2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
So Genzo Araki, the missing man from George's past, was apparently the chief engineer of a train that, 15 years ago, mysteriously lost a car full of gold and platinum, which may or may not be secretly in the possession of Tanokura, head of one of the town's two factions. That's really quite interesting. Oh, wait, no it's not. It could be, but the way it's presented here forced me to rewind a few times because I kept drifting off. The tense stares and whispered voices of Tanokura and an enigmatic investigator come off bland and boring instead of tense, and the flashbacks consisting of drifting images over a quiet piano piece drained my senses like a lullaby. It was maddening.
And it's not even shocking info! Sure, everything revolving around a 15-year-old heist is an interesting plot, but they need to find a much better way to work it into the story than a pair of characters quietly discussing it in an office for not one, but two fucking episodes. Layer it in, people.
I had hopes that George's detective work in Sendai would give us some more juicy history on the increasingly compelling Sanae, but a few drunken memories, tense stares with a dude who may be her brother (clarity!), and a messy fight scene kept the thread from getting any further off the ground.
And then there's a bit from out of nowhere about a thug in jail getting assassinated.
While, yes, this series has started to build some interesting threads of its own, this episode felt meaningless, not due to the content, but the lethargic execution. The only good bit? Miyuki and Raccoon's increasing frustration at George's absence. If taken individually, these character would quickly become annoying, but throwing them together was this show's one work of genius. It's a dynamic with a lot of great potential and I'm just hoping they don't screw it up.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
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(wikipedia)
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May 26, 2009
May 22, 2009
Kaze No Yojimbo #5: The Pursuit
2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
At the end of the last episode, a vacationing group of housewives dropped by Kimujuki so as to enjoy the natural springs in the nearby mountains. While dining at the Araki Inn, one of the women, former teacher Ryoko Kiuchi, makes some odd eye contact with proprietress Sanae, hours before plummeting off a cliff. Accident? Suicide? Murder? When he learns the woman is from Sendai, the town where his missing friend Genzo Araki supposedly settled down in, George heads out to investigate.
Once again, the creative team is apparently missing the point of YOJIMBO. Kurosawa's classic is about a man vowing to clean up a corrupt town whether it wants the help or not, and not only have they lost a lot of the layers that give that plot meaning, but now they're taking that man out of that town. Sure, whatever mysteries he uncovers will likely loop back to the setting's history and, yes, I understand the need to get some extra breathing space when a film-length story is now spread across a few dozen episodes, but this should be a thematic no-no. You've got the man. You've got the town. Don't pull them apart, especially when you've already failed at entwining them.
Now, that's not to completely knock the episode. What I've learned by now is that YOJIMBO is mainly just a cover for the creative team to do their own thing, so such arguments are moot. As it is, the episode is actually a pretty interesting one as George starts putting clues together that lead to some interesting history (and many, many new questions) about the beautiful Sanae.
Back at the town, we see that George's absence has left everyone ... well, no one really seams to notice except Miyuki and Raccoon (a pair of characters I'd love to see develop a wild dynamic). Elsewhere, old-blood aristocrat Tanokura brutally knocks around a betrayer, until a mysterious man shows up and starts asking about a load of ore from the seemingly dry mine that went missing 15 years ago ... from the very same train yards where George met his missing friend.
As you can see, the mystery deepens. The animation's still shitty and I still don't get why they threw out so much of the original story, but I have to admit that the creative team is hitting a nice stride with decent characters, an increasingly compelling storyline, and a visual style that's starting to grow on me.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
At the end of the last episode, a vacationing group of housewives dropped by Kimujuki so as to enjoy the natural springs in the nearby mountains. While dining at the Araki Inn, one of the women, former teacher Ryoko Kiuchi, makes some odd eye contact with proprietress Sanae, hours before plummeting off a cliff. Accident? Suicide? Murder? When he learns the woman is from Sendai, the town where his missing friend Genzo Araki supposedly settled down in, George heads out to investigate.
