The Third Window Films Podcast artwork

The Third Window Films Podcast

25 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratings

A celebration of all things Third Window Films from the perspective of the fan (Ben) and the man (Adam Torel).

The Third Window Films brand was born in 2005 when its film-loving founders grew bored of the stream of worn-out shock horror vehicles from the Far East.

Third Window Films works hard to bring you the wonderful world beyond long-haired ghost films and mindless Hollywood action copies, sourcing the finest works in new Far Eastern cinema. We strive to represent a rich variety of film genres, be they dramas, comedies, political satires, action or anything else in between. Expect everything from the unknown and cult to the off-beat and even the occasional mainstream masterpiece… or expect nothing but quality Asian cinema!

Let Third Window Films be your window to the East!

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Episodes

Episode 24 - River

February 12, 2024 00:01 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MB

This time Ben shares his experience with the alphabet film challenege for January before the boys dive into Junta Yamaguchi's latest two minute time loop masterpiece 'RIVER'. River is available to own now from  Terracotta Distribution here  The links Ben's January and February alphabet challenge lists are below. Stay tuned for the Third Window alphabet list next episode!  https://letterboxd.com/benjybox/list/alphabet-challenge-2024-january/ https://letterboxd.com/benjybox/list/alp...

Episode 23 - Mad Cats

January 29, 2024 00:01 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MB

The Third Window Films Podcast is back after an unexpected hiatus, but we are starting off 2024 with a bang! This episode Adam and Ben kick things off by sharing their favourite East Asian films from last year. They also do a deep dive on the wildly entertaining and utterly bonkers action comedy, 'MAD CATS', which is making its Blu-ray debut this month! And the cherry on top? Ben had the incredible opportunity to talk with the director Reiki Tsuno himself! Reiki shares his experiences and ...

Episode 22 - Banmei Takahashi's Door & Door 2: Tokyo Diary

November 05, 2023 23:59 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MB

Join Adam and Ben in this latest episode as they explore the contrasting Halloween festivities of Japan and the UK. From the Tokyo International Film Festival to the eclectic screenings at the London East Asian and Cambridge Film Festivals, they share their top picks and hidden gems from this year's events. They also delve into Third Window Films' newest release, the double feature 'Door' and 'Door II: Tokyo Diary'. Directed by Banmei Takahashi, these cult Japanese horror classics from the...

Episode 21 - Kiyoshi Kurosawa's The Guard From Underground

September 26, 2023 09:04 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MB

This month Adam and Ben take another deep dive into the world of Japanese cinema as they unpack Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "The Guard From Underground". From Kurosawa's early days at Rikkyo University to his initial foray into directing within the pink film scene, the boys unravel the enigmatic journey of this acclaimed filmmaker. The episode also sheds light on Third Window Films' journey to secure the distribution rights for "The Guard From Underground" in the UK. Discover the role Susumu Miya...

Episode 20 - The J-Horror Virus with Sarah Appleton and Jasper Sharp

August 17, 2023 10:59 - 1 hour - 58.3 MB

This episode Adam and Ben are joined by documentarian Sarah Appleton and film historian Jasper Sharp to talk all about their new film The J-Horror Virus. We talk about the origins of the genre, our favourite J-Horror films, and the creators that shaped horror culture for decades to come. Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube Follow Ben on Twitter and Letterboxd If you enjoy our show then please give us a 5 star rating and review wherever you listen, and be sure to subscribe so ...

Episode 19 - Katsuhito Ishii, Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl

July 23, 2023 22:58 - 1 hour - 62.9 MB

It's been a minute but your boys are back and better than ever! This episode we catch up on Adam's European tour with Katsuhito Ishii, the glorious double bill at the Prince Charles Cinema with a live Q&A, a surreal dinner with Gareth Evans, and of course the latest boxset from Third Window Films including 6 films from the mighty Katsuhito Ishii himself. We also look to the future and what's coming next for TWF! It's good to be back :) Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube Follow...

Episode 18 - Music in Film with James Balmont

April 16, 2023 23:01 - 1 hour - 78.3 MB

This month we talk to Swim Deep keyboardist and film journalist extraordinaire James Balmont about our favourite music in Japanese film. We cover the most successful director/composer collaborations, from Takeshi Kitano and Joe Hisaishi to Sogo Ishii and Hiroyuki Onogawa to Shin'ya Tsukamoto and Chu Ishigawa, and loads more! Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube Follow Ben on Twitter and Letterboxd If you enjoy our show then please give us a 5 star rating and review wherever yo...

Episode 17 - Tadanobu Asano, Electric Dragon 80.000v and Punk Samurai!

