LA FLORIDIANA A Truly Magic Moment by William Moriaty | ||
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW Summer's Here! by Mike Smith | ||
HORROR MOVIE UPDATE Remakes and Sequels....There is Only One George A. Romero by Drew Reiber | ||
ASIAN FILM UPDATE Seijun Suzuki-A-Go-Go by Peter Card | ||
MATT'S RAIL The Force Wasn't With Them....JawsFest On The Horizon....Monster Bash Also Looming by Matt Drinnenberg | ||
MIKE'S RANT From Last Week....Bad Hair Day....Who Are You?....Passing On....Jaws: The Story, Part 20 by Mike Smith | ||
Archives of Nolan's Pop Culture Review | ||
Archives 2005 Archives 2004 Archives 2003 Archives 2002 Archives 2001 Archives 2000 Email PCR |
Home |
Seijun Suzuki-A-Go-Go
Regardless of his intentions, Suzuki’s body of work is
immense and fortunately many films of his are now
available on DVD in the US. It’s surprising to note
that his filmography is one of the most available in
the United States besides Akira Kurosawa and Kenji
Fukasaku. Home Vision Entertainment released 3 of his
films, Underworld Beauty (1958), Kanto Wanderer
(1963), Tattooed Life (1965). It is interesting to
note that Underworld Beauty is pre-Suzuki madness and
that this film is a solid and entertaining film. I
applaud HVe for releasing this since most fans of
Suzuki expect explosions of color and narrative
confusion. Those who seek only this form of
entertainment will be disinterested in this early film
although I find it to be a useful example of his first
era of films. Kanto Wanderer is perhaps Suzuki’s first
in the long line of many films that contain an
aesthetic that I’d argue many Anime directors lifted.
Its especially interesting to note that he even worked
in the early eighties on the massively popular
television show, Lupin the Third. Finally, Tattooed
Life is a great example of the contrast between the
seemingly conventional aspects of a Suzuki film and
his most outlandish moments. The strong story and
gripping finale is a perfect introduction into the
world of Suzuki.
The Criterion Collection is the real home of Suzuki’s
films. Thankfully the distributor that knows how to
treat movies right is no stranger to his body of work.
Criterion has released four of his films and the month
of July sees the release of two more. In the early
days of Criterion they introduced two little known
films by an unheard of director into their collection
(spine numbers 38 & 39). These films were Tokyo
Drifter and Branded to Kill. These two films have
become the most known in his filmography and its easy
to see why. Both films lack any focus on its story and
incessantly push the envelope visually and
stylistically. Think of the stunt Soderbergh pulled
with Ocean’s Twelve and you’ll get an idea of what
Suzuki was doing. Unfortunately, he paid with his job
and found it extremely difficult to find work for many
years. Suzuki had many new wave contemporaries who
were also entertaining their audience while enraging
their studios but Suzuki was picked to be the example.
Since Kurosawa and Suzuki both fell upon hard times in
the cinema at about the same time, I often picture
them running off to Sake Bars together and
brainstorming up movies audiences weren’t prepared
for. Unfortunately neither Kurosawa nor Suzuki made
any where near as many films as they did up to the
1960s.
Suzuki did however make a trilogy of films often
referred to as the “Ghost Trilogy.” These films are
Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kageroza (1981), and Yumeji
(1991). As of yet none of these films have been
translated to English, but they are highly respected
by Suzuki aficionados. Strangely enough, Wong Kar-Wai
actually used the theme to Yumeji in his film In the
Mood for Love (2001) although I’ll save Kar-Wai for
another week. Believe it or not, this week’s column
is actually going somewhere because I’ve been cleverly
leading up to Suzuki’s latest films. In 2001, Suzuki
made what I consider to be his masterpiece, Pistol
Opera. I don’t have the mental or physical strength to
try and summarize the power of this film’s images,
themes, and messages. This film sits somewhere off on
a cloud far away from most any other film. This film
is its own experience and should maybe be viewed after
tackling his earlier films. As I mentioned earlier,
Suzuki may have been entertaining his audience in the
1960s but in 2001 Suzuki is playing with more than
lights and colors. Suzuki has placed meaning into his
images that may not have been intended in his previous
films. This film is an extremely precise calculation;
it immediately dispenses with our expectations of a
narrative through story and action and instead creates
a narrative composed entirely of set pieces and
symbols that only a master could achieve. Media
Blasters has been simply divine by deciding to release
Pistol Opera and in its OAR 1.33:1. Speaking of which,
you will not believe what he manages with this aspect
ratio.
Suzuki’s newest film Tanuki Goten (2005) just played
at Cannes and I haven’t heard a critic peep yet. I did
however find a 7-minute clip of the film and needless
to say, it was intense. It seemed that Suzuki had
maintained the style of Pistol Opera but may be trying
something a little more conventional in the film’s
narrative. My only wish is that it arrives on these
shores and in the Florida area. This could be his swan
song and I certainly do not want to miss it. In
closing, I like all of the films Suzuki has done that
are available here so you can’t go wrong with picking
up or renting one tonight.
Cya next week!
This week’s edition of Asian Film Update is best
described as Seijun Suzuki-a-go-go. The man with the
plan from Japan has been entertaining audiences for
nearly 50 years. It was in the early 1960s when Seijun
Suzuki caught the eye and imagination of his audience
by making films that are often lumped into the
category of the Japanese New Wave. Suzuki tried his
best to entertain his audience rather than simply
following his studio’s (Nikkatsu) orders. Suzuki’s and
his contemporaries films strike comparisons to the
French New Wave although Suzuki insists that the films
of this period were filled with ideas and images meant
to entertain rather than break new ground or create a
new cinematic language.
"Asian Film Update" is ©2005 by Peter Card. Webpage design and all graphics herein (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.