Once again, the creative team is apparently missing the point of YOJIMBO. Kurosawa's classic is about a man vowing to clean up a corrupt town whether it wants the help or not, and not only have they lost a lot of the layers that give that plot meaning, but now they're taking that man out of that town. Sure, whatever mysteries he uncovers will likely loop back to the setting's history and, yes, I understand the need to get some extra breathing space when a film-length story is now spread across a few dozen episodes, but this should be a thematic no-no. You've got the man. You've got the town. Don't pull them apart, especially when you've already failed at entwining them.
Now, that's not to completely knock the episode. What I've learned by now is that YOJIMBO is mainly just a cover for the creative team to do their own thing, so such arguments are moot. As it is, the episode is actually a pretty interesting one as George starts putting clues together that lead to some interesting history (and many, many new questions) about the beautiful Sanae.
Back at the town, we see that George's absence has left everyone ... well, no one really seams to notice except Miyuki and Raccoon (a pair of characters I'd love to see develop a wild dynamic). Elsewhere, old-blood aristocrat Tanokura brutally knocks around a betrayer, until a mysterious man shows up and starts asking about a load of ore from the seemingly dry mine that went missing 15 years ago ... from the very same train yards where George met his missing friend.
As you can see, the mystery deepens. The animation's still shitty and I still don't get why they threw out so much of the original story, but I have to admit that the creative team is hitting a nice stride with decent characters, an increasingly compelling storyline, and a visual style that's starting to grow on me.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
Kaze No Yojimbo #4: Beauty and the Poison
2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
After taking and leaving jobs on both sides of this fractured town, George kicks back for a bit when he takes a bodyguard job at the neutral inn. We've already met the owner, the beautiful widow Sanae Araki, but it's only now that we start to get hints of deeper connections she has to the past, to George's old friend Genzo Araki. It's only limited to a few odd glances and snatches of gossip, at the moment, but it is compelling.
In fact, I found the entire episode to be quite nice. I've been harsh in my reviews of the preceding ones of how loosely this ties to the deeper themes at play in Kurosawa's classic film, but I'm starting to think the creative team is getting a handle on just where it is they want to go. They've finally built a nice sense of flow to the largely static imagery, setting up quiet shot dynamics that work when held and letting us soak in some lovely scenery. And when the moments of animation do come, they feel a bit more focused and fluid than before. Hell, even the odd bits of superimposition or stylized backgrounds, which have failed till now to enhance moments of drama, are finally starting to work with a newfound sense of subtlety.
One of my biggest concerns going in was the relationship between George and Miyuki, the teenage daughter of one of the main political faction heads. She has that type of youthful infatuation with the handsome stranger that could quickly become predictable and vomitous. It likely will go that route, but I found its presence this episode, with her getting all jealous of Sanae and yanking George off to show him something, surprisingly endearing and amusing. I'll hold off further judgment until I see how it plays out.
And then there's Raccoon. A big slab of muscle, he's a thug from Ginzame who's had the misfortune of going up against George on more than one occasion. Here, they set up an incident between him and a young woman that not only takes an unexpectedly hilarious twist which shows a cuddly side to his character, but spins him around from a hopeless adversary of George to a potential sidekick. It's quite fun and unexpected and I'm very curious to see where it goes from here.
I was quite surprised by this episode. Up until now, I was groaning about both the misdirected way I felt the material was being interpreted and the sloppy quality of the overall production. But here I find myself, for the first time, caught up in these characters and events. No, I haven't completely fallen for it, nor do I yet hold it up as something merely good, but I am intrigued enough to keep going.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
After taking and leaving jobs on both sides of this fractured town, George kicks back for a bit when he takes a bodyguard job at the neutral inn. We've already met the owner, the beautiful widow Sanae Araki, but it's only now that we start to get hints of deeper connections she has to the past, to George's old friend Genzo Araki. It's only limited to a few odd glances and snatches of gossip, at the moment, but it is compelling.
