Crazy Thunder Road

Gakuryu Ishii is considered the godfather of Japanese cyberpunk; his films were the starting point and cornerstone for movies like Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tsukamoto, 1989) and 964 Pinocchio (Fukui, 1991). More than his contemporaries, Ishii embodies PUNK: against rules, against aesthetic standards. His later career produced cult classics like Electric Dragon 80.000V, but above all stands his graduation film, though he never actually finished his studies. In an interview, Ishii said he was only enrolled to use the film equipment – there is probably no better description of his cinema. In Crazy Thunder Road, the police and a biker gang face off in an industrial wasteland. The air is thick, the world hasn’t ended yet – but does it really make a difference?