Rock'n'roll attitude...
Porno Star isn't what can be called an original vision of the yakuza underworld. As a yakuza eiga, it doesn't equal KITANO's best works. But when TOYODA achieves to mix appropriate use of slow motion, rock music with a nihilistic flavour and Rebel without a cause moments he manages to create something like the perfect cinematographic translation of rock'n'roll attitude. Since then, TOYODA has had an irregular yet interesting carreer, even taking the risk of breaking with its rock'n'roll trademark with
Hanging Garden. Even though he hasn't made a major achievement yet, he stands among the most promising Japanese directors of the 2000's era, an era which has seen many great or promising Japanese directors appeared during the nineties offering disappointing last works. And an era in which Japanese indie cinema doesn't seem to have recovered from the fall of the Suncent, SENTO Takenori's indie company.
The movie was released on region 1 DVD under the title Tokyo Rampage.