Spy Action, Yoshiaki Kawajiri Visual Style

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.

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