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DVD Stray Dog - Criterion Collection
A classic crime film steeped in the vivid environs of postwar Tokyo, Stray Dog is arguably Akira Kurosawa's finest film preceding the international success of Rashomon. A classic theme--the identification between criminal and crime fighter--is presented here in one of its earliest incarnations, as a promising young detective (Toshiro Mifune) struggles to retrieve his stolen pistol. The missing gun is used in a robbery and murder, and Mifune's superior (Ikiru's Takashi Shimura) is caught in the case's volatile crossfire. As the detective closes in on his lethal alter ego, his own moral compass spins out of control, into a psychological tempest that inspires Mifune to give one of his best early performances. Using real locations and a sense of sweltering heat rivaled only by Do the Right Thing, Kurosawa (who first wrote this film as an unpublished novel inspired by an actual incident) maintains an atmosphere of lurid urgency perfectly suited to this riveting film noir scenario. --Jeff Shannon
"Stray Dog" is a story about a Japanese veteran who comes home to a destroyed world after W.W.I.I.. Many veterans returning home today could probably relate. Director Kurosawa did a magnificent job relating a world in total colapse, and illustrating the strugle that everday people had to go through to survive and go on living.
Being a history buff, I found the scenes of life in Japan after the war to be very enlightening.
Slow to start, but then it really picks up!
Actually, I give this 3 1/2 stars. I'm a big Mifune/Kurosawa fan, but the extremely slow start of this movie really took it down a notch or two. I thought the expository monologue in the beginning was rather dissapointing. I would have expected Kurosawa to just "show" that happening rather than have it explained to you. Also, the sequence with Murakami (Mifune) walking through the rough parts of post-WWII Tokyo was a bit longer than it had to be. The footage was very interesting, but it just seemed to slow the pace of the movie down to a crawl.
However, once Murakami picks up the trail of his stolen firearm, the pace pf the movie picks up as well. You could feel the atmosphere of sweltering heat as Murakami and Sato (Shimura) make their way through the investigation. It's also interesting how Sato has a black-and-white view of the criminal mind whereas Murakami can see the shades of grey. For Murakami, not all criminals are "just bad people", sometimes they're just average folks pushed to the edge by harsh circumstances. Both Murakami and the man he is pursuing have had similar experiences, yet both men made completely different choices when they found themselves at a crossroads. This is a fascinating story about despair, choices, and consequence. Any Mifune/Kurosawa collaboration is worth checking out. While this one doesn't measure up to others quite as well, it's still worth a look.
Lastly, Criterion did an excellent job with this movie: great transfer, good subtitles, commentary, a 32 minute documentary, and great interactive menus all brought to you in a very handsome package. A great buy for those who want more bang for their buck in their DVDs.
Film Noir in Tokyo
Knowing that "Stray Dog" was a movie by Akira Kurosawa gave me high expections and I was not disappointed. The movie starts out as a sort of beaurocratic comedy as a plain clothes officer named Murakami has his pistol stolen by a pick pocket. Despite the embarassment, it was a matter that could affect his continued employment with the force. As he starts to track down which pickpocket might have done the job, it becomes apparent that the gun has been used in a violent crime. At this point, the officer gets teamed up with an old pro named Sato and the two are on the hunt for a serious criminal.
The plot may sound semi-standard but, as in most Kurosawa movies I've seen, the excellence isn't in the story but in its' telling. There are several scenes of Murakami wandering through Tokyo that reminded me somewhat of "The Bicycle Thief". There is a lot of psychological aspects to this movie such as Murakami's efforts to reconcile the use of his gun in the hands of a violent criminal. In the conversations between the two detectives we hear the hardened outlook of Sato on the criminal element in society. Murakami shows the occassional fine line between cop and thief which may have been Kurosawa's main point in "Stray Dog". There are many other interesting aspects to the movie and I'm sure more will emerge each time I see it. The movie has the added aspect of being a fairly good thriller.
