Men Behind the Sun

[mark meakin]

Originally Posted by Angel

I have to say I don't remember the spears being thrown at the animal either, just the shots of the animal being struck with a machete (or whatever it was).

That's all I remember too.Mind you,It's years since I saw it properly.

[Angel]

Originally Posted by mark meakin

It was cut from the UK widescreen special edition video for definite.I thought it was still cut on dvd.I have the r4 uncut version as I assumed the UK would be cut as before.Channel 4 screened it uncut the once & got a telling off from what I can gather.I can remember watching it when it was on.

Always intact on C5 though.

[Angel]

Originally Posted by mark meakin

That's all I remember too.Mind you,It's years since I saw it properly.

Just rewatched the scene on youtube, no spears that I can see just several huge blows with the blade.

[Rhodes]

around the time andre iskanov was making philosophy of a knife i was in contact with him as i was doing a comic on the same subject, and i have to say after hearing what he had to say about it and seeing POAK several times, it is an absolute masterpiece. it is incredibly historically accurate, far far more so than men behind the sun, which to me is just an anti japanese piece of exploitaion propaganda.
yes POAK is relentless and graphic, but i think to depict the events of unit 731 any other way would be an insult. he went all out and showed everything, fearlessly, even to the point that he was interrogated and tortured by the kgb, the guy has serious balls and serious passion for his subject. not to mention he made the entire 4+ hour epic for some paltry sum of $6000, in russia of all places were horror fims are shunned. i think the guy deserves a lot more credit, as POAK is a real visceral nightmarish masterpiece, which manages to shed all kinds of fresh light on some of humans greatest attrocities. sorry, rant over, i just very much admire that film.

[Calum]

Originally Posted by Halloween_22

I've never been able to make up my mind about the cat scene personally. I heard that the cat was drugged so that it'd stay still but wasn't actually killed, I don't know for certain though. I cant believe thats the scene that gets mentioned the most to be honest, theres far more disturbing scenes than that IMO.

I agree vip's, it's a very powerful film indeed. One of the most depressing and downbeat films I've ever seen. I have a collectors 2 Disc version of it released by Shock Entertainment that features a documentary called Kizu: The Untold Story in which real survivors from Unit 731 are interviewed. Definatley worth picking up if your interested in the subject.

Another film about the same thing is Iskanov's 'Philosophy of a Knife', thats one of the sickest, most brutal films I've ever seen. It's around 4 hours long so it's a bit of an endurance test but again, I'd recommend it if your interested in Unit 731 (although In all honesty it's more about exploiting extreme violence and gore than showing historical facts).

Sorry for joining this thread late but just to add my two pennies: The cat scene was real and I'm honestly amazed people think otherwise.

China is a country without any animal cruelty laws and a quick visit to any town marketplace will show you live animals (including sometimes dogs and cats) being sold for food. In light of this, in 1987, it is unthinkable a director gave a cat an injection to knock it out, covered it in treacle or jam and then let rats run over the critter to "lick" this off.

This simply would not have happened in China in the late 80s. I wish I could think otherwise.

Some recent examples of (very public) horrors towards animals in China:

Chinese circus animals: this barbaric cruelty must stop – Telegraph Blogs

ANIMALS ASIA

The good news, of course, is as with China's human rights breaches there are a lot of folks over there fighting the good fight to stop this cruelty. They deserve your support and best wishes.

Apologies if this has derailed the thread a little... I will say that City of Life and Death is well worth seeing for anyone who is interested in the abuse of the Chinese at the hands of the Japanese army during World War 2. Has anyone seen it yet? Opinions?

[mbv]

Originally Posted by Rhodes

around the time andre iskanov was making philosophy of a knife i was in contact with him as i was doing a comic on the same subject, and i have to say after hearing what he had to say about it and seeing POAK several times, it is an absolute masterpiece. it is incredibly historically accurate, far far more so than men behind the sun, which to me is just an anti japanese piece of exploitaion propaganda.
yes POAK is relentless and graphic, but i think to depict the events of unit 731 any other way would be an insult. he went all out and showed everything, fearlessly, even to the point that he was interrogated and tortured by the kgb, the guy has serious balls and serious passion for his subject. not to mention he made the entire 4+ hour epic for some paltry sum of $6000, in russia of all places were horror fims are shunned. i think the guy deserves a lot more credit, as POAK is a real visceral nightmarish masterpiece, which manages to shed all kinds of fresh light on some of humans greatest attrocities. sorry, rant over, i just very much admire that film.

Agreed...this man is very passionate about all he does. POAK is a tough movie to watch, especially in one sitting but it's worth the effort.

[gag]

I only saw MBTS yrs ago on a bootleg copy

I own 2 3 and nanking massacre all uncut but nvr seen them yet

[Splatterdragon73]

I own Dutch outfit ISV's four disc TMBTS DVD collection (numbered to 1500 copies in think.) and have no real intention of even unwrapping the item.

The same goes for the double DVD set of the first film also issued by the same label and i have this release too.

To be honest, i only really purchased the above editions purely for the sick saga's unsavoury reputation and there's no way i'm an actual fan of TMBTS series.

[ArnoGoldfinger]

I watched 'Men Behind the Sun' and loved the way T F Mous blended history and story-telling in this superbly horrifying film. For me, the movie subtly shows how young Japanese soldiers were forced into the brutal culture of the Imperial Japanese army. The way this movie handles topics like indoctrination, experimentation and politics is both balanced and optimistic.

Cannot be compared with 'Philosophy of a Knife' - was very disappointed with this pointless and amateur production. The (UK) narrator's voice is just embarrassing and of the 4 hours, I calculate there is at least 40 minutes of snowy tree footage - pure crapola.

Anyone interested might want to read the book 'Hell in the Pacific' or watch the documentary on 4OD. I don't believe the TV series covers Unit 731 but is fascinating nonetheless.

[SimonT]

Is the Dutch "Shock Video" release of this still available?

Friend of mine was after it, but was having difficult locating.