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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:05:39 GMT
12:Zigeunerweisen (1980)9
Submerging fully into the Taisho Period after having dipped into it in the past with The Incorrigible and Born Under Crossed Stars (1963 & 1965-both also reviewed), directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reunites with art director Takeo Kimura (here working with Yoshito Tada) and occasional cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka coming out of retirement. Completely free from studio demands in his return from the wilderness of TV to the big screen, Suzuki fully unleashes the avant-garde surrealist experimentation of red crabs, beautiful long tracking shots mirroring ghostly reflections and licked eyelids, which Suzuki had been building as a increasingly prominent element in his credits, into a eerie, dream-logic epic.
Growing up in a family of textile workers, Suzuki continues to build on his keen eye for a dash of colour, in this case crumbling the pastel greens of the interiors and the rocky greys Nakasago (played with a mesmerising wild-eyed madness by Yoshio Harada-who stars in the trilogy) and Aochi (played by a haunted, buttoned-up Kisako Makishi) walk along in refined long takes held in hanging wide-shots for the outdoor locations, (the entire production was shot in real locations-a major recurring style of Suzuki) that grind a subtle, musky pallet, capturing the supernatural, frozen in time atmosphere.
Taking inspiration from the novels of Hyakken Uchida, (despite taking whole paragraphs and using them as dialogue, the makers did not credit Uchida,classy move guys) Yozo Tanaka reunites with Suzuki after their team up for Gates of Flesh, and unveils a screenplay laying out Suzuki's canvas, from the wild Nakasago reuniting with his former,more luxurious colleague Aochi. The reunion unlocks a shared obsession to solve the meaning of inaudible mumbling on a Zigeunerweisen record, the grooves of which contains a haunting doppelgänger (played by a measured,subtle Naoko Otani ) who records a unshakeable supernatural presence, that in a discovery that chills him to the bones, Aochi finds places him in a groove which can't be stopped from being played.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:06:41 GMT
13:Kagero-za (1981)8
The last ever production that cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka would work on, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki proves to be in perfect synch with his regular cinematographer,as the duo are joined by Suzuki's long time production designer Noriyoshi Ikeya and former long time editor Akira Suzuki making a return. Walking down to the great outdoors in the opening, Suzuki makes it gloriously visible that he has a full team on his side, with Matsuzaki (played by a wonderful Yusaku Matsuda,whose regal shell is cracked open by Matsuda,as Matsuzaki starts to question his reality) being wrapped in lush wet green surroundings hanging down the screen in long-take wide-shots (a major recurring motif of Suzuki.)
Poetically bringing the curtain down on the Taisho period with a delightful stage show within a film final, Suzuki takes the surrealist stylisation that has been building across his credits, and slides it into abstract avant-garde, casting a eerie, sensual supernatural atmosphere with glistening Japanese New Wave jump-cuts being layered on long, lingering shot which dice down on Matsuzuko's unsettled doubts over meeting a mysterious woman who looks just like the wife of his benefactor.
Stated later by Suzuki that he had wanted to make a adaptation of a Kyoka Izumi novel for years, the screenplay by Yozo Tanaka weaves elements from four Izumi novels (!) into a hypnotic tapestry,where each piece of Izumi's writings is placed next to a continuation of the doppelgänger, ghostly memories of Zigeunerweisen (1980-also reviewed),leading to a enticing friction on reality being created,which takes Matsuzaki to the end of the Taisho period.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 4:32:14 GMT
Every single Arrow Blu of Suzuki seen! 14:Yumeji (1991)7 Taking a decade after the second to be filmed due to the producer having money trouble, and the last full solo feature the film maker would make for a whole decade, ( Pistol Opera (2001) being what broke the silence) directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reveals that he used the gap between both parts, to create new methods to expand his distinctive surrealist motifs, as Suzuki & cinematographer Jun'ichi Fujisawa draw Yumeji Takehisa’s painting with incredibly fluid tracking shots swinging through the icy dream-logic atmosphere going upwards to wide crane shots across the outdoor dour Gothic landscape. Reuniting with his long-term editor Akira Suzuki, Seijun Suzuki continues to spread Japanese New Wave jump-cuts scattering paintings across the walls,and elegantly framed dissolves bringing a ghostly presence into Takehisa’s paintings. Marking a huge departure from the vibrant colours of his other features, Suzuki strips the walls bare white,and hang the camera at floor level precisely centered, straight-on framed shots, held in long takes by the Suzuki’s that brush into the distortion of Takehisa. Joining with the Suzuki’s to complete the trilogy, the screenplay by Yozo Tanaka blends a loose examination of Yumeji Takehisa’s paintings, with a thoughtful conclusion to the doppelgänger psychological doubts, unshakeable ghosts keeping Tskehisa haunted by the past, and sensual paintings running red to a glittering final shot drawing a end to the Taisho era.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 13:19:19 GMT
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jul 22, 2020 21:20:23 GMT
Thanks MDF. As I mentioned in the other thread I've already seen and enjoyed Tokyo Drifter and would also highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. The other two I'll check out when I get a chance. I also just received my copy of the Taisho trilogy Blu-ray set (three films I've been looking forward to for a while).
