I’d never heard of a film called The Legend of the Stardust Brothers until recently, but I lost it when I realized what it was. It’s a Japanese musical from 1985. An ’80s musical that I’d never seen is music to my ears. I didn’t know what to expect when I popped the disc into my player, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what my eyes and ears would be subjected to. SRS Cinema brings this oddity to disc for the very first time in the United States.
The film chronicles the rise and fall of Kan (Kan Takagi) and Shingo (Shingo Kubota), two rival musicians who are hand-picked by a music producer, Atomic Minami (Kiyohiko Ozaki), to form a duo he hopes will lead to stardom. They must leave their own groups and put their differences aside to make history.
After a little back-and-forth, they sign the contract and are reborn as the Stardust Brothers pop duo. With the help of superfan Marimo (Kyoko Togawa), they quickly rise to fame. It doesn’t take long before it all comes crashing down.
It’s apparent when watching the film that it’s basically just a collection of music videos strung very loosely together by dialogue scenes. There are certainly some very odd moments that leave you scratching your head. Still, simultaneously, it feels as if the filmmaker is quite aware of what he’s trying to make and continuously wants to make it weirder and weirder as it progresses.
Part of why I had difficulty with it was the fact that the transfer left much to be desired. What was a vibrant and colorful film appeared a bit washed out. Plus, the film wasn’t formatted in widescreen. The style of music changes frequently throughout and ranges from post-punk and new wave to radio pop, a little something for everyone.
The Legend of the Stardust Brothers has an interesting behind-the-scenes story and history. It was directed by Makoto Tezuka, the son of manga artist Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy. Supposedly, he had met a well-known musician named Haruo Chicada, who had already recorded a soundtrack to a non-existent film. That soundtrack would be the starting point for this film.
SRS Cinema has brought the cult classic to Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray is limited to one thousand copies and also includes the soundtrack. As far as special features go, it includes a making of, a recent interview with Makoto Tezuka, and the theatrical trailer. While it’s not exactly the classic I was hoping to find, it does offer up enough oddities and catchy tunes to warrant a view.
