Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• New video interview with actor Sonny Chiba (14:31)
• New video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (10:31)
• New video interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida (17:30)

• Trailer (2:55)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Patrick Macias and a history of Japanese monster movie mashups by Jasper Sharp

DVD

Bitrate:

 

Description: Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba is a martial arts ''manimal'' in the ultra-70's, 100% bizarre mixture of horror, action and sci-fi that is Wolf Guy, one of the rarest and most sought-after cult films produced by Japan's Toei Studio. Based on a manga by Kazumasa Hirai (creator of 8 Man), and never before released outside of Japan, it's a genre film classic waiting to be discovered and a completely unclassifiable trip into phantasmagoric funk.

Chiba stars as Akira Inugami, the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers! At the same time, Inugami also discovers the truth behind his family heritage, and that he may not be the last of his kind.

Directed by B-movie genius Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Sister Streetfighter, Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Karate Bear Fighter), Wolf Guy truly is one-of-a-kind, with Chiba in full effect as the part-man, part-wolf, all-karate action hero and a collection of familiar 1970's Toei actors in support. Violence, action, nudity, real surgical footage, and a psychedelic musical score all work together to create an unforgettable trip to the heights of Japanese cinematic weirdness.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from MarcFusion located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

This is the another Arrow Blu-ray release that is being simultaneously released in both region 'A' (US) and 'B' (UK). It is the exact same package on both sides of the pond to the best of our knowledge.

NOTE: As Michael Brooke informs us on Facebook in regards to Day of Anger: 'As the producer of Arrow's release, I can confirm first hand that the UK and US discs are absolutely identical: we only paid for one master, so there's no doubt about this at all! Which means that no matter which package you buy, the discs will play in any Region A or B setup (or Region 1 or 2 for DVD - and in the latter case the video standard is NTSC, to maximise compatibility). The booklets are also identical, but there are minor cosmetic differences on the disc labels and sleeve to do with differing copyright info and barcodes, and the US release doesn't have BBFC logos.' Wolf Guy is a similar situation.

Wolf Guy gets a dual-layered transfer to Blu-ray from Arrow with a high bitrate.  For the most part the image is not remarkable but is consistent and I believe a faithful representation of the original. The quality is thick with frequent adjustment of the film's focus and kinetic camera for action sequences exporting, occasional, softer visuals, frequent close-ups and the film is chock-full of exploitive nudity and gore (7 NSFW captures at the bottom). There are some flashback sequences in Wolf Guy that are monochrome looking a shade greenish. The 1080P reproduces a typically heavy presentation in the 2.35:1 frame (we find this similar to many Japanese films of this time period.)  It's very clean with infrequent depth. This Blu-ray probably looks just like the theatrical version of the film - which is all we, ever, ask for.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio is transferred via a faithful linear PCM mono track at 768 kbps (16-bit) in the original Japanese. The, predictable, effects are present with crashing kicks and explosive gunfire. I don't know who did the score but it moves right along with the action in a typical fashion for the genre. There are optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being region FREE.

Extras :

Arrow add some great extras including three new video interviews. The first runs 13-minutes with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, recorded in September 2016 in Tokyo (as were all 3), where he reminisces about his long career as a genre movie specialist at Toei, and he shares memories of making Wolf Guy with Sonny Chiba. The next runs 18-minutes with producer Tatsu Yoshida who discusses his long career at the studio, including his work on Wolf Guy, and other genre films. The last new interview spends 1/4 hour with martial arts movie star Shin'ichi "Sonny" Chiba who discusses his start in action films and his significant role in educating future generations of action stars. There is also a trailer for Wolf Guy and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter and for the first pressing there is an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Patrick Macias and a history of Japanese monster movie mashups by Jasper Sharp. It includes a second disc DVD.

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I loved Wolf Guy! What unabashed exploitation - with blood and/or nudity every few minutes! This is a hoot. It's so over-the-top it almost deserves its own genre - 'action-horror-sexploitation'? It's filled with macho-grimacing heroes and villains plus more than its fair share of cute, and not so glamorous, Asian gals. The Arrow Blu-ray provides the best way to see this, almost underground, classic plus some keen extras. Those keen at all shouldn't hesitate - strongly recommended! 

Gary Tooze

May 20th, 2017

 

More Shaw Brothers-Martial Arts-Wushu or related films on Blu-ray reviewed (click review buttons to also see comparisons where applicable):