When finally buying a Blu-Ray player in June after finding my old PS3 being unable to play them one too many times, the discs at the very top of the list that I wanted to play were Arrow's epic Seijun Suzuki collections. Having viewed the titles in the order they were originally released,I got set for the final glimpse at the early years of Suzuki.
View on the film:
Ending the first set on a high note, Arrow present a pristine picture and soundtrack transfer, backed by a detailed audio commentary on this period of Japanese cinema,along with a 40 minute in-depth documentary overview of the titles in the set.
Reuniting with the lead actor,production designer,composer, editor and the scriptwriters from The Incorrigible (1963-also reviewed), this extensive reunion leads to directing auteur Seijun Suzuki visibly having a confidence to brilliantly expand on his Japanese New Wave surrealist stylisation motifs.
Gripping the screen wipes featured in his past works, Suzuki and his long time editor Akira Suzuki and his regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka brilliantly twist them, into being based around the actions of the characters, as Suzuki tracks a wipe across the screen behind people walking across it,and uses the darkness of wipes to change morning into night.
Spun on a breezy score by his then regular composer Hajime Okumura,that would turn out to be the last ever score Okumura did, Suzuki continues to build upon his major use of filming in outdoor locations, with a outstanding depth of field sequence taking Jukichi deep into the bamboo groves wilderness of the village.
Censored by the UK film board due to animal cruelty, Suzuki continues to flourish in the off-beat staging of fight set-pieces, standing out in the inter-cutting of chickens fighting with Jukichi's free-wheeling battle against a macho tattooed manic in a dojo.
Reuniting with Suzuki on screen,Ken Yamauchi gives a gleeful performance as Jukichi, whose serious, head-strong beliefs gets spilt by the playful Taneko (played by a enticing Yumiko Nogawa.)
Having written the novel The Incorrigible (1963) was based on,Toko Kon here joins with returning scriptwriter Ryozo Kasahara for a excellent screenplay,which builds upon the entry of Western and Russian novels entering Japan during the Taisho period, (a period Suzuki would return to) and a semi- autobiographical examination of Kon's life, the writers turn the youthful rebellion Melodrama of The Incorrigible inside out with a spike-driven cynical edge of Jukichi brushing off any lessons he could learn from his time with the locals under crossed stars.
View on the film:
Ending the first set on a high note, Arrow present a pristine picture and soundtrack transfer, backed by a detailed audio commentary on this period of Japanese cinema,along with a 40 minute in-depth documentary overview of the titles in the set.
Reuniting with the lead actor,production designer,composer, editor and the scriptwriters from The Incorrigible (1963-also reviewed), this extensive reunion leads to directing auteur Seijun Suzuki visibly having a confidence to brilliantly expand on his Japanese New Wave surrealist stylisation motifs.
Gripping the screen wipes featured in his past works, Suzuki and his long time editor Akira Suzuki and his regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka brilliantly twist them, into being based around the actions of the characters, as Suzuki tracks a wipe across the screen behind people walking across it,and uses the darkness of wipes to change morning into night.
Spun on a breezy score by his then regular composer Hajime Okumura,that would turn out to be the last ever score Okumura did, Suzuki continues to build upon his major use of filming in outdoor locations, with a outstanding depth of field sequence taking Jukichi deep into the bamboo groves wilderness of the village.
Censored by the UK film board due to animal cruelty, Suzuki continues to flourish in the off-beat staging of fight set-pieces, standing out in the inter-cutting of chickens fighting with Jukichi's free-wheeling battle against a macho tattooed manic in a dojo.
Reuniting with Suzuki on screen,Ken Yamauchi gives a gleeful performance as Jukichi, whose serious, head-strong beliefs gets spilt by the playful Taneko (played by a enticing Yumiko Nogawa.)
Having written the novel The Incorrigible (1963) was based on,Toko Kon here joins with returning scriptwriter Ryozo Kasahara for a excellent screenplay,which builds upon the entry of Western and Russian novels entering Japan during the Taisho period, (a period Suzuki would return to) and a semi- autobiographical examination of Kon's life, the writers turn the youthful rebellion Melodrama of The Incorrigible inside out with a spike-driven cynical edge of Jukichi brushing off any lessons he could learn from his time with the locals under crossed stars.
