Branded to Kill (The Criterion Collection)
by Seijun Suzuki
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Actor: Anne Mari, Isao Tamagawa, Jô Shishido, Kôji Nanbara, Mariko OgawaDirector: Seijun Suzuki
Brand: SUZUKI,SEIJUN
Cinematographer: Kazue Nagatsuka
Producer: Kaneo Iwai
Producer: Takiko Mizunoe
Writer: Atsushi Yamatoya
Writer: Chûsei Sone
Writer: Hachiro Guryu
Writer: Takeo Kimura
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
Published: 1999-02-01
DVD Release Date: 1999-02-23
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Branded to Kill (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: It just goes to show you...
Summary: 4 Stars
...the industry is really stupid sometimes. When this movie was first released it was released under the heat of controversy. The films director, Seijun Suzuki, was fired from the film for veering too far from the original script. His direction was deemed too extreme by the studio and he was basically blackballed from the industry for the better part of a decade. The funny thing is that it is his sublimely toxic direction that actually makes this film work so well. So, like I said; the industry is really stupid sometimes.
Years later `Koroshi no Rakuin' has become a cult classic, a film well regarded and lauded by many a cinephile. The reasons for this are obvious. The chaotic and infectious direction feels like a sick mixture of Darren Aronofsky and Martin Scorsese. The script is brilliantly constructed (conceptually it may be `cookie cutter' as some have accused it of being, but visually it is anything but). The acting is hit or miss, but the important aspects of the film are realized with sheer perfection and brutal imagination.
The film, in a nutshell, is fearless.
Goro is Japan's #3 Killer, and he loves what he does. He has very strange behavioral issues, not the least of which is his insatiable list for the smell of boiling rice. He has two equally `off-kilter' women in his life; his erotic wife and his butterfly obsessed mistress. When Goro botches a job he finds himself on the other end of the scope, fighting for survival against the #1 Killer who has been hired by the Mob to `off' Goro. What comes next is intense, dark and dazzling all at the same time.
As far as the acting is concerned, Jo Shishido is the only one who really commands his role; which is important since he is in practically every frame. Mariko Ogawa is borderline annoying with her over-the-top portrayal of Goro's wife, but I think that is the style with these Asian films so I won't fault her too much. Mari Annu is much more appealing and interesting in her role, in my opinion. The real star performer here is Suzuki though. He slays each scene with these intense bursts of testosterone that captivate and stimulate. There is not a single scene that doesn't grip you in one way or another. He is so good behind that camera that his eventual out-casting becomes all the more frustrating.
Today he would be bombarded with fans; easy.
I do have minor issues with the film. It did take me a little while to understand just what all was going on at first. Some of the plot points don't seem as connected as they could; and this may be where the direction got in the way of the story. It's few and far in between, but there will be moments where you may be scratching your head and taking double takes. Case-in-point is the beginning of the end, when the #1 and #3 Killers are shacked up in the same apartment. It took me a bit to understand just what was going on (and part of me isn't entirely sure I got it completely). Regardless though, this is a must see. It is artistically brilliant and conceptually fresh. Indulge in this finely crafted guilty pleasure.
Description of Branded to Kill (The Criterion Collection)
A parody of Yakuzi films, featuring a hapless assassin who just can't get the job done.Genre: Foreign Film - Japanese
Rating: UN
Release Date: 23-FEB-1999
Media Type: DVD
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