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 21:59:17 GMT
Thanks MDF. As I mentioned in the other thread I've already seen and enjoyed Tokyo Drifter and would also highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. The other two I'll check out when I get a chance. I also just received my copy of the Taisho trilogy Blu-ray set (three films I've been looking forward to for a while). Hi Fox, thanks for the comments on Drifter. With the Taisho trilogy,I'll mention that I went in aware that they are very different to what Suzuki had done before. Looking at the French New Wave,I would compare them to the trance surrealism of Jacques Rivette, with a little bit of Jean Rollin's dream-logic horror. I hope you enjoy the trio.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 22, 2020 23:23:21 GMT
Hi there MDF Looks like you have been having a great Suzuki week thanks for the links, & the great reviews Getting a new 27 inch desk top next week, so should now be able to enjoy YT movies... You had me digging around in my movie tubs, Inspired by your Suzuki focus thought it was about time to have a reappraisal. We watched last night Tattooed Life (1965) last seen over ten years ago ! It is a great Yakuza tale set in the early Showa ere. A surprisingly subdued rhythm, composed with natural sound effects, a solid story, touching tone, a fabulous lead & some terrific action. Will be watching Branded to Kill tonight. A little while back we re-watched Take Aim at the Police Van (1960) I thought it was overdone with too much style thrown in, my highest rating Suzuki so far seems to be Carmen from Kawachi (1965) but I can remember nothing to tell, time to find & watch again ! I will be interested to seek out some of the titles you have highlighted with top marks and will get back with some thoughts on the unique & extraordinary diversity of Seijun Suzuki.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 26, 2020 1:41:48 GMT
Nihonjin no heso , Japanese Belly Button (1977) A clever & uniquely composed independent work of cinematic art, from the creative hand of director Eizô Sugawa. Adapted from the 1969 play written by Inoue Hisashi, his gesaku; satirical comic works based on his own personal perspectives are highly regarded. The foundation of this brilliant multi layered story opens in a theatre where a confession play is being acted out by a small group. It is a therapy session attempting to remedy stuttering, to unlock deep seated anxiety. A lively cast of interconnected characters come from varying social backgrounds. Interwoven are wonderful musical numbers, captivating, you never know exactly what to expect next. The film playfully diverges and reconnects back to its initial setting. A highly entertaining film, an Art Theatre Guild production, one which will need an extra viewing here to fully appreciate the depth of wit & intricacies of the Japanese dialogue & the dual character roles! Highly Recommended Classic Japanese cinema. Mako Midori...