In fact, I found the entire episode to be quite nice. I've been harsh in my reviews of the preceding ones of how loosely this ties to the deeper themes at play in Kurosawa's classic film, but I'm starting to think the creative team is getting a handle on just where it is they want to go. They've finally built a nice sense of flow to the largely static imagery, setting up quiet shot dynamics that work when held and letting us soak in some lovely scenery. And when the moments of animation do come, they feel a bit more focused and fluid than before. Hell, even the odd bits of superimposition or stylized backgrounds, which have failed till now to enhance moments of drama, are finally starting to work with a newfound sense of subtlety.
One of my biggest concerns going in was the relationship between George and Miyuki, the teenage daughter of one of the main political faction heads. She has that type of youthful infatuation with the handsome stranger that could quickly become predictable and vomitous. It likely will go that route, but I found its presence this episode, with her getting all jealous of Sanae and yanking George off to show him something, surprisingly endearing and amusing. I'll hold off further judgment until I see how it plays out.
And then there's Raccoon. A big slab of muscle, he's a thug from Ginzame who's had the misfortune of going up against George on more than one occasion. Here, they set up an incident between him and a young woman that not only takes an unexpectedly hilarious twist which shows a cuddly side to his character, but spins him around from a hopeless adversary of George to a potential sidekick. It's quite fun and unexpected and I'm very curious to see where it goes from here.
I was quite surprised by this episode. Up until now, I was groaning about both the misdirected way I felt the material was being interpreted and the sloppy quality of the overall production. But here I find myself, for the first time, caught up in these characters and events. No, I haven't completely fallen for it, nor do I yet hold it up as something merely good, but I am intrigued enough to keep going.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
May 21, 2009
Kaze No Yojimbo #3: The Bodyguard
2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
When a failed drive-by-shooting gets everybody riled up, George sets out to find the responsible party before the two halves of town erupt in a full-on war.
That right there speaks to the mistakes of this show. The entire point of Kurosawa's classic was that the hero wanted chaos, wanted confusion, wanted to pit one side against the other so he could easily pick off whatever stragglers were left behind. But not our George. No, he just seems to be drifting from jobs on one side of the track to the other with no rhyme or reason beyond casual circumstance. There's no motive to clean up the town, no cockiness that has him pushing himself on others and conning them to his will. They just see an outsider they can use and make him an offer. Now, I'm sure this'll turn around to bite them in some fashion, but the creative team has already missed the entire point of the setup so I wouldn't be surprised if they kept their collective head in the clouds as it continues to play out.
I do, however, like the promise offered by the two town heads. The well-fed but dignified Tanakura represents the old world of stubborn nobility. The steely-eyed Ginzame represents the new world of cold profit. I'll admit it's an interesting modernization of the dynamic with both fighting for control of the town's mines, which have supposedly run dry, but there just isn't enough meat there. As I've said before, aside from the occasional thug scuffle, the town is too polished and bright and clean. Where the prostitution? The drugs? The rampant violence and murder? Where are the sights that drive our hero to the desire to clean it all up for no reason other than he wants to?
It's all just so empty. And the shitty animation and wonky, lazy storytelling devices really don't help.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
When a failed drive-by-shooting gets everybody riled up, George sets out to find the responsible party before the two halves of town erupt in a full-on war.
That right there speaks to the mistakes of this show. The entire point of Kurosawa's classic was that the hero wanted chaos, wanted confusion, wanted to pit one side against the other so he could easily pick off whatever stragglers were left behind. But not our George. No, he just seems to be drifting from jobs on one side of the track to the other with no rhyme or reason beyond casual circumstance. There's no motive to clean up the town, no cockiness that has him pushing himself on others and conning them to his will. They just see an outsider they can use and make him an offer. Now, I'm sure this'll turn around to bite them in some fashion, but the creative team has already missed the entire point of the setup so I wouldn't be surprised if they kept their collective head in the clouds as it continues to play out.
I do, however, like the promise offered by the two town heads. The well-fed but dignified Tanakura represents the old world of stubborn nobility. The steely-eyed Ginzame represents the new world of cold profit. I'll admit it's an interesting modernization of the dynamic with both fighting for control of the town's mines, which have supposedly run dry, but there just isn't enough meat there. As I've said before, aside from the occasional thug scuffle, the town is too polished and bright and clean. Where the prostitution? The drugs? The rampant violence and murder? Where are the sights that drive our hero to the desire to clean it all up for no reason other than he wants to?
