exploring the arcade in 投げたダイスが明日を呼ぶ (1965) aka Nageta dice ga asu o yobu (The dice you throw calls tomorrow)

This is the 2nd of 3 arcade explorations I will be doing based on a series of tweets from Sugiyama-san. (archive).

1965 - 投げたダイスが明日を呼ぶ / Nageta dice ga asu o yobu (The dice you throw calls tomorrow)

We start with a jukebox

1956 AMI Model G-80

Then we have a great scene with the bar's hostess.  While it's played for laughs, it's cool to see trans/queer depictions within Japanese cinema in the 1960s.

It also encapsulates the energy I want to bring in to 2025:  having a good party, removing the shitheads, and then singing a song about it.

If you are nerdy about consumer design, this movie is a goldmine of 60s aesthetics.

this guy's house is AMAZING mid-century modernism

roulette wheel

But our main focus is the arcade at the bowling alley.

1960 Shooting Gallery by Midway

Pausing so the vending machine fans can catch a glimpse...

Back to the games...

1964 Soccer by Williams

1962 Spinner by Bally

But wait, there's more!  Look closely at this frame, and we can see a sliver of a machine on the right.

yellow and orange colours

The this machine and the pinball machine are up against the stairs which allows us to measure the height difference.  I do not think this is an arcade game, but appears to be a machine of some type.  Maybe a vending machine?

From another angle:

Panic! At The Pepsi Machine

You have to squint and colour-correct, but it's almost visible through the Shooting Gallery glass, with a white statue just to the right of it.

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For my readers in the USA: this blog stands in protest against the policy of your incoming administration to eliminate trans people from society.  If you gullible and cruel enough to support working to eliminate millions of people from society, please fuck off and do not come back to this blog.

Trans Rights Are Human Rights

exploring the arcade in ネオン太平記 (1968) aka Neon Taiheiki

This is the first of 3 arcade explorations I will be doing based on a series of tweets from Sugiyama-san. (archive).

2 American pinball machines appear in this movie.

1968 - ネオン太平記 (Neon Taiheiki)

1965 Magic Circle by Bally

1965 Alpine Club by Williams

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For my readers in the USA: this blog stands in protest against the policy of your incoming administration to eliminate trans people from society.  If you gullible and cruel enough to support working to eliminate millions of people from society, please fuck off and do not come back to this blog.

Trans Rights Are Human Rights

exploring the arcade in 乾いた花 (1964) / Kawaita hana aka Pale Flower

This film contains a bowling alley scene with a few arcade games in the background.  Thank you to @TOO_yoshikawa for bringing this to my attention.

乾いた花 (1964)

let's begin with the machine on the far-left, since we only see it for a fraction of a second

1961 Rifle Gallery by Midway

again on the far left, there is a machine that looks like Taito's Sportsman.  But Taito did not begin selling that machine until 1966, so this must be the machine it was based on.

for reference only: 1966 Sportsman - スポーツマン by 太東 (Taito — Crown)

1947 Deluxe Athletic Scale floor model machine by Mercury Steel Corporation

The image does not line up perfectly:  In the movie there are some striations along the top curve of the machine.  This might be a modified paint job, but could also be a geometric reflection of the lights.  The text card also seems differs, perhaps replaced with a Japanese language one.

on the left there is a pinball machine, but it cannot be identified by the door and leg alone.  Let's focus on the 2 machines at the center of the frame.

1960 Skill-Score by Bally

1958 Double Shot by Games Inc

Remember how I said the pinball machine can't be seen?  Well I was looking around online and found this photo/still, which does NOT appear in the movie.  The scene happening here is shot from a different angle, so I suppose this was a photo taken, or from a different camera?  You can easily find the moment the woman wearing black walks past that Skill-Score machine, and the angle is quite different.

Here is what we see in the film at this exact moment:

Curious!  Anyways, that extra still lets us see the pinball machine.

1955 Gypsy Queen by Gottlieb

Finally, on the far right we have a game that has piqued my interest.

It looks like a Dodge City.... but could this be the elusive Western Gun?

is this Sega's Western Gun?  Or just a Dodge City by Frantz, without the marquee?