March 13, 2023 00:01 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MB

This month we talk about the illustrious career of the one and only Tadanobu Asano. Actor, musician, illustrator, and all around renaissance man. He's starred in everything from iconic classics like ICHI THE KILLER and ZATOICHI, to cult international arthouse films like RUINED HEART and LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE. We also discuss Adam's two big releases for the month, Gakuryu Ishii's ELECTRIC DRAGON 80.000V and PUNK SAMURAI SLASH DOWN. In Electric Dragon, Tadanobu plays a violent, guitar-...

Episode 16 - Q&A with Adam and Ben

January 23, 2023 00:01 - 1 hour - 88.9 MB

This episode Adam and Ben answer questions from the audience! The boys go through 30 questions from 30 fans and at the end they randomly pick one question to receivea Third Windown Films Blu-ray of their choice. Please leave us a rating or review wherever you can, and be sure to tell your friends about us. It's going to be a big year for The Third Window Films Podcast and we are excited to share some of the news with you very soon.

Episode 15 - Adrift in 2022

December 26, 2022 07:56 - 1 hour - 100 MB

The bumper final epside of 2022! Adam and Ben go through all the Third Window Film releases of the year, from Shin'ya Tsukamoto's HIRUKO THE GOBLIN to Satoshi Miki's ADRIFT IN TOKYO and everything in between from Obayashi to Sogo Ishii. The boys also reveal their favourite films of the year and look ahead at what's coming out from Third Window Films in 2023. Thank you to everyone who listened to the show and shared our stuff this year. We appreciate you! Here's a link to Ben's top 20 o...

Episode 14 - Our 1st Birthday with Cyborg Joe

October 17, 2022 23:01 - 1 hour - 71.1 MB

The episode Adam and Ben celebrate one year of THE THIRD WINDOW FILMS PODCAST by inviting the badass 80s synthpop legend Cyborg Joe from The Lethal Weapons. The boys talk about living in Japan as westerners, and how their first love is film but their really friendship developed through a mutual love of music. You can follow Cyborg Joe on Twitter and Instagram Links to all of The Lethal Weapons songs and videos are on their YouTube channel Some personal favourites include: Shoryuken...

Episode 13 - His Motorbike, Her Island with Tom Mes

October 06, 2022 22:59 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MB

We are living in unprecedented times and today Adam and Ben are joined by the mighty Tom Mes for an unprecedented third appearance!   After initially joining us to discuss Shinya Tsukamoto and then returning to cover the work of Sogo Ishii, Tom is now back on the pod to talk all about Nobuhiko Obayashi, his 80s Kadokawa years, and specially his audio commentary on the upcoming release of His Motorbike, Her Island.   His Motorbike, Her Island stars Riki Takeuchi and Kiwako Harada and...

Episode 12 - Jidaigeki Films with Dr. Jonathan Wroot

August 30, 2022 22:59 - 1 hour - 76.2 MB

This episode Adam and Ben are joined by a real life doctor... of film. Dr. Jonathan Wroot is the senior lecturer and program leader for film studies at the University of Greenwich, London. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on Asian cinema distribution and specifically on home video formats. Jonathan has most recently published his first monograph entitled "The Paths of Zatoichi - The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman" and he talks in great depth on the in...

Episode 11 - Terracotta Distribution with Joey Leung

July 24, 2022 23:01 - 1 hour - 70.4 MB

This episode Adam and Ben are joined by none other than the founder and managing director of Terracotta Disitribution himself, Joey Leung!  Joey has been one of the UK's premier film distributors of East Asian cinema for two decades now, and he has experienced more than his fair share of highs and lows in that time. The boys tell the explosive story of how Joey and Adam first made contact, the crazy days of film sales in the early 2000s, and how trying to recreate Cannes in Brighton might ...

Episode 10 - Summer Time Machine Blues

June 28, 2022 23:01 - 1 hour - 60.8 MB

This episode Adam and Ben celebrate the release of Katsuyuki Motohiro's 2005 Japanese cult hit SUMMER TIME MACHINE BLUES with a hot conversation about Summer and time travel and how the two pair together perfectly. The film is written by Makoto Ueda, the genius behind recent hit BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES, and stars a plethora of young talent with all the madcap energy you'd hope for from a production like this. The film is available to own from July 4th 2022 and you can pre-order i...

Episode 9 - 15 Years of Third Window Films

May 25, 2022 23:01 - 1 hour - 90.3 MB

On May 21st 2022 it was 15 years to the day since Adam released his first dvd through Third Window Films! This episode Ben and Adam celebrate the history of Third Window Films from its humble beginnings to its place now as one of the top distributors of East Asian cinema in the UK.  In honour of the milestone Adam is giving away 15 Blu-Rays across his social networks to 15 lucky listeners. Links to enter the competitions are below: https://www.facebook.com/thirdwindowfilms/ https://w...