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 30, 2020 3:55:45 GMT
Hi all,with this coming in the middle of his Taisho trio,I was expecting this to be a simmering mood piece,which thankfully led to me being surprised at it turning out to be a lively Comedy! The YT link is in the post with the other Suzuki's on the site I've found. Capone Cries a Lot (1985) 10 Wiping Capone’s tears away in the middle of his Taisho era trilogy (all also reviewed), directing auteur Seijun Suzuki continues to build on the expansive canvas marked out in the Taisho trio, but pausing the abstract aspect of those works, in exchange for continuing with his long-term editor Akira Suzuki and fellow regular comparator, art director Takeo Kimura (here co-working with Yuji Maruyama) for a dazzling explosion of the Japanese New Wave (JNW) Film Noir Pop-Art surrealism which has been a major recurring visual motif across Suzuki’s credits. Turning a abandoned amusement park in Japan into 1930’s Prohibition-era San Francisco, Suzuki twirls a ultra-stylised Screwball Comedy satire on Americana from the opening shot of a Film Noir gangster shown in silhouette wearing a hat and a cigar in his gob, which Suzuki spins out to left-field Musical numbers (a recurring occurrence in his credits) bursting with glossy Pop-Art colours and played on razor sharp JNW jump-cut editing. High-kicking a tribute to Charlie Chaplin with a gleeful laughing in the face of the Klan and the racist politics of the period, Suzuki takes prime American iconography in Umiemon (played by a superb Ken'ichi Hagiwara,who can whisk Umiemon’s care-free arrival to the US, together with a growing tough edge, with a impressive ease) travels to meet Al Capone,due to believing Capone is President. Keeping the surreal comedic weirdness bouncing, Suzuki snaps shimmering neon lights, cowboy hats and bustling Jazz clubs (a major recurring location of Suzuki’s) with a surrealist flourish of the wide-angle outdoor shots basking in the other worldly appearance of Umiemon’s (a major regular motif of Suzuki) local town, getting screen-wiped across the pond by fantastic long tracking shots along the side streets of San Francisco where Umiemon hopes to make his dreams of fame,and meeting Capone come true. Taking place at the end of the Taisho era, and coming after Suzuki had made two titles in his Taisho trilogy, which emphasised a abstract, meditating mood,rather then be focused on the plot, the screenplay by Suzuki’s art designer Kimura & Atsushi Yamatoya brilliantly uses the path of Suzuki’s then-recent work, to go in a delightfully left-field direction, throwing Screwball Comedy gum balls at Umiemon’s attempt to blend in with the locals. Noticeably featuring a prominent amount of dialogue in English for their adaptation of Sueyuki Kajiyama’s novel (who tragically died of cirrhosis of the liver at just 45 years old) the writers use the language divide for a tasty spoof of the ripe, bar-room brawling tough guys of American crime,that Umiemon finds cause his dreams to go up against animated mob shoot-outs,which cause Capone to cry.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 2, 2020 8:12:19 GMT
Yajû gari , The Black Battlefront Kidnappers (1973) Directed by Eizô Sugawa A small group of political radicals kidnap a corporate executive. At first it is assumed they want money, but following the groups surprising public demands, the police begin to question their actual motivation. Here the compelling drama becomes a police procedural. Feuding father and son detectives are assigned to the case, one in which the clock is ticking. Starring cultural icon Hiroshi Fujioka as the headstrong detective son, frustrated by his superiors, he is restrained from taking matters into his own hands. An intensely expressive personality, Fujioka's dynamic lead is a focal-point of the film. Set in a big city urban landscape, filmmaker Eizô Sugawa composes an exciting tense action drama. With a distinctive personal touch, in true 70's style his mod atmospheric soundtrack pulsates throughout, generating an evocative background rhythm. Hard boiled this social crime drama is a knockout... & is Highly Recommended !!
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 2, 2020 21:01:27 GMT
Hi there MDF Looks like you have been having a great Suzuki week thanks for the links, & the great reviews Getting a new 27 inch desk top next week, so should now be able to enjoy YT movies... You had me digging around in my movie tubs, Inspired by your Suzuki focus thought it was about time to have a reappraisal. We watched last night Tattooed Life (1965) last seen over ten years ago ! It is a great Yakuza tale set in the early Showa ere. A surprisingly subdued rhythm, composed with natural sound effects, a solid story, touching tone, a fabulous lead & some terrific action. Will be watching Branded to Kill tonight. A little while back we re-watched Take Aim at the Police Van (1960) I thought it was overdone with too much style thrown in, my highest rating Suzuki so far seems to be Carmen from Kawachi (1965) but I can remember nothing to tell, time to find & watch again ! I will be interested to seek out some of the titles you have highlighted with top marks and will get back with some thoughts on the unique & extraordinary diversity of Seijun Suzuki. Hi Man, I hope you are having a good weekend,and thank you for telling me about Tattooed Life,it would be interesting to hear how Suzuki used natural sounds. Before viewing the sets, the critical comments I've read in a handful of UK mags had dismissed his Nikkatsu era (which makes the majority of his credits) as mere "Work for hire", even though a large number of those films never came out in the Western world (and not out on disc or download until recently) meaning a large part of his work has been brushed off, without being seen. That 27 inch set-up sounds awesome Man!
