...and I already know that I'm going to love "Take Aim At The Police Van", Seijun Suzuki's noirish crime film and my first pick from the recently released Series 17 set by Eclipse - "Nikkatsu Noir".
We start with an establishing shot...
...then cut to a man caressing his shotgun...
...and then to what he sees through his viewfinder...
...followed by a pan to the remaining signs...
As it turns out, I did love the film. Fun, stylish and a harbinger of Suzuki's style down the road. Now I get to plow through the other 4 films in the set.
Yay me.
3 comments:
Added to my Netflix queue solely on the basis of this post. :)
Netflix guesses I'll rate it 2 1/2. I'm guessing higher. We'll see who's right.
Would I be better off watching Toyko Drifter and Branded to Kill first?
Hi Jandy...Nah, no need to watch Tokyo Drifter or Branded To Kill first. I love those films, but they are later in Suzuki's career when he's really dropped pretty much any pretense of doing straight narrative storytelling (though he still manages to convey everything via visuals).
This is earlier when he's just starting to stretch the boundaries a bit. It's a basic "B" crime film, but it's told inventively and looks great. The plot can get a bit confusing, but I think he's doing that on purpose to ensure you're always a step behind trying to catch up. I hope you like it...
Definitely see Branded To Kill or/and Tokyo Drifter though...
Yeah, both the later ones were already in my queue (Criterion cover art swayed me on them!). I just wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the earlier one more if I knew more about Suzuki from his better-known stuff. But I do prefer watching a director's work in chronological order, if possible, so I'll probably watch this one first.
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