Toshiro Mifune plays Murakami and it seemed strange to see him clean cut throughout the movie. Takashi Shimura plays Sato and the two work very well together. All of the acting is well done as well as the directing and the writing. Kurosawa shows in "Stray Dog" that he is as comfortable in the present as he is in the past.
It's a good film and everything, but would i ever watch this again? After many positive reviews, i decided to buy this and add it to my samurai film collection(which includes Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Ran, Kagemusha, Shogun's Samurai, Shogun Assassin, Sword of Doom, Shogun's Ninja, a Sword of Vengeance and Zatoichi film or two, etc). I liked the movie, was caught up in the story and characters enough, and the ending had a good pay-off with an extended fight that was well done(great to see so many characters involved in such a desperate battle to accomplish their mission).
But here's the problem, that was the ONLY major fight/action sequence in the entire (lengthy)film. Plus, once you get the 'twist' in the story line(which is pretty easy to figure out), and you... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Kihachi Okamoto DVD Release Date: Released the 08 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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During an unusual chapter in the career of director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon), the filmmaker went to Russia because he found working in his native Japan to be too difficult. The result was this striking 1975 near-epic based on the turn-of-the-century autobiographical novels of a military explorer (Yuri Solomin) who met and befriended a Goldi man in Russia's unmapped forests. Kurosawa traces the evolution of a deep and abiding bond between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the sub-zero Siberian woods. There's no question that Dersu Uzala (the film is named for the Goldi character, played by Maxim Munzuk) has the muscular, imaginative look of a large-canvas Soviet Mosfilm from the 1970s. But in its energy and insight it is absolutely Kurosawa,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Maksim Munzuk - Yuri Solomin Director(s): Akira Kurosawa DVD Release Date: Released the 17 October 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Akira Kurosawa was 83 years old when he made this, his serenely glorious final film. Kurosawa's eyesight was failing, so Madadayo would be the master's farewell to filmmaking, and one can hardly imagine a more lovely and loving way to end one of the greatest careers in motion picture history. Based on the literary works of Japanese author Hyakken Uchida, the film presents Uchida as its central character (named only "The Professor"), and begins in war-torn Tokyo with the sensei's retirement from teaching in 1943. He is considered "solid gold" by his legacy of former students, who support their beloved teacher as he focuses on writing and throw annual birthday parties in his honor. Each year they ask "Maadha kai?" ("Are you ready?"), to which the aging professor responds,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ishirô Honda - Akira Kurosawa DVD Release Date: Released the 13 March 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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At three brief hours, La Dolce Vita, a piece of cynical, engrossing social commentary, stands as Federico Fellini's timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome's modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film is episodic in structure but held tightly in focus by the wandering protagonist through whom we witness the sordid action. Marcello Rubini (extraordinarily played by Marcello Mastroianni) is a tabloid reporter trapped in a shallow high-society existence. A man of paradoxical emotional juxtapositions (cool but tortured, sexy but impotent), he dreams about writing something important but remains seduced by the money and prestige that accompany his shallow position. He romanticizes finding true love but acts unfazed upon finding that his girlfriend has taken... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Marcello Mastroianni - Anita Ekberg Director(s): Federico Fellini DVD Release Date: Released the 21 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Produced with assistance from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Dreams is an omnibus of eight short stories and parables that spell enchantment at every turn. The opening story, "Sun Under the Rain," emerges from director Akira Kurosawa's personal memories, as a child (whose house is modeled after Kurosawa's childhood home in Koishikawa) witnesses a fox's wedding ceremony in a magical forest. The Garden of Eden motif continues in "The Peach Orchard," while Lucas's ILM special effects group shines in the glorious "Crows" segment, in which an art admirer finds himself living within the paintings of Van Gogh (played with concentrated energy by Kurosawa enthusiast Martin Scorsese). In the idyllic closing fable, "The Village of the Watermills," a centenarian claims that "people... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Akira Terao - Mitsuko Baisho Director(s): Ishirô Honda - Akira Kurosawa DVD Release Date: Released the 18 March 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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