Runtime: 122 minutes
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Isao Kimura
From: Toho
It's time for me to catch up here. I neglected to port this review over from a few days ago; late tonight I'll post the one I just put up on Letterboxd a few days ago:
A perfect movie for the heat wave that was (is?) enveloped across the United States. Sure, it was also nice for me not to watch yet another airline disaster picture as there was 5 in a row; I was happy to experience something completely different. It’s been awhile for me in addition when it comes to any movie from Kurosawa or Mifune so thank goodness for the Criterion Channel.
The movie starts right away with Mifune as a police detective who has his gun stolen by a pickpocket; of course that gun is used by a criminal to commit murders and of course Toshiro is on the hunt to try and retrieve it. He teams up with another favorite actor of mine-Takashi Shimura as a fellow detective-and as they are different, it proves that the buddy cop genre did not start in the 80’s or even the 70’s. Various locations are visited-including a game involving two Nippon Professional Baseball teams-several memorable characters are presented and postwar Japan is examined as the movie delves into Mifune’s character & his dark side on the journey for that weapon.
For early in his career, Kurosawa already demonstrated that he was a great director; later on he would become legendary. Of course I enjoyed Mifune and Shimura but I’ll also give my props to Isao Kimura as the perp that uses the Colt to cause havoc. It’s quite the path that the lead has to follow and it’d be a crime if I spoil even part of that trek. Thus, I’ll instead close out that this is a great motion picture due in part to several haunting moments in the final act and the summer setting creating an important character in of itself: the oppressive heat that is present throughout. It is extremely hot in Tokyo (which could also be said about many spots in the United States last week and presumably more than a few currently) and there is no shortage of sweaty characters; it also serves to help set the atmosphere of the entire picture. I should check out even more Kurosawa if one that is lesser discussed than stone cold classics like Ran, Seven Samurai & High and Low happens to be a great movie.
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