EP46 - Burst City (1982)

Welcome to Cyberpunk Cinema – the Definitive Dive into the Dark Future of Science Fiction. I am your host, Anthony La Pira, and I will be taking you on a cinematic journey through the sprawling cityscapes, the crippling datastorms, and the cybernetic implants that encompass all things Cyberpunk.

In this week’s episode, I will be breaking-down the 1982 landmark esoteric cyberpunk rock musical BURST CITY – directed by Shogo Ishii; written by Jugatsu Toi. 

Punk rock gangs and music groups clash with one another and the brutal police force in a futuristic Tokyo setting. 

Burst City is a visceral, wild, kinetic, and aggressive film that attempts (and succeeds) to encapsulate the essence of the subculture of punk rock. The film is a frantic landscape of a post-apocalyptic dystopia mixed with nuclear power plant concerns in Neo Tokyo mixed with Japan’s vibrant punk rock scene. It is pure orchestrated madness that reflects the frustration of the artists of the subculture of that particular era combined with the industrialization of society set against the backdrop of a bleak, lawless future. The film is literally BURSTING with a kinetic/manic energy that has never been duplicated in cinema. You will not see anything like this. You just have to witness it in all its glory. 

So, do me a favor – it’s time to access your cranial jacks, boot up your Ono-Sendai Cyberspace 7, and slap on your damn mirror-shades. You know what time it is! Cyberpunk Cinema starts…now!

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