The Velvet Hustler at YBCA April 13, 2008

No Borders, No Limits: 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema
Presented for the first time in the US, this series of super-stylized action films celebrates the golden age of Japan’s oldest and boldest film studio, Nikkatsu. Influenced by both Hollywood and the French New Wave, these films reflect the Westernization that swept away old values, while teaching an entire generation a new Japanese meaning of cool. All films are presented on 35mm film with new digital subtitles. Series organized by Outcast Cinema with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. For a full list of films, visit ybca.org.

Films include:
THE VELVET HUSTLER
BY TOSHIO MASUDA
A pop art-colored romance between two doomed loners set amidst go-go dancing kids, tough yakuza and the ever-present American soldiers on leave from the Vietnam War. Hiding out in Kobe, life spices up for reckless gangster Goro (Tetsuya Watari) when he meets a gorgeous rich girl, in town investigating the disappearance of her fiance. But in the meantime, a robotic hitman from Tokyo has also come to town with another agenda for him. (1967, 97 min.)

Public Info:
415-978-2787 or ybca.org
Single tickets: $8 regular; $6 students, seniors, teachers and YBCA members
Six-film series pass: $40 regular; $30 students, seniors, teachers and YBCA members

Official Website: http://www.ybca.org