It's all just so empty. And the shitty animation and wonky, lazy storytelling devices really don't help.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
May 13, 2009
Kaze No Yojimbo #2: Snake Swamp
2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
I'm starting to see a bit more YOJIMBO falling into the mix as our hero, George, gets a job with one of the town's factions, then immediately starts making an offer to the other side, but I once again feel it's missing the mark. He's still just a casual innocent drawn into events by happenstance instead of someone actively setting out to make sweeping changes. I know they'll probably have him pushing deeper and harder as he goes along, but it seems to be going the easy route of him finding victims worth protecting instead of Sanjuro's great antihero reasoning of "I'm bored." I know, I know, that line was uttered here, but it felt off and hollow, with little machismo to back it up.
Faring better, though, are a pair of characters who, as in the original film, find themselves drawn to this newcomer as potential allies: the neutral tavern keeper and the police officer who changes what little he can. While initially skeptical of George, both have that air of people you know will be there when events call them to act, which I know sounds terribly predicable, but it has more the feeling of calm reassurance to it.
But they just aren't enough. Though we get some initial glimpses at the heads of the rival crime factions, and the failure of the local mine gives the writers some meat to chew on, I just don't get the sense that this is a hellish town boiling over with corruption and greed. Everything is too calm, too clean, too everyday. What should be the armpit of the world looks like a normal, everyday small town. Aside from a couple scraps with rowdy thugs, there just isn't enough rampant sin looming in the air, wringing every last drop of good from the populace. And, thus, the story never really achieves any depth. Sure, they may make up for it in future episodes, but they'd have to change a lot in a small amount of time to really layer things in properly.
And then there's Miyuki. Having come to her rescue last episode, George is hired by her father, one of the two faction heads, to act as a bodyguard, seeing her to and from school. She's just what you'd expect in a rich, bright-eyed little daddy's girl, too naive to be aware of his corruption and so instantly infatuated with her new bodyguard I just want to slam my head into a wall. She's such an obvious, typical plot device, that creepily little-sister love interest who will likely never get very far with her first huge crush because that's the way these things typically play out. Who knows, maybe they'll find a way to surprise me, but I sincerely doubt it.
There's also a bit where an unseen sniper starts blasting away at George with a very weak shotgun, but that's all just setup for more mystery. It's a bit interesting, as are a few other things, but there's such a general air of sloppiness to the show, from the weak writing to the shitty animation, that I just can't see myself giving it a recommendation.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(previous)
(next)
I'm starting to see a bit more YOJIMBO falling into the mix as our hero, George, gets a job with one of the town's factions, then immediately starts making an offer to the other side, but I once again feel it's missing the mark. He's still just a casual innocent drawn into events by happenstance instead of someone actively setting out to make sweeping changes. I know they'll probably have him pushing deeper and harder as he goes along, but it seems to be going the easy route of him finding victims worth protecting instead of Sanjuro's great antihero reasoning of "I'm bored." I know, I know, that line was uttered here, but it felt off and hollow, with little machismo to back it up.
Faring better, though, are a pair of characters who, as in the original film, find themselves drawn to this newcomer as potential allies: the neutral tavern keeper and the police officer who changes what little he can. While initially skeptical of George, both have that air of people you know will be there when events call them to act, which I know sounds terribly predicable, but it has more the feeling of calm reassurance to it.
But they just aren't enough. Though we get some initial glimpses at the heads of the rival crime factions, and the failure of the local mine gives the writers some meat to chew on, I just don't get the sense that this is a hellish town boiling over with corruption and greed. Everything is too calm, too clean, too everyday. What should be the armpit of the world looks like a normal, everyday small town. Aside from a couple scraps with rowdy thugs, there just isn't enough rampant sin looming in the air, wringing every last drop of good from the populace. And, thus, the story never really achieves any depth. Sure, they may make up for it in future episodes, but they'd have to change a lot in a small amount of time to really layer things in properly.