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 2, 2020 21:33:06 GMT
Hi all,I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Ending my run last month of 17 new Suzuki titles, I got lucky and won a rare official DVD on eBay for under £5. The Flowers and the Angry Waves (1964) 8 The first of just four times across their decades-long team-up that he would do the art design,and get involved in the script process, the screenplay by Takeo Kimura/Kazuo Funahashi/ Koji Aoyama & Keiichi Abe cleverly takes the pulpy outline of two bands of samurai's at war with each other, and slyly bring them head-on into clashes taking place in the modern day, as lone voice Kikuji speaks up,and unionises his fellow samurai's, in order to protest against a rival gang gaining control of a port being built, whilst Kikuji also attempts to keep his romance with Oshige a secret. Wearing a cape and cackling, Tamio Kawaji sparkles as the scar-faced hitman Yoshimura, hired by the rival gang,and a boss Kikuji had hoped he had left to fade into the past, to knock Kikuji out from the optimistic future he is trying to reach (the divide between the war and post-war generations being a major recurring theme of the director.) Hoping to start with a clean slate, Akira Kobayashi gives a terrific turn as the fresh-faced Kikuji, who is given by Kobayashi a sinking feeling of the scars from his past returning. Continuing to expand on his meticulous eye for detail in the last successive 5 shots during the opening credits sequence establishing Kikuji and Oshige's romance,their runaway status,and the agitation left behind that will catch up to them, drawn up with a scattering of dialogue,and directing auteur Seijun Suzuki's distinctive wide-angle outdoor shots. Reuniting with regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka, production designer Takeo Kimura, composer Hajime Okumura,and editor Akira Suzuki, Suzuki displays a warming confidence, in continuing to build upon his surrealist Japanese New Wave visual motifs, swapping down in action set-pieces covering long tracking shots down rugged terrain in incredibly fluid tracking shots. Ending on a poetic snow covered final, Suzuki continues to build on a sharp use of jagged jump-cuts and distorted mid-shots catching a atmosphere of a sudden outburst of vilolence being just below the surface, as Kikuji swims against the angry waves. My Suzuki rankings from best to worst: 1:Tokyo Drifter (1966) 2:The Incorrigible (1963) 3:The Sleeping Beast Within (1960) 4:Our Blood Will Not Forgive (1964) 5:Branded To Kill (1967) 6:Capone Cries a Lot (1985) 7:Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! (1963) 8:Zigeunerweisen (1980) 9:Voice Without a Shadow (1958) 10:The Flowers and the Angry Waves (1964) 11:Smashing the 0-Line (1960) 12:The Boy Who Came Back (1958) 13:Kagero-za (1981) 14:Eight Hours of Terror (1957) 15:Born Under Crossed Stars (1965) 16:The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass 17:Teenage Yakuza (1962) 18:Yumeji (1991) 19:Tokyo Knights (1961) 20:The Man with a Shotgun (1961)
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 4, 2020 0:13:01 GMT
Hi there MDF Looks like you have been having a great Suzuki week thanks for the links, & the great reviews Getting a new 27 inch desk top next week, so should now be able to enjoy YT movies... You had me digging around in my movie tubs, Inspired by your Suzuki focus thought it was about time to have a reappraisal. We watched last night Tattooed Life (1965) last seen over ten years ago ! It is a great Yakuza tale set in the early Showa ere. A surprisingly subdued rhythm, composed with natural sound effects, a solid story, touching tone, a fabulous lead & some terrific action. Will be watching Branded to Kill tonight. A little while back we re-watched Take Aim at the Police Van (1960) I thought it was overdone with too much style thrown in, my highest rating Suzuki so far seems to be Carmen from Kawachi (1965) but I can remember nothing to tell, time to find & watch again ! I will be interested to seek out some of the titles you have highlighted with top marks and will get back with some thoughts on the unique & extraordinary diversity of Seijun Suzuki. Hi Man, I hope you are having a good weekend,and thank you for telling me about Tattooed Life,it would be interesting to hear how Suzuki used natural sounds. Before viewing the sets, the critical comments I've read in a handful of UK mags had dismissed his Nikkatsu era (which makes the majority of his credits) as mere "Work for hire", even though a large number of those films never came out in the Western world (and not out on disc or download until recently) meaning a large part of his work has been brushed off, without being seen. That 27 inch set-up sounds awesome Man! Hi there MDF hope all is well in your part of this crazy world.. Thanks again for those SS film links and your tremendous focus on the director, Tattooed Life may have sat for some years more on the shelf, it was great to see again and highlights the diversity of not only Suzuki but also a surprising mature production from Nikkatsu studio. While those Nikkatsu films may have required a certain degree of compliance to their production code ideal, there is no doubt that maverick Seijun Suzuki possessed & preserved his very own cinematic voice, with a distinctive style evident from the opening moments of anyone of his films, "Working for hire" as you say an ignorant assumption made without having seen or appreciating the complete SS picture... Branded to Kill proves this point watching again the other night it is surprising that the studio took such a dislike, it now seems pretty tame considering much of the studio's output that dominated the years following. We watched recently Circuit of Sorrow (1972) Nikkatsu abandoned action films in late 71 entering the sexploitation market with their Nikkatsu Roman Porno series of films, productions which demanded from their directors an official minimum quota of four nude or sex scenes per hour. How i ended up with this one ? , a poor film in all aspects, we never made it around the full circuit ! ... I have just discarded my old small laptop & set up the new desk top and it is awesome ! & with excellent sound , now to find the time and watch your recs and to discover & enjoy films on youtube. Happy Classic viewing to you... below a great J Classic film just watched, I am sure you will enjoy....
