Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir

[knives]

All three of those look like pulpy fun, even if Colt looks to be a terrible transfer.

[kaujot]

I imagine that they don't bother restoring the trailers of the films they put out. One can't compare how the trailer looks to how the film's transfer is going to be.

[knives]

I hope, but I remember some one mentioning the theatrical transfer they recently saw was less the satisfactory.

[Doctor Sunshine]

Criterion never restore trailers. The retro prints started out new but they traveled all over the States. Walkow said there were 23 screenings in the first month alone. They don't stay pristine long at that rate.

Hey, Tribe, how'd you like those Kino Nikkatsus?

[Tribe]

Hey, Tribe, how'd you like those Kino Nikkatsus?

I liked them a lot, particularly Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards, I'm really looking forward to as much of that stuff as I can get.

[Doctor Sunshine]

particularly Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards

There should be more spontaneous vaudeville numbers in movies, I think. I'll always love it for that scene alone.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

The dance number was the best part of Detective Bureau! I'm just remembering what a great soundtrack that film has. I wish I could find it somewhere!

I was surprised by both Kino discs. Excellent transfers on both! I hope they get on the ball and put out more Nikkatsu!

[Tribe]

The dance number was the best part of Detective Bureau! I'm just remembering what a great soundtrack that film has. I wish I could find it somewhere!

I was surprised by both Kino discs. Excellent transfers on both! I hope they get on the ball and put out more Nikkatsu!

Great movies, I'm glad to have them, and good that they were released...but both have combing issues from what I could see. I'd hope the Criterions wouldn't...by the way, are the films in the Nikkatsu Noir box all black and white? What I particularly like about the Kino Nikkatsus, as well as the two early Criterion Suzukis are the wild coloring...they really make the movies that much more outrageous.

[htdm]

Yes all of the films in the upcoming Nikkatsu set are B&W

[Doctor Sunshine]

The dance number was the best part of Detective Bureau! I'm just remembering what a great soundtrack that film has. I wish I could find it somewhere!

They've actual released a ton of Nikkatsu score and compilation CDs in Japan. There doesn't seem to be one for Detective Bureau but there are three tracks from it on this Suzuki themed one. If you click on any of the blue links beside the track listing it'll open a window where you can listen to samples of each. I haven't bought any but they seem to be taken directly from the film scores. I still get the themes from Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter stuck in my head from time to time.

[htdm]

Two Three Beats! is also found on the now OOP "Go Cinemania CD Series" vol. 8: "Style to Kill" - although used copies can still be found here.

[domino harvey]

Beaver

[Finch]

The pictureboxing on I Am Waiting is a little extreme but otherwise this looks like a great set. If only they'd release Eclipse titles on a monthly basis instead of every eight or even twelve weeks.

[movielocke]

and only five this year, after we got six and then seven the last two years, respectively, I was hoping for eight eclipse releases this year.

[cdnchris]

DVD Review

A Colt is My Passport was easily my favourite one but they're all quite good.

[Feego]

I received the set in the mail yesterday (hooray for Deep Discount!) and watched "I Am Waiting." I found it to be quite stylish and enjoyable and can't wait to see the rest of them!

[Finch]

Got the set today, started with I Am Waiting, like Feego, and came away very impressed as well. Some of the breeziest 90 minutes I've ever had with a film. Not particularly Noirish in any sense but a cracking thriller, unexpectedly low-key for much of its running time until the final third, with one or two nice twists along the way. Yujiro Ishihara was a strong presence and I'm excited about seeing his performance in the set's second entry, Rusty Knife. Chuck Stephens' notes are making up nicely for the lack of video extras, certainly if his unpretentious and enthusiastic comments on I Am Waiting are representative of his writings on the entire set. Though, personally, I'd have bundled all his notes together into a larger booklet and given one film a larger keepcase to accomodate the book. Still, couldn't have asked for a better start with Nikkatsu Noir.

[Feego]

I finally got through all five movies, and all I can say is that this is a terrific collection. I watched them in chronological order, and they just get better as they go along. I believe my favorite, however, is probably "Cruel Gun Story," the next to last film. "A Colt is My Passport," the youngest film in the collection, is intriguing and has a "Point Blank" vibe about it, but it may take a second viewing for me to appreciate it. It probably didn't help that I was watching it at 4:00 am.

Stylistically, these films are not exactly what we think of when we think of noir. Yes, they often employ shadows and some interesting camera angles, but in general these films are grittier and less expressionistic than most classic American noir. These films do share a lot in common with noir thematically, particularly with their antiheroes, big city corruption, and their overall cynical and sometimes even nihilistic tones. This is great stuff, and I see myself returning to them again very soon.

[cdnchris]

Colt is my favourite in the set. They're all great fun but that one stood out from the rest for me. I thought it was the most adventurous stylistically, loved the spaghetti western score, and just loved the final sequence.

Just a mention, but one thing that intrigued me with Cruel Gun Story was

Spoiler

not only how it sort of reminded me of The Killing in some ways, as I believe was mentioned in the notes, but also how the heist in the film is so similar to the one in Don Siegel's version of The Killers. The heist may be similar to ones in other films (and I'm just not recalling them) but I found it interesting that both these films were made around the same time and had heist plans that were pretty much the same.

[Feego]

Just a mention, but one thing that intrigued me with Cruel Gun Story was

Spoiler

not only how it sort of reminded me of The Killing in some ways, as I believe was mentioned in the notes, but also how the heist in the film is so similar to the one in Don Siegel's version of The Killers. The heist may be similar to ones in other films (and I'm just not recalling them) but I found it interesting that both these films were made around the same time and had heist plans that were pretty much the same.

I noticed that too. And I agree about the climax of "A Colt is My Passport," it was stunning.

[jojo]

There's nothing else you can saw about the climax in "A Colt in my Passport" other than it is simply pure badass. It's totally ridiculous and audacious and exciting at the same time. Many people will probably laugh at the end but it will be more of a "Damn, did he just do that? Yes he did!" laugh than a "this is a joke" laugh. That's what a well executed action scene should do--stretch the boundaries of believability but make the audience buy into it.

[Finch]

Rusty Knife didn't engage me that much, I'm afraid.

Spoiler

Once Katsumata reveals that he is not the presumed mastermind behind the crimes but someone else instead, I guessed the identity of that mystery person right away.

Other than that, the film has one or two excellent scenes (including the car chase) but I found Ishihara and especially Kitahara not as compelling as a couple and in their respective roles as in I Am Waiting. As a potboiler, it was fair enough but I don't think I'll be revisiting this one that often again. Did anyone else feel lukewarm about the film or have I missed something here?

[cdnchris]

While I liked it well enough I had sort of the same reaction you did and my interest did wane once that one plot point you mention in your spoiler is revealed. It is probably my least favourite in the set, with Take Aim at the Police Van slightly above it. Despite some rather cool things in Take Aim... (I loved the opening) I must admit I'm not 100% sure what the hell happened in it.

[htdm]

DVDTalk

[htdm]

DVD Savant