# Burst City
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{{Short description|1982 Japanese film by Sogo Ishii}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Burst City
| image = Burst-City-Poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = [Gakuryū Ishii](/source/Gakury%C5%AB_Ishii)
| producer = Mitsuhiko Akita
Hiroshi Kobayashi
| writer = Gakuryū Ishii
Mitsuhiko Akita
| narrator =
| starring = {{plainlist|* [Takanori Jinnai](/source/Takanori_Jinnai)
* Shinya Ohe
* Tsui Tobu
* [Kō Machida](/source/K%C5%8D_Machida)
* [Shigeru Izumiya](/source/Shigeru_Izumiya)}}
| music =
| cinematography = Norimichi Kasamatsu
| editing = Gakuryū Ishii
Naoto Yamakawa
[Junji Sakamoto](/source/Junji_Sakamoto)
| distributor = [Toei Company](/source/Toei_Company)
| released = {{Film date|1982|03|13|Japan}}
| runtime = 115 minutes
| country = [Japan](/source/Japan)
| language = [Japanese](/source/List_of_Japanese-language_films)
| budget =
| gross =
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Burst City'''''|爆裂都市 {{ruby-ja|BURST CITY|バースト・シティ}}|''Bakuretsu Toshi Bāsuto Shiti''|lead=yes}} is a Japanese [dystopian](/source/utopian_and_dystopian_fiction) [punk rock](/source/punk_rock) [musical](/source/musical_film) / [action film](/source/action_film). Released in 1982, the film was directed by [Gakuryū Ishii](/source/Gakury%C5%AB_Ishii). Primarily a showcase for various specific punk rock bands of the time such as [The Roosters](/source/The_Roosters), [The Rockers](/source/The_Rockers_(band)), and [The Stalin](/source/The_Stalin), the film is also purely demonstrative of the culture and attitude of the punk rock community of Japan in the mid-to-late 1970s and the early 1980s, and is considered a defining film of that subculture.[{{cite book |last1=Mes |first1=Tom |last2=Sharp |first2=Jasper |date=2005 |title=The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=1880656892}}]
== Plot ==
The plot is not very complex, as much of the action and drama of the film relies on musical interludes, character interactions, and commentary on the [class system](/source/class_system) in the film's fictional universe. What plot there is follows two different threads.
In the first thread, residents in a [dystopia](/source/dystopia)n future attempt to rebel against the construction of a nuclear power plant in their part of Tokyo. They race cars, party, and brawl to the music of The Rockers and The Stalin. In the second, a small mute and his hard-core friend ride their bikes around the city, hunting down the person who murdered the mute's brother.
The two threads combine when the bikers meet the power plant construction workers and discover that the oppressive businessman who runs the power plant is the same man which they have been searching for. The bikers, workers, and punks all band together to take on the businessman and his [yakuza](/source/yakuza) buddies. The "battle police" arrive, and everything erupts into violence.
== Production ==
Ishii created ''Burst City'' right in the middle of the punk movement in Japan, and many contemporary punk musicians took on leading acting roles in the film, as well as performing songs in the film. Ishii wanted to feature musicians from all three of the major punk hubs in Japan: [The Stalin](/source/The_Stalin) were from [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo), [Machizo Machida](/source/Ko_Machida) was from [Kansai](/source/Kansai), and The Roosters and the Rockers were from [Kyushu](/source/Kyushu).[Brown, Todd (28 August 2006). [https://screenanarchy.com/2006/08/burst-city-electric-dragon-80000v-review.html "''Burst City''/''Electric Dragon 80000V'' Review"]. [ScreenAnarchy](/source/ScreenAnarchy). Retrieved 29 July 2018.]
To give the film a fresh, revolutionary feel, Ishii experimented with a lot of different techniques. The editing style is extremely fast and chaotic, and some scenes combine a mix of [undercranked](/source/undercranking) shots and regular speed shots with striking results. Musical numbers and scenes of performers getting ready backstage are shot in a documentary style.[Ishii, Yuriko (6 November 2015). [https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0077863 80年代の伝説的カルト映画『爆裂都市』がブルーレイ化]. Cinematoday. Retrieved 28 July 2018.][Abrams, Simon (14 July 2016). [https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals-and-awards/2016-japan-cuts-festival-preview "2016 Japan Cuts Festival Preview"]. [RogerEbert.com](/source/RogerEbert.com). Retrieved 29 July 2018.]