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 4, 2020 6:59:52 GMT
Fukai kawa , Deep River (1991) Kei Kumai Based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, master filmmaker Kei Kumai composes a profound cinematic story...The beautifully filmed tale is also notable for the presence of Toshiro Mifune, in his final screen appearance. Set in India, where a group of Japanese tourists have arrived, each with different purposes, faiths and expectations, each facing a wide range of moral and spiritual dilemmas. The dramatic complex story follows their life changing journeys.. .
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 4, 2020 9:21:09 GMT
Dai yûkai , Rainbow Kids (1991) Directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Upon release two ex-cons reunite with an associate who has planned a kidnapping caper. Reluctant at first, but learning that their target is a wealthy lady in her 80s, the pair join in sensing an easy get rich scheme. When planning their elderly snatch, the hapless trio did not envisage the strong willed grandmother taking command of their proceedings... An excellent film as always from director Kihachi Okamoto, laced with his unique brand of dark satire & stylish composition, the story is a wonderfully entertaining comedy treat...
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 9, 2020 4:35:38 GMT
Hi all, after "warming up" with the Suzuki sets, I've this week opened the set that has been at the top of my must watch list. Run! Part 1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973) 10 Attacking the audience with a manifesto statement of a opening shot of a mushroom cloud which descends on the crime-ridden streets of Hiroshima, a shot the film maker later said was done to establish “The genesis of the extreme violence with the gangsters almost appearing right out of the dust and smoke of the mushroom cloud…that’s why we used the stock footage of the bomb going off at the beginning of the film.” Entering the project after studio head (and former yakuza member) Koji Shundo had been impressed by his work on Street Mobster (1972), directing auteur Kinji Fukasaku & his regular cinematographer of this period Sadaji Yoshida, take the refine styling of Neo-Noir and the experimentation of the Japanese New Wave (JNW), and strikes them both with a brutal Punk sensibility. Placing the viewer up-close to assassinations performed by rival gangs, Fukasaku unloads a raw atmosphere of jagged JNW fluid cameras tracking Hirono (played by a fantastic Bunta Sugawara, who burns away the cool heroism of Noir loners of the past, for blunt-force rage) in the middle of crowds, jump-cutting to JNW newsreel blistering freeze frames and extreme close-ups of gangsters laying dead on the ground splashed over with red title cards recording their murder, (a major recurring motif of Fukasaku) and Toshiaki Tsushima’s rich brass Jazz score announcing their deaths. Loading up from the Film Noir tradition of “Ripped from the headlines” in adapting a Jingi Naki Tatakai series of articles written by Koichi Iiboshi that began in Weekly Sankei, which were based on a manuscript written by former yakuza member Kozo Mino,who wrote whilst in jail. The screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara incredibly retains the newsreel roots by trimming exposition for JNW “in the moment”, criss-crossing the various warring gangs to short, sharp, shock encounters, keeping wannabe rookie gangster Hirono on his toes in his attempt to be on the winning side in a ever shifting battle without honour and humanity.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 9, 2020 4:43:45 GMT
Hiroshima Death Match (1973) 10 The lone voice of feminine voice within the first two films, Meiko Kaji gives an extremely expressive performance as Uehara. Whilst she does not wear her signature hat, (sadly) Kaji gives Uehara a burning, head-strong assertivenesses of standing her ground when confronted by all the wise guys in her family, which Kaji twists into a final sequence of chilling anguished, clawing at all the death spread across the floor. Despite sadly not having the chance to do a fight sequence with Kaji, Sonny Chiba (whose 3rd film was by this director) gives a sizzling turn as Katsutoshi, whose manic, psychotic body language jerking movements are used by Chiba to hold Katsutoshi as a ticking time bomb keeping everyone on edge. Returning in a position more enshrined into the underworld,Bunta Sugawara gives a great performance as Hirono, whose brutal, sawn-off outbursts of the past Sugawara files down to a tough quiet confidence of holding power. Elbowing his way into the underworld,Kin'ya Kitaoji gives a blistering performance as Yamanaka, who at each turn where his attempt to join a gang,leads to them sending