首都高速トライアル (1988)

趣闻

Megalopolis Expressway Trial is the original title of a series of six Japanese films, about illegal highway racing in the Shuto Expressway, released between 1988 and 1996. An English subtitled version of the film series was released on DVD in North America in 2004 due to commercial success of popular Hollywood films like The Fast and The Furious. A 4-disc re-release of the 2004 edition was made available in 2007, it was renamed Tokyo Speedway: The Complete Collection. Though also available in Hong Kong, the DVD edition was not released in Japan since the series is still banned and the last episode unreleased yet.

Background

Made during one of the most notorious eras of street racing, when the Mid Night Club ruled the scene and became one of the most infamous and feared or respected car clubs in Japan. Before they were banned from doing so, car magazines freely covered illegal races, but in the mid 1990s, Western media started to report about the Bōsōzoku and in the 2000s a popular American street racing video game series was named after them, as Midnight Club.

The first film, produced by Nikkatsu, was banned from release in Japan in cinema, due to its content. When racing driver and former street racer Keiichi Tsuchiya came on hand from the first sequel, it had adopted an anti street racing message, therefore avoiding a ban.

The series following the first film, were released under the Toei Company's V-Cinema line, meaning that they were all released direct-to-video. These films are believed to have influenced popular franchises including local video game series such as the Ridge Racer series and the Shutokō Battle series (the name "shutokō battle" is a dialogue line in the fourth film), as well as manga such as Wangan Midnight.

It was also a source of inspiration for Hong Kong cinema's Legend of Speed and western video games like the Midnight Club series as well Hollywood films such as The Fast and the Furious.

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