Third Window Films have almost released a hundred Blu-ray titles in their catalogue, with a wide variety of genres from horror to comedy. What I like about them is their focus on modern films that don’t have much wide appeal but also hopping back to the 80s to early 00s bringing back films whether the director was well-known or a one-hit wonder to a new audience. A good example has been their venture into the Director’s Company catalogue, introducing almost a dozen lesser known Japanese films from the 80s to the UK for the first time and while that series may have concluded (or is on-hold) for the time being, Third Window have continued to bring more pre-2000s films to UK audiences with three more box sets; one dedicated to the Angel Guts pink film series, another focused on director Kaizo Hayashi and, the main focus for this post today, a new box set focused on the late director Takashi Ishii (石井隆).
Background:
Takashi Ishii (石井隆), born in Sendai, Japan in 1946, is both a film director and also a manga artist. According to Jasper Sharp in his essay included with this set, in the 1970s he struggled to make a breakthrough in film as a career and worked as a manga artist, from there he would eventually write Angels Guts: Nami.
While he’s worked on dozens of manga over the course of the next three decades, the live-action rights for the Angel Guts series were picked up by the Nikkatsu Corporation which spawned six live-action films as part of their Roman Porno series, some of which he wrote the screenplay and directed himself. From there he’s also written a few films with directors Toshiharu Ikeda and Shinji Sōmai, and directed a number of different films including 1995’s Gonin (ゴニン) starring Takeshi Kitano, Kōichi Satō & Masahiro Motoki and 2000’s Freeze Me (フリーズ・ミー) starring Harumi Inoue.
Even though Takashi Ishii passed away in 2022 due to cancer, four films from his filmography were remastered in high definition, with all of them sharing the same theme of having one of the characters named Nami. None of the films are related in any other way and can be watched in any particular order, but it was interesting to see four films released one after another between 1992 to 1994 having that sort of connection. But the Nami part is why this box set is called Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami, and the films included are as follows.
Original Sin (死んでもいい, Shinde mo ii) released in 1992 and is based on a novel written by Bo Nishimura. Joining director & writer Takashi Ishii were music composer Goro Yasukawa (Dororo, Kamen Rider: The First) and cinematographer Yasushi Sasakibara (DOOR, Violent Cop).
“Nami, the wife of an estate agent, begins an affair with a 22 year old man that leads to a plot to kill her husband.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films, August 2025.
The cast of the film includes Shinobu Ôtake (Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Our Little Sister), Masatoshi Nagase (Electric Dragon 80000V, Suicide Club) and Hideo Murota (Dogra Magra, Kagemusha). The film was released in Japan in October 1992.
A Night in Nude (ヌードの夜, Nude no Yoru) released in 1993. Joining director & writer Takashi Ishii were music composer Goro Yasukawa (Another, Gonin) and cinematographer Yasushi Sasakibara (Gonin, A Legend in Turmoil).
“When the beautiful and mysterious Nami walks into the office of Jiro, a man who will “do anything for anyone”, he unknowingly gets dragged into her plot to murder her abusive yakuza lover.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films, August 2025.
The cast of the film includes Kimiko Yo (Departures, Shin Godzilla), Naoto Takenaka (The Happiness of the Katakuris, Patlabor 2: The Movie) and Kippei Shiina (The Forest of Love, Gonin). The film was released in Japan in December 1993.
Angel Guts: Red Flash (天使のはらわた 赤い閃光, Tenshi no harawata: Akai senkô) released in 1994 and is based on a manga written by Takashi Ishii. Joining director & writer Takashi Ishii were music composer Goro Yasukawa (Black Angel, Freeze Me) and cinematographer Norimichi Kasamatsu (Blue Spring, Yurusarezaru Mono).
“Nami, a magazine designer agrees to substitute the cameraman during the shooting of a porn film. The brutal rape scene unleashes distant, forgotten memories and strange things start happening to her.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films, August 2025.
The cast of the film includes Maiko Kawakami (Labyrinth of Cinema, Violent Cop), Jinpachi Nezu (Angel’s Egg, Ran) and Noriko Hayami (Dreams, Love Hotel). The film was released in Japan in September 1994.
Alone in the Night (夜がまた来る, Yoru ga mata kuru) released in 1994. Joining director & writer Takashi Ishii were music composer Goro Yasukawa (Breed of Happiness, From Me to You) and cinematographer Norimichi Kasamatsu (August in the Water, Pornostar).
