Big Man Japan...anyone seen it?

Can't find it on Amazon...I'm all for movies like that

Didn't really know what to make of the ending. My reaction was more, "oh shit, this was a comedy!?"

i love it, if the 77 thread didn't make that really obv

hmmm I can't find "Symbol" on DVD anywhere

how did you see it??

I saw it at a local film festival. It had English subtitles, so it must have had some distributor in the Europe or the US. Hopefully they'll release it on DVD some day.

Meanwhile, if you're into that sort of thing, you can find it as a torrent with what appears to be fan-made subtitles. They're decent enough though, and there's really not that much talk in Symbol. I rewatched the the fansubbed version with friends of mine who hadn't seen it before, and they had no problem following the plot.

Symbol (and Big Man Japan too) is one of those films where you're like, "I don't know how this guy ever got the budget for this movie, but I'm glad he did!". It's not perfect, but it has one of the most unique central concepts I've ever seen in a movie - and I've seen lots of weird shit. Plus it's quite entertaining too! It doesn't come across as clearly in BMJ, but apparently Hitoshi Matsumoto is a well-known comedian in Japan, and the premise of Symbol gives him the opportunity to exert some funny physical comedy.

I fell asleep during Big Man Japan but I enjoyed the parts I was awake to see.
But don't watch it expecting it to be non-stop wacky Kaiju battle.

Yeah the US trailer really misrepresents the movie

idk i mean i saw it pre-big-us run at a small us theater and their DIY trailer was 'small subtle comedy + monster battle' which was pretty otm imo

in fact here is that very trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTAoxSspBJE&feature=player_embedded

OK I'm hearing rumours of a US remake...maybe it won't happen eh

let's hope not. fantastic movie.

The central metaphor of Big Man representing a post-1989 deflation era Japan bloated with self-doubt, resignation to fate and an overbearing ally, simply couldn't make sense in any other country. What parallel could a Big Man America offer to the final battle with the impish North Korea/Kim Jong-Il monster?

Now, a sequel might be fun, with a BMA as an arrogant bully that hits flies with sledgehammers and swims the oceans to force others to fight the battles he starts might work, but I don't see the audience for it.

Hitoshi Matsumoto's first three films - Big Man Japan, Symbol, Scabbard Samurai - are arguably among the best director/writer auteur triptychs that have ever been and will ever be. 2013's R100, which I watched a few nights back, is comparatively less spectacular though no less outrageous. Worth a watch but keep your expectations much more reasonable.

Symbol, on the other hand, is one of my favorite films of all time.

I stuck my head in on the first ep of this and walked away somewhat confused, may need to try again
https://www.amazon.com/HITOSHI-MATSUMOTO-Presents-Documental-Season/dp/B07C63KLVV

was gonna reply "Holy shit!! I have!!" then was reminded that I started this thread

but have you seen scabbard samurai or symbol?

nah...I looked for a Symbol DVD but couldn't find one at a decent price and then kinda forgot about it. maybe time to look again.

or on the internets! First time i caught it was on mubi. It is - and i say this as somebody who absolutely loves big man japan - MUCH better than big man japan.
symbol is near impossible to explain in a pithy line but it is in essence a mediation on the nature of god with lots of cutaways to luche libre
scabbard samurai is an edo era slapstick take on Scheherazade

Symbol is better watched without knowing too much about it, so don't read any synopses or reviews. It has a completely absurd premise, capped with one of the most ridiculously awesome endings I've ever seen in a movie. The fact the guy even got the budget to make it is a miracle.

And yeah, it's better than Big Man Japan.

holy shit I have!! I knew nothing about it going into a late showing at Toronto film festival. I laughed so hard that my now wife wanted to get up and sit someplace else. Classic.

Symbol I now can't recall.... I'll have to try that again.