him like a ping- pong to another group, Kitaoji makes each bounce Yamanaka takes one that increase him becoming a loose cannon, leading to him looking down a harrowing final shot. Taking a more linear direction compared to the first film, due to articles in Weekly Sankei based on the manuscript written by former yakuza member Kozo Mino having yet to complete publication, causing no clear direction for where the adaptation could end, the screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara cleverly weaves a adaptation of real life gangster Mitsuji Yamagami, whilst continuing to build on the themes of the first Battle. Looking back years later at the project, Kasahara revealed that “I Intended to write an elegy to…a youth who trained in the military tradition,but were too young to have actually gone to war. He ( Yamanaka)offers his boss the loyalty he once offered the state. He uses a pistol- a substitute to a kamikaze plane freely, as he assassinates people whilst whistling a military tune…In reality I had wanted to expel the vestiges of that time which remained within me.” Sending Noir loner Yamanaka into the maze of gangsters all guns blazing,Kazuo Kasahara brilliantly continues to examine the theme of taking the heroics of the lone warrior and honour held by the ruling family, and tearing it apart, until left as a red raw form. Falling in love not only with the bosses niece, but in becoming a part of the underworld Muraoka family, whose orders he follows like a good solider, Kasahara takes each moment Yamanaka reaches out to build a bond with the Muraoka’s,and unflinchingly pushes Yamanaka, leading to him being struck by every branch, and unlike the self-assured Hirono, not finding a footing,and being left in a ditch. Backed by a spidery score from Toshiaki Tsushima (who includes a playful nod to Seijun Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter, (1966-also reviewed) directing auteur Kinji Fukasaku reunites with cinematographer Sadaji Yoshida, and takes his distinctive Japanese New Wave (JNW) ultra-stylisation into a dazzling expansion, firing up a frenzied atmosphere of fluid hand-held JNW-style cameras being slammed into extreme close-ups and jagged whip-pans on Yamanaka’s latest shoot-up, and staging a brutal punch-up via overlapping freeze frames.Following Kasahara path with the script, Fukasaku unveils a eye for breathing space in the middle of the blood-flowing whirlpool, with rich wide-shots on the Muraoka family dipped in Art-Deco peeled away, holding Yamanaka alone surrounded by ice-cold colours and newsreel JNW jump-cuts circling all those after him, until Fukasaku takes a magnificently vicious, cynical final twist,as Yamanaka is left in a battle without honour and humanity.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 9, 2020 4:48:04 GMT
Proxy War (1973) 8 With the studio having made clear when part 2 was being made that they actually wanted this title to be the second entry (!) Bringing the returning Hirono up the ladder in the bubbling build up to a all-out war, and revealing later that he had at first felt daunted about writing a script based on the real underworld war taking place in Hiroshima City,returning screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara noticeably makes this the most dialogue-heavy of the trio, which allows for the terrific warring gangster punch-ups to be blended with a psychological warfare, with Hirono moving from being the isolated wild one of the first film, to attempting to navigate the creation of a alliance with one of the two biggest families. Giving Hirono the false hope of a honourable deal having been made, Kasahara continues the major theme running across the films of the sense of heroic and loyal outlaws, being smashed as a façade image, where each time a deal is made between the feral gangs, the next day it cuts into a bloodbath across the streets, leading Kasahara striking Hirono with a hard-hitting ending,where last rites are performed on any type of deal. Laying out all the factions and families fighting to the death, auteur director Kinji Fukasaku & cinematographer Sadaji Yoshida neatly take the Japanese New Wave (JNW) freeze frames and jump-cuts that had been used for shoot-outs in the first two, and twists them as a way to intelligently establish each of the group in a compact way. Getting told by the police that his dipictions of real life gangster killings was giving the city “A bad image”, Fukasaku responds by upping the excellent fluidity of the JNW whip-pans, thanks to Fukasaku giving each gang the appearance of attack dogs, who the camera rushes towards to see them tear their prey to shreds. Sitting in on discussions between the gangs, Fukasaku ignites a refined Neo-Noir atmosphere of elegant wide-shots and sharp-zoom close-ups,hanging on every line being drawn in the proxy war.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 9, 2020 4:53:16 GMT