“Nami, the wife of a narcotics cop murdered in the line of duty, is surprised to find that her husband has been accused of involvement in organized crime.”
Plot Synopsis via Third Window Films, August 2025.
The cast of the film includes Yui Natsukawa (Shikoku, Still Walking), Jinpachi Nezu (Gate of Flesh, Kagemusha) and Toshiyuki Nagashima (Godzilla vs. Biollante, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters). The film was released in Japan in October 1994.
About Third Window Films:
Third Window Films is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, primarily releasing Japanese films. Their line-up features a variety of films of all genres from notable directors including Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Vital), Nobuhiko Obayashi (the Anti-War Trilogy, School in the Crosshairs), Toshiaki Toyoda (9 Souls, Blue Spring), Shinji Sōmai (Love Hotel, Typhoon Club), Gakuryū Ishii (The Box Man, Electric Dragon 80.000V), Shin’ichirō Ueda (One Cut of the Dead), Toshiharu Ikeda (Mermaid Legend, Scent of a Spell), Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes) and Katsuhito Ishii (Funky Forest, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl).
The distributor is smaller than 88 Films, Arrow Video, Eureka Entertainment and Radiance Films, but continues to provide more variety of Japanese films, both newer and older, to newer audiences. As of the time of this post, their next batch of releases will include Kaizo Hayashi‘s The Most Terrible Time in My Life (plus a few others) and a majority of the Angel Guts films in a single box set from directors Takashi Ishii, Toshiharu Ikeda, Noboru Tanaka & Chūsei Sone.
Limited Edition Contents:
Similar to previous limited edition box sets from Third Window Films, Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami bundles the films in a digipack package with an o-card slipcase. No rigid texture but does the job if you need to save a bit of space on the shelf.
Inside the digipack are four Blu-ray discs and a short 8-page booklet featuring an essay written by Jasper Sharp called “Tokyo Nights: The 90s Neo-Noir of Takashi Ishii”.
The SRP is £59.99 and has a 2000-unit print run. Once the print run is out of stock, this edition won’t be available. It is uncertain whether the films will be re-released in standalone sets over time but currently no details on that yet. I pre-ordered my copy from retailer Terracotta Store alongside a few other titles.
Physical Contents:
- O-card slipcase with digipack packaging
- 8-page Booklet by Jasper Sharp
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Third Window Films
Released: 25th August 2025
The limited edition release for Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami contains all four films spread across four Blu-ray discs. No English dub was ever produced for these films so they are all presented in Japanese audio with English subtitles. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback and each Blu-ray disc is Region B locked.
Each disc comes with a couple of on-disc features which are listed below, most of which originated from 2000.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Alone in the Night, Angel Guts: Red Flash, A Night in Nude, Original Sin: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | Alone in the Night, Angel Guts: Red Flash, A Night in Nude, Original Sin: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 4 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1: Alone in the Night
- Samm Deighan Audio Commentary
- Cinematographer Yasushi Sasakibara Interview (17:13 runtime)
- Director Takashi Ishii Interview (11:40 runtime)
- Actor Jinpachi Nezu Interview (14:30 runtime)
- Producer Yu Okada Interview (06:22 runtime)
Disc 2: Angel Guts: Red Flash
- Jasper Sharp Audio Commentary
- The Many Faces of Nami Video Essay (16:02 runtime)
- Director Takashi Ishii Interview (32:32 runtime)
Disc 3: A Night in Nude
- Frankie Balboa Audio Commentary
- Director Takashi Ishii Interview (07:02 runtime)
- Actor Kippei Shiina Interview (12:50 runtime)
- Actor Naoto Takenaka Interview (16:33 runtime)
- Producer Yu Okada Interview (06:08 runtime)
- Trailer (01:06 runtime)
Disc 4: Original Sin
- Director Takashi Ishii Interview (11:17 runtime)
- Actress Shinobu Otake Interview (06:49 runtime)
- Producer Yu Okada Interview (07:25 runtime)
- Teaser Trailer (00:46 runtime)
- Trailer (02:21 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Third Window Films for the UK & Ireland.
The limited edition Blu-ray release can be bought from retailers Terracotta Store, Amazon UK, HMV, and Zavvi.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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