== Release ==
The film was distributed by the [Toei](/source/Toei_Company) studio. It was later released on [Region 1](/source/DVD_region_code) [DVD](/source/DVD) by [Discotek](/source/Discotek) in June 2006, and then on Blu-ray in January 2016 by Toei.[{{Cite web |title=Burst City |url=https://www.arrowvideo.com/blu-ray/burst-city/12946734.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Arrow Films US |language=en-us}}]
== Reception ==
The film is highly regarded among critics and audiences alike. Its hyperkinetic, unrelentingly high energy style was wildly different from other films of the period and extremely innovative. The film is also regarded for being purely inspired from music, and the way the punk aesthetic, culture, and music exerts its influence over every element, scene, and character in the film. It has been called one of the "starting points in contemporary Japanese cinema", along with Ishii's own ''[Shuffle](/source/Shuffle_(film))'', ''[Panic in High School](/source/Panic_in_High_School)'', and ''[Crazy Thunder Road](/source/Crazy_Thunder_Road)''.[{{cite web |last=Mes |first=Tom |date=24 July 2001 |title=Burst City |url=http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/burst-city |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003234132/http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/burst-city/ |archive-date=3 October 2017 |url-status=live |publisher=[Midnight Eye](/source/Midnight_Eye) |access-date=28 July 2018}}]
It is debatable whether the cinematic innovations of yesterday translate to viewers today. Todd Brown of [ScreenAnarchy](/source/ScreenAnarchy) argued that "while ''Burst City'' is clearly a watershed film, it stands up better as a cultural document than as a film, per se,"
オリジナルサウンドトラック
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = Various
| cover =
| alt =
| released = 5 March 1982
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Rock
| length = 37min 51sec
| label = SEE・SAW
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
The ''Burst City'' original soundtrack was released by SEE SAW on March 5, 1982.
===Releases===
{|class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap"
|-
! No.
! Date
! Label
! Format
! Product Number
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 1
| 5 March 1982
| SEE・SAW
| LP
| C28A0207
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 2
| 7 December 1988
| SEE・SAW
| CD
| D25P6295
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 3
| 20 May 1994
| Pony Canyon
| CD
| PCCA-00584
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 4
| 20 November 2002
| SEE・SAW
| CD
| PCCA-01812
|}
=== Tracklist ===
{{track listing
| headline = A Side
| extra_column = Arrangement
| total_length =
| title1 = '''ソルジャー'''
| note1 = 1984
| music1 = Junji Ikehata
| extra1 = 1984
| length1 = 3:19
| title2 = '''セル ナンバー 8（第8病棟）'''
| note2 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics2 = Takanori Jinnai
| music2 = Shinya Ohe
| extra2 = Battle Rockers
| length2 = 3:53
| title3 = '''ワイルド・スーパーマーケット'''
| note3 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics3 = Shinya Ohe
| music3 = Shinya Ohe
| extra3 = Battle Rockers
| length3 = 3:02
| title4 = '''シャープシューズでケリ上げろ!'''
| note4 = The Rockers
| lyrics4 = Takanori Jinnai
| music4 = Tanio Tani
| extra4 = The Rockers
| length4 = 1:29
| title5 = '''プア ボーイ'''
| note5 = The Rockers
| lyrics5 = Takanori Jinnai
| music5 = Takanori Jinnai
| extra5 = The Rockers
| length5 = 3:23
| title6 = '''ソロー'''
| note6 = 1984
| music6 = Tomio Inoue
| extra6 = 1984
| length6 = 1:38
| title7 = '''シスターダークネス'''
| note7 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics7 = Shinya Ohe
| music7 = Shinya Ohe
| extra7 = Battle Rockers
| length7 = 2:59
}}
{{track listing
| headline = B Side
| extra_column = Arrangement
| total_length =
| title8 = '''視界ゼロの{{ruby|女|マチ}}'''
| note8 = Takanori Jinnai
| lyrics8 = [Shigeru Izumiya](/source/Shigeru_Izumiya)
| music8 = Takanori Jinnai
| extra8 = The Rockers
| length8 = 3:19
| title9 = '''キックス'''
| note9 = 1984
| music9 = Hiroyuki Hanada
| extra9 = 1984
| length9 = 2:37
| title10 = '''マイト ガイ'''
| note10 = The Rockers
| lyrics10 = Takanori Jinnai
| music10 = Tanio Tani
| extra10 = The Rockers
| length10 = 2:06
| title11 = '''バチラス ボンブ（細菌爆弾）'''
| note11 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics11 = Shinya Ohe
| music11 = Shinya Ohe
| extra11 = The Rockers
| length11 = 2:21
| title12 = '''フラストレーション'''
| note12 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics12 = Takanori Jinnai
| music12 = Takanori Jinnai
| extra12 = Battle Rockers
| length12 = 1:56
| title13 = '''ボロボロ'''
| note13 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics13 = Takanori Jinnai
| music13 = Tanio Tani
| extra13 = Battle Rockers
| length13 = 1:44
| title14 = '''セル ナンバー 8（第8病棟） リプリーズ'''
| note14 = Battle Rockers
| lyrics14 = Takanori Jinnai
| music14 = Shinya Ohe
| extra14 = Battle Rockers
| length14 = 3:37
}}
==See also==
* [Cyberpunk](/source/Cyberpunk)
* [Japanese cyberpunk](/source/Japanese_cyberpunk)
* [Punk film](/source/Punk_film)
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0083609|Burst City}}
{{Sōgo Ishii}}
Category:1982 films
Category:Punk films
Category:1980s science fiction action films
Category:1980s vigilante films
Category:1982 Japanese-language films
Category:Films directed by Sōgo Ishii
Category:Japanese science fiction action films
Category:Cyberpunk films
Category:Films about social class
Category:Films set in the future
Category:Films set in Tokyo
Category:1980s dystopian films
Category:Japanese films about revenge
Category:Japanese vigilante films
Category:Japanese musical films
Category:Yakuza films
Category:1982 Japanese films
Category:1982 science fiction films
Category:1982 musical films
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Burst City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burst_City) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burst_City?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.