And then there's Miyuki. Having come to her rescue last episode, George is hired by her father, one of the two faction heads, to act as a bodyguard, seeing her to and from school. She's just what you'd expect in a rich, bright-eyed little daddy's girl, too naive to be aware of his corruption and so instantly infatuated with her new bodyguard I just want to slam my head into a wall. She's such an obvious, typical plot device, that creepily little-sister love interest who will likely never get very far with her first huge crush because that's the way these things typically play out. Who knows, maybe they'll find a way to surprise me, but I sincerely doubt it.
There's also a bit where an unseen sniper starts blasting away at George with a very weak shotgun, but that's all just setup for more mystery. It's a bit interesting, as are a few other things, but there's such a general air of sloppiness to the show, from the weak writing to the shitty animation, that I just can't see myself giving it a recommendation.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
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(internet movie database)
May 12, 2009
Kaze No Yojimbo #1: Gone with the Dust
2001 episode
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(next)
Kimujuku is a small town in the Japanese countryside, split down the middle by railroad tracks. One side is red, with old, brick-style homes and the abandoned mine that used to be the heart of the place. The other side is white, with the crisp corporate cubicles of modern urban sprawl. Taking a train into town one day is a mysterious loner named George Kodama.
Right off the bat, there's no doubt just how loose an adaptation this is of Kurosawa's classic film. While still charmingly scruffy (I saw the Mifune-esque scratch of the neck) and capable in a fight, the hero is no longer some random passerby who shoves himself into things just for the hell of it. No, George is trying to track down a man he met 15 years ago, a man who's name tightens up the citizens who quickly brush it off as a common name, someone who's moved on and been forgotten. While this does set up a bit of a mystery and gives us a few glimpses into the town's factions, I can't help but feel something is lost. What made Sanjuro so damn fun was the sheer randomness of him choosing that road, that all the destructive cleansing he wrought would have been avoided had he gone the other way. I know this is a tv series and tying George's backstory into the town gives the writers some meat to chew on, but I'm just not entirely sold on it yet. I'll wait, though, to see how it plays out.
What really has me concerned is the direction. The character designs are clean and the scenic backgrounds nice, but the animation is choppy and many scenes jarring in the way they recklessly cut between mismatched compositions. It's bizarre and, frankly, sloppy, especially the way they try to emphasize points through needless superimposition or a static background that comes out of nowhere and distracts from the moment instead of strengthening it. And it all culminates in a terribly slapped together mess of a fight scene.
I'm not sure what to make of this series so far. There's some interesting stuff and a likable, if generic, lead, but I have to wonder if they gave the project to the right people because it feels so damn amateurish.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
directed by Hayato Date
written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Akatsuki Yamatoya, Daisuke Yajima, Michiko Yokote, Satoru Nishizono
based on the film YOJIMBO by Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima
(1961 film)
(next)
Kimujuku is a small town in the Japanese countryside, split down the middle by railroad tracks. One side is red, with old, brick-style homes and the abandoned mine that used to be the heart of the place. The other side is white, with the crisp corporate cubicles of modern urban sprawl. Taking a train into town one day is a mysterious loner named George Kodama.
Right off the bat, there's no doubt just how loose an adaptation this is of Kurosawa's classic film. While still charmingly scruffy (I saw the Mifune-esque scratch of the neck) and capable in a fight, the hero is no longer some random passerby who shoves himself into things just for the hell of it. No, George is trying to track down a man he met 15 years ago, a man who's name tightens up the citizens who quickly brush it off as a common name, someone who's moved on and been forgotten. While this does set up a bit of a mystery and gives us a few glimpses into the town's factions, I can't help but feel something is lost. What made Sanjuro so damn fun was the sheer randomness of him choosing that road, that all the destructive cleansing he wrought would have been avoided had he gone the other way. I know this is a tv series and tying George's backstory into the town gives the writers some meat to chew on, but I'm just not entirely sold on it yet. I'll wait, though, to see how it plays out.
What really has me concerned is the direction. The character designs are clean and the scenic backgrounds nice, but the animation is choppy and many scenes jarring in the way they recklessly cut between mismatched compositions. It's bizarre and, frankly, sloppy, especially the way they try to emphasize points through needless superimposition or a static background that comes out of nowhere and distracts from the moment instead of strengthening it. And it all culminates in a terribly slapped together mess of a fight scene.
