Jaws in Japan starring Nonami Takizawa
Just when I thought that Nonami Takizawa’s acting career was on hold….
or maybe I should amend that statement: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
But that was the tag-line for Jaws 2 released all the way back on June 16th, 1978, just in time for the summer beach season (kids off from school and all that). Apparently that scary great white shark dreamt up by Peter Benchley for his novel Jaws more than 35 years ago is still attracting movie makers.
Which brings us to Jaws in Japan, a 2009 film that apparently went straight to DVD. And that brings us back to Nonami Takizawa who gets the star billing in this movie. I can’t say if this film was a success or not but the film makers attempted a cross-over between gravure and gore.
What little I’ve been able to find out about this movie is that four girls journey to a southern Japanese island to re-live some memories from their college days. There’s some problems with the lodging at a local inn, and there’s some nefarious bad guys in the area. There’s also that monster swimming around in the sea waiting for some bikini-clad beauties to munch on.
Big Tits meet the Big Shark might be an apt tagline, at least from my perspective.
Sorry to say I haven’t seen it, nor am I likely to see it. At least not until some one can add English subtitles to make it even more appealing to the Takizawa fans in the west, who would snap up a new Nonami release in a heart beat.
This August 21st, 2009 release is available from cdjapan and amazon.co.jp but without subtitles.
However since I can’t review the movie, or provide screencaps for you, you can have a look at the documentary called the Making of Jaws in Japan in two parts from YouTube.
Be warned that this Making of featurette does not have English subtitles either. But there is plenty of the Takizawa superstructure to be seen.
Making of Jaws in Japan Part I
Making of Jaws in Japan Part II
Thanks for the appetizer!,subtitles or not,this is one I have to see,perfectly cast,
anyway,who needs subtitles?,just some munching sounds,haha
@bigmak
Hi bigmak – as usual thanks for the comments. Since writing this post I’ve read that the Shark doesn’t get a lot of face time. It’s mostly mucho dorsal fin gliding through the water – creating an ominous threat without taxing the production crew that much. Somewhere else I read that the trade-off for the 100 ft creature is less than a minute of screen time. Films that fail to get a distributor go straight to DVD. And there’s generally a good reason why they don’t get a distribution deal.
Nonami’s ample shape is fine, but can she carry a film to market is a question I can’t answer. Then again, straight to video is an answer.