Police Tactics (1974) 10 Each believing that this was the final, (the studio had other ideas-some things never change) returning lead actor Bunta Sugawara, composer Toshiaki Tsushima, cinematographer Sadaji Yoshida, writer Kazuo Kasahara & directing auteur Kinji Fukasaku gather together for the final time, and deliver a across the board stellar presentation. Going right back to what was his main aim for the franchise to explore,for what would turn out to be the last in the series he would write, the screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara lines all the gangs in a stark generational divide of a introduction. Kasahara places them all in the within the context of what he had called “A youth who had trained in the military tradition, but were too young to have actually gone to war.” as Japan’s attempt to fully progress from the ruins of the war with the upcoming Olympics and a booming economy,leading to police being forced to finally take a hard line with those who ruled the streets as loyal foot soldiers , finding themselves in the wilderness. Locking Hirono in a subtly brittle full circle, with his bare feet naked from any of the luxuries he had gained, with sounds of a whistling snowstorm from a broken window signalling a new league in power, as faceless authority walks towards him. Placing everyone on the edge of extinction as a trigger to unrelenting street warfare, Kasahara throws them out a lifeline, in concluding the leaders of each gang treating the underworld as a business which had started to be rooted in part 3, (also reviewed) Having started as loose truces, Kasahara brilliantly takes the underworld into the mainstream with the corporatism sweeping the country, washing the increasing professionalism of the gangs out, and them being crushed by the corporate image leading Japan to the Olympics. Powered by the deep grooves of Toshiaki Tsushima’s score, director Fukasaku and cinematographer Yoshida continue to build on the usage of natural light which had been most prominent in part 3, drawing a brittle Neo-Noir atmosphere of blood splattering the camera, as the unsteady warmth which had temporarily united them, shatters to slivers as they all get forced to the wilderness. Believing this to be the final moment of the saga, Fukasaku takes the gangs out by taking his distinctive Japanese New Wave fluid camera moves to a hyper-stylised level, attacking the street gangs with dazzling freeze frames, Dutch angles, and rapid-fire whip-pans crash landing on the bloody aftermath each gang leaves on the streets. Entering with the belief that this would be the last shot fired, Bunta Sugawara gives a outstanding, layered performance as Hirono, who still has a passion to fight for his spot, but carries a world weariness from years of blood shed,in a battle without honour and humanity.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 9, 2020 4:58:52 GMT
Final Episode (1974) 7 Surprisingly giving the unvarnished truth in a interview by saying that “We only had enough material for half a script.”, and working from the leftover notes that former scriptwriter Kazuo Kasahara gave him,of the sliver of ideas left out of the first four films, the screenplay by Koji Takada at first appears to be finding a path towards building upon the themes Kasahara had made, with a striking opening marking the anniversary of Hiroshima, whilst Hirono begins to write his memoir in jail (a reference to Kozo Mino,whose memoir Battles is based on.) Keeping Hirono in prison and off-screen for a majority of the movie, Takada increases the progression into a corporate status of the gangsters,with them increasingly becoming involved in politics. Driving down the streets filled with new up and coming gangs, Takada takes a awkward shift which cuts the gravitas and pace of mass fallouts which had been increasing with each film away, as Takada aims for the theme of a cycle of violence, which is damaged by the new thugs being given little room for depth, that drains the impact of the delightfully bitter final scene. Believing he had finished with the series,until 6 months (!) after the 4th had come out, the studio demanded he make a 5th, directing auteur Kinji Fukasaku returns with cinematographer Sadaji Yoshida, and takes the on the street violence to the most extreme, raw level. Fukasaku’s distinctive fluid hand-held camera moves gets slammed on the ground from each bullet shot, (which Fukasaku covers in a red mist, in tribute to Tokyo Drifter (1966-also reviewed) and smashes into each dying gangster spilling blood over a battle without humanity or honour.
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