I'm not sure what to make of this series so far. There's some interesting stuff and a likable, if generic, lead, but I have to wonder if they gave the project to the right people because it feels so damn amateurish.
(series trailer)
(opening titles)
(purchase)
(purchase)
(wikipedia)
(anime news network)
(internet movie database)
Dora-Heita
2000 film
directed by Kon Ichikawa
written by Akira Kurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi
based on the novel by Shugoro Yamamoto
Kinoshita. Kobayashi. Ichikawa. Kurosawa. Throughout the 50s and 60s these four names found themselves at the center of the Japanese film industry as each churned out one blockbuster after another. In the late 60s, calling themselves the "Four Musketeers", they decided to pool their efforts into a joint production company, bringing to life new works through their collaboration. Unfortunately, their first production, Kurosawa's 1970 film DODESUKADEN, was a tremendous flop with both critics and viewers. The company was crushed and all four went their separate ways.
But not before teaming up on a script.
Samurai Koheita Mochizuki has been sent by the lord of his clan to act as the new magistrate of Horisoto, a sleazy ghetto full of gambling and prostitution. Word of his skill has spread far and wide, which surprises people who dub him "Dora-Heita", a tricky to translate joke about an alley cat. And it seems, on the surface, to be fitting, as he often dismisses the stiff protocol of the time in a casual, laid-back fashion, and sneaks into town under a different name to partake in drinking, dice, and a few dances with the girls. The stiff council of the chamberlain finds him reckless. A group of young vigilante samurai declare him a disgrace. Hell, even a pair of samurai who've known him for years are left scratching their heads.
But they don't know the truth, that all of this is just a ruse so he can dig down to the deepest roots of the district's corruption, killing the cancer at its heart.
I love Koji Yakusho as the smarmy lead. From his slobbish exterior, to the sly, manipulative mind underneath, there's such a delightful charm to the way he wraps people around his little finger. Though a warrior, he saves violence only for those rare moments where trickery won't work. And when that sword comes unsheathed, man, you better watch out.
Kon Ichikawa, the last of the Musketeers alive when this was finally made, gives us a film very much like its lead: laid-back, charming, easy to dismiss on the surface, but filled with many little surprises. His camera work is quiet but sturdy and his editing, while a little disconcerting in a few scenes that seem to randomly jump around, flows at a smooth pace. The costumes and sets look like they've been with the studio a while, but give it a nice, aged look.
And then there's the humor. Our hero hops on a horse to make a grand escape, only to find it unwilling to go faster than a relaxed trot. A council of stuffy elders spend more time debating cold remedies than they do politics. A Geisha from Edo (marvelously played with wit and grace by Yuko Asano) leaves Dora-Heita shifting when she tracks him down to collect old debts. A pair of secretaries in the magistrate's office have nothing to do but mark down that their boss didn't show up for yet another day. Through these little bits and others, what could have been a stodgy, typical samurai flick takes on a playful energy that makes it so wonderfully human and memorable.
Now, not all of this film is spot on. The story, though veering far enough from YOJIMBO to avoid being a remake, is nonetheless more than similar enough to draw comparison. While that film boiled things down to an apocalyptic finale, the end of DORA-HEITA feels like a bit of a cop-out. Ichikawa spends so much time setting up the ins and outs of the corrupt district that I can't help but feel disappointed when, instead of showing the broader effects the hero's actions have on this society, the focus is instead dwindled down to a few individuals who end up getting off way too easy. It almost feels a little too - I hate to say it - Hollywood. Too happily ever after.
And then there's the music, the cheap score by Kensaku Tanikawa and his synthesizer. There's a few effective moments, such as beats in the background of tense scenes that eek Eric Serra, or what feels like light Vangelis over the introductory montage of Horisoto, but most of the cues sound as if they crawled out of a mid-80s action film. It's an element that's distractingly out of place.