Episode 8 - Zokki

April 22, 2022 08:30 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MB

This episode Adam and Ben share their experiences with the latest idiosyncratic release from Third Window Films "Zokki". Three of Japan's most talented and prolific actor-directors have joined forces to adapt Hiroyuki Ohashi's cult manga series about characters in "an obscure corner" of the world. The film's five loosely connected storylines concern the secrets and lies, fears and tears, and puerile potty jokes that punctuate their daily (and in one eerie case, nightly) encounters.    ...

Episode 7 - Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

April 11, 2022 07:23 - 1 hour - 79.7 MB

This epsiode Adam and Ben are joined by Arthur Harari to talk about his brand new film "Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle". After the film opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and went on to win multiple awards across the festival circuit it will be released in cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Third Window Films on 15 April 2022. Arthur talks about how this Japanese story ended up being told by a foreigner, the unique funding for the film, an...

Episode 6 - Funky Forest / The Warped Forest

March 18, 2022 09:11 - 1 hour - 73.6 MB

This month Adam and Ben discuss the wonderfully wacky world created by Katsuhito Ishii, Hajimi Ishimine and Shunichiro Miki in FUNKY FOREST before taking a wrong turn into the perverted in Shunichiro Miki's spritual successor THE WARPED FOREST. Both of these films are available now on a Special Edition double disc Blu-Ray through Terracotta Distribution via this link - https://shop.terracottadistribution.com/products/funky-forest-warped-forest-special-edition-bluray The guys also discus...

Episode 5 - Sogo Ishii with Tom Mes

February 17, 2022 00:01 - 1 hour - 85.2 MB

On this episode Adam and Ben are joined once again by the mighty Tom Mes, this time to talk about the films of one of the greats of Japanese cinema, Sogo Ishii. Sogo Ishii changed the game with his 1980 film CRAZY THUNDER ROAD. Its success opened the door for young independent filmmakers in Japan and it paved the way for the Cyberpunk genre and inspired classics like Akira and Tetsuo: The Iron Man to name but two. Ben goes through his Ishii season where he watched everything from August ...

Episode 4 - Shinya Tsukamoto with Tom Mes

January 14, 2022 00:01 - 1 hour - 72.4 MB

On this episode Adam and Ben are joined by author, critic and film historian Tom Mes for a talk all about the work and career of cinematic legend Shinya Tsukamoto. Tom literally wrote the book on the man! Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker but not only is he a director but also producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, art director, production designer and even an actor. We cover everything from his beginnings in amateur theatre, to his early short films, to his breakout smash hit Te...

Episode 3 - Top 10 films of 2021

December 30, 2021 11:46 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Welcome to Episode 3 of The Third Window Films Podcast. This show is a celebration of all things Third Window Films from the perspective of the fan (Ben) and the man (Adam). On this episode Adam and Ben take a look back at all the releases Third Window Films put out over the year and then share each other's Top 10 lists. Please help spread the word by subscribing, sharing this episode, rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts, and generally just being awesome listeners! 

Episode 2 - Micro Budget Hits

November 23, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 87.6 MB

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Third Window Films Podcast. This show is a celebration of all things Third Window Films from the perspective of the fan (Ben) and the man (Adam). On this episode Adam and Ben celebrate the release of Junta Yamaguchi's mind-blowing feature debut BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES by discussing all the micro budget hits that Third Window Films have distributed over the years. The films discussed are: Shinichiro Ueda's ONE CUT OF THE DEAD Seiji Tanaka's MELANCHO...

Episode 2 - Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes

November 23, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 87.6 MB

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Third Window Films Podcast. This show is a celebration of all things Third Window Films from the perspective of the fan (Ben) and the man (Adam). On this episode Adam and Ben celebrate the release of Junta Yamaguchi's mind-blowing feature debut BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES by discussing all the micro budget hits that Third Window Films have distributed over the years. The films discussed are: Shinichiro Ueda's ONE CUT OF THE DEAD Seiji Tanaka's MELANCHOLI...

Episode 1 - Toshiaki Toyoda

October 17, 2021 23:01 - 1 hour - 94.9 MB

The very first episode of The Third Window Films Podcast! On this show Ben and Adam introduce themselves to the world and then lovingly go through the career and filmography of one of Japan's most interesting cult filmmakers, Toshiaki Toyoda.  The films discussed this month include: Pornostar Unchain Blue Spring 9 Souls Hanging Garden Monsters Club I'm Flash! Wolf's Calling The Day of Destruction Go Seppuku Yourselves  

Twitter Mentions

@benjybox 14 Episodes
@thirdwindow 12 Episodes
@cyborgjoe2 1 Episode
@terracotta_dist 1 Episode