Images: Third Window Films
By Jon Donnis
Kaizo Hayashi's offbeat Maiku Hama Trilogy returns in gleaming 30th Anniversary 4K remasters, bringing back Masatoshi Nagase as Yokohama private eye Maiku Hama, a Japanese approximation of Mike Hammer. Across three films, The Most Terrible Time in My Life (1994), The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995) and The Trap (1996), the series sketches a pulp world of missing persons, waterfront power plays and encroaching dread.
The Most Terrible Time in My Life
The first film, The Most Terrible Time in My Life, drags Hama into the disappearance of a Taiwanese immigrant's brother, a case that lands him squarely in the crosshairs of a gang war. The second, The Stairway to the Distant Past, sends him after a "Man in White" who rules over the embattled riverfront of Yokohama. The ominous final chapter, The Trap, edges into psychological horror as a spate of drug fuelled murders begins to instil fear across the city.
The Stairway to the Distant Past
This run arrives as a limited edition digipack set capped at 2,000 copies, complete with a booklet by Josh Slater-Williams. Nagase once again anchors the trilogy as Hama, and the package presents Hayashi's idiosyncratic vision with fresh clarity.
The Trap
Disc 1 features The Most Terrible Time in My Life (我が人生最悪の時, 1994) and comes with a feature audio commentary by Jasper Sharp, a new interview with director Kaizo Hayashi, a new interview with producer Shunsuke Koga, and the trailer.
Disc 2 collects The Stairway to the Distant Past (遙かな時代の階段を, 1995) with a selected audio commentary by Edmund Yeo, a Matthew Carter video essay, and the trailer.
Disc 3 presents The Trap (罠 THE TRAP, 1996) with a feature audio commentary by Samm Deighan, a James Balmont video essay, and the trailer.
The set is Region B. Out on Blu-ray and digital on 27 October.
Pre-Order from Amazon now at https://amzn.to/4m5GU8U