But these are just small complaints against a film that, while not a classic, most certainly entertained. I wonder how it would have turned out had it been made way back then, with the participation of all four Musketeers. Would it have been better? Worse? Bigger? Smaller? I really don't know. Hell, I really don't care. What we got was satisfying enough for me.
(purchase)
(internet movie database)
directed by Kon Ichikawa
written by Akira Kurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi
based on the novel by Shugoro Yamamoto
Kinoshita. Kobayashi. Ichikawa. Kurosawa. Throughout the 50s and 60s these four names found themselves at the center of the Japanese film industry as each churned out one blockbuster after another. In the late 60s, calling themselves the "Four Musketeers", they decided to pool their efforts into a joint production company, bringing to life new works through their collaboration. Unfortunately, their first production, Kurosawa's 1970 film DODESUKADEN, was a tremendous flop with both critics and viewers. The company was crushed and all four went their separate ways.
But not before teaming up on a script.
Samurai Koheita Mochizuki has been sent by the lord of his clan to act as the new magistrate of Horisoto, a sleazy ghetto full of gambling and prostitution. Word of his skill has spread far and wide, which surprises people who dub him "Dora-Heita", a tricky to translate joke about an alley cat. And it seems, on the surface, to be fitting, as he often dismisses the stiff protocol of the time in a casual, laid-back fashion, and sneaks into town under a different name to partake in drinking, dice, and a few dances with the girls. The stiff council of the chamberlain finds him reckless. A group of young vigilante samurai declare him a disgrace. Hell, even a pair of samurai who've known him for years are left scratching their heads.
But they don't know the truth, that all of this is just a ruse so he can dig down to the deepest roots of the district's corruption, killing the cancer at its heart.
I love Koji Yakusho as the smarmy lead. From his slobbish exterior, to the sly, manipulative mind underneath, there's such a delightful charm to the way he wraps people around his little finger. Though a warrior, he saves violence only for those rare moments where trickery won't work. And when that sword comes unsheathed, man, you better watch out.
Kon Ichikawa, the last of the Musketeers alive when this was finally made, gives us a film very much like its lead: laid-back, charming, easy to dismiss on the surface, but filled with many little surprises. His camera work is quiet but sturdy and his editing, while a little disconcerting in a few scenes that seem to randomly jump around, flows at a smooth pace. The costumes and sets look like they've been with the studio a while, but give it a nice, aged look.
And then there's the humor. Our hero hops on a horse to make a grand escape, only to find it unwilling to go faster than a relaxed trot. A council of stuffy elders spend more time debating cold remedies than they do politics. A Geisha from Edo (marvelously played with wit and grace by Yuko Asano) leaves Dora-Heita shifting when she tracks him down to collect old debts. A pair of secretaries in the magistrate's office have nothing to do but mark down that their boss didn't show up for yet another day. Through these little bits and others, what could have been a stodgy, typical samurai flick takes on a playful energy that makes it so wonderfully human and memorable.
Now, not all of this film is spot on. The story, though veering far enough from YOJIMBO to avoid being a remake, is nonetheless more than similar enough to draw comparison. While that film boiled things down to an apocalyptic finale, the end of DORA-HEITA feels like a bit of a cop-out. Ichikawa spends so much time setting up the ins and outs of the corrupt district that I can't help but feel disappointed when, instead of showing the broader effects the hero's actions have on this society, the focus is instead dwindled down to a few individuals who end up getting off way too easy. It almost feels a little too - I hate to say it - Hollywood. Too happily ever after.
And then there's the music, the cheap score by Kensaku Tanikawa and his synthesizer. There's a few effective moments, such as beats in the background of tense scenes that eek Eric Serra, or what feels like light Vangelis over the introductory montage of Horisoto, but most of the cues sound as if they crawled out of a mid-80s action film. It's an element that's distractingly out of place.
But these are just small complaints against a film that, while not a classic, most certainly entertained. I wonder how it would have turned out had it been made way back then, with the participation of all four Musketeers. Would it have been better? Worse? Bigger? Smaller? I really don't know. Hell, I really don't care. What we got was satisfying enough for me.
(purchase)
(internet movie database)
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