Sogo Ishii’s Electric Dragon 80,000V is getting a Blur Ray release curtesy of Third Window Films. Electric Dragon is a 2001 Japanese film written and directed by Sogo Ishii. The film has a comic book style to it and features electricity wielding superhero’s a Violent, guitar-playing, electrically charged boxer who faces of with a half electronic wizard half metallic buddha. The filming occurred in February 1999 using black and White film and lasted three weeks. The film was produced in tandem with Ishii’s other film Gojoe and both films cast the same lead two actors. Ishii’s industrial punk band Mach-1.67 proved the music, as the film would later be used as a visual backdrop for the band live performances. The film debuted at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2001. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. The film gained mixed to positive reviews with critics praising it as a return to Ishii’s punk origins but others feeling it to overstay it welcome. The film and its companion piece Gojoe were comical failures and ultimately caused their production company Suncent CinemaWorks Inc. to go under.
